She thought he was an idiot. "Okay, so I’ve never had those experiences. Thanks to you. But, I’m here now."
Lexie lips thinned and she shook her head. "You just don’t get it, do you?” Her voice rang with sarcasm. "It’s about being there when they call for you in the wee hours after awakening from a bad dream. Never mind that you have to get up at five to run a business.” Her voice rose in volume. "Or holding them when they’ve had a bad day at school or they’ve fallen and scraped up their knee," she finished in a gritty tone.
She knew just which buttons to push. Mitch widened his stance and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I put together million dollar deals on a daily basis. I could handle one little girl."
Lexie burst out laughing. His temper rose.
"You wouldn’t stand a chance. Dani would bring you to your knees at the first sign of tears.”
His annoyance at her attitude increased. "You don’t have much faith in me, do you?"
She looked at him with questions shining in her eyes. "No," she said with assurance, "because in the middle of all that you have to try and teach them how to be a decent human being. How do you plan to do that while”—she curved the second and third fingers of each hand into mock quotation marks—”‘enjoying your independent life’"? Are you sure you want to change your life for a six year old?" she asked in a polite but patronizing tone. "Think about it. Being a parent means making sacrifices, Mitch, and I don’t think you’re ready to make those sacrifices."
"How do you know?"
"Because you’d have to sacrifice your goal of taking the ranch."
Mitch stepped forward and grasped her chin. "You’ve got one thick skull. Now, listen. I know how much you love this place. Dani too. I care about how you both feel believe it or not. I'll find Dani a better home, one without a dark history and mounds of debt hanging over it. The land has been in your family for generations. Wouldn't you rather the ranch went to me instead of strangers?”
She jerked her chin out of his hold. "I want the ranch to belong to me and Dani. Period."
Mitch raked a hand through his hair in frustration. "Building the hospital will make up for Parker's death. By the time he was air-lifted to Denver to a well equipped hospital, he had died. If there had been a facility close by, he might have survived, Lex.”
Grief over losing Parker assailed him. "He may have needed extensive rehab, but he would have at least had the chance to live and...maybe everything would have been different.”
Mitch thought for a moment about what could have been. Parker may have lived and he would have been a part of Dani's life from the beginning. "If you sell the ranch to the foundation," Mitch continued, "Parker's memory will live on. Besides, it would benefit countless people."
Anger glittered in the depths of her eyes. "You're wrong. The ranch is my last tie to Parker. Without the land, his memory will fade and his death will be meaningless."
She stiffened and pressed her mouth into a tight line. "You're just doing this to hurt me aren't you?" she accused. "Because you think I never tried to tell you I was pregnant and because my father took back the land. I would have given you and Judson back your ranch if I could have after Mason's death, but he put a clause in his will." She clenched her hands into fists. "If I deeded the land back to you the ranch's assets had to be sold and the land donated to the state."
Mitch exhaled a deep breath. Son of a bitch. "Your old man thought of everything, didn't he?” He looked at the rigid set of her shoulders, the expression on her face, a mix of contempt and a plea for his understanding.
He had to make her see his side of things. "I wanted to do more and be more than my father. He worked damn hard on those few acres we had. When Mason gifted my parents the land, dad was over the moon.” Mitch remembered his mother's reaction to the gift. She had seemed pleased but considering why she left Chimney Rock, the land must have meant more to his father than to her. "Then in a flash it was gone. Dad crawled away with his tail between his legs.” He fixed her with a look he hoped was the one he used on reluctant clients. "I won't do the same, Lexie."
He held out his hand to her. "Come over here. I want to show you something."
When her warm palm rested in his, Mitch sucked in a deep breath and tried to ease the terrible ache inside him. "What do you see?"
His eye couldn't help wandering to the canyon where Parker had died. Sadness and yearning for his best friend filled him and chased away his frustration at Lexie's lack of understanding.
"I see the ranch," she said in a quiet voice. "And even knowing it's where Parker died I can't stop loving the land."
