Good Together

by C. J. Carmichael

  “That you bought our ranch?”

  He nodded. “Yeah.” Then let out a heavy breath. “I’m sorry it had to be this way.”

  “A lot of men have been telling me that lately.” How lovely that they all felt so sorry for her. Didn’t that prove how good-hearted they were? No one wanted to kick her when she was down.

  But they did it anyway.

  “Wes told me I have two months to vacate the premises.”

  “Actually. That’s what I came here to talk to you about.”

  There was a fence between them, but Nat ignored the gate, instead, settling himself on the top rung. She hesitated, then sat on the fence, too, leaving a good five feet between them.

  “Don’t tell me you want me out of here earlier.”

  “No. I want you to stay.”

  Mattie wobbled. Would have fallen off, except somehow Nat reached out in time to stop her with a steady hand to her shoulder, which she shrugged off as soon as she regained her balance.

  “You, okay?”

  “Of course I am. But what do you mean by saying you want me to stay?”

  “I don’t have any use for your house or any of these.” With a wave of his hand he indicated the main barn, all the outbuildings, the paddocks and outdoor arena. “And I wouldn’t feel right tearing it down. Why don’t you stay here and keep running your boarding business?”

  It was a heaven-sent opportunity, one she’d never expected. But she knew better than to get too excited. “How much rent would you charge?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing.”

  “But—that isn’t right. It doesn’t make good business sense.”

  “Mattie, there is nothing businesslike in the way I feel about you. And don’t worry that I’ll change my mind down the road if you start dating again, or get married. I’m prepared to sign a contract giving you the right to live here and use this land for as long as you’re alive.”

  Mattie’s heart galloped at these words, and the sincerity with which they were spoken. Nat was looking at her in the same loving way as that night when they’d made love. He did have feelings for her. He had to.

  Then why had he walked away?

  Why was he so determined to keep away from her? It couldn’t be any lingering loyalty toward Wes. Any friendship they’d shared when they were younger had eroded over the years thanks to Wes’s jealousy and resentment.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “It’s not that complicated. The amount of land I’d reclaim by bulldozing your operation wouldn’t be worth the cost of tearing it down. I’d just as soon have a good neighbor like you, someone I know and trust, than rent the place out to some stranger. Honestly, there are no strings attached here, Mattie.”

  She studied his eyes again, wondering if she’d read too much into their expression earlier.

  And the time they’d made love, as well.

  Maybe she’d misread Nat right from the beginning. Maybe all he’d been thinking when he heard about her and Wes splitting up, was how to get his hands on their land. He’d kept her close, earning her trust, so he would have an inside track on what she and Wes were planning to do.

  The night they’d made love, well, she’d pretty much thrown herself at him, hadn’t she? He’d taken what she’d offered, but before he removed his pants, he’d warned her he wasn’t interested in a romantic relationship. Oh sure, he’d made it sound like he was worried about her. Nonsense about the timing being off, and him not being the right man. Just words to hide behind when the fact was all he really wanted was her land.

  And now that the transaction had worked out exactly as he’d planned, she was getting her payoff.

  Oh, how she longed to throw his offer in his face.

  And for a long five-minute silence, she battled with her conscience on the right path to take.

  But in the end, she had to think of her girls. If she accepted Nat’s offer, they would still have their family house to return to during holidays and summer breaks from college. It was enough for them to get used to their parents being divorced, without losing their home as well.

  Besides, she loved it here. So much, she wasn’t sure if she could ever be as happy anywhere else. She could earn a good living boarding and training horses, doing the work that she’d been born to do.

  “That’s a generous offer. I’ll take it.”

  * * *

  Five Months Later

  Mattie returned from the drive to the Missoula Airport, feeling a lot better than she had last year at this time. It was getting easier saying goodbye to her daughters when they left for college. They were changing, growing up, but the three of them were still family. She understood now that she would never lose them, that the bonds of love holding them together were elastic enough to withstand distance and the passage of time.

  And maybe, if she were truthful with herself, she rather enjoyed the prospect of having the house to herself again. With Wren working rotating shifts at the Polson Aquatic Center, and Portia juggling two part-time waitressing jobs and plenty of weekend visits from her boyfriend Austin Bradshaw, there’d been a lot of coming and going, arguments over who was using the washing machine next, and whose turn it was to take a shower.

  Business had picked up a lot over the summer, too. She now had twenty horses in her stables. A few more and she’d need to hire help again. She wished that person could be Jake, but she’d had a postcard from him last week.

  Seemed he’d finally taken that visit to Arizona. And fallen in love with the place.

  Mattie parked her truck, looked at her house, then out at the rolling hills to the north. She loved these last days of summer, each one a treat to enjoy before the impending winter. Maybe she’d take one of the horses out on a trail ride.

  She went inside only long enough to change her clothes and grab some water and apples. One for her and one for the horse. As she headed toward the pasture where all the horses were turned out at the moment, she heard a truck approaching from the north.

  She tensed, the way she always did when she thought Nat was near.

  He’d invited the girls to help him move the cattle up to the high ranges this spring, as usual. To be honest, he’d invited all three of them. But Mattie had made an excuse not to join them. Since they no longer had a hired hand, she needed to stay behind to take care of the horses.

