Daddy Lessons

by Victoria Chancellor

  “Would you feel better if Travis moved the cattle for now? Or would you like to find someplace else to live? You know Travis offered to rent you a house closer to the school.”

  “No, I don’t want to put him out any more than I already have.”

  “It’s no trouble.”

  “That’s nice of you to say, but giving me free rent and worrying along with me over Eddie’s excursions across the fence are enough for now. Besides, I’ll be on my feet soon. I hope.”

  Jodie came over and gave her a hug. Kate felt like throwing her arms around her sister-in-law and sobbing into her shoulder. But she wouldn’t. Jodie was too kindhearted, and Kate knew her melancholy was temporary. Or at least she hoped it was.

  She pulled back and sniffed. “I’m sorry. I’m just down right now. I…I’m obviously not doing something right. Sometimes, especially when I spend a little too much time alone thinking, I wonder if I’m doing anything right.”

  “Of course you are! We all love you. And Eddie is a great kid, even if he is a little too adventurous at times.”

  “He is a great kid, but I wonder how much is my doing. I mean, I married the wrong man, allowed him to take care of me financially if not emotionally, and closed my eyes to both his unscrupulous investment decisions and his philandering. I’ve never worked outside the home, never even considered that I needed credit in my own name. I was blind and dumb to my lying, cheating husband until everything in my ‘perfect’ world came tumbling down.”

  “You’re being way too hard on yourself.”

  Kate shook her head. “It’s all true. And now I’m responsible for everything—Eddie’s health and welfare, his education and development. I need to run a household on almost no money, because about all I can do is substitute teach until I get a permanent job.” Kate sniffed again. “I’m sorry, Jodie. I’m just having a little pity party down here in the laundry room. I didn’t mean to burden you.”

  “We keep telling you it’s no burden. We love you, Kate. We’ve never used the garage apartment, so you’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like, until you and Eddie get tired of us and want to move away.”

  Kate attempted a shaky smile. “You’re too nice.”

  In a moment of brash confidence, she’d decided not to take any more handouts from her oil-wealthy father and successful architect brother. She’d taken enough “handouts” from Ed without considering the consequences. No, she needed to succeed on her own merits, as much as possible, as long as Eddie’s health or happiness wasn’t compromised. Living rent-free over Travis’s garage in a nice but small apartment helped tremendously, even though the few pieces of heirloom furniture she’d managed to keep after the estate sale seemed lonely and sad against the stark white walls and light wood flooring.

  “It’s just that I’ve always thought of myself as a homemaker and a mother, not a sole provider,” she explained to Jodie. “Although I know how important it is to be independent, sometimes I feel that I can’t do this alone.”

  “Yes, you can.” Jodie gave Kate a fierce hug. “Besides, you’re not alone. You have us, for better or for worse. And everyone in town loves you.”

  Kate nodded even as she thought of one person who wasn’t so fond of her inquisitive son—their neighbor Luke Simon. Still, she hugged Jodie back and felt better now that she’d expressed her fears. She wasn’t a wimp. She would get a job and she would be strong for Eddie.

  “Okay, I’ll leave you alone with the laundry. I just came down to tell you that we’re going into town. Travis needs to stop by the hardware store, then we’re joining Hank and Gwendolyn for an early dinner at Bretford House. We’d love for you and Eddie to join us.”

  “I’m not sure. He’s still napping after his little visit to the pasture.” Talking about Eddie brought Kate’s thoughts back to their neighbor. Luke could be at the hardware store, or just around town…or with Hank and Gwendolyn for dinner out. Ever since that first nonmeeting at the café, Kate had been unexpectedly conscious of him. She could barely talk to him, even to apologize for her son’s transgressions. The man flustered her more than she’d been flustered in a long, long time.

  “Oh? Did he cross the fence again?”

  Kate held up the shirt. “There’s evidence he did, though I didn’t get a call.” Kate sighed. “I don’t know why Eddie’s so interested in those animals.”

  “Oh, come on, Kate. Zebras in the Texas Hill Country? A floppy-eared donkey and two matching white horses? Of course he’s curious. I just wish he’d listen to our warnings. Like you said, he walks—or runs, probably—across our pasture with those longhorns out there. They seem gentle, but those horns are deadly.”