He pulled all the strength inside him in preparation for what he had to say. "I need to tell you again what happened that day, Lexie, and I need you to listen. Will you do that?"
When she nodded, Mitch began. "Parker and I had been helping dad up at the barn all day, mucking out stalls, working the horses. About three o'clock, dad told us to knock off for the day. So, we jumped on our dirt bikes and headed for the canyon. We'd been riding about thirty minutes when Parker dug up the side of the canyon."
The pain of that day scalded him. "Dad's truck, without a driver, appeared out of nowhere at the edge of the canyon. Parker had just reached the rim. I can still hear the whine of his bike. The only thing I could do was move out of the way.” His voice broke.
He had to make up for what happened. He just had to. Lexie laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"In a few seconds," he continued, "it was over. The truck swallowed Parker up, slid to the bottom and crashed against a boulder."
Mitch heaved a deep breath and walked over to his chair. He sat down and propped his hands on his knees. "Dad accepted the blame though I didn't understand why. I never believed he was responsible. The whole thing was a terrible accident. Nothing more.” Old resentments rose to the surface. "I had to stand there and watch while he took Mason’s verbal abuse and the beating--"
"I know all that, Mitch," Lexie interrupted. "Why do we have to go through it again?" she asked in frustration.
Mitch plopped back in his chair. "Of course, your old man didn't stop there.” There was scorn in his voice and he didn't try to ease it. "He used a loop hole in the sales contract to take back the ranch, then he vilified dad in the newspapers and heaped guilt on him.” Mitch slammed his fist against the arm of the chair. "He never once considered dad's feelings, how devastated he was at Parker's death.” He turned toward her, the need for closure heating his blood. "Mason should never have taken our land."
Lexie moved closer and knelt beside him. "I love your father. You know that. We've already talked about the land. I explained everything to him. He understands, Mitch. Why can't you?"
Mitch stared into her eyes. Bitterness burned there, deep and hot and real. They'd grown up together, they'd made a child and yet he had no choice but to take her land. "Because you love the land, more than anyone or anything, except maybe Dani. You used your relationship with Dad once by convincing him to keep Dani a secret. I won't let you do it again."
Lexie rose. Her eyes sparkled with challenge. "You're a cold unfeeling bastard. I'll do anything to save my land. I'll prove to you and the bank that I can raise the money to pay the taxes and the debt I owe. Daddy controlled my life while he was alive, but I'm running my own life now."
Mitch rubbed a finger over the scar under his left eye. Her father caught them coming out of the barn, the night Dani was conceived. He punched Mitch hard, knocked him against a stall and rung his bell. Mitch had charged back like a raging bull, but she had stepped between them. Only her interference, the edge of steel in her pleading voice had stopped him then.
"You’re not a quitter, Lex. Well, neither am I.”
"You do what you have to do. But know this," she said in a cold exacting voice. "You'll never get this ranch."
"I won't stop until I do.” He paused for a moment and watched her face fill with strength and a steadfast determination. "Besides, the decision to sell
the ranch isn't your choice to make. You have an obligation to your creditors. It's their option whether you sell or not."
Lexie moved closer. Tiny chips of gold brightened the iris of her eyes. "Go to hell!"
"How dare you say that to me," he grated between clenched teeth. "I'm not the one who kept our child a secret!"
Mitch strode to the screened porch door, gripped the door handle and turned. The intensity of Lexie's glare speared into him. "This isn't over. Not by a long shot.
Chapter Four
Mitch turned right into downtown Chimney Rock and headed down Sixth Street. A fat, white moon sailed overhead and a cold breeze blew in through the partially opened window but did little to cool his anger. He slammed his fist against the steering wheel.
Lexie's words reverberated through his mind and stung. Go to hell.
Damn her for turning his world upside out.
Five minutes later, he swung the car into his father’s driveway and cut the engine. Mitch slid out of the car, slammed the door and went in search of his father. Darkness and Aggie's bark greeted him when he stepped inside the house. He gave her head a cursory rub before heading for the stairs. Aggie followed close on his heels.
