Daddy's Girls
Page 24
“I was talking to Kate.”
“What about?”
“Ranch business.”
“Oh.” He nodded and smiled at her. “How are you feeling?” She was three months pregnant and everything was fine. He had gone to the doctor with her and the sonogram looked great. One healthy baby. Not twins, which was a relief, since women her age frequently had multiple births. And from a test she’d had, they knew now it was a girl.
“I feel great,” Caroline said, delighted with their decision not to sell the ranch.
“I’m going to be the oldest father at nursery school, and in a wheelchair for her college graduation.”
“No, we’re not. And even if we are, so what? It’s a gift. It was meant to be. It happened when we got back together.” She was excited about it now after the initial shock. And they had told Morgan and Billy. They weren’t thrilled, but they were okay with it, which was good enough. Morgan would be out of the house and in college when the baby was a year old anyway, and Billy would leave when she was five. It was a sign of hope and renewal. It was the baby of their reconciliation, Caroline couldn’t turn that away, and it meant a lot to Peter too. They were both grateful to be back together.
“Are you coming back to bed?” Peter asked with a look of particular interest and she laughed.
“If you make it worth my while,” she whispered.
“That’s how you got in trouble in the first place,” he reminded her, and they both laughed, closed their bedroom door and locked it. They had an hour before she had to wake the kids, and they could do a lot with that.
A few minutes later, they did. And even better than that, Kate and Caroline were keeping the ranch. And that was something to celebrate!
Chapter 18
On Memorial Day weekend, three weeks after the actual anniversary, they unveiled the memorial to their father, James “JT” Tucker, it said with his dates. Founder of Tucker Ranch, beloved father, companion, and grandfather, “We will always love you.” It was a gentle sand-colored granite, and looked just right for him. They placed it to one side of the barn where the driveway ended, and people would see it when they drove up. It stood about four feet tall, and the family stood staring at it, still unable to believe that he was gone.
Juliette had flown in from Paris as she had promised, Rufus and Gemma had come from London, Caroline, Peter, Morgan, and Billy had come from San Francisco, and Scarlett and Roberto from Santa Barbara. Caroline was almost six months pregnant and you could see it now. The baby was due at the end of September. Caroline and her family were coming for the summer. Gemma would be off then and was coming, and Rufus had promised to come with her. Kate had offered Juliette her house if she wanted to come back in the summer, and she said she might for a few weeks. She said she missed the ranch terribly. And they all missed JT. So much had happened since he left.
Kate and Thad had taken over the ranch, Gemma had found Rufus and was on new wings in her career. Peter and Caroline almost didn’t make it, got back together and were having a baby, and Juliette had gone home to France.
“I’d like to say something,” Gemma said, stepping forward to stand next to the handsome stone they had just unveiled. Kate and Thad had approved it, and everyone loved it. “We always used to tease about my being ‘Daddy’s Girl.’ Dad would say it sometimes. I thought it was a compliment. I’m not so sure it was. We fought about a lot of things. We had different opinions, and when I turned eighteen, I ran like hell. So did Caro, and we stayed away, in our own ways, for a long time. Dad wasn’t an easy man. He liked to have his way, and he expected everyone to do what he told them to do. Kate, me, Caro, Thad, our mother, Scarlett, Juliette. It was his way or the highway. And some of us took the highway.
“But one thing I do know, and it’s taken me a long time to figure it out. He loved us all. Not just me. I wasn’t his favorite. I was the one he liked to fight with, because I fought back. And Kate was the one he liked to work with because she didn’t fight back. She just waited until now. She and Thad can run the ranch the way they want.” She smiled at them. “And Caro was the smart one, and he admired her for it. She just went about her business, wrote her books, and went around him. Our mother gave him three daughters. He couldn’t take that away from her in the end. Juliette was the woman who loved him, with all his flaws and faults, she never let him down. We all loved him, and he loved us. As for his daughters, we were all Daddy’s Girls, and if he were standing here today, he would say that himself. May his memory, our love for him, and his love for us, shine brightly forever.”
She stepped back into the crowd then, and both her sisters thanked her and everyone hugged her. She had said just what needed to be said, and what they needed to hear. And with that, everyone walked to Kate’s house, where they were having lunch. On the way there, Thad hung back, and touched Kate’s arm. She stopped walking and looked at him.
“It’s been a year, Kate. We said we’d give it time. Don’t you think it’s time we got married? I do. We’re going to have a new house soon. We have a life and a ranch. I want a wife. When will you marry me?” He looked worried. She stood looking at him for a moment, and knew he was right. She hadn’t meant to wait this long, but so much had happened. They’d been busy.
