Hometown Hearts

by Jillian Hart

  “That sounds wonderful. Thank you, my love.” Rori’s words were richly layered with devotion and storybook happiness. “I can’t wait. See you soon.”

  Cady entered the private room balancing the tray. Warmth filled her as she looked at the young woman with the golden locks, big blue eyes and a green tint to her complexion. Morning sickness was lingering this afternoon, the poor girl. “How is Justin doing without you?”

  “He’s hardly missing me. Everyone is pitching in to finish the Parnells’ haying. It’s almost done. Oh, ginger ale and crackers. Bless you.”

  “I hope this helps.” She set the serving tray on the little table within Rori’s reach. “Frank told me he and everyone would be at the Parnells’, so I had the cook send over a spread for the hayers and a few casseroles for the family. I feel sad for them.”

  “They are good neighbors. I’ve been praying for them.”

  “As have I.” Cady thought of sitting with Frank at church earlier in the day. He’d taken time for the service wearing his work clothes and had herded his sons away with him the moment the last hymn was sung. As busy as he was and worried about his neighbor, he had held her hand with tender assurance during the sermon. He never failed to let her know he cared. “Cheyenne missed the service. Do you think she will make it?”

  “I’ve texted her, but no answer.” Rori stirred her feet around in the soaking tub. “She will come if she can. She works hard. I hope she can get a little pampering time in. You are spoiling us, Cady. This is such a treat.”

  “Trust me, the real treat is having all the Granger girls here with me.” She patted Rori’s hand before turning away. There were others to check on.

  She found Sierra and Autumn in the changing room next door, their voices drifting merrily into the corridor. Cady knocked, although the door was open. Both girls turned, wearing fluffy robes, slippers and relaxed smiles.

  “Cady.” Autumn raced toward her, arms extended, energetic as always. Her hug was brief but sweet. “This should be fun. I’ve never had a massage before.”

  “Me, either.” Sierra squeezed in for a hug, too. Such wonderful girls. “After all the running this week for the last-minute wedding stuff and packing to move in with Tucker, this is just what I need.”

  “That was the idea.” Cady hated letting go of either young woman. “I hear Frank is looking after Owen for you this afternoon.”

  “My son adores his about-to-be grandfather.” Sierra shone with happiness, as every engaged woman should do. “Apparently he and Frank are running the tractor.”

  “That sounds like big excitement for Owen. Frank is in love with that little boy.”

  “Are you kidding? Love is too small of a word. Owen is Dad’s first grandson.” The dark circles beneath Autumn’s eyes testified to the long hours she’d been putting in on the ranch. “Listen to that. Could it be Cheyenne?”

  A truck engine rumbled faintly, growing closer. Hope filled her. “I’ll go see.”

  She gave Autumn a hug and love warmed her heart. She pointed the girls to their appropriate massage rooms and headed to reception. A green pickup rolled into sight and parked near the door. What a relief. She had just started to worry about the girl. She knew Cheyenne had been helping Nate with the Parnells’ horse.

  “This is the best mocha I have ever tasted.” Addy swept into the hallway with a cup in hand, adorable with her strawberry-blond hair, blue eyes and Frank’s dimples. “You are so totally spoiling us. You know what this means?”

  “I’m afraid to ask.”

  “That we majorly love you now.” Addy leaned in to kiss Cady’s cheek.

  She tried not to let her eyes tear up. Addy had no idea what her breezy comment meant to her. Cady brushed back a lock of hair from the girl’s eyes. “Right back at ya. Are you ready for your body wrap?”

  “Ooh, it sounds luxurious and relaxing. Do I get to take this in with me?” She took another sip.

  “If you want.” The Granger girls had won her affections. She’d never been blessed with children of her own, but she couldn’t help hoping down deep that one day…

  You were going to stay in the moment, remember? She shook herself out of her reverie and opened the front door. A warm breeze blew over her and she savored the fresh scent of Wyoming summer and a hint of roses from the flower garden. Every time she’d let herself hope, the relationship hadn’t worked out. The thought of things ending with Frank nearly broke her soul.