  In the past Nat would have offered one of his men to do the job.

  This year, he didn’t.

  She didn’t think Portia or Wren had sensed the new tension between her and Nat. They were too excited to be going out on a real cattle moving expedition, Portia especially so when Nat had extended the invitation to include Austin.

  The summer had offered Mattie a good chance to get to know this young man who seemed to be playing an important role in her daughter’s life. She had a good feeling about him. He seemed steady and smart. Only his love of the rodeo had her worried. A few weekends Portia had gone to watch him compete—once at the Livingston Roundup where they’d stayed at The Circle C. A positive report on Austin from Callan had been somewhat reassuring—though Mattie wasn’t sure how good her youngest sister’s taste in men was.

  At the same time, Portia had been able to spend some time with her dad, who’d been working as an out-rider at the rodeo. He seemed good, was all Portia had said. Wren had gone to visit Wes a couple of times during the summer, too. Since she currently didn’t have a boyfriend—something she seemed fine with—she had more free time than Portia.

  Mattie was glad Wes and the girls were keeping in touch.

  As for herself, she’d turned down a few more dates this summer. She still didn’t know when she’d be ready to entertain the idea of a new romance. Her girls were pushing her to be brave.

  They thought she was having a hard time getting over the divorce. She didn’t have the nerve to tell them the truth. Her heart still tumbled every time she thought of Nat.

  The truck from the north was closer now. She recognized it now as belong
ing to the architect Nat had hired to renovate his home. All summer long tradespeople had been driving back and forth. Construction crew, plumber, electrician... and finally, just last week, the County Inspector.

  She supposed the work must be done by now and had to admit she was curious. As far as she’d been concerned, he’d started out with a Montana dream home. How could he possibly have improved upon that?

  Mattie chose Clementine for her mount that day—the pretty bay mare had remained her favorite. Sometimes she daydreamed about buying back Copper, Princess Bride, and Madam Curie. But her bank account wasn’t quite that solid yet.

  Once on horseback, Mattie considered heading up to the hills. But on an impulse, she started on the path that followed the road. Within an hour, Nat’s homestead was in view. It was two o’clock in the afternoon. No way would he be inside on such a beautiful day.

  She turned Clementine to the road, crossing through the open wrought iron gate, cleverly designed with the Double D brand in the center. From the outside, you couldn’t tell much had changed about the house. Though as she drew nearer, she realized something had.

  A ramp had been installed at the side door, neatly constructed to blend in with the original building.

  Why would Nat want a ramp? Did he have an older relative moving in? If so, she’d never heard a word about it, which seemed strange. She steadied Clementine—who was wanting to move on—and fought an urge to peer in the windows. Before she had settled the matter, one way or the other, Nat’s housekeeper came out to the porch.

  “Hey there Mattie! You look thirsty. Want to come in for a drink?”

  She didn’t hesitate. “Thanks Eadie. I’d love to.”

  She tied the reins to a fence post—making sure it wasn’t too close to any of the barrels of flowers that decorated the yard—then followed Eadie inside, leaving her boots on the porch. The kitchen looked the same, as did the family and dining rooms.

  “Seems like you’ve had a lot of construction happening this summer,” she said, as Eadie handed her a glass of iced lemonade.

  “Sure did. It’s a relief to have them finally done, though I still can’t seem to get rid of the dust.” Eadie ran a finger over her kitchen counter, then showed the tip of her finger to Mattie. “See?”

  Mattie murmured in sympathy.

  Eadie asked about her daughters next, and once that topic was exhausted, Mattie broached the renovations again. “So what was the big construction project? Everything looks the same here.”

  The bright light in Eadie’s eyes dimmed then, and she sighed before answering. “Nat converted the two main floor bedrooms into a new master suite for himself, with a deck that goes right off the back of the house. It’s beautiful, but I don’t think he wants to show it off to visitors yet.”

  “Sounds wonderful,” Mattie said, at the same time thinking that something was off here. If the renovation was really such a great thing, why did Eadie look so sad? Her gaze went to the stairs that led to the upper level of the house—presumably where Nat’s bedroom used to be.

  And then, suddenly, her stomach seemed to drop down to the soles of her feet.

  She thought about all the times she’d seen Nat limping, walking stiffly, having trouble with stairs or even that time they’d made love, getting up from the floor and claiming his leg must have fallen asleep.

  The ramp. The main floor bedroom, bath and deck leading outdoors. She’d bet anything that new bathroom was equipped with a walk in shower and handicap railings.

  “What’s wrong with Nat, Eadie? You have to tell me. Is he going to be okay?”

  She knew it was something. And that it had to be serious. But please, God, don’t let him be going to die. She thought of a dozen dreadful illnesses that could lead an active man like Nat, a man who was only in his forties, to have mobility issues. Please don’t let it be ALS...

  “Oh, Mattie. Nat doesn’t want anyone to know.”

  “Is it ALS, Eadie? Is he going to die?”

  Eadie put a hand on her shoulder. “No, honey, it’s not that bad. He has lots of good years left, possibly decades. The doctors don’t know.”

