The Secret Truth at Dare Ranch

by Gorman, Cheryl

  His father turned and looked at him. "Come back and sit down."

  Reluctantly, Mitch walked back to the table and sat down. His shoulders slumped and he laid a hand on the table and played with the edge of the place mat. "Parker's memory will live on. There was no failure here. Everybody wins.” He cut his gaze up to his father. "Don't you see?"

  "No, I don't and neither does Lexie."

  "Thanks for the support," he said sarcastically.

  Mitch moved to rise from the table when his father grabbed his arm in a tight grip. "You'd better keep your butt glued in that chair, boy."

  Mitch jerked his arm away and stared at his father as he clamped his lips together. "Fine. Say your peace."

  Judson loosened the vice like grip he had on Mitch's arm and moved his hand away. He rolled his shoulders as if to relax them. "It's time to set the record straight on something.” He glanced at Mitch then down at the half-eaten sandwich on his plate. "You're angry and you're hurting. I can understand those feelings. I had 'em plenty when Parker was killed and when your mother walked out.” He stopped, took a sip of iced tea then looked back at Mitch. "Mason took the land back from us and now you've taken the land from Lexie. Now the ranch has once again torn a Dare and a Quinn apart."

  Mitch shifted in his chair. The truth hurt and the sincerity of his father's words sliced into him a bit more where Lexie had left off. "Only because Lexie has a head like a cement block. She can't see what's best beyond the tip of her nose. All she sees is that damn land."

  "Maybe because that land is all that's held her together these past few years. You need to look at what is, boy. You're the one who can't see beyond the end of his own nose."

  Mitch clenched his teeth together so hard they hurt. "I can see just fine."

  "Do you remember when I told Mason the accident that killed Parker was my fault?"

  He frowned at his father. "Of course I remember. What's your point?"

  "My point is that it seems the Quinn's and the Dare's have always ended up at odds with each other.” His father lifted his eyes and gazed out the window. "We started out as friends. We spent holidays together; we told each other our dreams, our secrets and even our fears.” He looked back at Mitch. "You said you didn't understand why Mason hated you so much because of your friendship with Parker. It's time you did."

  "What do you mean?"

  Clouds had blocked the sun and now a cold breeze blew in through the window. Mitch reached over and pulled down the sash.

  "The day Parker died I hadn't been anywhere near that truck."

  "But you said--"

  "Let me finish," his father said impatiently. "I knew what Mason would do if he knew the truth about what really happened so I fabricated that story about me being in the truck. The truth is Lexie used the truck to drive up to the Puma River to collect some water. She needed some for a science project she was working on at school."

  Mitch leaned back in his chair while his mind spun. "Lexie used the truck? Are you saying--"

  "When she got out she must not have set the brake right. Who knows? The gears in that old truck were tricky at best and unreliable at worst."

  Pain squeezed around Mitch's heart as disbelief ran through him in a scalding river. "Lexie caused the accident?"

  "I couldn't stand the thought of that girl having to live the rest of her life with the guilt of knowing that she was responsible for the accident that killed her brother. Not to mention what Mason might have done.” He rose from the table, took his plate and emptied the rest of the sandwich into the trash. He laid the plate in the sink and leaned against the counter. "If he had laid a hand on that girl I would have had to kill him."

  The shock of his father's revelation made him feel numb. "I don't ever want her to know. She would never get over it."

  His father strolled back to the table and sat down. He laid a hand on Mitch's arm. "I'll take it to my grave. The ranch was given and taken away; Parker was given to Mason and taken away. You and Lexie were gifted with a child only to be torn apart.” He squeezed Mitch's arm for emphasis. "And now the land has been taken one last time only it has been taken from the Dares. Now there's something you can do to put Parker's tragic death behind us--once and for all."

  # # #

  Exactly twenty-four hours had passed since her showdown with Mitch. Lexie had been stewing about it ever since. And he didn't even come after her when she left. Just as well. It was time they both got on with their lives.

