The Rancher's Redemption

by Myra Johnson

  “Mommy?” Rubbing her eyes, Avery tottered into the room. “It’s so light. Is it morning already?”

  “Not yet, honey, but come and see.” Erin found the cord and raised the blinds an inch or two above the sill. Then she knelt on the carpet and drew her daughter to her side. “Look—deer!”

  Avery sucked in an excited breath, her dainty fingers grasping the sill as she leaned closer to the window. “They’re so pretty! I didn’t know we would have deer at our new house.”

  “Me, neither.” Guess Erin had a lot of new experiences to look forward to in the Hill Country.

  Avery shivered with happiness. “Maybe God sent them just for me, ’cause today’s my birthday.”

  “Maybe He did, honey.” Erin gave her little girl a squeeze. Avery’s childlike faith in God’s loving kindness was a constant inspiration to Erin, especially when circumstances challenged her own faith.

  They watched in silence until the deer moved on and the security lights blinked off. Yawning, Avery hugged her mother’s neck. “I’m still sleepy. Can I snuggle with you till morning?”

  “Absolutely.”

  With her head nestled against Erin’s shoulder and the covers tucked in all around them, Avery’s breathing soon slowed into the rhythm of sound sleep. For Erin, though, it was hopeless. For the next hour, she lay there staring into the darkness and pondering her future.

  Never in a million years had she imagined herself starting over as a single mom—worse, a single mom dependent on her older brother for the very roof over their heads. Even though Greg was a widower and his daughter was away at college most of the year, she’d known she and Avery couldn’t expect to share his San Antonio condo indefinitely. Still, when he’d suggested this move to Juniper Bluff, she’d voiced her doubts. But he’d been so persuasive in describing the small town, friendly neighbors, a good school where Avery could make new friends. He’d promised a peaceful haven where Erin could begin to heal from the wounds of her abusive marriage, and she offered a silent prayer that his words would prove true.

  Just when she’d finally dozed off, Avery bolted upright and jiggled her mother’s arm. “Mommy, wake up. My birthday’s here. I’m seven now!”

  “Yes, you are.” Stretching, Erin smiled up at her little girl. “Guess we’d better start celebrating. What would you like for breakfast?”

  “Heart-shaped pancakes with chocolate chips.”

  Anticipating her daughter’s request, Erin had picked up the ingredients yesterday at the supermarket. She crawled out of bed and shooed Avery to her room to get dressed, then pulled on a long-sleeved T-shirt and a pair of jeans before tromping barefoot to the kitchen.

  When she reached into the cupboard for the pancake mix, the shelf gave way and everything on it tumbled onto the counter and then to the floor. The box of pancake mix split open, surrounding Erin in a floury dust cloud.

  “Are you kidding?” Ten or fifteen dollars’ worth of groceries lay strewed around her feet. She lifted her hands in dismay.

  Avery rushed into the kitchen. “Mommy, what happened?”

  “Stay back, sweetie. Mommy had a little accident.” Erin didn’t see any broken glass, thank goodness, but she didn’t need Avery tracking through the mess.

  Crouching down for a better look, Avery frowned. “Uh-oh. Now we can’t make my pancakes.”

  “We’ll figure something else out.” One giant step took Erin out of ground zero. She turned to survey the damage while racking her brain for a way to salvage Avery’s birthday breakfast. “Since we can’t do pancakes, what would you say to breakfast at the doughnut shop? Remember how good those crullers were when we had them with Uncle Greg on moving day?”

  Avery jumped at the idea. As soon as Erin changed out of her pancake-mix-spattered clothes, they hopped in the car. A few minutes later, Erin parked on the town square in front of Diana’s Donuts.

  Diana Willoughby welcomed them at the counter. “Hi, Erin. How are things at the house?”

  Rather than admit to the former owner that Erin was already dealing with repair issues, she smiled and said, “Fine. We love our new home.”

  “We had deer in our yard last night,” Avery piped up. “It was God’s birthday present for me.”

  Diana rested her elbows on the counter to smile at Avery. “Wow, cool!”

