The Rancher's Family Secret

by Myra Johnson

  Or else this was what it felt like to have his heart crushed by the woman he loved.

  His father took the chair next to him and blew out a long, tired sigh. “When your grandfather sets his mind to something, he won’t be dissuaded. I know Lindsey is your friend, but—”

  “She’s more than a friend.” His voice shook. He leaned forward, fists pressed into his eye sockets. “Dad, I’m in love with her.”

  A low moan escaped his father’s throat. “I was afraid of this.”

  Spencer sat up, twisting to look at his father. “Did you know about Lindsey’s dad and Aunt Alicia?”

  Dad’s brief expression of surprise faded to resignation. He nodded. “Alicia was eighteen, and I was only a high school freshman, but I could tell something was going on. I lost count of how many times our parents argued about how to keep them apart. Mama’s sister lived in Denver, so as soon as Alicia graduated, they pushed her into moving in with our aunt and attending college there. Owen left not long afterward. I heard he’d found work in the oil fields.”

  Gazing out the window, Spencer muttered, “Maybe that’s what I should do, too.”

  “You don’t mean that.” Dad gripped Spencer’s forearm hard enough that he flinched.

  “Why not? I can no longer live under the same roof with a man who thinks he can manipulate lives like Tito does. I’ve lost all respect for him.” He swung back to glare at his father. “And for you, if you can look me in the eye and honestly tell me you don’t see what’s wrong with what he’s done.”

  “I never—Spencer, you don’t understand.”

  “No, Dad, I don’t, and that’s a real problem.” He shoved back the chair, stumbling past his father and out the door.

  Barely acknowledging his mother as he tore through the kitchen, he stormed to his room and began throwing clothes into a duffel bag.

  Seconds later, she stood beside him and yanked a wadded-up T-shirt from the duffel. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “Anywhere Tito is not.” He snatched the shirt from her and stuffed it back into the bag, then marched across the hall to the bathroom.

  Arms folded, Mom blocked the doorway, watching tight-lipped as he scraped his grooming supplies into a shaving kit. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

  “Dad can explain.” He started to push past her, then forced himself to pause and take a breath. “I’m sorry, Mom. Don’t worry about me, okay? I have some things to figure out, and I can’t do it here.”

  He knew she’d worry anyway, but she merely nodded and stepped aside. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before heading out to his truck.

  Not that he had a clue where to go—maybe a room at the Cadwallader? At the rates they charged, though, he couldn’t stay for long. But he couldn’t exactly leave Gabriel Bend while he had rescue horses to tend to.

  He also couldn’t stomach the idea of being that close to Lindsey while knowing how much pain it would cause them. On the way into town, he phoned Dalton, the teen volunteer who’d been out a couple of times to help muck stalls and exercise the rescues. The kid had a good head on his shoulders and knew a thing or two about horses.

  “I’ve, uh, had something come up,” he told Dalton. “I’ll be able to see to the horses first thing every morning, but could you take over evening chores the next few days till I figure out something else?”

  When the boy agreed, Spencer told him about the new mares and said he’d leave written instructions in the feed room. He’d make sure to get out there plenty early each day before Lindsey and Audra were up.

  The details of checking into the inn and finding his room were enough to keep his mind temporarily occupied. He tossed his hat and duffel onto the bed, then twirled the rolling desk chair around and plopped down. Taking out his phone again, he called his brother. “Hope I’m not interrupting some big real estate deal.”

  “Uh, not exactly. The new year’s starting out kind of slow, and anyway...” Samuel cleared his throat. “Never mind me. What’s up with you?”

  “I moved out.”

  Silence. Then, “What happened?”

  He told him, every last painful detail. “I’ve had it, Slam. I get now why you left.”

  “Tito’s part of it, sure. But I had other reasons.”

  “I think I know those, too.” Spencer let himself slide downward until his head rested on the chair back. “Bottom line—we have a dysfunctional family, and I’m through being a part of it.”

