The Rancher's Family Secret

by Myra Johnson

  “A rescue?” Lindsey’s brows drew together.

  “Yeah, the deputy sometimes calls on me to foster a horse until it’s healthy enough be rehomed—when my dad allows it, anyway.” Frustration gnawing, Spencer frowned. “He’s concerned about something contagious being spread to our quarter horses.”

  “I can see how that might be a problem.” Lower lip drawn between her teeth, Lindsey studied him. Her gaze softened. “Your love of horses—it’s one of the things I always most admired about you.”

  He swallowed his surprise. “Thanks. I didn’t think—”

  “You should go.” She nodded toward his driveway, where the deputy was unloading a horse from the back of the trailer.

  “Right. See you around.” Before this conversation became even more uncomfortable, he jogged down the steps and headed across the field toward home.

  And thought about Lindsey the whole way, back when they were innocent kids who couldn’t have cared less about a stupid family feud. He’d once thought of Lindsey as just a city kid having fun playing cowgirl for a few weeks every summer. Until they were teens, anyway, when he’d started seeing her in a whole new way. Then, watching his much more outgoing twin flirt with her, he’d accepted that he could never compete with Samuel’s charisma.

  Sam. Right. Which might be the true reason he’d so callously brushed her off that summer. He loved his brother, but it sure was hard sometimes living in Samuel’s shadow.

  * * *

  Watching Spencer go, Lindsey suffered a shiver of disappointment. A part of her wished she’d offered to help Spencer with the rescue horse. As a kid, she’d spent many steamy summer mornings working alongside the Navarro boys as they mucked stalls and groomed horses. Samuel had typically hurried through chores so he could do something fun. Perhaps it was Spencer’s thoughtful way of making sure everything was done right that had first captured her heart. After chores, when the three of them would saddle up to go gallivanting across the pastures in search of adventure, she’d try to stick close to him, though he’d never seemed to return her interest. Too bad she hadn’t gotten the message.

  Even so, Lindsey’s summers in Gabriel Bend remained among her happiest vacation memories. In fact, after her parents separated the year she’d turned twelve, those weeks spent at the McClement ranch had become her lifeline.

  Stomach clenching, she went inside and quietly closed the door. Everything had changed after Dad walked out. Mom had been a total wreck, and if Audra hadn’t taken Mom’s side instead of her selfish brother’s, things would have been even harder.

  “Lindsey,” Audra called from the kitchen, “supper’s ready whenever you are.”

  “Coming.” Suppressing a surge of bitterness toward her traitorous father, she strode down the hall. Perhaps someday she could forgive him for turning his back on the family, but it hadn’t happened yet. If he’d shown even the slightest remorse—but no, he seemed perfectly content living somewhere near Tulsa with his current live-in girlfriend and her two kids from her own failed marriage. Guess they deserved each other.

  Audra was ladling gravy into a deep-sided bowl. “Haven’t heard so much tromping up and down that creaky staircase since you and your mom used to come for summer vacations.” She chuckled. “How many trips to your car did it take?”

  Lindsey narrowed one eye in thought as she took her chair. “Three or four? I lost count. But I’m sure my quads will remind me in the morning.”

  “Nice that Spencer could spare a few minutes to give you a hand. He’s such a sweetheart.” Finger to her chin, Audra surveyed the table. “Did I forget anything? I have artificial sweetener if you’d prefer.”

  Lindsey seized her aunt’s hand and cast her a chiding smile. “Everything is fine. Sit down right now and stop fussing.”

  Giving a weak laugh, Audra obeyed but frowned as if it pained her not to be doing something more. Her compliance lasted about five minutes before she hopped up to add more ice to Lindsey’s glass, then a few minutes later to refill the gravy bowl. The dear woman didn’t know how to stop taking care of others and just be.

  After supper, Lindsey put her foot down. “I am doing the dishes, and if you move from that chair, I will escort you from the kitchen and bolt the door.”

  Audra feigned a pout. “Can I disobey long enough to give you a hug?”

