The Rancher's Texas Match

by Brenda Minton

  In the dark interior of the truck his teeth flashed white in his face. “Just a little. I’ll take a look at your car while I’m here.”

  He was out of the truck before she could tell him it wasn’t necessary.

  “You don’t have to do this,” she told him as he headed for her car.

  “I don’t mind. It’s probably something simple. Go ahead and release the hood.”

  She opened the driver’s-side door and pulled the release. From under the hood she heard him saying something about a hose.

  “Go ahead and start it,” he called out.

  She turned the key, and the car roared to life without a sputter. Tanner pushed the hood down and walked around to join her.

  “What was it?”

  “Do you always leave your car unlocked?” he asked as she got out, closing the door behind her.

  “Sometimes. Why?”

  “Someone pulled a hose loose.”

  “Maybe it just came loose?” She hoped that was the case. It didn’t make sense that anyone would tamper with her car. It definitely left her feeling unsettled.

  “It didn’t just come loose, Macy. Someone unhooked it. I know Haven is a small town and we like to think we’re insulated from real-world problems, but crime does happen here. Make sure you lock the car. And your house.”

  “I will.” She lifted the bag she’d brought from the Candle Light. “Join me for dessert. It isn’t much, but since you’re standing in the rain fixing my car, I should offer something.”

  The invitation had slipped out, surprising him. Surprising her.

  “I should go,” he started. And then he glanced at his watch. “What did you get?”

  She grinned at the question. “The giant chocolate turtle cheesecake. It sounded great, and then I couldn’t eat it.”

  “I can’t turn down chocolate turtle cheesecake. Do you have coffee?”

  “Of course.”

  “I’m in.”

  She led him inside, flipping on lights as they went. The house was quiet, but empty without Colby. There were times that it felt like home. But it was still Grant and Cynthia’s home. Their furniture, their photographs and their pictures on the walls.

  In the kitchen she started the coffee. When she turned, Tanner was pulling plates out of the cabinet.

  “You seem to know where to find things better than I do.”

  He pulled open a drawer and handed her a fork. “I visited a few times. My sister and Cynthia were friends. Grant kept the LSCL informed on school functions and needs in the community that he was aware of through the school.”

  “I feel like a visitor here,” she admitted, and then she was surprised by another round of tears. She brushed away the moisture and turned from his steady, curious gaze. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with me tonight.”

  “You lost your brother, your sister-in-law and what was probably a settled life in Dallas.”

  Not to mention her fiancé. But she was starting to see that as more of a near miss than a loss. If a man wasn’t willing to make changes for a child in need, well, she didn’t need that man.

  “Yes, I suppose. It might feel different if Colby was here, if we were making ourselves into a family. I know that’s what Grant wanted, and yet, here I am, and Colby is at the ranch. And the house still feels like their house, like I’m borrowing it. It feels as if they should be coming home any minute, and I’ll go back to my life, and Colby will come home and be happy again.”

  “I’m sorry.” He said it softly, and it wasn’t a platitude, just a simple acknowledgment of her pain.

  “Me, too.”

  “Make it your own,” he countered. “Maybe it’s time to pack up what was theirs and make this a home for you and Colby.”

  “They said to go slow.”

  “It’s been a year. I’m not a therapist, but I think Colby needs to be allowed to move on, too. Maybe it would help him to do this with you. The two of you could go shopping together for new things.”

  She poured them each a cup of coffee, and he cut the cheesecake into two pieces. They sat down together at the island in the center of the kitchen.

  For a few minutes they ate, and she thought about his suggestion. “It might work, you know. If we did this as a team.”

  “Talk to Bea and to the Macks,” he suggested.

  “I will.”

  The cheesecake was chocolate, caramel and pecans. She took a bite and realized Tanner was chuckling. She gave him a sharp look as she slid another bite into her mouth.

  “What?” she asked after the next bite.

  “It is good, isn’t it?”

  “Amazing.”

  His eyes twinkled, and he took another bite of the cake.

  “You’re still laughing at me,” she accused.

  He reached for a napkin and turned to face her. “Because you have a little bit of chocolate—” he dabbed at her chin “—right there.”

  They froze, sitting there facing each other. Her breath caught, the moment taking her by surprise. His hand stilled, and she knew by the way it lingered, by the way his blue eyes darkened to a smoky hue, that he felt it, too.

  Slowly he slid from the stool. She looked up, unable to speak her fears, to tell him this was a bad idea. Because in the moment, it felt like the perfect idea. His hand slid to the back of her neck. His other hand cupped her cheek, tilting her head so that when he leaned in, his mouth met hers with ease.

  The fork in her left hand dropped on her plate with a clank as she let go and moved her hand to his waist. His lips stilled over hers, but neither of them broke the connection.

  Eventually he pulled away, his calloused but gentle hand slid from her neck like a caress, and his lips brushed hers one last time. And she wanted him back, holding her, making her feel safe. A kiss had never made her feel so cherished.

