by Katie Lane
He got out of bed and walked over to open the curtains. The bright sunlight had him squinting. He turned away from the light and spotted the slice of cream cheese coffee cake sitting on the table. It was on a plate and covered in plastic wrap. Stuck to the plastic wrap was a sticky note.
Okay, so you’re a better baker than I am…and dish doer…and lawn mower…and middle school shuffler. I’m starting to get a complex. Rapunzel
He laughed, but his laughter quickly faded. Damn, she wasn’t making this any easier.
Feeling even more depressed, he peeled off the plastic wrap and lifted the slice of cake. It was as wonderful as he remembered. The cake was moist, the crumble crunchy, and the cream cheese filling tart. It brought up memories of baking with his mother. But now and forever, it would also bring up memories of Reba sitting at the counter with her blue eyes all champagne sparkly and her hair gleaming in the overhead lights like a warm fire.
Unable to take anymore images of Reba, he set the cake down and started packing. When he was finished, he headed to the bathroom to take a shower. On the way, he ran into Miss Gertie and Butler.
“I didn’t see you at breakfast this mornin’,” she said with narrowed eyes. “I hope you didn’t ask Reba to bring you a tray.”
“No, ma’am.” He hadn’t asked . . . and yet, Reba had brought it anyway. He wished she hadn’t. Maybe it would’ve made the brick of remorse in his gut less heavy.
“That’s good.” Miss Gertie nodded her head sharply. “She has more than enough to keep her busy getting the house ready for the Halloween party this weekend. Which is why I was on my way to your room. I have a costume for you.” She lifted what looked like an old fashioned suit from the bars of her walker. “It will probably be a little too big for you. Reba’s daddy is thicker around the middle than you are. But I figure it will work if you double over the waistband of the pants or wear your own.”
“Thanks, Miss Gertie, but I’m afraid I won’t be here for the party.”
Her eyes squinted to slits. “You’re leaving? But I thought you weren’t finished with your book.”
“I’m not. But I need to get back to New York.”
“Why? You got a woman back there?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Pets?”
“No, ma’am.” He scratched Butler’s ears and thought that maybe he did need a pet. The thought of being alone in his apartment with only one houseplant to keep him company made him even more depressed.
“Then why do you need to get back?” Miss Gertie asked.
“Because it’s my home.” Although it had never felt like a home. Something Miss Gertie seemed to know.
She snorted. “Just because you live somewhere doesn’t make it your home. You’re better off staying right here.” She shook the suit. “At least until after Halloween. This isn’t just any costume. This is Rhett Butler.”
He knew what an honor it was to be chosen to play a character Miss Gertie loved so dearly. And for a moment, he almost gave in and accepted the old suit. But three more days of living in the same vicinity as Reba would be his undoing.
“I would love to have the honor of playing Rhett, but I need to be going.”
“But Reba needs you.”
He was more than a little surprised by Miss Gertie’s outburst. He hadn’t thought the old woman liked him. “Reba doesn’t need me. She has you.”
She stared at him for a long moment before she dropped the suit back over her handlebars. “I guess you’ll be headed out to the Double Diamond to say goodbye to your bad boy friends.”
He grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Then there’s time.” Before he could ask her what she needed time for, she wheeled her walker around, muttering something about “damn stubborn fools,” and disappeared inside her bedroom.
By the time he was showered, dressed, and heading down the hallway with his suitcase, Val’s depression and remorse had formed into more of a cinder block than a brick. He thought he would find Reba in the kitchen, but she wasn’t there. Nor was she in the garden or at her cottage. He walked back inside and found Mike coming down the stairs.
“Hey, Val.” Mike glanced at Val’s suitcase, and his eyebrows lifted. “Are you leaving?”
“I need to get back to New York. Have you seen Reba?”
“She headed out with Ty to pick up pumpkins at some farm.” Mike frowned. “Maybe I should leave too. It’s pretty obvious she prefers Ty.”