  She slammed a fisted hand against the top of the breakfast table's surface. Damn him for making her miserable. He never even said he was sorry. He just stood there all righteous as if he'd done something wonderful. A gust of wind pushed against the kitchen windows and made Lexie smile in spite of her misery. At least she still had the house and some of the land. It was better that nothing at all she supposed.

  Didn't matter, their relationship was over after all. If it was over why did her heart ache in her chest like an old injury? She rubbed a hand over it and glanced at the phone willing it to ring. Why didn't he call and tell her it wasn't over? Because he was a stubborn pig-headed fool. Well, she could be just as stubborn, she thought as she speared a piece of salad with a sharp jab of her fork.

  After lunch she'd go for a long ride alone over the ranch before Dani got home from school. She just needed some time to absorb all that had happened in her life in a very short period of time. She'd lost the war with Mitch and in the process she'd fallen hopelessly in love with him.

  The doorbell rang. Her heart nearly stopped. Toby barked and scrambled from his spot at her feet, his feet sliding over the floor as he fought to gain his footing. She patted her mouth with her napkin and pushed from the chair. Was it Mitch? What would she say to him? What would he say to her?

  Toby ran ahead of her to the door. Lexie squared her shoulders and peered through the sidelight. Instead of Mitch, she saw Tommy Flowers standing on the porch. She felt relief and disappointment at the same time. With a smile, she opened the door and swung it wide. At her feet, Toby wagged his tail in a rapid swish and whined. "You must have heard the news," she said.

  Tommy leaned over, gave Toby a rub then straightened. He drew off his hat and held it by the brim between his fingers. "I did but that's not the only reason I'm here.” His brown eyes shone with concerned. He turned the hand around and around in his hands and gave her a slight smile.

  "Come in," Lexie said. "Can I make you a sandwich? I was just having a bite to eat."

  He stepped over the threshold. "No, I'm meeting Emily in a little while at the cafe.” His voice sounded quiet and reserved. He was always so upbeat and his eyes lit up whenever he mentioned his wife or she walked into the room. This mood was unlike him and a little unsettling.

  He followed her into the den and they sat down. He laid his hat on the coffee table. Sunlight danced in through the bay window and made a puddle on the rug. Toby settled there tucking his hind legs under his small body and resting his head on his front paws. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes.

  Tommy remained quiet just tapped his fingers nervously on his knee and glanced around the room. The clock on the mantel ticked slowly and seemed to punctuate the silence. "Are you all right?" she asked wondering why he was here.

  He threw her a quick glance, then looked away and cleared his throat. "Lexie, I'm not sure where to begin," he said in a soft voice but there was an underlying intensity that had anxiety growing like an icy ball in her stomach.

  "The beginning is always good," she said hoping to get a smile out of him and she wasn't disappointed.

  He turned his head and gazed at her. "You look like your mother," he murmured. "I suppose I've told you that many times, haven't I?"

  Uneasiness crept up her spine and made her muscles tense. Lexie nodded. "Yes, but I don't think that's why you're here."

  Tommy leaned forward and rested his elbows on his thighs then sat back again. "I need to tell you something important but first I want you to know how sorry I a
m that you've lost most of the ranch.” He reached over and squeezed her hand. "If there had been any way that I could have helped you I would have. I hope you know that."

  She laid her hand on top of his and gave him a light pat. "Of course I do. I'm fine, really.” Lexie attempted a smile. "For Dani's sake I'm going to try and make it an adventure. I'm sure that once we get used to the idea of a hospital being right outside our window everything will be okay again...maybe even better.” Then why didn't she believe it?

  He nodded and his lips curved in just a hint of a smile. "You always did look on the sunny side. That's just one of the things I've always admired about you.”

  A sense of warmth and gentle surprise suffused her at his words. "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me," she said in a low voice breaking with emotion. His expression sobered and a frown creased his brow as he looked at her. "I mean every word. I hope you believe me."