When he reached the top of the stairs light spilled out of a small guest room his father had turned into a study. He stepped up to the open door. Aggie, wagging her tail scooted around him and trotted over to his father. His father sat at his old scarred desk entering numbers into a calculator. Papers lay in neat piles on the desk. The room smelled of pipe tobacco, smoky and sweet. Light from a brass desk lamp illuminated his face.
His father turned and threw Mitch a brief glance. "Lucky for you I wasn't asleep yet. Made enough noise coming up those stairs to wake the dead." He turned back to his calculator. "Be with you in a minute."
Mitch flicked his gaze around the room. Damn he wanted to hit something, a wall, a bookcase, anything to release the mad he'd built up. He crossed the room instead and plopped down on the ragged, brown sofa that sat beneath the window. He leaned forward, rested his hands on his legs and waited.
In a few moments, his father stopped tapping on the calculator. He reached for his pipe and began packing it with tobacco from a pouch. He flicked his gaze toward Mitch then back to the pipe. "From the look on your face, I'm guessing dinner didn't go so well.”
The calm tone in his father's voice increased his anger. He clutched his hands together until the knuckles turned white. "Oh, dinner went fine," he grated. "I told Dani I was her dad then Lexie and I went out onto the back porch and ripped each other's guts out. Just a pleasant evening all around.” He spit out the words while his stomach churned.
Aggie lay on the floor with her head up and her ears pricked. Sensing Mitch's anger a soft whine issued from her throat.
His father reached down and patted her head. "It's okay, gal, he just needs to blow off some steam.” At his words, Aggie rested her head on her front paws and sighed.
Unable to sit a moment longer, Mitch popped up from the sofa and paced to the center of the room. He spun on his heels and raked a hand through his hair.
His father leaned back and propped his sock-clad feet on the desk's surface. "Let's start with Dani...how did she react to finding out you're her father?"
Dani's pretty little face with her gray-green eyes opened wide in surprise and her mouth formed in a perfect O filled his mind. His heart swelled. "She seemed okay with it. She wanted to know if I could get her a baby sister."
His father's laughter filled the room cooling Mitch's anger to a slow simmer. Aggie lifted her head and gave his father a doggy grin while her tail swished over the floor.
"She's a great kid," Mitch said. "I should have known about her from the beginning.”
He stared at his dad who studied the bowl of his pipe. "Yeah, you should have, but I thought we'd already plowed through that ground."
Mitch strolled to the window and stared out at the darkness. "I know why she didn't tell me, but I sure as hell don't understand her reasons."
"Give yourself some time."
Fresh indignation spurted through his veins. Mitch jerked his head toward his dad. "Time? I've had nothing but time.” He heard the hard edge of anger spill over into his voice. "Six years of time that I missed with my daughter because you and Lexie kept her a secret from me.”
He heard the squeak of his father's chair as he stood up. His dad shuffled over and laid a hand on his shoulder. Mitch shrugged it off. "Damn it, I don’t want sympathy. I want to understand why I wasn't told about Dani."
"Lexie can make you understand her reasons," his father said as he sat down on the sofa. "All I can do is listen."
Mitch crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the floor. "What if this whole mess had been reversed and it was Mom that didn't tell you about me. How would you have felt?"
His father cleared his throat. "I would have been damn mad and I would have stayed mad...for a while anyway. But for your sake I would have gotten over it. And that's what you're going to have to do.” He paused for a moment. "What did you and Lexie argue about besides Dani?"
Mitch rubbed a hand over the back of his neck where a headache thrummed at the base of his skull. "The land, Mason, Jake Ellis. You name it.”
He heard his father's heavy sigh. "Sounds like the two of you really went at it."
The smoldering bitterness Mitch had felt had begun to cool replaced by misery settling in the pit of his stomach. "Yeah, it was quite a scene.” He turned and looked at his father. "What should I do, Pop?"