  Samuel snorted. “So you’re going to slink away and let Tito have the last word? Come on, Spiny, this is Lindsey we’re talking about. The girl you’ve been crazy about forever. Don’t let a grumpy old man and his stupid feud ruin this for you.”

  “It’s already too late. She’s done with me.”

  “Give her time to cool off. She’ll realize what you two mean to each other.”

  “Won’t matter if they lose the ranch and she leaves Gabriel Bend.”

  Samuel tried to encourage him, but with nothing left to say and nothing his brother could do to fix things, Spencer ended the call. After kicking off his boots, he propped himself up in bed, grabbed the remote and flipped channels until he landed on a mind-numbing documentary about the life cycle of mosquitoes.

  Perfect, since he felt about as small as a mosquito and as deserving of being squashed like a bug.

  * * *

  For the next two mornings, Spencer’s plan to avoid Lindsey succeeded. Setting his alarm for four o’clock, he made it out to the McClement ranch early enough to give his rescues their morning feeding, then take them out to pasture and be on his way before any sign of activity at the house.

  That all changed on Saturday, when he flipped the switch for the barn light and found Audra sitting on a tack trunk with her knees drawn up beneath a fuzzy blanket.

  “Morning, Spencer.” Her greeting came out on a puff of frosty air. Casting him a sad smile, she straightened and lowered her feet to the floor. “Think you could avoid us forever?”

  He shrugged. “Thought it would be easier for everyone.”

  “Then you thought wrong.”

  One of the horses whinnied. He sidled past Audra toward the feed room. “Just so you know, I’m looking for another place to stable my rescues. Soon as I find one—”

  “I’m not worried about that.” Dropping the blanket onto the trunk, Audra followed him into the narrow room.

  He halted with his back to her and breathed in the earthy smells of grain and hay and equine supplements. For a moment, his mind blanked. Did Ash get the controlled starch feed or the fortified pellets? He glanced at the chalkboard, where he’d written directions for Dalton.

  Right, controlled starch for Ash, fortified pellets for the mares. His chin dropped. He hadn’t spent enough time with the new girls yet to learn the names their previous owner had given them.

  “Spencer.”

  He jumped when Audra touched his arm.

  “You’re hurting as much as Lindsey. Don’t deny it.”

  He couldn’t if he wanted to.

  “Your mom came over yesterday. We had a nice long talk.”

  Reaching around her, he picked up a scoop and measured out Ash’s feed. “Then you should understand why things have to be this way.”

  “I understand you and Lindsey are victims here. But that doesn’t mean the past has to repeat itself.” Audra consulted the chalkboard, then found another scoop and filled it with the mares’ pellets.

  Spencer carried Ash’s feed out to his stall and poured it into the tray. Audra followed, dividing her scoop between the two mares. When it was clear she intended to hang around until she’d had her say, he halted and faced her in the middle of the barn aisle. “What do you want me to do, Audra? Nothing’s going to change my grandfather, and I can’t watch him continue tearing two families apart.”

  She
fisted her hips. “I thought better of you, Spencer Navarro. I thought you were more of a fighter than this.”

  Her words stung. “Me, a fighter? Where’d you ever get that idea?”

  “Because you’re the brother who stayed. While Samuel was off making a life for himself elsewhere, you quietly kept doing your job at home while being a friend to me and to Lindsey even at the risk of your grandfather’s disapproval.”

  “You call that fighting?” He pivoted, arms flailing in a gesture of denial. “I call it flying under the radar while trying my level best to keep the peace.”

  “And now you think turning tail and running is the only option left?” Audra narrowed one eye, appraising him so long that he struggled not to cower. “I was married to a military man, remember? Charles didn’t like fighting any more than you do, but the army taught him that to establish lasting peace, sometimes you have to go on the offensive.”

  He must really be dense, because he had no idea where she was going with this.