  The distress in her stomach grew colder, harder. "Of course I believe you.” What was he leading up to? Suddenly a startling thought ripped into her brain. Lexie turned and gripped his arm. "You're not sick are you? Or Emily for that matter?"

  He shook his head. "No, it's nothing like that."

  Lexie leaned back against the sofa with a heavy sigh. "Thank goodness, you had me worried for a minute.” She raised a hand then let it fall again. "Whatever it is it can't be all that bad."

  Tommy pressed his mouth into a grim line. "I should have been there for you, Lexie. I'm sorry," he said in a voice filled with longing and regret.

  She studied him, a man she'd known all of her life and her heart swelled with love and respect. "I know you would have helped me with the financial burden if you could have."

  He looked away rubbed a hand over his chin and down his neck before settling his hands back in his lap. "That's not what I mean," he said quietly.

  Lexie tucked a stray tendril of hair behind her ear. "Okay... what do you mean?"

  He swiveled on the sofa and settled his gaze on her. "When Parker was just a little boy, your mother and father started having marital problems."

  Lexie wasn't surprised at his statement. Parker had told her some good stories about their mother but also about how unhappy she was.

  "Your mother was crazy about Mason. But she was also needy and craved attention.” He glanced toward the window as if looking into the past. "She wanted more from him than he could give I suppose. She needed him to listen to her hopes, her dreams.” Tommy shook his head slightly. "Mason wasn't good at listening to anyone except maybe Parker.”

  He paused for a moment and ran a hand through his hair. "Sometimes I think the only reason he married her was to get a son, an heir for the ranch. He neglected your mother badly after Parker's birth.” His voice rang with old resentment and anger. Lexie never knew that Tommy had known so much about her parent's marriage.

  He'd neglected his daughter too. Some of the more vivid memories drifted through her mind. Mason giving her nothing more than a smirk before turning his attention elsewhere whenever she brought him a paper from school with a big red A on the front. Or the time she'd worked and worked in art class to paint him a picture of the house with the mountains as a backdrop. He'd only criticized her work and hadn't given her as much as one word of praise.

  "He showered all of his attention on Parker and there was none left for your mother.”

  Tommy's words brought Lexie back to the present. "You talk as though you knew my mother long before I was born."

  He nodded. "I did.” He leaned against the back of the sofa and laid his arm across the top. "I met Maureen at a cocktail party right after I moved to Chimney Rock. She came alone. Mason was too busy to bother I guess.” He exhaled and smiled. "She was the prettiest thing I'd ever seen. Right after that we started seeing each other."

  Surprise rolled through Lexie. "Wait a minute...are you saying that you and my mother had an affair?"

  "Yes. First we'd just arrange to casually bump into each other in town but soon that wasn't enough and we started sleeping together."

  Lexie felt a rush of trepidation begin to build inside her like the wind when a storm flies in over the mountains and pushes the clouds and rain ahead of it. She wanted to tell him to stop, not to say another word, but deep inside she knew she couldn't ask him to stop. Her mother and Tommy flowers sleeping together. She never would have guessed. It all sounded so romantic yet tarnished since her mother was married.

  He paused and looked down at his hands. "I'm not proud of what we did, but if there's any excuse for our actions, we did it because we were both lonely," he said in a low voice. He turned and looked at her, his brown eyes sharp and clear. "Please try to understand, Lexie. We needed one another if only for a few precious months. Inevitably, our affair ran its course and we stopped seeing each other."

  He rose from the sofa and walked over to the window with his hands jammed in his pockets. He turned his head slightly and spoke over his shoulder. "One day she showed up on my doorstep and told me she was pregnant.”

  A kind of buzzing started in Lexie's head and the chill she always felt after waking from a disturbing dream crawled over her skin.

  He chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "I can remember how I felt when she told me. You could have knocked me over with a feather."

  Oh no, this can't be. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut then opened them again as her heart thudded in her chest. Stop, please don't say it.