His father smiled. "The last time you asked me for advice you were ten and wanted to know if your new sneakers looked cool.” The smile faded and his eyes grew serious. "There's been loss in both our families, son. Parker, the land, you and Lexie...I don't want that to happen again."
Mitch exhaled a deep breath. "There is no me and Lexie. Not anymore."
"Sit down.”
After Mitch settled on the sofa, Aggie walked over and lay at their feet. "Your mother and I would still be together if I hadn't been so stubborn," his father began. "She gave the mountains a chance and I should have given the city a chance. Instead, I planted my feet and insisted here was the one place I could ever be happy.” A kind of wistful expression stole into his eyes along with regret. "If I had it to do over I would have gone to the city with her.” His father turned his head and looked at Mitch with a mixture of love and understanding shining in his eyes. "It's up to you to build the bridge between you and Lexie."
Resentment streamed through him. "Me? Look, she's the one who's hell bent on keeping that land and she's the one who didn't bother to tell me about Dani.” He turned away, exhaled and clenched his jaw together. "I want to do what's right for her and Dani, but damn it I refuse to grovel."
His father squeezed Mitch's shoulder. "You'd better learn, pal, if you want time with Dani."
Panic rushed through him. "What do you mean? You don't think Lexie would keep me from seeing Dani, do you?"
His father shook his head. "I don't know but from what you've told me Lexie's good and mad right now. When a woman's mad and feels trapped she won't listen to reason. I should know."
Panic turned to determination. "Whatever happens I want a life with my little girl and I'm not going to let Lexie stand in my way."
His father laid a hand on his arm. "Look at me.” Mitch raised his gaze to his father. "Are you sure you want the ranch for the right reasons? Or are you looking for revenge?"
"Revenge?"
He nodded. "Yes, against Mason for tearing you and Lexie apart and for taking back the land. You can deny it, but I know you loved what we had as much as I did."
Mitch shrugged. "Maybe I did. I just never understood why Mason hated me so much. Parker was my best friend."
"Maybe that's why. You reminded him of Parker too much. You stirred up too many memories."
"I thought if I left town it would make everything better for everybody...for you, for Lexie, for Mason. I thought if
I was out of sight and out of mind he could deal with his grief."
His father exhaled. "Now you think that if you buy the ranch it would be better for her and Dani?"
Mitch turned and looked at his father. "It will be better. I've got to get her to see my side of things."
"What about her side?" his father asked in a patient tone.
"She's made her side crystal clear," Mitch said in a tight voice as he waved a hand through the air in a dismissing gesture. "She wants the land--all of it--period.
His father rose from the sofa and turned. He patted Mitch's shoulder. "If you're going to spend time with Dani and get to know her you've got to make peace with Lexie.” Regret filled his eyes. "I lost your mother and my friendship with Mason. Don't let the past repeat itself.” He paused for a moment. "Talk to Lexie, Mitch. Negotiate a truce."
# # #
The phone rang late Saturday morning and Dani scrambled up from the table where she was finishing her breakfast to answer it. Lexie rose from her seat at the table, gathered their dishes and headed toward the sink.
"Hello," she heard Dani say with an expectant ring in her voice.
"Oh, hi, Daddy," Dani said with excitement.
Lexie felt surprise at first that Mitch would call Dani. But then it faded. Of course he would call Dani to talk to her. She's his daughter after all.
Lexie turned her head and looked at Dani's face. Her eyes sparkled and a huge grin creased her mouth. He was getting too close to her--way to close. It was obvious that Dani already accepted Mitch as her father. No doubt she assumed he would stay. How would she react when he walked away and shattered her world? And she was certain that he would once the shine of being a new father began to dull. How would she ever be able to heal Dani's broken heart?
Then a sudden, terrifying thought struck her. Her breath backed up in her lungs and she laid an unsteady hand over her heart. What if he sued her for custody? She gazed at her daughter while tears welled in her eyes. He wouldn't try to take Dani away from her...would he?
The Secret Truth at Dare Ranch Page 4
