Grit: A Love Story on 7th and Main

by Elizabeth Hunter

  “Cool.” Abby glanced between Melissa and Cary. “So you’re gonna get married, right?”

  Melissa closed her eyes. “Abby, despite what you may think, this is pretty new and we have not talked—”

  “Yeah,” Cary said. “We’ll get married.”

  “Cary!” Melissa gaped. “What are you doing?”

  “Missy.” Cary spread his arms wide, a giant smile on his face. “Come on. This is us.”

  This is us.

  He made it sound so easy. Sitting there, looking beautiful and free on his bike, his arms open. His heart wide open.

  He loved her. He loved Abby. She loved him.

  This is us.

  Maybe he made it look easy… because it was. Melissa blinked back tears. Maybe for the first time in a very, very long time, something wasn’t a fight. Or a struggle. Or an uphill battle. Maybe this… just was.

  Cary crooked his finger at her. “Come here, Miss Melissa Oxford, who always knows where she is.”

  Melissa walked over to him, and he was every dream she thought she’d lost. A friend. A lover. A partner. A father to her daughter.

  Cary got off the bike. “Why are you crying?” He wiped her eyes. He kissed her cheeks. “Don’t cry. You’ve got the smartest kid in the world. I love you. I was getting things all twisted around in my head too, but Abby’s right. It’s so obvious.”

  Abby looked between them. “Well, obviously you have to talk about this, and probably argue about it a while. But I, for one, am in favor of Cary marrying you and living on the ranch.”

  Melissa wiped her eyes. “Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

  “I feel like he’s a goat ally.”

  Melissa burst into laughter through her tears.

  They made love in the bunkhouse after they’d eaten dinner and put Abby to bed. It was slow and achingly sweet.

  “Right there?” Cary moved in her.

  Melissa breathed out and nodded without saying a word. Her eyes were drifting shut in pleasure when he said, “Look at me. Keep your eyes on me.”

  Her eyes flew open and locked with his.

  Cary’s lips were flushed and swollen from her kisses. He was braced over her, his thick hair falling around them. Their bodies were pressed together and he moved with torturous precision, taking her apart piece by piece.

  “Bend your knee up.” He nudged her right knee and moved deeper, changing his angle.

  Her mouth fell open with a wordless gasp.

  “There.” The corner of his mouth tilted up. “Right there.”

  “Please,” she whispered. “Please.”

  Her climax didn’t come with a rush. It came in an inevitable, crushing wave, spreading over every inch of her body as she cried his name into the darkness. It waned and surged, overtaking her three times before Cary groaned with his own release, gripping her hair as he closed his eyes and pressed his face into her neck.

  He rolled to the side, his chest heaving. “Oh fuck, that was good.”

  “I don’t even know what that was.” Her whole body was shaking. “I’m not sure I can walk.”

  Cary reached over and pulled Melissa’s head onto his shoulder, stroking her hair, running his fingertips over her skin, and generally making her feel like she’d received a full-body massage while simultaneously galloping a horse and taking a double shot of tequila.

  “I don’t know how you keep giving me different orgasms,” she mumbled against his chest. “I thought there were just a couple of different kinds. But there’s a lot more.”

  His chest shook in silent laughter. “That’s the benefit of being with an old guy. We like taking our time.”

  She ran her hand over his defined abdomen. “Oh yeah. Super old.”

  Cary fell silent. He took her hand and squeezed it tight.

  “What is it?”

  “My dad died when he was seventy.” Cary’s voice was quiet. “He thought he was in perfect health. I think about that a lot. He had no signs of heart disease.”

  She twisted herself around and propped her chin on his chest. “So you get your heart checked early and often. You do all the tests and stuff exactly when the doctor tells you. And if you don’t, I will give you absolute hell until you do.”

  He smiled a little. “Understood.” His hand stroked up and down her arm. “Since we’re getting married now and everything.”

  “Assumptions from my daughter do not count as a proposal, just so you know. And we still have… a lot to talk about.”

  “I know.” He stroked her hair. “Like… would you ever consider having more kids?”

