by Celya Bowers
“Smart. What if she does an Internet search and looks up your name?” Brandon, the lawyer, asked.
“It will say that I was a practicing pediatric psychologist associated with Austin General. There’s no mention of me being in line for the ranch.”
“At least there’s that. How do you think she’s going to take you being the heir apparent?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll find out soon. Mom and Dad want to travel. So by next summer, I’ll be completely in charge. I’m brokering my first horse deal this week.”
“Wow! You were made for the ranch, Kyle. You’d go crazy working like you used to. Can you imagine working inside all day, you’d go nuts.”
Hindsight was everything. True, twenty years ago, he was trying to get as far away from the ranch as he could. “Yeah, now I know that too. I would have love this wisdom when I went to college.”
“Then we wouldn’t have met,” Brandon said. “Although you were only my client during the divorce, but you know I’d help you in any case you have.”
“I appreciate it Brandon. I also hope I never have to use you for anything in the future.”
“Now tell me about this woman.”
Kyle know he had a stupid grin on his face. “We’ve only had a few dates so far. Her daughter takes lessons here. Have to see how everything goes.” He also hadn’t told Jemma that Kassie was one of the subjects in his latest book.
“Okay, I get it. Too fresh to tell how it’s going. Just keep me in the loop.” He ended the call.
Kyle shook his head and replace the phone in its cradle. Brandon had been his friend since their freshman year at UT. Brandon also relieved his doubts about Ava. Now Kyle had the upper hand. He dialed Ava’s cell phone wanting to get this mess over as soon as possible. He listened to the phone rang, rang, and rang. Her voicemail kicked in. Frustrated, he left a message.
Kyle leaned back in his chair and let out a tired breath. He wasn’t used to problems. In the five years he’d been back home, life had been normal, steady and yes, a little boring. Temptation had him wanting to call Jemma, but he knew it was almost time for Kassie to get out of school. Her evening would be full of homework, dinner and spending time with her daughter. Was he jealous?
The phone rang just as Jemma and Kassie entered the house. Kassie was holding the sack from the The Burger Hut. Her baby requested burgers for dinner. Jemma was so happy Kassie was talking, no request was too much.
The phone rang again as she closed the door. “Honey, put the burgers in the kitchen. I’ll be right there,” Jemma said as she reached for the phone. “Hello?”
“Jemma! Oh thank goodness, I thought I was dialing the wrong number,” her mother-in-law said. “I tried several times.”
Jemma shook her head. Not today. What a time for Jared’s mother to call. “Hello, Barbra, I’m sorry I was out earlier. I went grocery shopping and picked up Kassie from school.”
“I really hate that she’s so far from us. I can’t believe you sold that beautiful house and move way out there,” Barbra Patterson said.
“It’s been great for Kassie. She’s taking horse riding lessons and it has been very helpful.” Jemma hoped that would appeased the woman. “We’re coming to Dallas this weekend. We’d love to see you.”
“I’d love to see my only granddaughter.”
“Kassie, Grammy is on the phone.”
Barbra smacked her lips. “It would be good if I could talk to her.”
Jemma watched as her daughter ran to her and reached for the phone. She handed it to her daughter. Kassie was all smiles when she started talking into the phone.
“Hi, Grammy,” Kassie said. “How’s PawPaw?”
Jemma watched as her daughter chatted with her grandmother. A few minutes later, Kassie handed the phone back to her mother. “Grammy is crying.”
“She’s just happy, honey. Go put your things away and we’ll eat.”
Kassie grabbed her backpack and headed upstairs. Jemma pulled the phone to her ear and listened to Barbra’s sniffles. “Are you okay, Barbra?” She wiped away a tear of her own.
“She’s talking! Oh, my God! I didn’t think she’d ever talk again. When? How?”
“Slow down, Barb. Don’t get too excited. It’s been a couple of weeks. First it was a word here and there, then short sentences. She’s still not where she was, but it’s so wonderful to hear her talking again.”
