Against the Edge (The Raines of Wind Can - By Kat Martin Page 0,97
the responsibilities of learning to be a husband, too. Just the thought made the knot in his stomach go tighter.
The feeling got worse when Trace and Maggie walked in, Trace bearing cigars and, beneath his cowboy hat, a grin that stretched all the way across his face.
“We’ve got news,” he said, handing expensive cigars to everyone within reach, even the women. “Maggie’s pregnant.”
They all rushed over, laughing and hugging, wishing them congratulations.
“It’s a girl,” Maggie said, grinning. “Trace is sure she’ll have red hair.” Sage laughed, knowing redheads had always been Trace’s weakness. Claire seemed really pleased for Maggie, who was becoming a friend.
Ben thought of the responsibilities he was undertaking in raising a son. Claire would want children of her own. He didn’t want to even think about it. He made the proper responses, then went back to watching the kids playing on the lawn.
He didn’t say more than a couple of words to Claire the rest of the evening, just kept his attention on Sam as the boy opened his gifts, surprised and pleased with each new item, careful to thank the person who had given it to him.
Ben stood by as Sam blew out his candles, laughing with delight when he snuffed all ten, then helping Claire cut pieces of a chocolate cake that was decorated with a football and a Houston Texans jersey in icing on the top, Sam’s name and age in big blue letters.
A few minutes later, Sam came over and thanked him in private for the iPod Ben had given him that Sam seemed to love, calling him Ben instead of Dad.
Ben looked forward to the day that would change.
In the meantime, he would be staying away from Claire. He wasn’t ready to sleep with another woman the way he would have been in the past. But in time he would be. Down the road, he’d get past his confusing feelings for Claire, and they could be friends.
One thing Sam wasn’t getting for his birthday or anytime in the future was a mother.
Ben was sure about that.
* * *
“Stop it, Aggie. You been mopin’ around for weeks.” Mace stood on the porch in front of his cabin in the bug-out compound. A small group had gathered around.
“He was my boy,” Aggie said. “Troy brung him to me. He was mine, and you and that worthless bunch out yonder let them men come waltzing in here like they owned the place and take him right out from under your noses.”
“Yeah, well, he weren’t nothin’ but another mouth to feed.”
“He was my boy, and I want him back.”
Mace flicked a glance at Troy. He was standing next to Duke, the pair of them just lookin’ for an excuse to leave. Troy never was much for country livin’. ’Specially since there weren’t no women. Mace had him a whore in town when he got the urge, but Troy and Duke figured they was too good to pay for it.
“I brought the kid to Aggie,” Troy said. “He came with me of his own accord. He’s our sister’s kin now. You’ve always said we Braggs protect our own.”
“Don’t be a fool. We don’t even know who took the kid or where he is.”
“We’ve got friends in town,” Troy said. “They know people in the sheriff’s department. We need to find the boy and bring him back.”
“Troy’s right,” Big Nosed Zeke agreed, always a damned troublemaker. “We let this go, people think we can’t defend ourselves. They start to lose respect.”
“I heard some of our members talkin’,” Nate, the preacher, said. He lived on a farm down the road apiece, but he was one of the Patriots’ strongest supporters. “They figure we got to settle this. They say it’s a matter of honor.”
Mace looked out at the group of men gathered in their secondary compound, a smaller bunch, since it was miles away from the main camp, deeper in the swamp. “We don’t need no more trouble. We bring the kid back, the law’ll be on us like flies on shit. Bad enough as it was.”
Aggie opened her mouth, but Mace sliced her a look that warned her not to say another word. “Troy, you and Duke want to leave, then get on your high horse and go.”
“Take it easy,” Troy said. “We were just talking. Aggie misses the boy, that’s all.”
“I think Mace is right,” his brother Jesse said. “I got a family to think about. I don’t want no more trouble.”