  “See ya later.” Addy shuffled away in her fuzzy slippers. “The body wrap lady is calling me.”

  “Have fun.” She held the door wider as Cheyenne tumbled in.

  “Better late than never.” Tiredness marred the skin beneath her eyes. “This place is gorgeous and so soothing I feel relaxed already.”

  “That’s the idea, especially after the morning you’ve had. Come in, let’s get you changed. You have been in my prayers, too, all day.” Another surge of motherly warmth washed through her as the young woman stepped into her arms for a brief hug. “You look exhausted.”

  “Clark is stable, that’s what matters. He is much better than he was this morning.”

  “I hear Adam and the girls paid you a visit earlier.” She kept her voice low as they walked along the corridor.

  “How did you know?”

  “Julianna is breaking in her phone by texting me a lot, too.”

  “Cute.”

  “I know all about the supper they are making for you tomorrow. You and Adam have been spending a lot of time together.”

  “With the girls.” Cheyenne leaned her head against Cady’s shoulder.

  So sweet. She steered Cheyenne into the locker room where plush chairs and couches sat in the center of the space and relaxing instrumental music hummed in through speakers. She snagged a plush robe from the closet and slippers from a shelf.

  “Cady, can I ask you something?”

  “Anything.” She laid the items over the arm of the couch.

  “How did you know Dad wouldn’t break your heart? I mean early on, when he first asked you out?”

  “I didn’t. It was a risk I had to take.” She slipped onto the couch next to the young woman with Frank’s eyes. It was a risk she still took and prayed for a happy ending and that Frank wouldn’t break her heart. “Love is fragile. It needs constant tending and care, or it withers and fades away. No one knows at the beginning how it will go or how it will end.”

  “I was afraid you were going to say that.” Cheyenne rolled her eyes, a touch of good humor and disappointment.

  “I wish it were easier, especially since you had a heartbreak not long ago.” She leaned against the cushions.

  “I was in love with Edward, but it turned out he was ‘in like’ with me. I was convenient. Someone to study with and pass time with. We had a lot in common.” Cheyenne’s chin firmed, but she couldn’t hide the pain. After all this time, she had finally opened up enough to reveal what had happened. “I served a purpose for him. I wasn’t special.”

  “That had to hurt.”

  “I don’t want that to happen again. I got my hopes up. I saw what I wanted to see instead of what was there. I started dreaming up this future that could never be.”

  “I wrestle with that a lot these days.”

  “You? Cady, you just don’t know how much Dad loves you.” She bit her lip. “I want the real thing. True love, a soul mate, not just happily ever after but blissfully ever after.”

  “Then you have to take the risk. You have to open your heart. That’s the only way. When God puts love in your path, you can’t be afraid to let it in or you will miss the best life has to give.”

  “It should be easier.”

  “I completely agree.” They chuckled together, warm and cozy. She could talk with Cheyenne forever, but she hopped to her feet. “You need to get changed. You have a rose petal whirlpool bath waiting.”

  “Sounds heavenly.” Cheyenne pulled the robe to her. “You would make a good mom.”

  Tears s
pilled into Cady’s eyes and she had to blink hard to hide them. “That’s the nicest thing anyone has said to me in a long time. I’ll whip you up an iced mocha with cinnamon syrup.”

  Dreams she could not let into her heart whispered for entrance, but she stepped out of the room and headed into the hallway. The gentle laughter and chatter of the Granger girls rang through the corridor and followed her into the spa’s kitchen, where her cell phone rang. She tugged it out of her pocket. Frank’s number lit up the screen, and her whole soul smiled.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Dad, stay out of the kitchen.” Jenny met him at the archway with a wooden spoon dripping spaghetti sauce in hand. “I mean it. This is important.”

  “So I see.” He glanced down at the iced tea glass he’d drank while paging through his Bible. “I need a refill.”

  “Julianna will get it.” She whipped the glass from his grip and pointed to the living room.

  “Is everything going all right, sweetheart?” Steam rolled up from the stove behind her and Julianna stood on a chair, scratching her head as she gazed down at whatever was going on inside the pots.