“What made her talk?”
“I don’t know. She wanted to show me her horse.”
“You bought her a horse? Isn’t that extravagant? Like the private school she attends,” Barbra said. “I know my son left you in good shape. So good that you quit your job.”
Jemma took a deep breath. “Barb, I’m not going to do this with you. I know you’re still grieving for Jared. He was your only son and you’re hurting. We moved here because that house was too many reminders. Kassie is doing well at Blooming Hill and taking horse riding lessons. And for the record, this private school cost the same as the private she was enrolled in Dallas.”
“I’m sorry. That was very unfair to you. I know you’re doing what’s best for Kassie. I know Jared loved you and her very much.” She took a deep breath. “I’m just an angry old woman who’s missing her only son.”
Jemma wiped her eyes again, trying to fight back tears. “I understand. Janna suggested I started a blog to help with my grief.”
“Has it helped?”
“Yes, it has. I have over a 100,000 followers. Everything I’m feeling, someone else has went through the same exact thing. It’s wonderful to get another person’s perspective.”
“Everett keeps saying I need counseling to get over Jared’s death. Perhaps he’s right,” she said quietly.
“It couldn’t hurt,” Jemma said. Her father-in-law had confided to Jemma how much Barbra had been lashing out at everyone. “One thing I have learned with all that I went through, is that you can’t blame other people for what’s tearing you up inside.”
“I know I’ve not been a nice person this last year. It’s a wonder Everett hasn’t divorced me.”
“It’ll work out, Barb. I’ll call you when we get to Dallas.”
“That will be lovely. See you then.” She ended the call.
Jemma sighed, replaced the phone to its cradle and called her daughter to dinner.
Once they sat down to their burgers and fries, Jemma asked Kassie about her day at school.
“Fun,” Kassie said between bites. “Mrs. Taylor brought her baby to school today.”
Jemma racked her brain, but didn’t recognize the teacher’s name. “Who’s Mrs. Taylor?”
“The art teacher’s helper.” Kassie devoured the burger in record time.
“Didn’t you eat lunch?” Jemma asked as she nibbled on her fries.
Kassie nodded. “Just hungry today.”
Jemma watched her daughter. Now on occasion, Kassie could eat for two adult people. She had her father’s high metabolism, so Jemma didn’t worry too much about Kassie becoming overweight, but she was curious. “What did you have for lunch?”
“Fish, mac and cheese, broccoli.” She started working on her fries. “The fish smelled funny, so I didn’t eat much of it.”
Jemma nodded. “Makes sense.” She gave her daughter part of her burger. “Here, you can eat some of mine.”
Kassie looked at her, puzzled. “I thought you like this.” She took a bite of the burger.
“I do, baby, but I’m not hungry. Mommy has a lot on her mind.”
“About Mr. Kyle?”
How do children know? “Why would you think so?”
“I saw the flowers.” She rose, grabbed her plate and headed to the kitchen.
Jemma sat there dumbfounded. Her baby was growing up way too fast. Kassie returned to the dining room. “Mommy, can I watch tv?”
“Yes, you can. We’ll get to homework as soon as I finish eating.”
Kassie nodded. “Don’t hurry, Mommy.” She walked to the living roo
m and turned on the tv.
Jemma laughed. Above all else, her daughter was still an eight-year-old and would put homework off until it was necessary. She ate her fries in silence. Sometimes, life was so funny.
SIXTEEN
Call her.
Kyle shook the thought from his head. He had too much to do regarding the trip to Houston to spend time talking to Jemma. He still needed to finalize the contract Gus had faxed over that afternoon. Besides, it was Kassie’s bedtime and Jemma was a single parent. Everything fell to her.
Questions kept popping into his head that he needed answers to. Questions that were none of his business, such as, if she was still in love with her dead husband. He didn’t think he could compete with a ghost.
He yawned and stretched. Working on the book wasn’t the diversion he needed, it just made him think about Jemma more. Not that he had dated much in his life before Ava, but he’d never had it this bad for any woman.
