Love in the Dark

by 12 Book Boxed Set (epub)

  Dad was headed for the door when I walked in. Angry eyes met mine.

  “What have you done with her?” He grabbed my shirt with strength he hadn’t shown in years. “Tell me, Jim.”

  That surprised me. Jim was his younger brother. He’d died years ago in a bar fight. From the stories I’d heard, my uncle hadn’t thought Mom was pretty enough for Dad.

  “Nothing,” I said, trying to break his hold.

  “Bullshit. I know you’re sweet on her. Your ugly comments have always been a ruse for how you really feel. She told me how you hit on her.”

  My eyes widened.

  “Dad,” I spat out, because I would have to hurt him to get free.

  That one word shook him. He released his grip and stared at me for a long moment before putting his finger in my face.

  “If I ever hear of you laying hands on her again, I will kill you myself.”

  Dad stalked off and slammed his bedroom door. I blinked, wondering what part of history I’d missed. What had my uncle done?

  As much as I wanted to go help with the horses, I couldn’t leave Dad alone. No telling what he’d do or where he’d go. I started to think maybe I’d have to hire a weekend nurse for when Honey had her days off. The ranch operated daily. I’d have to go look at the books. Maybe I could spare money for another part-time hand so I could spend the weekends with my family.

  More than anything, I wanted to be there for Dad as much as I could before he didn’t remember me at all.

  TEN

  Honey

  * * *

  My Sunday drive gave me an hour to think. Time I didn’t need. I was grateful when the security gates came into view.

  “Hillary Hunter to see Georgia Hunter,” I said to the guard.

  He checked my driver’s license against the approved list before letting me pass. I parked the car and then took the inside elevator to my grandmother’s floor. I knocked on her door.

  “Honey,” she said, enveloping me in a warm hug.

  I stepped into her tiny one-bedroom apartment. It was cute and furnished much like her house had been, but on a smaller scale. The kitchen and living room area dominated the footprint. She had a smallish two-person table to the side. Off to the other side was one bedroom with an unattached bath next to it.

  “Grams.”

  She patted my hair like it had been months since we’d last seen each other.

  I kissed her cheeks and felt more at peace than I had in days.

  “What are we cooking today?”

  Every Sunday we spent time in the kitchen. Grams taught me her tricks to her favorite dishes.

  “I thought we’d start by making my famous beer-can roasted chicken with all the fixings.”

  We worked seamlessly together after much practice.

  “Tell me about your job,” she said.

  I sighed and smashed garlic using the flat part of the knife. I might have hit it a little too hard. She noticed.

  “I’m like a nurse-slash-housekeeper for a family.”

  “Housekeeper?”

  I looked up to see her eyebrow raised. “It’s not that bad. Jake didn’t ask me to cook and clean, but it’s just him, his dad, who has Alzheimer’s, and his young daughter. I feel sorry for them.”

  “You and your big heart. I raised you well.”

  I grinned.

  “Now you call him Jake and not by his surname with a mister attached?”

  She’d caught that.

  “I knew him from before.” Grams would never leave me to that explanation. I tried to hide behind a curtain of my hair. “He’s my boss.”

  “That explains why you’re blushing.” Her sarcasm wasn’t lost on me. “Tell me about this young man.”

  I instead chopped the garlic into tiny bits. Finally, I spoke. “He’s a man trying to take care of his family and run the family business. I’m just the help.”

  I tried to avoid her gaze. “You don’t have to lie to me. I might be old, but I’m not stupid.”

  The hair I’d used as a shield, I tucked behind my ear. “I like him. But I need this job and I can’t mess it up. His daughter is the only girl there. It’s so cute how she’s followed me around the last few days when her dad wasn’t around. She’s full of questions. I feel like I’m making a difference, even if it’s just a small one. They treat me like family, not like help. It’s better than a lot of nursing jobs.”

  “And you’ve only been there days and not months?”

  “Yes.”

  But it felt like months. Outside of Jake, Ford and Jamie made me feel useful.

  Grams switched gears on me. “Have you talked to your mother?”

  “No,” I said, and swiftly changed the topic. “Is there anything else I should chop?”

  It was a bad segue.

  “You should call her.”

  “Why?” I snapped, but realized my mistake. “Sorry, Grams. I didn’t mean to be rude. It’s just every time I talk to her, I feel like a burden.”

  She patted my hand.

  “You know your mother has a hard time dealing with her emotions.” I rolled my eyes, unable to stop myself. “You remind her of your dad.”

  “So that gives her the right to ignore me and move on like I never existed?”

  “No,” Grams said. “But she loves you in her own way. Never doubt that.”

  I sat on a stool in her small kitchen. “I know she loves me. When I was growing up, she never missed a school function, even after Dad died. It was the way she left, so fast and right after I graduated. I know there are a lot of years between me and my brother, but I feel left out of his life.”

  Grams sat on her stool, taking her time with cutting fresh green beans.

  “Have you ever asked her why?” I shook my head. “I think if you did, you might find out that there was pressure from her husband to move long before she did. You may learn that she promised to move once you graduated.”

  She eyed me like she knew this was fact.

  “How do you know?”