  “Fine,” Lindsey said, rising, “but stay in your chair and I’ll come around to you.”

  As they shared the embrace, she noted again her aunt’s gaunt frame. Though Audra had served herself an ample portion of pot roast, far too much remained on her plate. Lindsey briefly debated whether to mention her concern but decided it could wait. After a few days of combing through Audra’s financial mess, perhaps she could relieve her aunt’s worries enough that she’d relax and start eating better.

  It was a challenge keeping Audra from bobbing up and down to show Lindsey where to find containers for leftovers, dishcloths, a scouring pad and dish drainer. She finally relented and allowed her aunt to move her chair closer to the sink so they could chat while Lindsey washed dishes.

  “I still can’t believe Grandma and Grandpa went all those years without a dishwasher.” Lindsey grinned over her shoulder. “You, either, for that matter.”

  “The house is too old. We’d have to tear out some cabinets, redo the plumbing...not worth the hassle.”

  “But it’s a huge kitchen. You’d lose very little cupboard space, and only right here by the sink.”

  “Charles always said the same thing. Said if we had the kitchen remodeled to be more wheelchair-friendly, he’d take over the cooking and cleanup.” Audra heaved a mournful sigh, then dabbed her eyes with her sweater sleeve. “He would have done anything for me.”

  “He was a wonderful man.” With fond memories of her uncle parading through her thoughts, Lindsey scrubbed another plate and rinsed it under the faucet. As she set it in the drainer, her gaze drifted beyond the window.

  Though darkness had fallen, vapor lights at the Navarro ranch lit the gravel lane and the area outside the nearest barn. The SUV and horse trailer were still parked there, and Spencer appeared to be in deep conversation with the deputy. Spencer gestured toward the barn, then gave the man a firm handshake. They must have come to some agreement about fostering the horse.

  Apparently forgetting her promise to stay seated, Audra stood and joined Lindsey at the sink. “Spying on our handsome neighbor, I see. Wondered why you suddenly got quiet.”

  “I wasn’t spying. I just—” Pointless to deny the truth, although she preferred neighborly interest to spying.

  “Oh, looks like Deputy Miller brought him another rescue horse. He must get one or two new ones every month or so. Can’t turn ’em away.”

  Lindsey cast her aunt a knowing smile. “Remind you of anyone?”

  “If you’re referring to my penchant for taking in homeless favorite nieces, then I plead guilty as charged.”

  “I wasn’t exactly homeless, you know.” Lindsey set the last of the cooking pots in the drainer, then dried her hands.

  “Well, you weren’t planning on staying in St. Louis after quitting your job, were you?” Squaring off with Lindsey, Audra shook a finger in her face. “And if I ever find out the only reason you quit your job was so you’d be free to come help me—”

  “Absolutely not. I’d been thinking for months about leaving the company but hadn’t come up with strong enough motivation. I have you to thank for nudging me off dead center. And while we’re getting your finances back on solid ground, I’ll have plenty of time to figure out what I want to do next.”

  “Or...you could stay with me and find a suitable but stress-free job right here in Gabriel Bend.” Audra gathered a handful of flatware from the drainer and began sorting it into a drawer. “That’s what I’m praying for, anyway.”

  After all her aunt had been through, she still believed God h
eard her prayers? Lindsey shook her head. “Not sure I have that kind of faith anymore.”

  “Oh, honey, if you’re sure, then it isn’t faith.” Closing the drawer, Audra slid an arm around Lindsey’s waist and smiled at their dim reflection in the window glass. “Anyway, I’ve got enough for both of us. God answered my prayer by bringing you here, didn’t He? So I’m confident He’ll take care of the rest.”