  “That wasn’t what I’d planned.” He said it quietly, and she was glad for that.

  She didn’t want to be jarred from the moment.

  “No, neither had I.” She clasped her hands in front of her, afraid they would tremble if left to their own devices.

  “I don’t want to complicate things,” he continued.

  She put a finger to her lips. “Then don’t say anything, or you will. It was a kiss. And a very nice one. I don’t think either of us expected it, but, please, don’t say it won’t happen again or some other mature and noble thing.”

  Pushing aside mature, she reached for his hands and gave him a little pull in her direction. Her face tilted toward his was an invitation, and he leaned forward, taking it, dropping another sweet kiss on her lips before pulling away and breaking the connection again.

  “I’m not always noble.”

  She laughed at his words. “I’m glad to hear that.”

  “But I should go, because this is complicated.”

  “Hmm,” she said, because who could deny the truth? And the second half of that truth was that her heart was still bruised from Bill’s rejection.

  At least she knew she still had a heart. It could beat wildly and yearn for more than a solitary life.

  * * *

  She walked him to the door. He considered a few dozen ways to apologize, but in the end he decided against what would surely have been a lie. He wasn’t at all sorry he’d given her a ride home, and he wasn’t sorry he’d kissed her. She was beautiful and kind, and all wrong for him.

  He guessed if he was sorry, it was for himself. Because he knew better than to chase something that wasn’t meant to be. Sitting in her kitchen, he’d realized just how unsettled she was. She lived in Haven, but it looked as if she might be days away from packing up and leaving.

  She wouldn’t leave Colby. He’d watched her with her nephew. Maybe she doubted herself, but that l
ittle boy didn’t doubt her. He just had something buried deep that he needed to work through.

  “Good night,” he said, standing on her front porch. The rain was coming down in earnest. Somewhere in the distance a siren blasted the quiet of the night.

  She reached out, trailing a finger down his cheek. “I wish...”

  She shook her head.

  He took her hand, kissed her palm and let go. He had to get out of here and get back to the reasonable sanity that usually kept him from making the moonlit night kind of mistakes.

  “Good night.” She stepped back inside the house.

  He took the long way back to his ranch. He drove past the Blue Bonnet Bed and Breakfast. Then he turned and went down Main Street in Haven, past the coffee shop, the library, the grocery store and a few other businesses.

  This was his town. He was a part of Haven, and it was part of him. He wouldn’t change that for anything. When he thought of the city, he thought of Houston, his parents and chaos. He remembered too well what it had sounded like in that apartment on any given night. The hungry cries of his little sister, the yelling, the fights. And the smell of drugs.

  He knew he was biased because of his experiences, but he couldn’t undo his past or the way he felt. Cities were just fine. They served a purpose.

  As did small towns. This small town had saved his life.

  Aunt May. He smiled, remembering a woman who had never married, never had children of her own. But she’d taken in three kids she barely knew, and she’d taken all of their baggage, as well. The fears, the rebellion, the independence.

  Travis had been the rebel. Tanner had found trusting a difficult thing to do. He’d kept on doing what he’d done before Aunt May, trying to keep his sister fed, never trusting that Aunt May would have food the next day, or that she’d see to their needs. It had taken trust on his part and patience on hers for them to work past his issues.

  He guessed he still hoarded, always fearing that he’d wake up one day and everything would be gone. It was baggage left over from his childhood.

  He kept a pantry stocked with food. He kept money in a safe box. He kept to his goals. The list had made sense when he came up with it. College. A career. Buying back the ranch for Aunt May. Savings and a backup plan. And a relationship, someday. The right relationship. A woman who wanted to be a wife and a mom. One who enjoyed life in a small town and understood ranching.

  His brother, Travis, had teased him for that list, telling him he was courting trouble. Trying to keep his life to some kind of schedule only meant the schedule was sure to fall apart. But Tanner had stuck to it, needing the security a plan provided. He maintained his life without entanglements that would drag him back into chaos.

  Thirty minutes after leaving Macy, he pulled into the garage of his house. His castle, as Chloe called it. He’d built the house a few years back. It was two-story, stone and stucco, with heavy wood trim. It was open and light, with big windows. Light was important to him.

  Open spaces were important.

  As he walked through the kitchen and the family room, Chloe appeared. She studied him a little too closely, and then she plopped on the leather sofa and crossed her arms, her head cocked slightly to the side.

  “What?” He picked up a book he’d left on the table and pretended he was walking away from her.

  She stuck out her leg and stopped him. “Where have you been?”

  “Dinner at the Candle Light. We’re working on the people we have to find in order to keep the Culpepper place for the boys.”

  She stood, going on tiptoe to study his face. And then she reached to wipe his cheek. “Since when does Bea wear that shade of lipstick?”

  He rubbed his face, and she laughed.

  “Gotcha, big brother. Nothing on your face except a guilty look.”

  “That’s nice,” he grumbled. “I’m going to my office.”

  She grabbed his hand. “Don’t go. I’ll play nice. I was driving by as you all left the restaurant. I saw Macy Swanson get in your truck.”