  “What I’m saying is that I have no intention of rolling over and playing dead so your grandfather can take away my ranch. I haven’t told Lindsey yet, but I’ve decided to fight this injunction with everything I have.” Her eyes flashed with determination. “We will open our event venue, and it will be a roaring success.”

  She tossed the feed scoop at his chest, then spun on her boot heel and marched out of the barn.

  Fumbling both scoops, he stood there momentarily stunned, while her words echoed through his brain. I thought you were more of a fighter than this.

  Had he been wrong all this time, keeping his head down and living with the status quo instead of doing something to make a difference? Maybe his equine rescue operation was only more of the same—a way of convincing himself he’d chosen his own path, while nothing had actually changed. No matter how he tried to spin it, he still lived under his grandfather’s thumb.

  It hit him suddenly, what his dad had been trying to say the other day. If Spencer felt constrained by his grandfather’s patriarchal iron hand, the pressure on his father must be so much worse.

  There had to be a way to break the destructive cycle, and the only way Spencer could think of doing so was to go straight to the source—his grandfather.

  * * *

  Lindsey wished she shared her aunt’s confidence that they could beat Arturo Navarro at his intimidation game. If he was that determined to buy the McClement ranch out from under them, maybe they should quit fighting and give him what he wanted. The amount he’d offered through his phony corporation would at least give them a cushion for starting over, and without the stigma of a tax sale or declaring bankruptcy.

  In the office Saturday morning, while poring over their dismal financial situation yet again, she said as much to Audra.

  Her aunt, usually so quick to remind Lindsey to have faith, scoffed and shook her head. “You two make quite the pair.”

  Lindsey stifled a groan. Who else could Audra mean except her and Spencer? Yesterday she’d come home from buying groceries to find Lois Navarro leaving. Afterward, Audra told her what Lois had said about Spencer being so upset that he’d packed a few things and taken a room at the Cadwallader. He only tended his rescue horses when he could be certain of not running into Lindsey and was already looking for another boarding facility.

  She tossed aside her pencil. “I’m only trying to look at this pragmatically, which I haven’t done since I got here. I’m only sorry I dragged you into my fantasy of riding in on my white horse and saving the ranch.”

  “You didn’t drag me. I was more than willing to believe we could do it.” Audra fixed Lindsey with a hard stare. “Still am, in fact. I’m sorry my new partner is ready to give up so easily.”

  The truth stabbed deep. With this attitude, Lindsey was no better than her cowardly, traitorous father. Or had Dad actually spoken wisely when he’d talked about being realistic? What was that old saying about beating a dead horse?

  Striding to the window, Audra looked toward the Navarro ranch. “I’d hoped I could get through...” Her voice trailed off, and she glanced back at Lindsey with the flicker of a smile. “Or maybe I did after all.”

  “What are you muttering about?” Lindsey joined her at the window. Nothing looked any different across the way. Except, wasn’t that Spencer’s truck parked beside the house? “Something else you’re not telling me?”

  Audra touched a finger to her chin. “You know, those bananas we bought the other day are about ripe enough for banana bread. Think I’ll go whip up a batch.”

  To her aunt’s retreating back, she snapped, “Baking is not going to excuse you from answering my question.”

  She was ready to chase down Audra and insist on an explanation when her cell phone rang. Joella’s name appeared on the display. She answered more gruffly than she’d intended.

  Her friend choked out a surprised laugh. “Uh, should I call back later?”

  “No, I’m sorry. It’s been a frustrating few days.” Lindsey returned to the desk chair and swiveled toward the window. What had Audra meant? Was something going on with the Navarros?

  “Want to talk about it?”

  “Not really.” For one thing, she couldn’t scrape up the energy to rehash everything. “Suffice it to say things around here are not going according to plan.”

  “Oh.” The word came out in two disappointed-sounding syllables. “I hope you don’t mean the event venue. Not that I’d rather you told me things aren’t working out with Spencer, because I always believed you two would get together someday—”

  “How about all of the above?”