  Mattie covered her face with her hands. Suddenly she knew. “It’s MS, isn’t it?”

  Eadie hesitated. She glanced behind Mattie, as if making sure they were alone. Then she nodded. “He’s known something was wrong for a few years now, but it was only last October that he got a firm diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.”

  “So—” Mattie had known a few people with the disease, some of them quite well. The speed with which MS progressed, how debilitating it eventually became, varied considerably, patient to patient. Nat hardly showed any symptoms yet. But to have already made all these renovations to his house... “What’s his prognosis? Is it bad?”

  “They don’t know. But Nat. He needed to take action. The only thing he could think to do, besides follow his doctor’s advice, was to renovate the house. His worst fear is being institutionalized. To be forced to leave the land.”

  Mattie could relate to that.

  * * *

  When she got home from the Double D, Mattie couldn’t remember anything about the ride back. Her thoughts had been spinning with the repercussions and implications of what she’d learned from Eadie.

  It amazed her now that she’d managed to convince herself Nat’s kindness toward her had been a ruse—a play to make sure he got his hands on Bishop Stables.

  She’d been so hurt by his rejection, she’d been grasping at straws. But the theory she’d chosen had been fragile at best.

  Nat simply wasn’t that type of man. Besides, what use was the Bishop land to him, really? He had no heirs, nor reason to expand beyond the considerable wealth he already possessed. She recalled him talking a few times about scaling down his operation. Which made a lot more sense than expanding, given his uncertain health.

  No, he hadn’t been using her.

  He’d been helping her.

  He’d bought Bishop Stables for her. So no one else would buy it, and kick her out of her house and force her to close her business.

  Nat was capable of doing such a kindness for a friend. But she knew he felt more than just that for her. She’d seen it in his eyes. Felt it in the way he’d danced with her, kissed her, made love to her.

  Mattie spent the evening scouring the Internet for information on MS. She needed to educate herself, because Nat had dug himself into a position, and like any Montana rancher, once he’d settled his mind on something, convincing him to change was almost impossible.

  As she tossed and turned in bed, she kept reviewing her arguments, devising and revising her plans. Dawn came as a relief. She’d never been happier to get out of bed and do her chores.

  Even Tuff could sense the tension inside her today. The pup kept giving her anxious looks. “It’s okay,” she tried to reassure her—though she quite honestly didn’t know if it was.

  If she failed today—it would kill her.

  At eight o’clock she put on a fresh pot of coffee, then texted Nat. “Problem here. Can you come over?”

  His answer was swift. “I’ll send one of my men. He’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

  “No. It has to be you.”

  His reply took longer this time. And when it came, it was very brief. “OK.”

  Mattie poured coffee into two insulated mugs, then went out to the back deck to wait. The flagstone seating area had been their latest improvement to the house. Cushioned furniture was arranged around an outdoor fireplace that had been built into the south wall of the house. From here, she could see the road that Nat would be driving in from.

  She settled in to wait.

  Fortunately, it didn’t take long.

  She’d taken only a few sips of the hot coffee when she saw the speck of what had to be Nat’s truck in the distance. Her certainty that this was him increased as the speck became larger, eventually recognizable as his gray truck.

  Her hands were shaking so much now, that she put her cup do
wn. When he pulled into the lane, she stood and waved a hand, making sure he could see her.

  He parked, jumped out of the cab and came loping toward her.

  With newly tuned vision, she noticed a very slight imbalance in his gait. But he could still run. That was encouraging.

  “What’s wrong?” he looked puzzled by the calmness of the scene.

  “I have something to tell you. Do you think you could sit for a few minutes?”

  Lines of worry creased his forehead. He was still tanned from the summer, and his blue eyes looked even more brilliant that usual for some reason this morning.

  She gazed adoringly at him, for once not hiding, or shielding any of the feelings she had for him. Until this moment she hadn’t appreciate just how much she was used to holding back when he was around. When she’d been a married woman, she’d schooled her reaction to him, out of respect for her husband and their vows.

  But now she was free. And it felt... exhilarating.

  Tentatively he perched on the edge of one cushioned seat. She indicated the extra coffee mug. He nodded, but didn’t reach for it. Just kept his gaze fixed, clearly expecting some sort of verbal bombshell.

  Well, here it came.

  “I love you, Nat.”

  He blinked.

  “You once told me it was too soon for us to get together. But Wes and I are divorced. We’ve been living apart for a year. Frankly, our relationship had been unraveling much longer than that.”

  Color was rising up Nat’s neck. But he didn’t say anything. Not for a moment. Changing his mind about the coffee, he took a sip, then set the mug down with a thud. “I won’t deny I have feelings for you, too, Mattie. But you can do better than me. There are things you don’t know—”

  “Like the fact you have MS?”

  His eyes widened and his mouth gaped.

  “Yesterday I dropped in at the Double D and Eadie offered me a glass of lemonade. I admit I had an ulterior motive. I wanted to see your renovations.”

  He closed his eyes briefly. Then sighed. “So then you do know. Mattie, how can I claim to love you and then ask you to share your life with a man who might end up in a wheelchair?”