  “But then the shelf broke—”

  Erin cringed.

  “—so we couldn’t make my birthday pancakes and Mommy said we could have breakfast here.”

  “Oh, no.” Diana cast Erin an apologetic frown. “The cupboard nearest the refrigerator? I should have warned you about that shelf. I’ve had problems before.”

  “Please don’t worry about it,” Erin said with a shrug. “Things happen.”

  Brightening, Diana looked past Erin’s shoulder. “And here’s my go-to guy for when things happen. Hi, Kent. Let me introduce you to someone.”

  Erin whirled around to see Kent Ritter ambling over. He palmed his hat, allowing a stray coffee-colored curl to dip across his brow. “We’ve met, actually,” he said with a nod to Erin. “Lights working okay?”

  “Seem to be.” Coffee. Erin needed coffee. Anything to ease the sudden dryness in her throat. Aware of her daughter moving between her and Kent, she settled her hands on Avery’s stiff shoulders.

  Kent glanced down, his lips twitching into a hesitant half smile. “This your daughter?”

  Erin nodded. “Avery, this is Mr. Ritter, the nice man who installed our new lights.”

  It felt as if Avery grew two inches. Her normally sweet voice hardened. “You were at our house?”

  “Uh, yes.” Edging back a step, Kent shot Erin a questioning look.

  “It’s okay, honey.” Erin gave her daughter’s shoulders a reassuring squeeze. In the last couple of years leading up to the divorce, and especially in the months since then, she’d noticed Avery’s tension around certain men. Could Erin ever forgive herself for the collateral damage Payne’s spousal abuse had inflicted on their daughter? She should have gotten out sooner.

  Diana cleared her throat. “Excuse me, but the line’s growing. Did y’all want to order something?”

  “Oh, sorry.” Hearing the apology leave her lips, Erin caught the subtle lift of Kent’s right eyebrow. She turned to Diana. “We’d like one coffee, one milk and...”

  “Can I have an apple fritter, Mommy?”

  “That sounds good. Make it two.” Erin fumbled for her wallet. Discovering she was down to only three dollars in cash, she pulled her lower lip between her teeth. “I don’t suppose you’d take a check?”

  Diana hesitated a split second too long. “From you? Sure.”

  “No need for that.” Kent stepped up to the counter. “Didn’t I hear it’s this little lady’s birthday? Let this be my treat.”

  “I couldn’t.” Erin firmly shook her head.

  “Please, I’d like to do this.” Kent already had his billfold out. He smiled at Erin in a way that suggested he was all too aware of her unfortunate circumstances. “And over breakfast you can tell me more about this broken shelf.”

  * * *

  When Kent had first walked into the doughnut shop, buying breakfast for Erin and her daughter had been the furthest thing from his mind. He’d just picked up a few supplies at the feed store and only thought to grab a quick cup of coffee and one of those delicious blueberry scones Diana’s assistant, Kimberly, was noted for.

  Now, instead of heading straight home to ranch chores, here he sat with his coffee and scone across from a nervous-looking Erin and a little girl whose direct gaze held both suspicion and a clear warning to keep his distance. Kent hadn’t spent much time around kids, but he knew enough to realize Avery Dearborn was too young to feel this protective of her mother.

  “Really, you didn’t have to do this,” Erin said as she nibbled on her fritter. “Please, let
me pay you back.”

  “Not necessary.” Best to nip this line of conversation in the bud. “So what happened with the shelf?”

  Erin hiked a shoulder. “I barely touched it. Next thing I knew, everything was on the floor.”

  “I’ve got time to take a look.” Kent winced inwardly. He still had a day’s worth of chores ahead of him. Besides, did he dare involve himself in Erin’s life any more than he already had?

  “My mom can fix it,” Avery said with a thrust of her chin. She flicked a flake of fritter glaze from the corner of her mouth. “Anyways, I’m seven now. I can help her.”

  “I’m sure you can.” Kent shared a brief smile with Erin. “But since it’s your birthday, I figured you already had some fun plans for the day.”