  There was silence on Joella’s end. Then, “Now you have to tell me what’s going on.”

  Cornered, she gave a quick rundown about Arturo’s attempts to buy the ranch and how he’d halted the photo shoot. “Oh, and did I mention my dad signed over his share of the ranch to me? Now, whatever happens, I’m fully committed. Audra wants us to keep fighting, but I’m no longer convinced it’s worth it.”

  Joella gasped. “Not worth it? Who is this, and what have you done with my friend, the dauntless Lindsey McClement?”

  “This Lindsey McClement is tired and doesn’t want to talk about it anymore.” She stretched out her legs and crossed her ankles. “Cheer me up. Tell me what’s going on in your life.”

  “Not sure I should, under the circumstances.”

  “Jo-Jo?” Lindsey furrowed her brow.

  “I did it, Linds. I quit my job. I’ve already started packing my apartment, and I was hoping...”

  Pulling herself erect, Lindsey clutched her stomach. “Oh, Jo-Jo, you’d actually decided to move here and work with me? I didn’t realize—”

  “It’s my fault. I should have talked to you first before burning my bridges. My last client nearly did me in, and on top of everything else—” Joella released a sharp sigh. “Anyway, the idea of starting over with you in a quiet little place like Gabriel Bend sounded better and better all the time.”

  “There’s nothing I’d like more. But the way things are going, the chances of River Bend Events opening at all are pretty much nonexistent.” Lindsey’s next words almost choked her. “By March first, there may not even be a McClement ranch anymore.”

  “Now I know you’ve done something with the real Lindsey McClement. Get one of those extra guest rooms ready—no, better make it two. Because I’m hanging up right now and phoning Holly. Looks like it’ll take both of us to keep you from waving the white flag of surrender.”

  “Joella—” The “call ended” tone sounded in Lindsey’s ear. Heart thumping, she lowered the phone and stared at the screen. Would her two best friends really come all the way to Gabriel Bend to make sure she didn’t give up on this dream?

  She thought back to their days in high school and how when one of them was down, the other two would lovingly push and prod until discoura
gement vanished and confidence returned.

  Groaning, she heaved herself out of the chair. “Audra? Can you handle a few more houseguests?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Admitting he needed to confront his grandfather was one thing. Digging up the courage to do so? Something else entirely. It had still been dark Saturday morning when Spencer finished with his rescue horses. Afterward, he’d driven the country roads for more than an hour while sorting through his thoughts and rehearsing what he wanted to say. How did he tell someone he’d looked up to all his life that the man’s recent actions made Spencer ashamed to call him family?

  By the time the sun had fully risen, he was as ready as he’d ever be. Even so, he made himself wait another couple of hours before heading to the Navarro ranch. It wouldn’t help his case to show up while Dad and the stable hands grappled with covering morning chores in the wake of Spencer’s abrupt departure.

  But now that he was here, the weight of his decision sat on his shoulders like a crushing boulder. Mom, of course, had been glad to have him home. Though he told her he wouldn’t be staying any longer than it took to say his piece to Tito, she immediately plied him with buttery scrambled eggs and a mug of his favorite cinnamon-laced coffee.

  “You have to eat,” she insisted, adding four link sausages to his plate. “I can only imagine the junk food you’ve been subsisting on in town.”

  She wasn’t wrong. But this morning he had no appetite, his stomach curdling with anxiety about the confrontation awaiting him.

  As he forced down a forkful of eggs, Dad stormed in. “So you’re back. About time you called an end to this temper tantrum and returned to your responsibilities.”

  “That isn’t why I came.” Spencer clenched a fist. “I thought after our talk—”

  “Which you walked out on.”

  “Yes, and I’m sorry about that.” Pushing away from the table, Spencer stood and braced his knuckles on either side of his plate. “My feelings haven’t changed, but I’ve realized I won’t be able to move forward, whatever I decide to do with my life, until I clear the air with Tito.”