“What about this summer when everyone’s home?” He smiled as soon as she said it and kissed her.
“Can we tell them now?” he asked and she nodded.
“How about July? Everyone will be here then, and Caro will be too pregnant to come after that.”
As soon as they walked through the door, Thad picked up a glass and a fork, and rang for everyone’s attention.
“We have an announcement,” he said, beaming. “Kate and I are getting married in July. You’re all invited.” Everyone cheered and applauded and kissed them both, and as so often happened on the ranch, a serious occasion had become a joyful one, and now they had something to celebrate. Many things, a wedding in July, a baby in September, and Rufus and Gemma’s new show.
Chapter 19
The wedding turned out to be a lot bigger than they thought it would be. But Kate and Thad knew so many people, and so many people in the Valley liked them, that even trying to keep it small, there were two hundred guests at the ranch for their wedding day.
Caroline, Gemma, and Morgan were Kate’s attendants. Thad asked Peter and Rufus to be his, and Billy was the ring bearer. And Scarlett walked her daughter down the aisle. They were married under an arch of white flowers in a pasture they cleared and mowed specially. A dance floor was brought in. They had a dance band from Santa Barbara. Juliette had come back from France again for the wedding, and brought her brother.
The wedding was at six P.M. Dinner was served at eight with some of the best barbecue Thad said he had ever eaten. The bride and groom on the cake were on horseback, and the guests danced until three A.M., and the last stragglers left at four. Kate and Thad had agreed to a honeymoon in France and Italy in the fall, with a stop in England to see Gemma and Rufus on the way home. They were going to be away for three weeks, and the new foreman Thad had hired was going to run things in their absence.
Rufus and Gemma sat at their table after line-dancing for an hour and he said he’d never had so much fun in his life. It was a fantastic wedding. They finally went to bed at four A.M., after hanging out with Peter and Caroline. The bride and groom had gone to bed at three. It was the perfect end to a challenging year full of surprises and changes. But they had all come through them, better than before, stronger and wiser and braver. The errors of the past had been corrected, the transgressions had been forgiven. The ranch was thriving, the family was strong, the heartbreaks of the past had been healed, and love had prevailed in the end.
* * *
—
On a Sunday night in September, Gemma’s new show debuted in the U.S. They were waiting in England to hear the ratings. The British ratings had been fa
ntastic a month before. Thad and Kate were sitting in front of their TV in their new house. Caroline was planning to watch it with Peter and her kids. Scarlett was glued to her TV with Roberto. It was an exciting episode. One of the ones they had filmed in Africa. The others were going to be used later in the season. The show opened with a bang and a brilliant performance of Gemma’s, and Kate wanted to jump up and down when she saw it, it was so good. Gemma called the minute it finished, even though it was five A.M. in London. They had stayed up to hear what her family thought.
“What did you think? How was it?” Gemma sounded tense.
“It was fantastic! Thad’s crying!” Kate told her.
“Don’t tell her that!” he said, embarrassed. They were leaving on their belated honeymoon in a few days.
“The show is going to be a huge hit, and you’ll be a bigger star than ever,” Kate said, excited. “Rufus is a genius!” Gemma was ecstatic that they loved it, they were hearing the same from everyone. And the critics had raved when it aired in the UK.
The next call Kate got was from Peter. She picked it up immediately.
“Wasn’t she terrific! She’s fantastic!” Kate said into the phone about Gemma.
“She certainly is! They both are! Caro just had the baby. She had her twenty minutes after we got to the hospital. We didn’t even have time to call you. She’s seven pounds, fourteen ounces, and we’re calling her Scarlette, with an ‘e’ at the end.”
“OhmyGod! Is Caro okay? She’s a week early.”
“She’s great. We missed the show. The kids were taping it for us. We’re going home tomorrow.”
“Congratulations!” Kate said, and he handed the phone to Caroline, who sounded tired but thrilled. “You’re fantastic. Is she gorgeous?” Kate said to her.
“She’s beautiful. The next one is your turn. You have to do it, Katie.” She hadn’t called her that since they were kids.
“We’ll see what happens on our honeymoon. We’re leaving it up to fate. No heroics. Just Mother Nature.”
“Good. I don’t want to be the only geriatric mother in the family.”
“Give her a kiss from me,” Kate said, and then spoke tenderly to her sister. “Dad would be proud of you, Caro. For everything.”
“Thank you,” she said in a soft voice. “That means a lot, coming from you.”