  Eyes lowered, Avery toyed with her fork. “I guess so.”

  The regretful look clouding Erin’s expression stabbed Kent’s heart. “We haven’t been settled long enough to plan a party.”

  Kent gave a solemn nod. “A birthday without a party. Doesn’t get much worse than that.” He took a slow sip of coffee and realized he was about to get even more involved in the lives of Erin Dearborn and her daughter. Resting a forearm on the table, he fixed Avery with a thoughtful frown. “Ever been on a horseback ride?”

  The girl’s head shot up, interest sparking in eyes the same shade of crystal blue as her mother’s. “My cousin has a horse. She let me ride with her once. But only around the corral. And she wouldn’t trot or gallop or anything.”

  “That takes all the fun out of it, huh?” Kent winked at Erin.

  An endearing blush crept up her cheeks. Her darting glance suggested she hadn’t told Avery about her ride on Jasmine the other day. “Finish your milk, honey. We should get home and clean up our mess.”

  “I’m serious about taking a look at the shelf,” Kent said as he pushed away from the table. “And I was serious about a horseback ride, too—if you’re interested, that is.”

  Lips pursed, Erin turned to her daughter. “It’s your birthday, sweetie. What do you think?”

  “I’d like to, but...” Indecision played across Avery’s heart-shaped face. Her narrowed gaze landed on Kent, and she folded her arms, signaling a clear no.

  Tough audience. Not that Kent could blame the kid. She didn’t know Kent and had no reason to trust him. “That’s okay,” he said. “Maybe some other time.”

  “I’m sorry—” Erin began.

  Kent cut her off with a jerk of his chin, tempered with a friendly smile. Rising, he set his hat firmly on his head. “If y’all are headed straight home, I’ll follow you over. We’ll get that shelf fixed lickety-split, and then you’ll have the rest of the day to do whatever the birthday girl wants.”

  With a quiet thank-you, Erin gathered her purse and guided Avery to the door. A few minutes later, Kent pulled in behind them in Erin’s driveway. By the time he strode in through the garage with his toolbox, Erin was already at work with a broom and dustpan, while Avery collected canned goods and other odds and ends that must have been on the shelf.

  Erin glanced up at Kent with a nervous smile. “I told you it was a mess.”

  “She didn’t mean to,” Avery asserted. She slammed two cans of beans onto the counter. “It was an accident.”

  “Avery, watch your tone.” Another embarrassed I’m sorry flitted across Erin’s face.

  Before the words found her tongue, Kent barked out a quick laugh. “You ever see a fifty-pound sack of grain bust open in the middle of the barn? Now, that’s a mess.” After setting his toolbox and hat on the counter, he edged around Erin to take a closer look at the cupboard and shelf. “Yep, here’s the problem right here.”

  “You figured it out already?” Erin emptied her dustpan into the trash can under the sink, then strode over.

  He showed her where one of the metal shelf pins was loose. “It’s like a table with a wobbly leg. If things aren’t balanced exactly right, the whole thing tips over.”

  “How hard will it be to fix?”

  “This hole where the pin goes has gotten reamed out. A little wood filler should do the trick.” Kent lifted the top tray of his toolbox and poked around beneath for a small plastic container. Using a putty knife, he applied wood filler to the hole and then inserted the pin, making sure it was level.

  The whole time he worked, he sensed Erin watching over his shoulder. “That looked too easy.” She sounded miffed. “I should have been able to fix it myself.”

  “Maybe, after you made a trip to the hardware store for the right supplies. And then you’d be stuck with most of a can of wood filler that you might never use again.”

  “You have a point.” Arms crossed, Erin stepped closer to examine Kent’s repair. The fresh scent of jasmine wafted toward him.

  Momentarily disconcerted, he put another few inches between them and began packing away his tools. “You should give the filler a few hours to set before you put the shelf back in.”