He checked his calendar for the upcoming month. The Junior Competition was being held in January, just three months away. The Competition had been held at the ranch for the last fifteen years. It ran like a well-oiled machine. Registration would open in another week, and he really was going to be busy once that started. How would he find time for Jemma? He knew it was going to be tricky, but he’d have to give it his best effort.
He also wanted Kassie to represent the ranch for the junior girl’s division. He needed to get Jemma’s permission for that to happen. He saw the opening for a legitimate reason for calling her. So he wouldn’t seem as pathetic as he felt.
His phone rang before he dial the phone. Maybe Ava had finally decided to call him back. He picked it up before it rang again. “Kyle Cosgrove.”
“Can’t you ever just say hello?” It was Justin. “You’re not at work twenty-four-seven. Relax, dude, it’s almost ten o’clock. I was calling to see how things were going with Jemma.”
“I hadn’t talked to her today,” Kyle said.
“So you guys haven’t had the talk?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about did you discuss what you’re feeling? If this would happen again? What kind of birth control does she use?”
“Well, not exactly,” Kyle hedged. “We did discuss birth control.”
“Is she on The Pill?”
“No. She was married, you know.”
“So what did you guys use?”
Kyle didn’t want to admit it to his brother, but knew it was just a matter of time before Justin would figure it out. He was worse than any woman.
“Don’t tell me. You didn’t use anything? Kyle Cosgrove, I’m shocked and a little bit pleased. You did something spontaneous for a change.”
“It had been so long, I didn’t even think about protection. I’m going to feel like a damn fool walking into a drug store for condoms.”
Justin laughed. “You know you can pick them up at Wal-Mart, Target, or just about any place on the planet. When is the last time you bought some?”
“Before I married Ava.”
“Wow!” Justin whispered. “Man, when are you going to the store?”
“I don’t know. Maybe when I come back from Houston. Mom says it’s time for me to start cooking for myself.”
“Yeah, it’s time your fridge has more than beer and water in it,” Justin joked.
“Hey, I think there’s a bottle of wine in there,” Kyle said.
“My point exactly. We should go shopping for you some condoms.”
Kyle saw the disaster in that little shopping expedition. “Look, Justin, I appreciate your concern, but this is one thing I’m going to have to do on my own.”
“Alright, Kyle. Just remember that I’m here if you need me. Oh, and there’s a lot more choices now, too.”
“Great, something else I’ll have to look up.” Kyle ended the call.
***
Ava faced her lover as he pointed a gun to her head. “Max, you don’t understand!”
“I understand plenty. I gave you a simple task and you couldn’t even do that right. I thought you knew what you were doing with Cosgrove and you let his mama run off that property!”
She had to think fast or that idiot was going to kill her. This was what she got for following the money. Max’s family had all the money, she realized, too late. Max had been cut off from the Burnett millions years before, and was trying to get back in the family’s good graces when they hooked up. All that news had been kept within the family. His father kindly informed her of that detail when Max announced their engagement. Ava assumed they would live on the Burnett family compound located on the outskirts of Austin, once they married. That was when the bottom dropped out of her world.
Now she held up in cheap hotel, with a madman with a grudge and ready to kill for his amusement. “Max, think about it. We wait until the perfect moment and then we strike. We could end up with the ranch as well as all of Kyle’s money.”
Max took the gun away from her forehead. “How are you going to make that happen now if you couldn’t do anything when you had him?” He started to pace the small room. “You had the perfect setup. Drop by unannounced, get in his house and plant the papers.”
“Max, I’m not stupid. Kyle is a lot different than when I was married to him and besides, he was going out.” Not to mention her now ex-husband looked very attractive. What a difference seventy-five pounds made! She assumed he’d come to wallow in pity about her betrayal to him, but instead he’d come home to life he’d always wanted. Damn. She was stupid.