  He turned from the window, walked to the sofa and sat down. He took her hand and held it between his own. "I'm your father, Lexie."

  His words echoed through her brain as she fought to breathe. Everything she thought about herself, her father and her life was a lie. She'd worked to save something that was never really hers to begin with. The ranch belonged to Parker. She'd done everything in her power to please the man she'd always thought was her father. And now in the span of a few minutes she'd discovered why he never loved her.

  Tears stung her eyes but she blinked them back even as pain stabbed her heart. She swallowed against the lump of grief building in her throat. Despite knowing that Mason wasn't her father, she still loved him. For her, until the day she died, Mason Dare would always be her father.

  "Look at me," Tommy said softly.

  She raised her gaze to his and stared into her father's eyes. "I didn't have any money," he continued as if he hadn't just blown the bottom out of her world.

  "It wasn't until after you were born that Maureen confessed the affair. She told me that Mason was shocked that she would have the gall to play around on him.” He laughed without mirth. "I guess he thought she was just supposed to take whatever he dished out. Then he grew angry and the anger toward her never seemed to leave. He needed control over everything and everyone in his life and her actions had wrenched some of that control from him."

  Lexie pulled her hands away from his and folded them in her lap. She gazed toward the window at the sky and the land that had always been such a part of her. Toby must have sensed her mood because he came over from his spot in the sun and placed his front paws on her legs with a look of hopeful expectation on his face. She lifted him up from the floor and buried her nose in his fur. His warmth and the softness of his fur gave her a kind of anchor to hold on to.

  "He told Maureen if she left him she would have to leave you behind and she wouldn't get a dime. Everyone would know she had made a fool of him by bearing another man's child. So, she stayed."

  Lexie looked up at him. "You didn't want me either. Did you?" she asked in a broken whisper.

  He laid his hands on her shoulders and turned her toward him. His eyes searched her face. "Of course I did. But by then I had met Emily and we were getting married. She already had two kids from her previous marriage and didn't want to raise anymore.” He squeezed her shoulders. "Please try to understand. Mason would never admit you weren't his. He had too much ego and too much pride for that. I had no choice. Mason wouldn't hand over custody anyway.” He pause
d as if gathering his thoughts. "Do you think you can ever forgive me?"

  She thought she could forgive Tommy, but she wasn't sure if she could ever forgive Mason for making her take the blame for his wife's indiscretion. Lexie put Toby on the floor, walked to the bay window and looked out toward Mason's grave. She still felt anger at his indifference but she also felt pity. He'd lost so much. His wife, his son but most of all he'd lost the love of his daughter. If only he had been able to reach out to her and accept her for his own, everything could have been different.

  It wasn't her fault she wasn't his biological daughter but she was still his child wasn't she? Legally and morally at least. People adopted children all the time without them being their biological children. But knowing her father like she did, once something or someone was his he never let it go. And he never considered Lexie his in the first place.

  She heard Tommy step up behind her and turned. Worry and hope creased his face. She smiled and clasped his hands. Relief seemed to wash over him. "How can I not forgive you? You're one of my favorite people in the whole world and besides that...I love you. People always forgive those they love."

  He smiled and put his arms around her. "I'm glad. I'm so glad, Lexie."

  After he left, she stood at the window for a while thinking about everything Tommy had said, then she slipped on her coat and headed outside.

  # # #

  Mitch watched Lexie wave goodbye to Skinny Martin as he drove away from the barn in his battered truck. Behind it he pulled a horse trailer and Mitch could see the tail of Skinny's horse hanging over the door of the trailer.

  A cold wind had blown away the warmth of the morning. He watched Lexie as she looked up and studied the sky. Fat, gray clouds were beginning to bunch. She zipped up her coat and started for the house.

  He knew the instant she saw him. Her head lifted, along with her chin and she stopped dead in her tracks. Her shoulders grew tense and straight beneath the worn, leather jacket she wore. He leaned against his car and waited while he absorbed her into his mind and heart.