  Her eyebrows went up. “Do you want kids?”

  “I always wanted kids. I just didn’t think it would happen.”

  “I would… be open to having more kids if I had some help. I can’t imagine being a full-time mom now like I was with Abby. My life is too crazy.”

  He nodded. “That’s fair.”

  “But I always wanted more.” She worried her lip. “I lost a baby. About three months before Calvin died. I was four months along.”

  The hand that was stroking her hair froze. “Missy.”

  “I wasn’t really showing yet, so we hadn’t told many people. I was just really bitchy and cranky because the doctor said I couldn’t ride. And then…” She shook her head. “The doctors never knew what happened.”

  He leaned down and gently kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry.”

  “She would have been six this year. Born between Christmas and New Year’s.” Melissa wiped her tears away quickly. “It happened a long time ago. I’m just bringing it up because I don’t know if I can have more kids, you know? It might not happen.”

  “We have Abby.” He smiled. “You don’t get much better than that. Anything else is just a bonus.”

  And she fell for him all over again. “Thank you for literally saying the most perfect thing you could just now.” She reached for his cheek and pulled it down for a kiss. “Thank you for being great.”

  “Miss Melissa Oxford,” he whispered, “do you know where you are right now?”

  “Yeah.” She snuggled closer and laid her head over his heart. “I’m right where I need to be.”

  Adrian Saroyan sat in Café Maya, Daisy’s restaurant downtown, sipping a coffee and eating a piece of blueberry-and-sour-cream pie. Melissa and Cary were meeting with him after he’d called and told them he had an update on the Allen ranch.

  “As of right now, the Allen Ranch project has been tabled,” he said. “The property owner has put it back on the market and is asking around about buyers who might be interested.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Let’s hope we get an actual farmer or rancher this time.” Cary dug into his own piece of sweet potato pie. “So Gus isn’t going to have to sue them?”

  Adrian raised an eyebrow. “Honestly? It would have been a tough case. Gus was sentimental and put a lot of addendums in the contract that probably wouldn’t have held up in court. But it would have eaten up time and cost JPR Holdings a lot of money. And Les Arthur all but told them he’d bankroll the whole thing if he needed to.”

  “So Les isn’t a development fan?” Melissa waved at Daisy, who made the “call me” motion with her hand. Melissa nodded and turned her attention back to Adrian.

  “Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” Adrian said. “He’s bought quite a few properties that have needed investment and he’s turned a good profit. Invested quite a bit here downtown on 7th and Main. But he’s also not a fan of your father-in-law, Melissa. No offense.”

  “None taken. I’m not a big fan of his either.”

  “It is interesting though.” Adrian took a bite of pie. Swallowed it. “I was getting all my stuff together last week, pretty sure we were going to have to find a lawyer, and Gus called me. Said the current owner had called him and said all his partners were pulling out. Said he couldn’t fight it on his own. Said both Devin Peres and Greg Rhodes had called him up and said they were out.”

  “Huh.” Melissa frowne
d. “That’s kind of weird. They’d already invested quite a bit. Why would they just pull out like that?”

  Something flickered on Cary’s face, drawing Melissa’s attention. It was a little smile. A flash in his eye.

  He knows something.

  She was certain of it. She was also certain he’d never share it with Adrian.

  She took a deep breath. “I guess that means the Allen ranch is back on the market, huh?”

  Adrian nodded. “Yes. And from what I’m hearing, there’s quite a bit of buzz.”

  Melissa asked, “From ranchers?”

  Adrian smiled a little. “Initial interest has definitely come from the agricultural sector. Uh-huh.”

  Melissa frowned. “But…?”

  “But not from where you might expect.”

  “Is that so?” Cary frowned. “Who’s looking at it?”

  “There are a few companies interested. Nothing for certain yet. Some inquiries. Some pretty interesting buyers, as well.”

  “More interesting than a citrus grower?” Melissa squeezed Cary’s hand under the table.

  “Impossible,” he muttered. “We’re the most fascinating men in the world.”