  At least he didn’t smell anything burning and the smoke detector hadn’t gone off. Things could have been worse. He was unsure about letting Jenny handle dinner, but she had been making mac and cheese and heating spaghetti from a jar for a while now.

  “Dad, I’m perfectly capable.” She arched one eyebrow. “This is supposed to be a surprise.”

  “I get it.” As he turned on his heel, the faint sound of tires on the gravel turned his attention to the front window. A green truck pulled to a stop and he barreled across the room. His hand grasped the knob, eager for the sight of her.

  Cheyenne bopped around the truck, her hair caught back in a French braid, wearing a pretty pale yellow sundress and sandals. He’d seen her herding cattle, riding horses, doctoring pets and shopping with his girls, but he’d never seen her like this. Wow. He gripped the porch rail for support as she bounded up the driveway, the skirt of her dress swirling and his future written in the joy of her smile.

  “Howdy. You look lonely.” She bounded across the lawn. “Where are the girls? They are usually flanking you.”

  “They’re inside cooking dinner. I hope you are prepared. I’m not sure how it’s going to turn out.” He managed to let go of the railing, amazed by her. The sun brightened anytime she was near.

  “Bring it. I’m not afraid. After Aunt Opal left and before Dad hired Rori and then Mrs. G., we had an iffy string of housekeepers who weren’t good cooks, or in the case of one lady, too tipsy.”

  “You’ve survived my barbecuing without complaint.”

  “Or food poisoning.” She glided up the steps.

  “You are made of strong stuff.”

  “You know it.” She joined him on the porch and her presence tugged at the worries knotted in his chest, the ones he wasn’t sure what to do with.

  “Dad! Is it Cheyenne?” Julianna’s sandals echoed in the house behind them, her high-pitched voice growing closer. “Is she here?”

  “She texted me,” Cheyenne confided to him. “I received updates all day long that said things like, ‘Dad just dropped us off at Cady’s.’ ‘I helped saddle Dusty.’ ‘We went riding.’”

  “You are being a good sport. I’m rethinking my decision getting her the phone. Is she bothering you?”

  “No, she and Jenny are treasures.”

  Her comment touched him. Words failed him and he wanted to draw her into his arms and hold her close, to cherish her the way she deserved. He wanted to let her know how he felt, but how did she feel about him?

  The screen door whipped open and a brown-haired girl tumbled onto the porch, breathless with excitement.

  “You’re here!” Julianna wrapped her arms around Cheyenne’s waist. “I’m so happy to see you. Jenny and me, we’ve been working hard making—”

  “Julianna, you promised!” a big-sisterly voice called out from inside the house. “It’s a surprise, remember?”

  “Oops.” Julianna jumped back and covered her mouth with both hands.

  “You are trouble, little girl.” Adam tugged lightly on one pigtail.

  “I am.” She cheerfully seized Cheyenne’s hand. “C’mon! Do you know what we should do tomorrow?”

  “What’s that?” Nearly tugged off her sandals, she stumbled after the child, plunging through the doorway.

  “We should go riding. You, me, Jenny and Dad.”

  “You are full of plans, aren’t you?”

  “I’m really good with plans. Besides, that way Dad can practice before the cattle drive.” Julianna skipped ahead, carefree and confident.

  “He’s going to need more practice than that.” She glanced over her shoulder as the living room flashed by in a blur. She clattered to a halt in the steamy kitchen fragrant with the scents of simmering marinara and cooked noodles. Adam’s cautious frown was contemplative, the poor man. She hadn’t forgotten his fear of horses. “I hate to break it to you, but you are seriously outnumbered.”

  “I’ve noticed. I’m going to have to learn to love horses.”

  “This way to your table, please.” Jenny tapped ahead, leading the way.

  The kitchen bore evidence of less-than-experienced cooks. In the sink sat a pot with overcooked noodles stuck to the side of it. Red sauce dotted the stove top in crimson spatters. A few carrot peelings rested on the floor. Both girls beamed expectantly, looking ready to burst as they gestured toward the table tucked in a bay breakfast nook. A lace tablecloth added beauty to an otherwise ordinary round table where a bouquet of home-grown roses stood crookedly in a vase.