  He turned to find Avery studying him, her mouth in a disapproving twist. The concern lurking behind those intense blue eyes felt like a knife to his heart. The last time he’d seen an expression like that on a child’s face had been in Afghanistan when he administered medical aid to a village woman hit by a stray bullet during a firefight. The woman’s young son, not much older than Avery, had watched every move Kent made. If she died, Kent would be blamed and the boy would lose any trust he had in American servicemen. He’d become an easy target for the Taliban’s recruiting efforts to be used as a spy—or worse, a suicide bomber.

  Kent had prayed like crazy that day. Prayed for all he was worth. And God hadn’t listened.

  He hefted the toolbox off the counter and palmed the crown of his hat. “That’ll do it, then,” he mumbled, sidling toward the door.

  “Kent?” Erin caught up as he reached his pickup. “You haven’t said what I owe you.”

  “Nothing. Not a thing.” He stowed the toolbox, then forced himself to meet her gaze with a brief smile before climbing in behind the wheel. “You have a good day with the birthday girl.”

  He needed to get out of here fast, before the memories chewed a hole in his gut. Crazy how such a look in an innocent little girl’s eyes could bring it all back so quickly.

  * * *

  What just happened? Erin stared in confusion as Kent sped away. One minute, he’d been making pleasant conversation while finishing up with the shelf and the next, he couldn’t seem to escape fast enough.

  She marched back inside, where she found Avery sitting cross-legged on the sofa and watching an animal show on TV. Snatching up the remote, Erin hit the off button.

  “Mom! I was watching.”

  “Sorry, but—” She winced, picturing Kent’s expression every time she started to apologize. She circled the coffee table to sit down facing her daughter. “Honey, I’m worried something we might have said or done hurt Mr. Ritter’s feelings. Can you think of anything?”

  Avoiding Erin’s gaze, Avery pressed her lips together. “No.”

  “I couldn’t help noticing you weren’t very nice to him, either at the doughnut shop or after we got home.” Erin lightly touched her daughter’s arm. “Want to tell me why?”

  Avery responded with an exaggerated shrug. “I didn’t want him to come over. Why couldn’t you let Uncle Greg fix the shelf?”

  “Uncle Greg can’t drop everything to drive over from San Antonio every time we need a little help.”

  “You could have waited till he comes for Camp Serenity next Friday.”

  Drawing her daughter into a hug, Erin kissed the top of her head. “Uncle Greg’s going to be very busy with the campers. But I promise, if there’s a small job I need help with that won’t take too much time, I’ll save it for him.”

  “Okay.” The tension slowly ebbed from Avery’s shoulders. “Can we do something fun for my birthday now?�
��

  “Of course. Any ideas?”

  Avery heaved a sigh, her lower lip poking out in a pout. Almost under her breath, she said, “If I had a pony like Eva does, I could go on a ride.”

  Erin had to bite her tongue to keep from reminding her daughter she’d already turned down an offer to go horseback riding. Trying for a lighthearted tone, she quipped, “Our backyard’s a little small for a pony, don’t you think? I do have a birthday present for you, though. Be right back.”

  Making a quick trip to her bedroom, Erin returned with the basket she’d wrapped in tissue paper and hidden on the top shelf of her closet. She presented it to her daughter and watched eagerly as Avery tore away the paper.

  “Mommy, it’s so pretty!” Avery threw one arm around Erin’s neck as she admired the little basket. “It even has an A for Avery on the side.”

  “I know it isn’t a pony,” Erin said, hearing the apology creeping into her tone. “But I thought you could use it for some of your treasures.”

  “I will. Thank you!” Turning to her mother, Avery grew somber. “It’s okay that you can’t buy me a pony, Mom.”

  Erin blinked as unexpected tears formed. She gave her daughter another hug while silently vowing that Avery’s next birthday would be a much happier occasion.

  The ringing of Erin’s cell phone interrupted the hug. She hurried to the kitchen counter where she’d left her purse and retrieved the phone. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Erin. Your brother Greg gave me your number. We haven’t met yet, but our daughters are already best friends.” The caller identified herself as Christina Austin, Eva’s stepmom. “Eva mentioned today is Avery’s birthday. I was thinking, since you’ve just moved in, you might not have had time to make special plans.”