Val didn’t know why Mike’s reticence pissed him off. Maybe because one man leaving Reba was more than enough for one day. Even though he and Reba hadn’t done anything more than share one kiss, he knew his leaving was going to hurt her as much as it hurt him.
“So you’re just going to let Ty have her, Mike?” he asked. “Or are you going to man up and stay and fight for her? Because if there was ever a woman worth fighting for, it’s Reba.” Truer words had never been spoken. As they rang through his head . . . and his heart, he turned and walked out of the boardinghouse.
When he got to the Double Diamond, he found Lucas sitting on the front porch with Holden’s new bride, Devlin. It looked like Boomer had finally run out of energy. The lanky pup was stretched out in the late October sun sleeping. Although when Val got out and slammed the car door, the dog popped up like a jack-in-the-box and scrambled to his feet as his entire backside wagged with excitement.
“Well, lookee who the cat dragged in,” Lucas said.
“Hi, Val!” Devlin greeted him with a big smile before she turned to Lucas. “What exactly does that mean, Lucas? A cat can’t drag a person unless it’s a lion or another large cat, and what does a lion killing its prey have to do with Val visiting?”
Lucas patted Devlin on the arm. “You think way too much, little gal. It’s just an expression when people come callin’ that you haven’t seen in a while.” He looked back at Val and scowled. “And why is that? I get that you’re workin’ on that book of yours, but family is family.”
“You’re right. I should’ve spent more time here at the ranch, but I promise I’ll do it next trip.” Although he didn’t know if he could ever come back if leaving was this hard.
Lucas’s scowl got even darker while Devlin just looked sad. “Oh no, you’re leaving?” she said. “Holden will be so upset. He’s enjoyed having you here. And so have I.”
“I’ve enjoyed spending time with him . . . and getting to know his beautiful bride.” Val glanced around. “Where are Holden and Chester?”
“Chester’s helping out at the Gardener Ranch. And Holden’s in town setting up for the big election that’s taking place next Tuesday. I don’t think people are concerned about who will be our new councilmen as much as they are concerned about what will be the town’s new name.”
“Which is a bunch of hogwash,” Lucas said. “A town’s name is a town’s name.” He cocked an eyebrow at Val. “Just like a person’s name is a person’s name. You don’t just change it if you get a notion.”
“A lot of authors use pennames, Lucas,” Devlin said.
“A penname is one thing. Changing it completely is another.”
“Well, I love the name Valentine Sterling.” Devlin stood. “Why don’t you sit down and visit with Lucas, Val, while I go inside and get us some sweet tea and call Holden to let him know you’re here to say goodbye.”
Val climbed the porch steps. “Thanks, Devlin.” He held the door for her and Boomer streaked in after her, no doubt hoping for a treat. After they were gone, Val took the chair next to Lucas.
“So what has you looking like a dog on bath day?” Lucas asked. “I would think that a big city boy would be happy to be heading back to New York.”
Val should’ve known the perceptive old cowboy would read his mood. He shrugged and sent him a half smile. “I guess I’ll miss you, you ornery cuss.”
Lucas studied him. “You sure I’m the only one you’ll miss?”
“I’ll miss all the Double Diamond boys.”
“I wasn’
t talking about missing boys.” Lucas sent him a direct look. “If you had missed me and the boys so much, you would’ve spent more time here at the ranch.”
“I’ve been writing.”
“You tell that to some stupid yahoo who hasn’t lived as long as I have.”
Val blew out his breath and leaned his head on the high back of the rocker. “Fine, so I wasn’t just writing. I was spending time with Miss Reba.”
Lucas nodded once before he leaned back and closed his eyes. He didn’t say anything for so long that Val thought he’d gone to sleep. But finally Lucas opened his eyes and spoke. “Yep, those Dixon women can sure screw with your head, can’t they? Or maybe it’s your heart they screw with. Gertrude certainly broke mine.”
Val glanced over at him in shock. “You had a thing for Miss Gertie?”
“I don’t know what a thing is, but I was in love with the woman. And I don’t know why you look so surprised. Did you think I never had a relationship with a woman before?”