  There were only two place settings.

  “You girls did all this?” She noticed the salad bowls on the table, a foil-covered plate of bread and a small box of chocolates beside one plate. The platter of spaghetti looked as delicious as it smelled. “I’m amazed. What an incredible job.”

  “It’s for you and Dad.” Jenny pulled out one chair, gesturing to Cheyenne to come sit.

  “Mrs. Plum next door helped us. She made the spaghetti sauce. We just heated it up.” Julianna bobbed over to the back door with so much happiness it looked as if she could bounce out of her pink sandals. “It’s the same meal from Lady and the Tramp.”

  “Of course. Why am I not surprised?” His amusement rolled like thunder. “Wait, aren’t you going to eat with us?”

  “Dessert is in the refrigerator.” Jenny put her arm around her sister’s shoulders and shuffled her onto the patio.

  “It’s chocolate pudding!” Julianna’s announcement trailed through the doorway. “It’s real tasty. I sampled it to make sure.”

  “Good to know.” He held Cheyenne’s chair for her while she sat. She looked as amused by the girls’ gesture as he was. “Where are you two going?”

  “To play at Cammie’s house,” came Jenny’s answer as the screen slapped shut, leaving them alone.

  “I’m glad those girls are becoming friends.” She shook out her napkin. “Cammie is another animal lover.”

  “I noticed Wiggles was used to being held and spoiled.” He unfolded his napkin. “Jenny has a new friend because of you. Once again you have helped improve my daughters’ lives.”

  “Me? I didn’t do anything. You give me too much credit.”

  “Jenny is her old self and Julianna isn’t as fragile. She’s bouncing around with the confidence she used to have.”

  “It must be good to see.”

  “You have helped open up a whole new life for my girls.” He didn’t hide his admiration. The strength of it wrapped around her with steadfast reassurance and her soul responded. His tenderness, his commitment, his quiet respect for her made her believe. Quiet whispers of fairy-tale endings felt within her reach.

  Her hopes for love were soaring and she couldn’t hold them back.

  “I don’t know how or what you did, but you transformed us.” Unmistakable affection softened the rugged lines of his face
, and he looked at her as if she were the most precious woman ever. “You brought us all back to life.”

  “It’s a little something I learned at vet school,” she quipped. Had she ever been this happy? If so, she couldn’t remember it. Unbidden images spilled into her mind of a wedding ring sparkling on her hand, of Adam stunning in a tux waiting for her at the altar with love gleaming in his eyes. Endless love. A perfect future. Her future. The dream filled her with longing for what could be and she felt hopeful.

  Adam had done that. His quiet, steady kindness had brought her heart back to life, too. Maybe the love blooming between them was strong enough to be the real thing.

  I hope it is, Lord. She wiggled her napkin away from the flatware and unfolded it. Across the table Adam sat there, his gaze drinking her in as if seeing her for the first time. Was he feeling this, too? As if borne away on a warm summer wind he could not stop.

  “Oh, the girls forgot beverages.” He pushed away from the table, his athletic masculine movement made her sigh just a little. “Is iced tea all right?”

  “Sounds good to me.” She shifted in her chair and something awkward dug into the small of her back. She reached around and withdrew one of Julianna’s paperbacks, Black Beauty. She couldn’t resist holding the beloved book, remembering Julianna’s darling texts about her experience of the story. A place was clearly marked in the book with a sheet of paper. She couldn’t resist flipping to it as Adam’s footsteps echoed in the kitchen as he moved from table to refrigerator.

  “The girl has hardly been able to put down that book.” Adam’s baritone lured her eyes from the page. Everything about him fascinated her. There was so much she didn’t know about him, so much he hadn’t yet shared with her. “How long does the horse-crazy phase last?”

  “I’m not sure, since I’m still in mine.” She went to move the paper aside so she could see the page, but her fingers froze. The Plan was written in purple glitter ink across the top of the notebook paper.

  1. Have Cheyenne stay to eat when she brings Tomasina.