by Elsie Davis
“Wow, is nothing a secret around here?” Kayla turned away, hoping his all-knowing gaze wouldn’t see her pain.
One word about the baby, and their attitude toward Dylan would change faster than a burned-out shooting star. Self-preservation kept her quiet. The thought of hurting Dylan paled in comparison to the hurt she’d already suffered.
“I’m also smart enough to figure out it must have had something to do with Becky because you dropped her like a cow drops a calf. And it all happened around the same time. But here’s what I do know. I need him. So I’m asking you to be civil.”
She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Her throat muscles cramped, almost choking her. She reached out to steady herself by holding on to Dizzy’s long neck and mane.
“For you, I’d do almost anything.” She spurred her horse forward toward the cornfields and left her dad to follow.
Ten minutes later, she slowed the horse, pulling back on the reins. “Whoa, girl,” she said softly. She glanced around while she waited for her dad to catch up.
Pathetic.
There was no other way to describe the corn crop. Row after row, the fields were infinitely worse than she imagined. Short and wiry corn stalks with leaves that drooped toward the dry and dusty ground. Four-inch ears of corn with brown dried silk hanging from the top. They should have been twice that size this time of year. The ground was littered with cracks desperate for water to fill the gaps.
“Is everything this bad?” she asked when her father pulled up next to her, a grim look on his face.
“Unfortunately, yes. The drought has taken a toll on everyone around here. Most farms and ranches can weather through one or two years, but three is tough. There’s a lot of folks losing farms that have been in their families for generations, just like ours.”
“Are we okay?” she asked. This explained why nothing was being fixed up.
“It’s been tough for sure. But we’re finding ways to keep it going.”
“Such as?” She pressed for more information, more concerned about her parents and the homestead than she had been when she arrived and first discovered the deteriorating condition of the farm.
“There’s no need for you to worry,” he answered.
An evasive answer at best, one that left her wondering what he was trying to hide.
“Dead crops mean no income and no way for you to pay the bills. I’m not a child anymore. I understand the economics of a farm.”
“Well, unless you’re offering to come home for good and use some of your newfound knowledge to manage the farm, it’s nothing for you to worry about.” Her dad tapped his heels to the horse’s belly and cantered off, not bothering to wait for her reply.
Chapter Four
Dylan rolled over and covered his head with the pillow. It was the only way to drown out the screech of the alarm clock reminding him morning came whether he’d slept the night before or not.
Seeing Kayla again had awakened memories of her, of them together in the tree house. Images that kept him awake long into the night.
Physically, she looked the same. Soft waves of flaming red curls hung loosely down her back and framed her face. Curls he’d last seen draped across a pillow as she lay in his arms and professed her love. And of course, the icy-blue eyes cold with contempt after his rejection, eyes that still had the power to cripple him with their intensity.
She had every reason to hate him. His gut clenched.
Walking away had been unforgivable after she’d entrusted him with her body and her heart, even if he’d walked away to save her from making a mistake. Giving up her dreams and choosing a life that could destroy her hadn’t been an option as far as he was concerned.
With nothing to offer her except a failing ranch, a run-down home and the thrill of becoming an eighteen-year-old mother to an eight-year-old boy, Dylan had let her go. He would have loved nothing more than to have her stay, but he’d already seen firsthand the destruction caused when unhappiness and loneliness became a way of life.
And nothing had changed. All the reasons he’d walked away still existed. If she ever came home, it had to be because she wanted to, not because he needed her. He refused to trap her into the solitary life on the ranch, not when he had so little to offer. But it didn’t stop him from hoping it would happen one day.
Dylan rolled back over and reached out to silence the incessant alarm, hoping to drive away the pain lodged in his chest. It was sunup. And sunup waited for no one.
He crawled out of bed and threw on a pair of jeans before making his way down the hall. It was going to be a long day, especially with the added workload of getting the Anderson barn ready for the wedding.
“Derek, you up?” He pounded on his brother’s bedroom door.
“No. Go away,” Derek called out, his voice groggy with sleep.
“Coming in,” he said right before he entered and proceeded to yank off the bedspread. “Get a move on. We’re running behind, and you’ll be late.”
“You could just let me skip for a change,” Derek grumbled.
“No way. We all have jobs to do, and yours is to get an education and help with the ranch.”
“I don’t feel good. Everyone should be let off the hook when they’re sick,” he whined.
Dylan reached out to touch his forehead.
“No fever and no vomiting. Nothing wrong with you I can’t cure with a few nasty chores if you don’t get your butt moving and go to school.” It was the same old routine, but today Dylan’s patience levels were running on extra low.
“Whatever. Just go away so I can get dressed.” He felt it was safe to leave once Derek kicked back the sheets and rolled over to sit up on the bed.
In the kitchen, he located a couple of bowls and poured Cheerios and milk for breakfast. After popping bread in the toaster, he grabbed two lunch sacks from the fridge. Luckily, he’d made up several lunches ahead of time, so he was off the hook this morning for that time-consuming responsibility.