  “I know. He loves being outdoors. I had to be so protective when we lived on a busy street in the suburbs. I’d hate to confine him to the apartment here.”

  “No, you can’t do that. Children need time to play. It’s too bad he’s such a sneaky escape artist—and I mean that in the nicest way.”

  Kate laughed as she stuffed the shirt into the washer. “I know exactly what you mean. Wait until Marsha starts crawling and walking. You’ll get a real workout then.”

  “Speaking of workouts, I’d better change. Bretford House isn’t formal, but I don’t like to go there dressed like I should be in yoga class or going for a jog.”

  Kate looked down at her own jeans and sweatshirt. “I’d have to change, too, and I still have a lot of work to do. Maybe I’ll pass tonight. You and Travis have a double date with Gwendolyn and Hank.”

  “And our two little monsters? I’m sure they’re bringing their little boy, so dinner should be interesting with both kids teething. Come to think of it, maybe you should stay home!”

  Kate chuckled, then Jodie said, “Well, I’m going to get dressed. If you change your mind, be ready in about a half an hour. Otherwise, we’ll see you tomorrow for church.”

  “Yes, that’s the plan. If Eddie doesn’t run off again.”

  “Good luck,” Jodie said with a smile, then turned and walked out of the garage.

  Good luck. Kate knew she’d need it to avoid Luke Simon for the rest of her stay in Ranger Springs. Or, if she got a teaching job here, for the rest of her life. She didn’t want that flustered feeling, she especially didn’t want to get involved with a man, and she extra-especially didn’t want to encourage Eddie’s interest in what should clearly be off-limits—exotic animals and a Harley-riding Californian.

  With a sigh, Kate added detergent and started the wash cycle.

  THE FOLLOWING Saturday morning after breakfast, Eddie excused himself to play soldier in the backyard. Kate didn’t approve of the game, but Travis had played it with him after Eddie had seen coverage of the war on television. They both claimed that Kate, being a “girl,” just didn’t understand “guy things.”

  Kate settled into her couch with her second cup of coffee and listened to Eddie’s new toy gun’s ratta-tat-tat as he ran from tree to tree. He should have a playmate. She hoped he made friends at the elementary school. Perhaps when she got a permanent job, she’d rent a house in town where there were other children his age. She didn’t want her son growing up lonely.

  Pushing aside her misgivings about Eddie playing soldier, she picked up a professional teachers organization’s magazine and turned to an article she’d tagged. During her years of marriage, she hadn’t kept up with educational standards and was sadly behind in understanding funding issues, certification requirements and classroom trends. Before long she was immersed in her reading. When she turned the page, she heard…silence.

  The ratta-tat-tat had stopped. There was no sound of her son scurrying from tree to tree. Nothing but the chirping of birds.

  She hurried out the door onto the small landing at the top of the stairs and called, “Eddie!”

  Nothing.

  She ran down the steps, calling him again. And again. No Eddie.

  Travis stepped outside onto his deck, baby Marsha in his arms. “What’s wrong?”

  “
I think Eddie has run off again.”

  “If you wait, I’ll take you in the pickup.” Travis kept an old truck for driving across his rolling pastures to feed his longhorns, especially in the winters.

  “No, he was just outside playing. I think I can catch up with him. Then I’m grounding him until he’s thirty.”

  Travis unclipped his cell phone from his waistband. “Take this in case you need to call.”

  “Thanks. I keep forgetting mine.”

  “You should always have a cell phone with you, Kate. Or a walkie-talkie. I’ll get some for us. Be careful.”

  “It’s just a pasture.”

  “I know.”

  She rushed off, grateful she was wearing a comfortable pair of jeans, a turtleneck and sneakers, her “suburban mom” uniform. At the edge of the backyard she discovered Eddie’s empty juice box. Following the path two little feet had worked into the winter-dry grass wasn’t difficult. Eddie had obviously walked this way many times. Too many times, she silently corrected herself.