  Despite her faith struggles, Lindsey couldn’t deny a sense of spiritual intervention in her decision to leave her dead-end job and come to Gabriel Bend. She only hoped God would show her a way to keep Audra on the ranch she loved. Yes, it was entirely too much for one person—or even two—to manage. Not to mention Lindsey’s ranching knowledge was limited to watching over the fence or from the back of a pickup as her grandpa and aunt tended the cattle. Even after his disability, Uncle Charles had done his part, too, either from horseback in a specially designed saddle or pulling a hay-filled trailer behind the ranch’s army-green Kawasaki Mule. Charles had also been the one with the most business sense. Bereft of his wise fiscal management, it was no wonder Audra’s growing debts had pushed her close to bankruptcy in recent months.

  But this ranch was the family legacy, and Lindsey’s heart clenched to think how close her aunt was to losing it. There was a lot of rebuilding to do, but perhaps once she cleared up Audra’s financial situation, she could hire reliable help for her aunt to keep the ranch going.

  Spencer, perhaps? He’d already been pitching in. If his grandfather, grouchy old Arturo Navarro, would only get past whatever ridiculous grudge he continued to harbor against Lindsey’s late grandfather, the possibility might be worth exploring...

  But not tonight. It was all too much to think about right now. After two days on the road and a meal of her favorite comfort food, she could barely keep her eyes open. “I think the trip is catching up with me. Mind if I turn in early?”

  “Not at all. I’m sure you’re exhausted.”

  Lindsey kissed her aunt’s cheek. “You get a good night’s rest, too. We can start looking over your finances first thing in the morning.”

  Chapter Two

  Stepping out the back door into a cold and gloomy December dawn, Spencer zipped his down vest and tugged the brim of his dusty brown Stetson. Chores began early at the ranch, and the first thing he needed to do was look in on the new arrival. The sorrel mare was badly undernourished. To make matters worse, sores covered her rump where some ignorant kid had peppered her with a pellet gun.

  What was wrong with people who took morbid pleasure in inflicting pain upon an innocent animal? Spencer would give almost anything to get his hands on the creep and teach him a thing or two.

  In the smaller barn where he isolated his rescue horses, he grabbed the equine first aid kit and sidled into the stall. “Easy, there, Cinnamon.” Deputy Miller didn’t have information about the horse’s name, so Spencer had decided to call her Cinnamon because of the deep red in her coat. He stroked her neck. “Don’t worry, girl. I’m going to take good care of you.”

  She flinched a few times as he tended her wounds, but she had a gentle spirit and seemed to understand she was in a safe place. When he finished, he freshened her water pail and offered a small portion of easily digestible horse feed. The vet would be out soon to evaluate her and advise him about a nutritional plan.

  As he lathered his hands at the wash station, his father strode into the barn. “How is the mare? Will she recover?”

  “Think so. It’ll take time, though.”

  His father grunted. “And money. I know the county pays you a stipend, but we’re running a quarter horse business here, not a charitable operation. If you intend to continue taking in rescues, you’d better come up with a plan for covering the extra expense—and somewhere else to keep them besides this ranch.”

  “I’m working on it.” Spencer struggled to curb his irritation over his father’s continual grumbling about the rescue horses. Problem was, he hadn’t given enough thought to the cost of his efforts. The livestock deputy had suggested he look into registering as a nonprofit equine rescue program so he could solicit donations and move into a dedicated rescue facility, but his ranch responsibilities had kept him too busy to do so.

  “Perhaps you should talk to Lindsey since she’s back in town. She has a finance degree, right?” His father harrumphed. “Something you should have thought about before quitting college. Your brother at least went on to make something of himself.” Under his breath, he added, “Even if he did turn his back on the family business.”

  “I’m here, aren’t I?” Indignation twisted Spencer’s gut. “Can’t you give me credit for that much?”

  “Credit is all I’ve given you since you decided to take in so many starving and abused horses. Your grandfather and I have invested too much in our quarter horse breeding program to have you ruin it by introducing strangles or some other disease into the herd.”

  “I quarantine each new arrival until it gets a clean bill of health. As long as we keep our herd’s vaccinations up-to-date, you have nothing to worry about.” Jaw clenched, Spencer slapped on his Stetson. “Excuse me while I get on with my work.”