A sullen Derek slid onto the wooden stool at the kitchen table. He ate in silence, and for once, Dylan let him. Too tired to do the parenting thing, he polished off his breakfast, took the bowl to the sink to rinse it, and emptied the dregs in his coffee cup down the drain. Behind him, the back door slammed shut. Glancing at the counter, he heaved a sigh of relief. His brother had remembered to take his book bag and his lunch for a change.
He glanced back at the window and spotted Derek pedaling his bike down the driveway. “Have a nice day to you, too,” Dylan said out loud to an empty room. Silence was better than an argument any day of the week.
He threw some water and his lunch sack into a duffel bag and headed for the truck, hoping it would start this morning. The old truck needed a new starter, and one of these days, he’d make it a priority to fix. Too many other things needed doing to mess with it today.
It was already getting hot outside, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Luckily, the truck started on the second try. Dylan drove down the dirt road and turned left at the end toward the Anderson farm.
Easing past the barn, he checked for signs of life. He spotted Lou astride his horse, coming from around the side of the weathered structure.
“Morning.” Dylan waved his arm out the window as he inched closer, not wanting to spook the horse.
“Morning. What brings you out here so early?”
“Thought I’d check on the herd.”
“Her or the herd?” Lou grinned.
“The herd,” he said, unmistakably pronouncing the D.
“I’m not an old fool. I know you and which way the wind blows.” Lou’s lips curled. “I’ll tell you this, she won’t be coming back to Riverbend, or you, if we don’t figure something out.” Lou’s matter-of-fact tone slid down Dylan’s spine.
“Seems to me a grown woman needs to make her own choices, no matter whether I agree or not. Besides, you and I have a deal not to interfere.”
Being a rancher’s wife would be a hard life, and it was
a life Kayla had already run from once. There was no way in hell he wanted to influence any decision she made to stay or go.
“Well, if that’s your attitude, then you’re not the man I thought you were. I know the only reason you would have agreed to the Kayla clause would be because you care about her. I’m not blind. Why else would you risk losing the farm and the river rights unless you cared?”
“She has to come home because this is where she wants to be.”
“Seems to me, a man who cares for my daughter the way he should, would fight for her,” Lou grumbled. The look he shot Dylan’s way was as pointed as his words.
“It has to be her choice. Look at Derek. I’ve tried and tried. Nothing. I can’t get through to him because he doesn’t want to listen.”
“Then I suggest you give up and go check on the herd, because soon them cows is the only thing gonna keep you company. The boy and the woman will move on if you don’t fight for them.”
Dylan shook his head side to side. “Later, Lou.” He lifted his hand in farewell and drove away.
…
Kayla stood by the window and looked down into the barnyard. She spotted Dylan’s old Ford and pushed the curtain back for a better view.
She would love to be a fly on the barn wall and to hear exactly what they were discussing. Dylan had a way of showing up in person or in conversations more frequently than Kayla would have considered necessary. Considering their history, she found his closeness with her father irritating.
Her father should be talking to her instead. Animal Science wasn’t the only thing she’d learned in school, and she could help her dad, if he’d let her. But he wasn’t saying a whole lot about the drought situation or the farm, leaving her in the dark each time she asked.
Families were losing land passed from one generation to the next and being forced to uproot and relocate because of the drought. It would devastate her father to lose the only home he’d ever known, but Kayla had no way of knowing where he stood. Years ago, he’d taken out a loan to cover the shortfall between her scholarship and her school bill, and it was the loan she was worried about now. If he lost the farm, it would be her fault.
The farm should have been hers one day, but she’d walked away with no intentions of returning. Nothing had changed, but it didn’t mean she could stand by and do nothing. No matter what, she owed it to her parents to make sure they could live out their lives where her dad grew up, and in the only home where he would ever be happy.
And she had a pretty good idea how to make it happen. An irrigation system with a pump would be costly, but it was the perfect plan to save the farm. She just needed to get her father to agree to let her help.
Kayla stifled a yawn. Her body ached in places she hadn’t used in years, and it kept her awake long into the night. She’d forgotten how physically demanding it was to pitch hay and ride a horse.
Dylan drove down the dirt road that led toward the back of their property and toward the river. “Hmmm.” She tapped a finger against her chin. Where would he be going? And more importantly, why? Based on what her father told her, he ought to have enough work on his own property to keep him busy without sticking his nose into her family business.
It wasn’t long before she was dressed, out the door, and on her way to the barn, grateful she hadn’t run into anyone along the way. There was no way she wanted to explain where she was headed. Within minutes, she’d saddled Dizzy and was headed in the direction Dylan had taken.
Kayla followed the road looking around for signs of him or the truck.
Coming over the crest of a hill, she spotted him down by the river.
She slowed the mare, staying hidden behind a grove of trees and bushes. “Whoa, girl,” she said softly, tying the reins to a tree.
Edging closer, she peered between the bushes to spy on Dylan, shocked to see a large herd of cattle grazing in the open pasture next to the river, many of them belly deep in the slow-moving water. Her dad hadn’t brought her out this way yesterday, and he certainly hadn’t mentioned owning cattle.