They would always be Daddy’s Girls, all three of them, because right or wrong, for better or worse, whatever his faults, he had loved them all.
To my wonderful children,
Beatrix, Trevor, Todd, Nick,
Samantha, Victoria, Vanessa,
Maxx, and Zara,
May our family and our love
for each other,
and mine for you,
give you comfort,
solace, strength, joy,
and make you wise and
loving.
Always!
With all my love,
Mom/d.s.
By Danielle Steel
DADDY’S GIRLS • THE WEDDING DRESS • THE NUMBERS GAME • MORAL COMPASS • SPY • CHILD’S PLAY • THE DARK SIDE • LOST AND FOUND • BLESSING IN DISGUISE • SILENT NIGHT • TURNING POINT • BEAUCHAMP HALL • IN HIS FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS • THE GOOD FIGHT • THE CAST • ACCIDENTAL HEROES • FALL FROM GRACE • PAST PERFECT • FAIRYTALE • THE RIGHT TIME • THE DUCHESS • AGAINST ALL ODDS • DANGEROUS GAMES • THE MISTRESS • THE AWARD • RUSHING WATERS • MAGIC • THE APARTMENT • PROPERTY OF A NOBLEWOMAN • BLUE • PRECIOUS GIFTS • UNDERCOVER • COUNTRY • PRODIGAL SON • PEGASUS • A PERFECT LIFE • POWER PLAY • WINNERS • FIRST SIGHT • UNTIL THE END OF TIME • THE SINS OF THE MOTHER • FRIENDS FOREVER • BETRAYAL • HOTEL VENDÔME • HAPPY BIRTHDAY • 44 CHARLES STREET • LEGACY • FAMILY TIES • BIG GIRL • SOUTHERN LIGHTS • MATTERS OF THE HEART • ONE DAY AT A TIME • A GOOD WOMAN • ROGUE • HONOR THYSELF • AMAZING GRACE • BUNGALOW 2 • SISTERS • H.R.H. • COMING OUT • THE HOUSE • TOXIC BACHELORS • MIRACLE • IMPOSSIBLE • ECHOES • SECOND CHANCE • RANSOM • SAFE HARBOUR • JOHNNY ANGEL • DATING GAME • ANSWERED PRAYERS • SUNSET IN ST. TROPEZ • THE COTTAGE • THE KISS • LEAP OF FAITH • LONE EAGLE • JOURNEY • THE HOUSE ON HOPE STREET • THE WEDDING • IRRESISTIBLE FORCES • GRANNY DAN • BITTERSWEET • MIRROR IMAGE • THE KLONE AND I • THE LONG ROAD HOME • THE GHOST • SPECIAL DELIVERY • THE RANCH • SILENT HONOR • MALICE • FIVE DAYS IN PARIS • LIGHTNING • WINGS • THE GIFT • ACCIDENT • VANISHED • MIXED BLESSINGS • JEWELS • NO GREATER LOVE
HEARTBEAT • MESSAGE FROM NAM • DADDY • STAR • ZOYA • KALEIDOSCOPE • FINE THINGS • WANDERLUST • SECRETS • FAMILY ALBUM • FULL CIRCLE • CHANGES • THURSTON HOUSE • CROSSINGS • ONCE IN A LIFETIME • A PERFECT STRANGER • REMEMBRANCE • PALOMINO • LOVE: POEMS • THE RING • LOVING • TO LOVE AGAIN • SUMMER’S END • SEASON OF PASSION • THE PROMISE • NOW AND FOREVER • PASSION’S PROMISE • GOING HOME
Nonfiction
PURE JOY: The Dogs We Love
A GIFT OF HOPE: Helping the Homeless
HIS BRIGHT LIGHT: The Story of Nick Traina
For Children
PRETTY MINNIE IN PARIS
PRETTY MINNIE IN HOLLYWOOD
About the Author
DANIELLE STEEL has been hailed as one of the world’s best-selling authors, with almost a billion copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers include The Wedding Dress, The Numbers Game, Moral Compass, Spy, Child’s Play, The Dark Side, Lost and Found, Blessing in Disguise, Silent Night, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina’s life and death; A Gift of Hope, a memoir of her work with the homeless; Pure Joy, about the dogs she and her family have loved; and the children’s books Pretty Minnie in Paris and Pretty Minnie in Hollywood.
daniellesteel.com
Facebook.com/DanielleSteelOfficial
Twitter: @daniellesteel
Instagram: @officialdaniellesteel
What’s next on
your reading list?
Discover your next
great read!
Get personalized book picks and up-to-date news about this author.
Sign up now.