  “She came to me and we talked. She was torn between doing what was best for her husband and what was best for you. I told her she had an obligation to you long before she met that man.” Grams nearly growled out the words. “And that she should wait, let you graduate with your friends before uprooting to another part of the country.”

  “That’s why you offered to let me stay with you. You’d talked about me moving in with you before then. Did you stay in your house for me?”

  She shrugged. “Your father couldn’t be there for you. It was my duty as a grandmother to be there for you when you needed me.”

  I practically leaped from the chair and hugged her so tight, I might have broken a few bones.

  She patted my back before cupping my cheek. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

  Tears streamed from my eyes thinking about Mom put in the position to choose between her husband and me. I needed to call her.

  “Let me offer you some advice,” Grams said.

  I thought she would impart wisdom about loving thy mother or something like that.

  “A love like what your grandfather and I had, or what your mother had with your father, happens once in a lifetime. If this young man makes you happy, you should go for it.”

  She made it sound easy.

  “And my job,” I scoffed.

  “Jobs come and go. Love can be everlasting.”

  * * *

  My grandmother’s words sat heavier in my gut than the full meal I’d eaten. As I pulled up to the ranch, I checked that the leftovers she insisted I take back with me hadn’t spilled. The sweet smell of peach cobbler filled my car. After parking, I was trying to balance everything in my hands when a man came up behind me.

  “Let me help.”

  I turned around and one of Jake’s ranch hands transferred the covered dishes from my arms to his.

  “Thank you.”

  He was awfully cute and had dimples to spare. I needed to fan myself. I
f every man on the ranch was this good-looking, I wasn’t going to survive here for long.

  The house was quiet when we walked in.

  “You can set them here.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Now didn’t that make me feel old, and I was still in my twenties.

  After everything was set down, he took off his hat. Blond hair was plastered to the top of his head and curled around the edges where the hat hadn’t covered.

  “I was wondering …” he began.

  “Mitch.”

  We were both startled by Jake’s appearance at the door.

  “I—I was just helping her bring packages in,” Mitch said, before nodding at me and practically running out the door.

  “Why did you do that?” I asked.

  ELEVEN

  Jake

  * * *

  Did she not get the guy wanted to ask her out?

  I angled my head. “Do what? Stop the boy from making a fool of himself?”

  “You’re insufferable.” Her muttered words were almost too soft to hear as she stormed out of the house.

  I sighed, realizing once again I’d stuck my foot in my mouth. But surely she’d guessed he was about to ask her out. Then again, maybe she wanted him to.

  There wasn’t time to go talk to her. I had to check on Dad again. A peek inside his door reassured me he was okay—still sleeping. I went to find Jamie.

  The sight of her grooming the horses with Ed warmed my heart. My girl was good with horses. Ed spied me leaning on the fence and came over.

  “She’s growing up, that one,” he said. I nodded. “Even though she’s going to first grade this year, in a blink of an eye you’ll be handing her off at her wedding.”

  I glared at him. He chuckled and patted my back.

  “Get used to the idea. When Sue got married a few years back, I warned Dan I had a rocket launcher.”

  I laughed. Sue was Ed’s only daughter from a failed marriage.

  “I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to let her go,” I admitted.

  Ed pursed his lips and silently agreed with me. “What you need is a distraction.”

  Thoughts of Honey swirled in my head. Had it only been a day since I’d had her in my bed? It felt like years, and I wanted her back there sooner rather than later.

  “Ah, there she is,” he said.

  I lifted my head. Honey had her long brown hair pulled back. The jeans she wore clung to her hips and her T-shirt was knotted at her navel, revealing a small slice of skin. It was enough to have me swallowing a groan.

  “She’s got poor Mitch tied up in knots. You know he likes a woman with more curves than bones, just like—”

  He cut himself off when he realized that I was that guy too.

  “He should mind his business,” I said.

  Ed tried a grin on me as he searched for something to say.

  “Maybe you should tell him that, or I will,” I added, feeling territorial about Honey.

  I looked away and watched Jamie walk the horses around the pen with a confidence I didn’t have at her age.

  “I think maybe you should let her tell him. It would be better that way.”

  What Ed meant was that if I warned him off, Mitch would do it only because I was the boss. In a roundabout way, he reminded me that as such, I shouldn’t meddle in the personal affairs of my employees, including Honey.

  I pushed off the fence and headed into the pen as Jamie finished.

  “Hey, thanks for helping with the horses,” I told her.

  Though she nodded, I waited patiently for her to speak. She took a deep breath and seemed to think about what she wanted to say. It was something the speech therapist told her to do.

  “I—I,” she stammered. Like a proud father, I watched as she didn’t let her stutter discourage her. She stopped and tried again. “I like w—” Again she paused. “—walking the horses.”

  “Why don’t we put these two up and let you ride Midnight?”

  “Yes.” Her smile was off the charts. “Please.”

  I covered my mouth to hide my joy. She hadn’t stuttered those words, and I didn’t point it out. These were baby steps—a few words that passed easily from her lips didn’t mean she was cured. But I had hope we’d get there one day.

  A car engine had me glancing up. Had Honey left? I stood and watched as plumes of dust trailed the car heading toward us.