“No. I just thought Miss Gertie is quite a bit older than you are. That, and you two act like you hate each other.”
“Our age difference was much more important to her than it was to me. And I guess we act like we hate each other because it hurts too much to act like we love each other. It’s much easier to blame the other person than to take the blame yourself.” Lucas stared off at the barn. “But I am to blame. She might’ve refused my marriage proposal, but she had every right to. I expected her to uproot her life and follow me around on the rodeo circuit without even considering how much she loved the boardinghouse.”
“Like her niece,” Val said. “Reba would never leave it either. Which is why things could never work out between us. My life is in New York.”
Without warning, Lucas reached out and thumped him on the back of the head so hard it knocked off Val’s cowboy hat.
Val held the throbbing spot and stared at Lucas. “What the hell was that for?”
“I’m hopin’ to knock some sense into you like I wish someone had done for me all those years ago. If they had, I might not be livin’ in a house with my old bachelor brother. Instead, I’d be livin’ in the boardinghouse with a beautiful woman warmin’ my bed. Now I get that you love to write those books of yours. God blessed you with a way with words and He wouldn’t bless you with something if He didn’t want you to use it. But He also blessed you with a brain in your head and a heart in your chest. He expects you to use those too. I didn’t, and I have lived to regret it. I refuse to sit back and let you make the same mistake, boy.”
Val held up his hands. “Whoa, Lucas. This situation is completely different from you and Miss Gertie. Reba and I are not in love. I mean we like each other. At least, I think she likes me, but we’ve only kissed once.”
“You don’t have to kiss more than once to fall in love, boy. Love isn’t about the physical. It’s about having a connection with someone that you don’t have with anyone else. It’s about someone touchin’ something inside you that you didn’t even know was there. I recognized Gertrude the moment I saw her, and Gertrude recognized me.”
Was that what Val felt when he looked at Reba? Was it recognition that made him feel so naked and vulnerable? Before he could come up with an answer, the screen door opened and Devlin stepped out. She wasn’t holding a glass of iced tea. She was holding her cellphone.
“It’s Holden,” she said with a worried expression on her face. “I guess Miss Gertie had a heart attack and had to be rushed to the hospital.”
Val didn’t know who stood up quicker, him or Lucas.
“Don’t just stand there, Marvin,” Lucas said. “I need to get to my woman.”
Chapter Seventeen
There had been times when Reba had thought how much easier life would be if she didn’t have to deal with her ornery aunt. But when she got the call from Mike saying he’d found her aunt collapsed in the lobby and she was being rushed to the county hospital, the most crippling fear had hit Reba. And now, as she looked at Aunt Gertie lying in the hospital bed with all kinds of IVs and heart monitors attached to her frail body, she was still petrified at just the mere thought of losing her beloved aunt forever.
Reba sat close to her bed and held tight to Aunt Gertie’s hand, hoping to physically anchor her to this earth. “Please don’t go, Aunt Gertie. I know we fuss at each other, but that’s what family does. I love you. I love you a lot. So don’t even think about leaving me to run the boardinghouse all by my lonesome.” Her aunt’s eyes remained closed and her usually fast-moving lips were still. Reba rested her forehead on their linked hands and prayed. “Dear Lord, please don’t take her yet. I might’ve wished a couple times that I didn’t have the extra burden, but I never—”
The click of boot heels had her cutting off. She lifted her head to see Valentine walking into the room. He glanced at Aunt Gertie and then those compassionate topaz eyes settled on her. She didn’t even think. She just rose to her feet and walked straight into his arms. They enfolded her like a strong, secure blanket as she buried her face in his warm neck and silently wept.
He didn’t say anything, and Reba didn’t need him to. At the moment, all she needed was his strength, and he gave it to her. He held her tight as if he was never going to let go and soothingly rubbed her back. She could’ve stood in his arms forever if not for the sudden commotion in the hallway.