  Adrian laughed. “I would never argue with that. But let’s just say that these new farmers are looking to take advantage of an old cash crop that’s currently very popular in California and a few other select states across the country.”

  Cary frowned. “What?”

  Melissa’s mouth dropped open. “No way.”

  “Land all over the valley is at a premium, and people want crops that bring premium prices.” Adrian couldn’t stop his laugh. “Wasn’t Bud the one that was turning apoplectic about allowing a marijuana dispensary in town, even though it would have brought in a ton of tax revenue?”

  Cary laughed, a full, roaring sound that came from his gut. “You have got to be kidding me.”

  Adrian shook his head. “My friend, I am not. Nothing is certain, but at least half the people looking at the Allen ranch are legal marijuana growers.”

  Melissa closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to imagine the look on Bud Rogers’s face when he heard the news. “Well… at least we know they’ll probably be organic.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Cary tossed his cards down. “You little hustler.”

  Abby giggled and grabbed all the M&M’s in the middle of the table. “What?”

  “You know what!”

  They were sitting on the front porch of the ranch house while Rumi, Joan, and Leigh cooked dinner inside. Abby had convinced Cary she needed to “learn” how to play poker.

  After a few fumbling hands, she had destroyed him.

  “Who taught you how to play cards?” he asked.

  Ox walked out of the house and set two beers on the table. “Did she get you too?”

  “She got you? I assumed you were the one who taught her.”

  He shook his head and sat down. “Nah. I fell for it too.”

  Cary narrowed his eyes on Abby. “Okay, who was it?”

  Abby blinked innocently. “I just looked on YouTube.”

  “Lying. No one learns that well from YouTube.”

  “I learned about making goat-milk soap on YouTube. I even made some orange-blossom soap, and your mom says it’s the best soap she’s ever used.” Abby picked up her bottle of Coke and sipped it. “I’m going to try honey-and-lavender-scented soap next.”

  Cary leaned forward. “That sounds like a great idea, and stop avoiding the question.”

  “I don’t know what you want me to say.” Her eyes were wide and innocent. She shrugged her tiny shoulders. “Just beginner’s luck, I guess.”

  “Ooooh.” Ox started chuckling. “I know who it was.”

  Abby gasped. “You better not.”

  “I know because she used the same ‘beginner’s luck’ line on me.”

  Abby scrambled up and put a hand over her uncle’s mouth. “No! Don’t tell him!”

  “Tss dfffly Mmmmy.” Ox was laughing behind Abby’s hand.

  Cary drank his beer. “Emmie, huh?”

  “No!” Abby threw her head back. “I promised I wouldn’t tell!”

  Cary drummed his fingers on the table. “So Emmie’s the card shark in the family?” He nodded slowly. “Good to know.”

  Ox’s eyes were laughing when he pulled Abby’s hand away from his mouth. “At least she’s got that part of being a cowgirl down.”

  Cary squinted into the bright autumn sun. The leaves were changing colors on the hills, the grass was brown and thirsty. And in the corral nearest the house, Melissa was sitting on the fence next to Stu, shouting instructions to Emmie, who had just started trotting PJ around the ring.

  “Eyes forward!” Melissa shouted. “Keep your hips loose and trust your mount, Emmie.”

  Abby leaned on the porch rail and watched. “You know, Emmie’s seat isn’t bad.”

  Ox smiled a little. “Her seat’s pretty damn fine, if you ask me.”

  “Dude.” Cary sent him a withering look.

  “She’ll learn fast,” Abby said. “Don’t worry, Uncle Ox.”

  Cary was relieved the innuendo flew completely over Abby’s head. For now. He was bracing himself to have a teenage daughter. He wasn’t sure quite how he was going to handle it, but he was going to do his best.

  The more time he spent at the Oxford ranch, the more he realized…

  He had no idea how girls worked.

  There was squealing.

  There were slamming doors.

  There was attitude to spare.

  There were multicolored bottles in the bathroom in quantities heretofore unknown by man. Cary had no idea what they were all for. Did you need more than three or four? That seemed like the maximum number of bottles you needed in one bathroom, especially for someone less than five feet tall.