  “You’re impossible.”

  “I’m a little sister. I think impossible is part of the job description. So, she’s pretty. And nice. That’s a good combination.”

  “I’m not having this discussion with you.”

  She sat back down on the sofa. “No, you only want to discuss my relationships.”

  He let it go. He’d learned a long time ago that he wouldn’t win if he engaged in an argument with his little sister. “I need to decide which yearlings we’re going to put on the website to sell. Do you want to help?”

  The question put a smile on her face. “You don’t fight fair. Of course I’ll accept the distraction and help.”

  He’d known it would work. Mention horses, and everything else was forgotten.

  After raiding the refrigerator, they headed for the computer in his office. Chloe pulled up a chair next to his.

  “So, about these people you have to find. Do you want me to help with that?” Chloe asked as he pulled up the inventory of their livestock.

  “I might. I’m looking for Gabriel’s grandfather Theodore Linley.”

  “Have you found anything?”

  Tanner pulled a few notes out of his desk drawer. “Not much. He hasn’t lived around here in years. Gabe doesn’t know much about him, other than that he wasn’t much of a provider, got into some petty crimes even when he lived around here.”

  “I hate to ask, but have you checked the prison system?”

  No, he hadn’t. He let out a long sigh. He didn’t want to find his friend’s grandfather in a state prison. “I’ll take a look.”

  “You might also check death records.”

  “Yeah, I will.”

  “Tanner,” she said hesitantly, and he doubted he wanted to hear what came next.

  “Yes?” He glanced away from the computer because he knew she’d want his full attention.

  “I’ve been looking for our parents.”

  “I’m not sure why.” He wouldn’t even call them parents.

  “Because I need to know where they are. I know the word is overused, but I need closure.”

  He brought up the file of yearling quarter horses. “I understand that.”

  “Do you know where they are?”

  “No, I don’t. I haven’t tried to find them.”

  “They visited once, didn’t they?”

  He leaned back in his chair and allowed the memory he’d been pushing aside for a good many years. “Yes, they came to visit.”

  “I was four.”

  “Yes, you were four. And they were...” He shook his head. “Chloe, they were strung out. They wanted money. They weren’t here to see their children. They showed up to play on Aunt May’s good heart.”

  “I know, but still. What if they’re out there somewhere? Don’t you want to know where they are?”

  “I don’t want to sound coldhearted, Chloe, but you and me, we’re coming at this from different places. I remember too much. You don’t remember enough.”

  “But you understand.”

  That she needed closure? “Yeah, I do.”

  But that didn’t mean he could help her find them. They all had their own version of the past. His version was about parents who let him down, who left him to be the adult when he’d barely had a chance to be a kid.

  She pointed to the file, the conversation about their parents at an end, thankfully. “We had a good crop of foals, didn’t we?”

  “We did. And I know you hate this part, when we have to let some of them go.”

  “But that’s because we’re a working ranch,” she mimicked him with a gruff voice. “And if we don’t sell our animals, we can’t afford to feed them.”

  “I’m glad you’ve been listening.”
/>
  “I’ve been listening.” She moved her chair closer to the computer. “I do want to keep Daisy.”

  The buttery-yellow filly with a white blaze down a dainty face. “What are you going to do with her?”

  “You let me pick one filly a year that I think is special and that will add to our program. She’s the one.”

  “Okay, Daisy is ours.” He pointed at the screen, at a light gray colt. “Frosty?”

  “He’ll grow up to be a good horse for someone.”

  They worked through the list, and fortunately, the conversation didn’t return to their parents. Or to Macy Swanson. Both were topics he wanted to avoid. One was old news.

  The other had taken him by surprise.

  Chapter Six

  Macy showed up at Cabin One on Sunday morning feeling more than a little apprehensive over the pass with Colby. It was the first one they’d had since the failed attempt at a weekend pass. As she walked up the steps, she could hear chaos inside. Someone shouted, and then a loud cry pierced the quiet country morning.

  Hand at the ready, she hesitated short of knocking. Before she could make a decision, the door jerked open, and an angry teen stood on the threshold. His eyes widened in shock when he saw her there.

  “I’m sorry.” His voice was gruff, and he made a move to get past her.

  Before he could, Edward Mack was there. The tall redhead was midforties, normally quiet and always concerned with the boys at the ranch.

  “Johnny, when we’re talking, you’re not to walk out that door.”

  Macy took a step back, unsure of her next move. Should she go inside and collect Colby or step aside and wait out whatever was taking place? Edward answered her unspoken question.

  “Macy, Colby is in his room. Give us a few minutes, and we’ll allow them all out.” Edward had a hand on Johnny Drake’s back. “Johnny, let’s take a walk.”

  Edward and the boy stepped out the door, and Macy moved aside to let them pass. From inside she heard Eleanor call out, telling her to go ahead and come in. Macy walked through the cabin and found Eleanor in the hall.

  “I think I came at a bad time.”