“I don’t care about some stupid hospital rule that only two people can be in a room at a time. I want to see Gertrude, and I’m gonna see her now!” Lucas Diamond came shuffling into the room, followed by two annoyed nurses, who looked like they were about to bodily pull him right back out again. Before they could, Aunt Gertie sat straight up in bed and glared at Lucas with squinty eyes.
“Don’t you dare come chargin’ in my room messin’ things up, you son of Satan!”
Lucas’s tense face relaxed and a smile played with his lips as he shuffled over to the bed. “I should’ve known that you were too ornery to leave this world in peace, you mean old hag.”
“Old? Who you callin’ old, you decrepit geezer?”
“You’re a lot older than me, you ancient biddy.”
“I’m not so ancient that I can’t remember what a randy rodeo rascal once told me. ‘Age don’t matter.’”
“It don’t! And to prove it, you better get well and get your withered bag of bones out of this bed.”
“All in good time.” She jerked the sheet all the way to her chin and glared at Lucas. “Now get out of here, you dilapidated Double Diamond devil, and stop gawkin’ at me in my nightie.”
A smile bloomed on Lucas’s face. “I’ve seen you in far less, you wrinkled old jezebel.” He turned and shuffled right back out the door.
Reba was too stunned to say anything. She had thought Lucas and her aunt’s love affair was over. But it was obvious they still cared about each other. Aunt Gertie stared at the door long after Lucas had disappeared. “The crazy old fool just had to come busting in here at the wrong time.” But Reba could tell by her face that she was pleased as punch he had.
“He was just worried about you, Miss Gertie,” Valentine said. “We all are.”
“Well, you should be. I’m at death’s door. Since you have a soft spot for me, I’ll expect you to come visit me every day. And I’ll also expect you to help Reba at the boardinghouse. Mr. Daniels and Mr. Cooper are inept as they come.” She pointed a finger at him. “Do you understand me?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good.” Aunt Gertie folded the sheet over her lap. “Now somebody needs to get me something to drink and eat. I thought a hospital was where the word hospitality came from.”
Valentine laughed as he headed out of the room, he returned a few moments later with a nurse who held a tray of food and a drink. While Aunt Gertie ate dinner and complained to Valentine about hospital food, the doctor called Reba out into the hallway.
“So is it her heart?” Reba asked.
The doctor shook her head as she studi
ed the folder in her hands with the test results. “Her heart appears to be working just fine. In fact, she’s got the heart of a woman half her age.”
“Then why did she collapse with chest pains?”
“I don’t know. I’d like to keep her here for a few days and run some more tests.”
Reba thought her aunt would flat-out refuse. Instead, she readily agreed. “I think a few more days will just about do it. Now show me how to use this crazy TV remote. And Reba, you need to get back to the boardinghouse. For all we know, Mr. Cooper and Mr. Daniels could be con-artists or thieves.”
“I already called Raynelle and Luanne on my way to the hospital and asked them if they could help keep an eye on things while I’m here with you. I also asked them to cancel the Halloween party on Saturday night.”
“You’ll do no such a thing,” Aunt Gertie snapped. “Dixon’s Boardinghouse has been hosting a Halloween party for the town for over fifty years and me having a little spell isn’t going to ruin that record. Now you get on home and get busy preparing for it. I have an entire hospital of people watching me.” She glanced at the nurse who had just come in to check her vitals. “Ain’t that right?”
The nurse smiled at Reba. “We’ll keep a close eye on her and call if there are any changes.”
Reba started to argue, but Aunt Gertie eyes narrowed. “Either you leave, Reba Gertrude, or I will.” She looked at Valentine. “And you too. I don’t need some Double Diamond bad boy staying the night with me and soiling my reputation. Now git!”
Valentine beat her back to the boardinghouse and was waiting on the porch for her. As she started to unlock the door, he reached out and softly squeezed her arm. “She’s going be okay, Reba. She’s a tough old bird.”
Before Reba could thank him for being there for both her and Aunt Gertie, Luanne’s voice rang out from inside. “Before you break in, I think you should know that I have a .357 Magnum ready to blow you to kingdom come.”
Valentine’s eyebrows shot up. “What is it with Texas women and guns?”