  “And when you’re through tending to your charity case, perhaps you can spare a few minutes to help me with the horses that actually earn their keep.” His father stormed out.

  Enrique “Hank” Navarro was a hard man to please, and Spencer wondered sometimes why he kept trying. Perhaps because his father was one of the wisest and most accomplished horsemen he’d ever known. Everything Spencer knew about horses he’d learned from working alongside his father and grandfather since he and his brother were old enough to toddle around in boots and pint-size cowboy hats. But since he’d begun putting his hard-earned equine knowledge to work on his own terms, he couldn’t seem to earn either Dad’s or Tito’s respect.

  Perhaps he should have finished college. If he had an equine management degree to hang on the wall, Dad might show a little more pride in his son. Not that school could have taught him much more than what he’d absorbed from hands-on experience here at the ranch.

  Except...if he’d stuck it out, he could have added a few classes in accounting and budgeting.

  Maybe Dad had a point. Lindsey had the financial know-how Spencer lacked, and now she was living next door. But did he dare bother her for advice when she had so much to deal with concerning her aunt’s situation?

  Besides, there was still the matter of the apology he hadn’t found the nerve or opportunity to offer.

  By midmorning he’d cleaned stalls in the small barn where he stabled the rescues and the main quarter horse barn. The vet came by and noted that Cinnamon’s most concerning issues appeared to be the pellet gun wounds and malnutrition. He took blood samples and said the results would be back in a couple of days.

  “About the bill,” Spencer began. He glanced toward the arena where his father was starting a young mare under saddle. “Can you make sure it’s addressed directly to me and not to Navarro Quarter Horses?”

  The vet offered an understanding nod. “Come by the clinic next time you’re in town and we’ll settle up then.”

  The next few days kept him jumping back and forth between tending to Cinnamon’s injuries and keeping his father placated by putting in extra time with the quarter horses. With several broodmares expecting to foal next spring, it never hurt to get an early start preparing birthing stalls and ensuring all the necessary supplies were on hand.

  Returning from the farm supply store on Friday, Spencer looked over to see Lindsey making her way across the field. Dressed in a pink turtleneck peeking out from beneath an oversize plaid flannel shirt, and with her dark brown curls cascading from a ponytail, she looked like a fashion model from one of his mom’s country living magazines.

  “Hi,” she called with a tentative wave. Halting just short of the barbed-wire fence separating the McClement a
nd Navarro properties, she held out something loaf-shaped wrapped in foil with a red bow on top. “Audra’s been baking. She sent me over with this as a small thank-you for your kindness these past few months. It’s her holiday pumpkin bread.”

  A treat Spencer had enjoyed many times over the years. Already mentally savoring the delicious mix of pumpkin, spices and chopped walnuts, he strode toward the fence. “Wow, thanks.”

  Carefully avoiding the top strand of barbed wire, Lindsey passed over the loaf. “Did everything work out with the rescue horse?”

  “Yeah, looks like she’ll be fine.” He surprised himself with the next words out of his mouth. “Would you like to meet her?”

  A flicker of interest brightened Lindsey’s eyes. “Would that be okay?”

  “Of course.” His thermal Henley and down vest had felt perfectly comfortable all morning. Why did he suddenly feel like he was roasting? He nodded down the fence line toward the spot where, as kids, they’d separated the wire strands with two sturdy cedar branches so they could pass back and forth without getting snagged by the barbs.

  Weaving around gnarled cedar trees and underbrush, they reached the opening at the same time. With Spencer standing across from her, Lindsey touched one of the dried-out gray limbs. “You left the fence propped open all these years?”

  “Guess I always thought...hoped...” He stared hard at the bow atop the pumpkin bread. “Lindsey, what I said that day... I didn’t mean it. I was an ignorant kid. I’m sorry.”

  For several unbearable moments she didn’t reply. Then, “You ruined my entire summer, you know.”

  Her softly spoken words lasered straight through his chest. He met her gaze with all the sincerity he could muster. “If I could take it all back, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”

  She released a harsh sigh. “Stupid feud.”