  By the time she arrived at the wire fence separating Travis’s property from Luke Simon’s ranch, she was out of breath. “I’ve got to start exercising again,” she whispered as she placed her hands on her knees and breathed deeply. Keeping up with one six-year-old was difficult enough, but soon she’d be charged with handling about twenty energetic elementary students on a daily basis. If she got the job.

  To her left she heard the faint sound of her son singing his favorite song. Relief swept through her, because although she didn’t doubt that he’d once again migrated to see the odd animals—and their equally mysterious owner—she was now sure he was safe.

  She’d just glimpsed his red shirt when the roar of a powerful engine disturbed the nature sounds. Looking toward Luke Simon’s driveway, she saw a large silver crew-cab pickup move toward the run-down ranch house.

  Curious, knowing she shouldn’t be, she jogged to the row of trees dividing the pasture and the driveway.

  “Luke!” a female voice called from the truck as the engine died. “Where are you?”

  A door banged shut. A few seconds later, Luke appeared, dressed in tight, faded jeans and a white T-shirt. His long hair was disheveled and his feet bare.

  Kate sucked in a breath. He looked like a movie star. A Greek god. Stop staring at him, she told herself. Concentrate on your son.

  Eddie was crouched behind a large oak, also watching the group that had arrived in the noisy pickup, and seemingly unaware that his mother had followed him.

  “What the hell are you guys doing here?”

  Luke’s clearly disbelieving tone carried through the trees. Just then, a big-busted blonde bounced from the truck, giggling as she jogged toward him. It’s a wonder she doesn’t seriously hurt herself, Kate thought, glancing down at her own modest B-cups.

  “Luke! We missed you so much that we had to visit.”

  “I can’t believe you moved to the middle of nowhere!” an equally well-endowed redhead squealed, also running over to him. Both women hugged him, one on each side, until Kate thought he might be crushed by silicone. Or whatever doctors were implanting now.

  It was Baywatch on the Prairie.

  “You don’t like my ranch?” Luke asked.

  “It’s so…rural!” the blonde exclaimed.

  A California-style cowboy eased around the front of the truck and grinned. Dressed in new jeans and a flashy snap-front shirt, he “wasn’t from around here,” as they said in town. “I couldn’t keep them away,” he said.

  “I just hadn’t expected to see you guys in Texas.”

  “We’re working on a movie just outside of Austin. We’ve got today and tomorrow off while they add new sets, so here we are,” the man said.

  “I’m not exactly set up for guests,” Luke replied.

  The blonde hugged him so tight she nearly knocked him off balance. Kate almost snorted at the ridiculous display. But then, Luke was probably used to that kind of attention from that type of woman.

  “That’s okay, honey. We can sleep anywhere.”

  The redhead giggled. The California cowboy laughed and slapped Luke on the back, and then headed toward the house.

  Eddie chose that moment to dart from his hiding place, across the driveway toward the small pasture where the two zebras, their long fuzzy ears twitching, sized up the newcomers.

  Luke and the others turned at the sound of Eddie’s tennis shoes crunching the gravel. Kate cringed, knowing she’d have to reveal herself, hoping they didn’t assume she’d been lurking in the bushes, watching the tawdry scene. Which of course was exactly what she’d been doing.

  She made a lot of noise rustling bushes, then called out, “Eddie! You come back here right now!”

  All eyes were on her as she stumbled out of the tree line, got her balance and dashed across the drive. She hated doing this. Making a scene in front of Luke Simon’s guests. His gorgeous, movie-people guests.

  “Sorry for the interruption,” Kate said, breathless. “I’ll just get Eddie and we’ll be gone.”

  “Well, aren’t you cute?” The blonde peeled herself off Luke and turned to Eddie, perhaps fifteen feet away near the fence, frozen because he knew he’d been discovered. The little scamp.

  Kate rushed over, putting her arm around him before the blonde could crush him to her unnaturally large chest. No telling what trauma would be revealed when he was an adult!

  The group followed the blonde until they were all standing there, staring at Kate and Eddie as though they were oddities.

  “These animals can be dangerous,” Luke said to Eddie in a surprisingly patient and focused voice. “I told you before that you can’t come over here by yourself.”

