by Jill Kemerer
Whoever this Nicole was, she sounded selfless.
Brittany frowned. She herself was not selfless. She looked out for number one. Had since she was a child.
So why was she trying to choose between warring goals? Studio and dance team or Mason and Nan.
Thrusting her arms into her coat sleeves, she tuned out what the ladies were saying.
She couldn’t have it all.
It was like those logic problems she’d never understood in grade school. She could have either this or that. Not this and that.
Why was she fooling herself into thinking she could have a future with Mason, anyhow? He was mourning Mia and probably always would be. The first thing he’d done after he’d kissed Brittany last night was regret it.
A brief stint in Rendezvous wasn’t going to change a thing.
But...did it have to be a brief stint? This town welcomed her, made her feel different from any place she’d been. And how many years did Nan have left? Did Brittany really want to spend them hundreds of miles away?
She had a lot to think about before Christmas.
* * *
“This Ryder character—”
“My brother. My twin brother.” Mason gritted his teeth as he toweled off Slick, one of Bill’s geldings. They were in Bill’s stables, where the familiar smells of hay, horse and earth made him feel at home. He and Bill had checked the cattle briefly, and Bill was finally getting down to the real reason he’d asked Mason over.
“Okay. Your brother. I’m not denying he’s your kin.” Bill shot him a dark glance. “But what does he want with you? Why now?”
“What do you mean?” Mason already didn’t like the direction this conversation was going. He was glad Ryder had stayed home to make a fort in the living room with the kids and do an online search for Jennifer Hall.
“I mean, you own a sizable ranch.” Bill grabbed another towel. “Are you certain his coming to town is innocent?”
How was he supposed to respond? The idea seemed ludicrous. “He didn’t know I existed until recently. The timing has nothing to do with him wanting my ranch.”
“He said he missed ranching.” Bill raised his eyebrows.
“So? He grew up on a sheep ranch.”
“Look, I know you see the best in people, and that’s good. But the blondie from your past shows up with your twin, and now you’re all spending time together like you’ve been best friends since birth. From an outside perspective, it raises concerns.”
“Are you suggesting Brittany also wants my ranch?” His tone was clipped, and he didn’t care. Bill’s derogatory attitude toward Brittany was uncalled-for.
“No, a girl like her would never be happy out here for long. This part of the world is too slow, too lonely for someone like her.”
Now his father-in-law was the expert on Brittany? He forced himself to be gentle as he finished up with Slick.
“I don’t know why we’re talking about it,” Mason said. “She’s here to visit Nan. She’s never once mentioned staying in Rendezvous. And Ryder...well, if he wanted to move here, it would be fine by me.”
“You say that now, but what if he laid claim to Fanning Ranch?”
“I guess I’d deal with it if the time came. I mean, he’s a Fanning, too. Technically, it should be both of ours.”
“But your grandfather left it to you. Only you.” Bill shook his head in disgust. “If he wanted Ryder to inherit it, he would have named him in the will. And don’t try to feed me some line about him not knowing you had a brother. He must have known.”
Irritation spilled into his gut, but he forced himself to keep quiet. What was Bill’s problem? They used to have a decent relationship. Mason had relied on him for everything from help with weaning calves to advice about fixing his tractor. Lately, the bond between them had grown brittle. Could it even be restored at this point?
“I’m only bringing this up because it concerns my grandson. Noah deserves to have a profitable ranch when he grows up and takes over. I don’t want his success affected by any decisions you make at a vulnerable time.”
A vulnerable time? What was that supposed to mean? How much more vulnerable could he have been than right after Mia died? He’d managed to keep the ranch together at that point.
“I appreciate you talking straight with me, Bill, but I’ve got my affairs under control.”
“Look, I’m not blind, Mason. I can see you’ve been tightening your bootstraps around the ranch. Keeping fewer heifers. Making do with one less ranch hand.”
“Yeah, well, that’s my business.” He thought about the balances on the hospital bills. They no longer kept him up at night because he knew God would take care of him no matter what. He’d worn parts of the Bible thin reading God’s promises. No matter how tough things got on the ranch, God would provide a way forward.
“When it involves my grandson, it’s my business, too.”
“I don’t appreciate you implying I’m a deadbeat dad.” Mason turned to face him, and he realized it was time. Time to confide in Bill. It wasn’t as if the man didn’t already think he couldn’t handle the ranch. What could it hurt at this point? “After Mia’s diagnosis, bills from doctors started pouring in. They didn’t stop arriving until a full year after she’d died. I’ve made arrangements with the hospital and other medical offices, and I’m on a payment plan. But it will be a good long while before they’re all paid off.”
Bill frowned. “What about your insurance?”
“It covered some.” Due to the aggressive nature of Mia’s cancer, they’d opted to try expensive experimental treatments. Mason would do it again in a heartbeat. It had given him hope.
“Why didn’t you tell me? We would have helped.”