A quick tally showed close to three hundred head, which was no small potatoes in Riverbend, especially given the overall acreage of the farm. It would have cost him a fortune to bring in a herd this size, and from what she could tell, money was in short supply. As a business plan, it wasn’t a good time to get into ranching. The drought would have driven up the price of cattle, not to mention the feed.
The initial cost alone would have been enormous, but the upkeep and labor a herd this size would require would never work for the small outfit her dad ran. It hurt he hadn’t bothered to consult her before making such a huge decision. She may have left to pursue her dreams, but that didn’t mean she didn’t care about them or the family farm. Far from it.
Her dad’s reasoning for buying the cattle didn’t matter. What was done was done. Plan A to save the farm wasn’t an option if there was a herd of cattle to keep fed and watered, but she was determined to figure out a Plan B.
Dylan leaned down to scoop water from the river into a small container. Sitting back on his haunches, he held up a vial, poured some of the river water into the tube, and shook it gently. Water testing was common practice when herds relied on ground water sources, and with water being scarce around here she was sure ranchers and farmers alike were highly protective of the Trinity River. The question remained, however, why was Dylan doing it?
Dizzy whinnied from behind. “Shhhh. Easy, girl. Let’s not advertise we’re here.” She stroked the horse’s long neck and mane to comfort her. Kayla turned back to watch Dylan but couldn’t see him. She scanned the area. Nothing.
Damn. Where did he go? Maybe he was behind the truck and out of sight.
“Morning, Kayla. What brings you out here so early?”
“Ahhhh.” She spun around to face him. His voice had been casual, but he’d scared the bejeebers out of her. Damn him.
There was no use pretending she hadn’t been caught spying. Humor was her next best defense. The girl who got hurt and had run away had long since grown up and didn’t shirk from anyone. Least of all Dylan.
“Ummm, just out for a morning ride and stopped to let the horse rest.” It sounded good.
“Try again,” he said, his lips twitching in a half-hearted smile.
“The horse wandered out here, tied herself to the tree, and I had to come find her?” She could play this game if he wanted, but she had no intention of admitting the truth.
“I remember plenty of times I caught you spying on me and the guys when you used to follow us around like a little pest. Apparently, spying is another quality of yours that remains unchanged.”
What did he mean by another quality? Spying had worked wonders when she was younger, and she saw no reason not to continue if it got her the truth. There were quite a few truths she’d learned in her teenage years following the Fearless Five around like a little sister.
“Who said I was spying? Can’t I stop and rest my horse while I’m out for a ride?”
“Your daddy may have believed you back when you were younger, but I never fell for your stories. There’s no reason you can’t tell me the truth. We were friends once. Close friends, if I remember,” he added, stepping in closer.
He reached a hand toward her face. She froze, her brain not capable of functioning. She held her breath and remembered the last time his hand had reached out to touch her, his lips not far behind. Her body remembered his touch and had a mind of its own, eliminating any will power she needed to stop him. Tingles raced down her spine, short, shallow breaths came faster even as time slowed to a brief halt.
He plucked a leaf out of her hair. “A leftover from your hiding place,” he said, his voice husky.
She wasn’t the only one remembering another time and place.
Kayla let out the deep breath she’d been holding. In relief or disappointment, she wasn’t sure. Memory lane was best left in the dark corners of her mind and forgotten. Older and wiser, there was no way she wo
uld fall for his charm a second time around.
It was better to get straight to the point.
“What do you do for my father? And when did he get cattle? By the looks of things, there’s a lot not getting done around here, and yet suddenly he has a herd of cows.”
The smile slipped from his face. “You’re stepping in a cow patty on this one. You might want to ask him instead.”
“He’s not answering, so I’m asking you. My father’s not a cattle rancher, and you and I both know it.”
“He’s doing the best he can with the drought. Not that you’d understand, because you don’t come around much. And for your information, the herd is mine.” Dylan’s brown eyes bored into her with hawk-like precision.
The only thing he’d see was relief. Relief she could go back to Plan A and the irrigation system and not have to deal with a herd of oversize beasts.
“Yours? How do you have this many head of cattle when your dad never ran more than a hundred?” Not that she cared. The only thing she cared about was the cattle didn’t belong to her parents. They were Dylan’s, and the result as far as she was concerned was the same. They had to go.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m sure you recall my father died. There was an insurance policy, and I used the money to make something of the ranch. To make a home for Derek and…”
“And?”
“Never mind. It doesn’t matter.” She knew the hard look on his face. Whatever he’d been about to say would remain unspoken.
“If they’re your cattle, why are they on our land?”
“Because they need the water. It’s cheaper than me having it transported in every day for a herd this size. The reservoirs on my ranch dried up earlier this spring.”
Kayla pulled her hair into a ponytail and rubbed the back of her neck before letting the hair tumble back into place. “But our crop is failing. Why isn’t my dad having the water pumped up to the fields? Surely he can afford to put in irrigation with what you’re paying to lease the grazing land and river.”