  “He’s not by himself,” Kate said. “I’m with him now, and I’m taking him home, and he’s not going to bother you again, are you, Eddie?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  “Oh, isn’t that cute?” the blonde gushed again, reaching for Eddie. “He’s so polite.”

  Kate pulled him behind her. “Excuse me. We’ll be going now.”

  “Well, sheesh, lady, we’re not going to contaminate him,” the redhead said.

  Luke frowned, but Kate didn’t wait for the scene to get any uglier. She grasped Eddie’s hand and said, “Apologize to Mr. Simon.”

  “I’m sorry I tried to see the zebras again.”

  Luke nodded.

  “And I’m sorry we interrupted your…party,” Kate added. She tugged her son across the drive, toward the cover of the trees and the safety of her brother’s ranch.

  LATE THAT AFTERNOON, Luke excused himself from his unexpected—and frankly, unwanted—guests to take care of a little business. Or so he told them. He needed to get away for a few minutes. Their arrival, combined with Eddie’s surprise visit and Kate’s even more surprising arrival, had left him shaken. And Kate’s snobby reaction to his friends—more like former coworkers—had clearly defined their differences. She didn’t even want Marlena to touch her son.

  Kate would be shocked if she knew how often Luke had thought about touching her. Not that he had any right to think about the woman. It was apparent she was one of those women who never associated with a working guy, and her behavior today had driven that point home. Her brother was rich, and she’d obviously grown up dripping in money. She wore classic clothes and drove a sensible car and had a polite son who just wanted to be a kid.

  Well, the hell with her. If she was too good for them, she could just stay on her side of the fence.

  Paul, Shelby and Marlena were high-energy, high-maintenance people. When he’d worked on a movie set with them, they’d been tolerable, even fun. Here in the quiet of the ranch, they seemed as out of place as a…well, a zebra in Texas.

  As he walked back from the mailbox at the end of his driveway, he speculated that maybe they’d want to go out later. He’d been to Shultze’s Roadhouse several times for a beer and a burger and found the place entertaining. The jukebox played country and western, and Texa
s-oriented beer signs hung on the walls. Marlena and Shelby would gush at the “authentic” decor. As soon as he sorted the mail, he’d recommend they visit the local hangout. Without him.

  Several bills, a handful of catalogs—nothing unusual. Then a carefully hand-printed address caught his attention. He didn’t know anyone in Florida.

  He slit the envelope and pulled out a letter. A photo—the kind taken by school photographers—fell to the desk. He picked it up and looked at the little girl’s face. A sense of déjà vu rushed over him, as though he’d seen her before. But he knew he hadn’t, so after studying her sun-streaked dark brown hair and amazingly mature brown eyes, he leaned the photo against the lamp and began to read.

  “Dear Mr. Simon,” the letter began, neatly printed like the envelope. “You don’t know me, but nearly nine years ago you knew my sister, Shawna Jacobs.”

  Luke’s heart skipped a beat as he remembered his late mother’s former coworker. Shawna had been a pretty, helpful and sympathetic friend when he’d needed one, lending a hand as he sorted through his mother’s belongings after her untimely death. Comfort had turned to passion, and for a week or so he’d shared Shawna’s bed.

  He’d been young, the sex fumbling but energetic. She’d claimed she was on the pill. He hadn’t given the consequences a second thought.

  He looked back at the photo. No. It couldn’t be….

  Chapter Two

  Luke continued reading with a mixture of excitement and dread. “My sister tried to contact you after you went away, but she couldn’t find you in California because she thought your name was Moretti, the same as your mother’s. I just found out your real last name and tracked you down on the Internet.”

  Luke’s mother, Angela Moretti, had never married. His father, Ronald Lucas Simon, already had a family when he seduced and deserted her. The bastard.

  “This will come as a big surprise, but you have a daughter. Brittany is eight years old and in the third grade. Right now, she needs you because Shawna is dead and I’m driving long haul starting in a month.”

  No! his mind screamed. Shawna might have been on the pill, but no birth control was one hundred percent foolproof. She could have had his baby. It was possible.