Midnight Thunder(INCR) by Vicki Lewis Thompson Page B

mother, too.
    Somewhere in his duffel he had Molly Gallagher’s phone number, but he’d never bothered to call. Apparently she was Molly Gallagher Radcliffe now, because she was married to Ben, the saddle maker Rosie adored. He couldn’t make sense of how everything fit together. But as the fog slowly cleared from his brain, Molly’s words began to penetrate.
    â€œI should have guessed that you’d ditch your father’s name and take your mother’s maiden name, but somehow that never occurred to me. So you
were
at Thunder Mountain Ranch.”
    â€œYes.” His lips felt numb.
    â€œSo that means your mother—”
    â€œDied when I was thirteen. In this hospital. Cancer.”
    She looked stricken. “I’m so sorry. But you’re here! We thought we’d lost you forever!”
    He swallowed. “We?”
    â€œAll of us! My mom, my dad, my aunts and uncles, my brothers, my cousins, my nieces and nephews. You have so much family in Arizona that you won’t believe it. And in Wyoming! Have you heard of the Last Chance Ranch over in Jackson Hole?”
    He shrugged, trying valiantly to stay cool while his emotions rode a stomach-dropping roller coaster. “Sure. Who hasn’t?”
    â€œThe Chance brothers are my cousins, and that means they’re also your cousins! Is that wild or what?”
    Cade struggled to take it all in. To think the Gallaghers had been upset that he and his mother had lost touch with them. They’d tried to pick up the trail, but they’d been looking for Heather and Cade Marlowe. The Gallaghers didn’t sound like losers at all, and Molly seemed nice.
    He’d never questioned why his mother had cut off contact, but now he had a pretty good idea what had made her do it. She’d been ashamed of how her life had turned out, and she hadn’t wanted her parents or her siblings to know how bad things were. From the sound of it, the Gallaghers were a prosperous and upstanding family. And the Chances—most everybody in this area knew about them.
    Rance Marlowe had beaten and belittled Cade’s mother until she’d lost all confidence in herself. She’d probably thought she wasn’t good enough to be in the company of such people as the Gallaghers and the Chances. She’d died without telling him much of anything about his heritage, and if Molly hadn’t come along, he still wouldn’t know.
    Molly put a hand on his arm. “It’s a lot to absorb all at once.”
    â€œYeah.” He took a shaky breath. “So your family lives in Prescott? Is that what you said?”
    â€œYes, they’re ranchers.” She hesitated. “I’d love to tell them I found you, but you might not be ready for that.”
    Her husband, who’d been standing quietly beside her through the whole drama, slipped an arm around her waist. “You should probably give him a little time to adjust.”
    â€œI’ll second that.” Herb appeared and stood beside Cade. “Must be tough, going from no relatives at all to a whole passel of them.”
    About that time Cade realized that not a single person standing in the hallway was talking. This little drama had been a real conversation stopper. Lexi stood in Rosie’s doorway, and she looked worried. He glanced around at the others and saw concern and sympathy on every face, including Janine’s. He must look truly bushwhacked if Lexi’s mother felt sorry for him.
    Enough of that nonsense. Nobody had to feel sorry for Cade Gallagher. He could handle whatever came at him. Reaching deep, he pulled out a smile. “You know, it would be tough if I’d just found out that I’m related to a bunch of criminals, but come on. Judging from Molly, the Gallaghers must be really cool, and the Chances are like royalty around here. The way I look at it, I’m a damned lucky guy.”
    Molly brightened. “So I can let my parents