  There was also laughter.

  And hugs.

  Hilarious conversations about horses, fractions, and the probability of dragons actually existing at some point in history.

  And lots and lots of food.

  “Another hand?” Cary nodded at the cards.

  “I’m in!” Abby said.

  He started shuffling. “Yeah, I bet you are.”

  “What are the moms making for dinner?” Ox asked.

  Cary started dealing again. “Leigh is making beef stew, and I think Joan is making chile rellenos.”

  Abby bounced up and down. “Did Nana Rumi bring rice balls?”

  “Yes, she did.”

  “Yesssss.”

  Ox, Cary, and Abby all picked up their hands. Ox tried to cheat. Badly. It cracked Abby up and produced a near-constant stream of ten-year-old shit-talk that made Cary feel like he really needed to up his game.

  The girl could never sit still, so Cary noticed when her feet stopped moving.

  “Abby?”

  Her head had turned to the west. “Someone is coming up the road.”

  Were all Oxford girls telepathic when it came to their ranch? Melissa had a near-perfect awareness of the changes in her land. Abby appeared to be following in her footsteps.

  A few seconds later, he saw dust in the distance. He heard the sound of a motor just a moment before a truck crested the hill and stopped at the gate.

  Abby’s eyes went wide. “It’s Grandpa Rhodes.”

  “What?” Cary set his cards down. “Was he supposed to come today?”

  “Nope.”

  “Hey.” He waited for her eyes to meet his. “So you did?”

  Abby’s mouth was set in a firm line. “Yeah.”

  “Okay then. I’m with you, kid.” Cary looked at the corral. Melissa was already walking toward the house, leaving Emmie in Stu’s capable hands. Ox and Cary stood up as Abby walked down the steps toward her mother.

  Ox muttered, “You know why they’re here?”

  “I have an idea.”

  They weren’t driving the Range Rover, they were driving their heavy truck, and a fancy silver h
orse trailer stretched behind it.

  “That better be what I’m hoping it is,” Ox said.

  Cary said nothing. He walked down the steps to Melissa and Abby as Joan came out on the porch.

  “Ox? Is that Greg and Bev? Did Melissa invite them for dinner?”

  Cary walked down the gravel path and stood behind Melissa, who had her arm around Abby’s shoulders.

  “Uh, Mom. I should probably tell you something.”

  “What?” Melissa looked at Abby, clearly confused. “Did you know they were coming today?”

  “No, but…” Abby looked at Cary in desperation.

  Cary said, “A few weeks ago, Abby found the letter from the attorneys in Santa Maria. She figured out what was going on.”

  Melissa’s eyes went wide. “What?”

  “I’m sorry, Mom.” Abby’s eyes were anguished. “I know I shouldn’t have looked in your desk.”

  “She knew it was wrong and she asked me what she should do,” Cary said.

  “You mean you knew?” Melissa’s face went pale. “The whole time, you knew?”

  The note wouldn’t be an issue for much longer, and Cary hadn’t even needed to help. Melissa and Joan finally sat down with their banker, who explained that as much as their ranch was worth, taking out a small loan to clear the debt to the Rhodeses would be fast and easy. They could pay it back as soon as the mandarin crop came in or take more time and breathe a little easier.

  As much as Melissa hated putting any kind of debt on the ranch, she knew it was better than owing money to her in-laws. As soon as the loan processed, she’d send them a check and that would be that.

  Abby had tears in her eyes. “I was really angry, and I didn’t know what I should do about it. I was mad about Sunny. I was mad that they were trying to build all those houses next door, and then I found the letter…” Her face was tormented. “I had to do something.”

  Melissa took her daughter by the shoulders. “What did you do?”

  “She wrote a letter to them.” Cary rubbed Abby’s back. “That’s all. I helped her write a letter to them, and we talked through what she wanted to say. She told them how they’d been making her feel. We sealed it up and I left it with Abby. Told her it was up to her if she mailed it or not.” He raised an eyebrow. “I guess you sent it.”