“Tomorrow, you’re going to the ranch and make a scene. I don’t care what kind of scene. I need everyone distracted while I break into his house and plant the suicide note.”
Ava gasped. “You’re going to kill him! You never said anything about taking a life. I thought the paper was like the amendment to the decree.” She now saw the plan Max had for her. “Even if you succeed in killing him, making it look like suicide, he still has two other siblings the ranch would pass to them. Not me.”
“If you prove that your marriage was still valid, then it would pass to you.” His voice was so even, Ava knew that madness had taken over.
“Max, think about what you’re doing? What you’re asking me to do. This is too much. Extorting money, okay, murder, no.”
“You’re just about the money, aren’t you?” Max sat on the bed, his head down. “I should have listened to my father. He said you were going to lead me down a path that I couldn’t return. Damn if he wasn’t right.”
Ava watched him as he reflected. Probably a good time to get out of this mess. She could beg Kyle’s forgiveness and worm her way back into his life. She’d be back in the Austin limelight again. She’d have to convince Kyle to leave the ranch and resume his practice. Yeah, that seemed like a great plan.
“Where do you think you’re going?” He rose off the bed in an instant.
“I was going to get something to eat,” she lied. “It’s been ages since we ate.”
“Sounds like a good idea. Why don’t we both go?”
***
Jemma listened to sounds of her baby girl slumbering away in dream land through the intercom system. She had everything she needed, her mug of tea, and her laptop. Nothing to hamper her writing, except her mind wasn’t on the job. Her brain and most likely her heart was on Kyle.
Was this a relationship or just good timing? No use worrying about it, she should be worried about how she would act when she took Kassie for her riding lesson.
Her phone rang. Janna. It was time for their nightly conversation. Jemma could bounce her feelings off her sister. Maybe she was so worried because Kyle was the first man since Jared.
“Hey, Janna,” Jemma said.
“Sorry, I’m not your sister,” Kyle said. “Are you busy?”
“No, I was just relaxing. Kassie went to bed about an hour ago.”
“That’s good,” Kyle said. “I just wanted to hear your voice. It’s been a crazy day.
”
Oh that didn’t bode well. “What’s wrong?” She closed her laptop, knowing she wasn’t going to get any work done. “Is everyone okay?”
“Yes, everyone is fine. Just work. You know getting ready to pick up horses, making preparations for twelve more horses. Making sure everything will run smoothly while I’m gone.”
“I can imagine this a huge burden, especially since this is your first sale on your own.” She could understand how pressure that was on Kyle. “I’m sure you’ve made sure everything was taking care of.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“You seem like that kind of guy.”
“Boring?”
“No, of course not,” Jemma said. Now she’d insulted the man. “You just seem like you’d make sure there was no room for error.”
“Like asking you about birth control?”
“In a way, yes. But that doesn’t mean you’re boring. Maybe thorough was a better word. You made sure I was satisfied when…” she couldn’t finished the sentence. How did they end up talking about sex?
“Well since we’re talking about it, I need to know how you feel about what we did.”
“No regrets,” Jemma said.
“Me either. I hadn’t anticipated things moving quite so fast, but I’m thankful that they did.”
“That’s what you get for wearing that hat,” Jemma said. “I don’t know what came over me.” That was a lie, she mused. She knew exactly what came over her. Lust.
“Wow, maybe I should wear the whole get up, you know with chaps and all?” He joked.
She laughed at the image suddenly rolling through her overactive imagination. “No, you don’t have to. I think you’d look great in anything.”
“Right back at you,” he said quietly. “I think you also look great in nothing.”
“Kyle!” Jemma felt herself blushing at his remarks.
“It’s the truth. You’re a beautiful woman, Jemma. I treasure the time we have together.”
“Oh, Kyle. That’s so sweet.”
“You’re welcome. Since tomorrow is Wednesday, how about lunch tomorrow?”
“I’d love to, but Kassie has a doctor’s appointment. He hasn’t seen her since she started talking.”