  Ed came over. “I’ll help Jamie saddle Midnight.”

  Feeling betrayed that he was leaving me in the eye of the storm, I asked, “How long have you worked here?”

  He grinned at me. “Long enough to see you swaddled in diapers, and long enough to know that’s your problem, not mine.”

  His laughter trailed him as I made my way to the front of the house.

  Jacque got out of her car and waited for me.

  “Jake,” she said, holding up a hand to block the sun.

  Mom taught me manners, but I wasn’t feeling charitable at the moment.

  “Why are you here? I thought for sure our conversation the other night had cleared things up.”

  When she’d interrupted my conversation with Honey, I’d warned her about making things up, like the date we were never going to have. I didn’t care what it cost me. Then again, I would do anything to secure my daughter’s future.

  “You were upset that day. I thought I would give you some time to cool off.”

  I’d been more than upset. I liked an independent, take-charge woman. What I didn’t like was a liar.

  “I haven’t changed my mind,” I said.

  She shifted and stood as rigid as a pitchfork, spikes and all.

  “I thought you should know that Warren and his son came by with an interesting proposal.”

  Though I’d been ready to tell her she should leave, that bit of news stilled my tongue. Warren was relatively a new guy in town, new in that he hadn’t been born and raised here. Slowly, he’d been buying up land from aging ranchers and farmers without heirs.

  “They want to buy the farm.”

  I masked my shock, or at least I tried to. “Why would they want your place?”

  Their land didn’t butt against hers.

  She shrugged. “He didn’t give me much time to make up my mind. He said he’s in negotiations with Ned.”

  Shit. I ran a hand through my hair. Warren’s farm was east of Ned’s. Who knew what other deals he was making. He could be trying to box me in.

  Jacque spoke, breaking into my thoughts. “You know, when Daddy died and left me the land, I had no desire to be a farm owner.” I heard her next words in my head as she spoke them. “I want to be a rancher’s wife.”

  She stepped closer. “You and I have been friends a long time. And I remember when you took me to your bed.”

  More like she’d caught me on a day not long after Mom’s passing when I needed to feel more than think.

  Her hands stroked across my shoulders and down my arms before I caught her wrists.

  “Jake, we could be good together. Tara’s gone, and stupid, if you ask me. If you’d been mine, I would’ve done whatever it took to keep you.”

  Honey filled my peripheral vision, walking out of the barn with Mitch. She looked up just in time to see Jacque put her mouth on mine.

  TWELVE

  Honey

  * * *

  He’s acting like a scumbag.

  “Honey.”

  “Hmm.” I turned my focus back on Mitch.

  The last thing I wanted to witness was Jacque and Jake kissing … in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. First comes love, then comes—

  What the hell was wrong with me? A nursery rhyme. Seriously? Get yourself together, Honey. He isn’t the first man to disappoint you.

  “I was thinking that I could teach you how to ride,” Mitch said.

  I blinked a few times to put that thought firmly back into a nonsexual context, because the idea of riding Jake the other day popped into my mind.

  “Horses and me,” I shoo
k my head. “We don’t mix.”

  My grandfather had tried to teach me to ride. But the horse wasn’t happy to have a big girl on its back. It reared up and I’d fallen on my ass. No, thank you.

  “Then maybe we could go out.”

  My jaw dropped—I hadn’t expected that. Okay, he’d been showing me more attention than the other guys had, but I’d assumed he was being nice.

  “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

  His face fell. As cute as he was, I wouldn’t do that to Jake, no matter what we did or didn’t have. There had to be another man who would want a woman like me in a fifty-mile radius who didn’t work for the man I really wanted.

  “Why? Jake?”

  Was it that obvious? I pursed my lips and nodded. Honesty was better.

  He tipped back his hat and swiped a hand over his hair before resettling it again.

  “I should go,” I said.

  I wanted to pat the cheek of his baby-smooth face, but I kept my hands to myself.

  “He’s not a bad guy. Maybe he’ll get over Tara. If he doesn’t, I’ll be here.” I gave him a small smile. Was Tara Jamie’s mother? “I’ll still teach you to ride, though.”

  He was being sweet. I nodded, though I would never take him up on it, and headed for the house.

  What I needed was a girls’ day next weekend. Calling my best friend was my first priority. Nothing like getting your hair freshly cut, nails done, and maybe a little shopping to boost the ego. After seeing Jacque, all statuesque, I needed all the confidence I could get.

  * * *

  The next day, after an awkward breakfast where Jake could barely look at me, Ford offered to show me around the ranch.

  “Jamie, you’re coming with us, right?”

  Her infectious grin was welcome, especially after Jake scowled at me all morning.

  “Y–yes.”

  “Great.” I mussed her hair and she giggled.

  She needed a trim and an idea formed in my head. During my talk with Ashley, we planned a quick trip this coming weekend. And I had some money. Jake had left papers in my room for me to fill out. I did and left them on his desk in the small office opposite the kitchen. I’d woken up to find an envelope with my first paycheck under my door. The rate was more than what the agency had said. I’d planned to ask him about it, but he hadn’t looked like he was up to talking, at least not to me.