“The day I married your daughter, she became my responsibility. I wasn’t saddling you and Joanna with my problems when you’ve got your own future to think about.”
“How much are we talking?” Bill seemed subdued.
“I’ve got it under control.” He made his way toward the stable door. “I’ve got to get back.”
“Mason, wait.”
He turned.
“I didn’t know.” Bill seemed to shrink.
“Why would you? I didn’t tell anyone. I’ll see you later.”
As he braced himself against the cold air, he looked to the overcast sky. He frowned, tucking his chin into his coat collar. Telling Bill about the medical bills released something he’d been clinging to, and although he felt lighter, he also felt sad. The glue that had bound him and Mia together seemed to be unraveling.
Right after her death, he’d promised himself he’d never let her go. There would be nobody else for him, because he’d had the best in her.
Mason marched toward his truck.
Where were his promises now?
Weariness crept into his bones. As he drove away, he didn’t think, just headed to Nan’s. Because now that Bill knew about his finances, Mason wanted to tell Brittany about them, too. He didn’t know why. And he didn’t care to figure it out, either. He just needed her to know.
Chapter Twelve
“Really? I’ll be right over.” Brittany ended the call, her insides jiggling with nervous anticipation. After church, she and Nan had joined Lois for a leisurely brunch at Riverview Lounge. Christmas carolers had serenaded each table, and Brittany was truly feeling the Christmas spirit.
Since Nan was sleeping off the biscuits and gravy, Brittany had decided on a whim to call the number listed on the for-sale-by-owner sign of the building in Rendezvous. She figured she’d leave a message, but to her surprise, Babs O’Rourke answered. Turned out, Babs owned the old computer repair shop and wanted Brittany to tour the place right now.
She couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Ever since she’d seen the building, the question had been burning.
How much would it cost
to have a dance studio here?
Possibilities spun through her mind one after the other as she put on her boots. Every small town had little girls dreaming of tutus and recitals. The problem came when they got older. Sports and band and other activities grabbed their interest. Rendezvous would be the last place she could realistically put together a competitive dance team.
Well, nothing about a dance studio in Rendezvous realistically fit in with her goals.
If the bank called and approved her line of credit, she’d lease the building in Santa Ana and have the career she wanted. She’d need to renovate immediately, fully book the classes and gather a dance team in order to afford the rent and pay more dance instructors. Although it might take years for her to make enough profit to get out of her small one-bedroom apartment, it would be worth it. Wouldn’t it?
She put on her coat and scribbled a note for Nan before grabbing her purse and heading out the front door. It was a bitterly cold day. Her breath froze in her throat, making her cough. A truck pulled into view.
Mason.
With her hands in her pockets, she shivered on the porch until he parked. As he strode toward her, last night’s kiss crashed over and over in her mind.
Why was he so tall? So handsome? So quiet and strong and dependable?
Why, oh why, did she want to throw herself into his arms and kiss him again?
“Hey, do you have a minute?” Mason’s eyes swam with vulnerability.
“I’m on my way into town.”
“Oh.” He stared at his boots.
“You could come with me.”
“I’ll do that.” His throat worked as he swallowed. “Want to take my truck?”
“Sure.” Another thing she admired about him—he didn’t ask a lot of questions. Just accepted the fact she was going to town and offered to drive.
After buckling her seat belt, she turned to him. “What’s going on?”
The tightening of his jaw was his only answer. He started the truck up and steered it back to the main road.
Was he going to lecture her about the kiss? Tell her it was a mistake? That they should avoid each other until she left?
“Before you say last night was a mistake,” she said, “I’m going to throw a few things out there. It wasn’t some massively big deal. It could have happened to anyone. Hey, there might have been mistletoe hanging up there. I can’t be sure.” She twisted her hands together.
“Are you done?” The corner of his mouth twitched upward.
“Are you going to lecture me?”
“No. I didn’t come here about last night.”
“You didn’t?” Relief rushed hot and sweet through her veins.
He shook his head, casting a quick peek at her. They reached the main road.
“Where are we going, anyway?” he asked.
“Oh, go to town and take a left on Third Street. I’m meeting Babs O’Rourke at the old computer repair shop.”
“Babs? You could have warned me.” He took a left. Snowcapped mountains rose to their left, and hilly white pastures rolled to their right.
“You can stay in the truck if you’d like. It won’t take long.”
“Is this meeting about Nan?”
“No, why?” she asked.
“You told me you’d keep me in the loop.”
“I am. I already told you I think she’s okay living on her own. For now, at least.”
“Good.”
“I still want to hire a home health aide to come in once or twice a week to help her shower and to do some light cleaning.”
“I’m okay with that.”
“And something needs to be done about a power of attorney. If anything were to happen to her or her memory got worse, I wouldn’t be able to pay her bills or make decisions about her care.”
“If you had power of attorney, would you be able to do all that from California?” The straightforward question wasn’t laced with innuendo.
“I don’t know. I’d do my best.”
“I’ll do it,” he said. “Gladly.”
Just like that. The man was too good to be true.
“But...” He shot her a look full of worry. “You’d have to know something first. It’s what I was coming over to tell you. I don’t know why it bothers me so much. It’s not like I can help it. I don’t need advice or anything.”
What was on his mind? She’d never seen him so agitated. His thumbs were drumming against the steering wheel faster than her rhythm tap class.
“Just say it.”
“I’m in debt.”
“Who isn’t?” She laughed, but he must not have found it funny.
“The bills will take years to pay off.” The planes of his face sharpened. “I don’t want the whole town knowing.”
Poor Mason. He’d lost his wife. Was deep in debt. He was a proud man—of course he wouldn’t want the town knowing. She touched his shoulder. “I understand. I won’t tell a soul.”
“It’s not like I went hog wild or anything. They’re medical bills. Left over from...” His throat worked. “Anyhow, cancer treatments aren’t cheap, and hospital stays aren’t, either. The insurance covered a lot of it, but...”
“You don’t have to say anything more, Mason. Last year I broke my toe, and I’m still getting bills. One tiny X-ray produced five invoices. I got bills from the orthopedic surgeon, the lab where the X-ray was taken, maybe Marie Curie herself for coming up with the technology.”
“Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.” They reached the outskirts of town. “I cut costs to the bare minimum on the ranch.”
“I know you. You honor your debts.” She patted his arm. “If it takes years, it takes years. Don’t worry. I can only speak from my own experience, but God has stretched my finances again and again.”
“He’s done the same for me. It gets tight sometimes, but I’ve managed to keep going.”
“I’ve taken scrimping to a whole new level if you ever need tips.” She gave him a teasing grin.
“I might.” He smiled briefly. “As far as acting as Nan’s power of attorney, I don’t want you to think I’d be trying to get anything out of it. I might be in debt, but I would never take advantage of your grandmother.”
“The thought would never cross my mind. Never.”
They drove down Centennial and took a left on Third Street. Mason parked the truck and shifted to face her.
“I would look out for Nan’s best interests. I know you don’t want to worry about taking care of her. I just wanted you to know where I stood.”
What was that supposed to mean? She would gladly worry about taking care of her grandmother—Nan wasn’t a burden. She just wanted to do what was best for her.
Mason still didn’t get it—still didn’t get her. And it hurt.
“I know where you stand,” she said quietly. “I know the foundation you’re built on. Each summer I spent every waking minute with you from the time I was four years old until we graduated from high school.” She opened the passenger door. “And just so you know, I’m the same girl you grew up with, too. You knew me once upon a time. I’m not trying to push Nan’s care onto you. I want to take care of her. Why can’t you ever give me the benefit of the doubt?”
She got out of the truck and slammed the door behind her.
* * *
“Brittany, wait.” Mason jogged to the sidewalk where she’d stormed off. He caught her by the arm. “That came out wrong.”
She shook his hand away.
“Howdy, you two!” Babs waved as she strolled toward them. Her red ski jacket was only slightly brighter than her hair. She winked at Brittany. “I didn’t know you were bringing your beau.”
“He’s not my beau.” Brittany flicked him a cool look. “What can you tell me about this place?”
He wanted to growl, but i
nstead, he had to stand there and not let his emotions take over.
“Whatever you say, hon.” Grinning, she jangled a set of keys and strode to the door. “Ted Wilder bought it almost ten years ago when everyone and their brother was getting a virus on their computer. But with laptops coming down in price so much, a lot of folks stopped getting them repaired and just bought new ones...so he shut ’er down. After my Herb died, I went on a real estate tear—snatched the place up along with three other empty buildings around town. But you know, I’m getting old, honey. I don’t want the hassle of owning all this stuff anymore.”
Mason wasn’t sure what to do. Follow them into the building or wait in his truck? Brittany was mad at him, but it wasn’t his fault. She’d misread his words.
When Babs unlocked the glass door, he held it open for them.
Decision made. He was going in.
“This building was an insurance agency for years before Ted took over,” Babs said. “It’s also been a record store and a vacuum repair shop. Been sitting empty going on two years. I was going to open one of those make-it-and-paint-it pottery shops, but I didn’t have the heart. Starting businesses with Herb was fun, but without him? It’s not the same.”
Mason hung back. Why was he here? He should be back home with Ryder and the kids. He’d said what he’d wanted to say to Brittany. And more.
He sighed. He’d hurt her feelings.
“Are there any dance studios in town?” Brittany glided to the front counter, then rose on her toes and pivoted on one foot to take in the space. Her graceful movements brought a funny sensation to the back of his neck.
Wait. Why was she asking about dance studios? A burst of hope filled his heart, but he beat it down as best he could.
“I thought you were buying a place in California.” He tried to keep his tone nonchalant.
She blushed. Babs wisely excused herself, but Mason knew the woman was hanging on their every word. He crossed over to stand near Brittany.
“I wanted to see how the prices compared.” She wouldn’t look at him as she shrugged.
