Crazy Little Thing Called Love

by Jess Bryant

  Zach grinned at his mother as well as the image she was painting. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder how Devin remembered Bluebell and he didn’t. Wasn’t she closer to Riley’s age? He wouldn’t ask because he didn’t really care. Even still, he couldn’t stop thinking about what that pure blonde hair would have looked like with a strip of pink to match her sexy high heels.

  “So,” Zach cleared his throat and turned the conversation back to a safer topic, “You were saying something about the renovations.”

  “Yes dear, thank you.” Reba nodded as she fluffed her ponytail, “The thing is I wanted you to know that I think you’re doing a wonderful job with the renovations. I know you’ve always enjoyed construction, working with your hands and building things. I swear, when you were a little boy we couldn’t get the building blocks away from you.”

  “Thanks Mom.”

  “I want you to be happy honey so it’s nice to see you enjoying your work. To be completely honest, I think you missed your calling.”

  “I don’t know about that.” He lied.

  He had missed it. He’d missed it every single day of his life from the minute the phone call came that his father was on his way to the hospital. He wasn’t sure it was necessarily construction he’d have gone into but he’d never had the opportunity to find out.

  “I do. It’s clear that you’ve found something to do that makes you happy.”

  Zach’s eyes narrowed, “But? I can tell there’s about to be a but coming up soon.”

  His mother smiled softly, “But, I hate to see the ranch suffer.”

  “It’s not…”

  “I hate to see your relationship with your brothers suffer Zachary.” She cut him off, “Now let me finish, I know you’re not excited about the ranch anymore. This was never your dream, I know that but it’s your duty to make sure the Triple Star remains a strong business. Your brothers want to look at expanding and you owe them to at least consider it.”

  He could feel his frustration bubble below the surface. His hands knotted into fists but he held them firm at his side. He had a hell of a temper when he let it out. His brothers liked to say he had anger issues. Truth was, he did but he’d been controlling it for thirty-six years and he wasn’t about to blow now.

  If anybody was owed something in the West family it was him. He’d given up his life to make sure this place didn’t die along with his father. He’d given up college to make sure Devin finished high school and Riley had a shot of going to Tech. He’d given up his dreams so his brothers could have a shot at living theirs.

  He didn’t resent them for it. He wanted the best for them and he’d tried like hell to give it to them but at some point what he wanted had to count too.

  “Just say you’ll think about it.” His mother’s voice broke through his frustrations.

  He clenched and unclenched his jaw. He needed some air. He needed to get out of the house and away from the land for a little while. If he could get away he’d be able to suck it up like he always did and be logical. Right now he wasn’t feeling very logical.

  “Yeah, fine, I’ll think about it.” He nodded.

  “Oh good… thank you. I knew you’d see reason if…” The relief on her face was too much and he snapped.

  “Yeah, I’ll think about it, and while I’m thinking about it, I’m also going to think long and hard about selling my stake in the ranch to Devin and Riley. They want it so bad; they can divide it between them and leave me the hell alone.”

  Her sharp intake of breath and the panicked look in her eye nearly stopped him but he didn’t feel like being reprimanded like a little kid. He shoved his chair back from the table and stomped to the front door. He grabbed his keys off the table where he’d tossed them not more than a half hour ago and jerked the door open.

  “Zachary Ellis West, you stop right there.”

  He snorted but didn’t turn around, “I’m not ten years old. I’m going for a drive.”

  “Zach.”

  “I just need some air. I’m sorry for yelling. Thank you for dinner, lock up when you leave.” He started to open the door and push through but her next words made him falter.

  “Just tell me you didn’t mean that. You don’t really want to be rid of the ranch do you? To be rid of us?”

  He groaned and rubbed the now full fledged headache behind his forehead as he muttered, “I don’t know. I honestly don’t know some days.”

  He barely heard the sound of his boots against the wood porch slats. He didn’t hear the sound of the screen door slamming shut behind him. He vaguely registered climbing into the big Ford and hearing the motor roar before he slammed it into drive and peeled away. What he did register was the little figure on the porch staring after him with that hurt expression in the green eyes that looked so much like his own.

  “Damn it.” He punched the steering wheel and cursed.

  He hadn’t meant to hurt her. Leaving was meant to keep that from happening. Sometimes his life just made him claustrophobic. He just needed to get some fresh air and some space and then he’d be able to suck it up and go back and apologize.

  He hadn’t meant it, of course not. He loved his mother and his brothers and that stupid ranch. It was his life and he liked his life most days. He just wanted them to see there was more to him. His wanted there to be more to him and there were only two things that ever helped him calm down when he was this far gone. He needed an ice cold Shiner and a really good distraction from his life.

  Chapter Three

  What had she been thinking? Flirting with Zachary West had been a terrible idea. It was reckless and impulsive and when had being those things ever turned out well for her? Never, the answer was never!

  No doubt this too would come back to bite her in the ass. Her last impulsive decision had been the car that left her stranded on the side of the road. The one before that was dating that sorry SOB who stole money out of her purse but had been really, insanely good-looking.

  Impulsive decisions concerning good-looking men did not a good southern lady make… or something like that.

  And Zach West couldn’t get away fast enough once she told him her name. No doubt he’d tell somebody about the crazy Carter girl who’d accused him of being a serial killer and then hit on him on a highway in the middle of nowhere. That was bound to get the whole town talking.

  Blue finished filling up the Audi at the Quick Mart and then headed back out the other side of town towards the ranch. A few minutes later she turned down the long driveway under the high overhead gate with Montgomery Oaks Ranch emblazed in dark wrought iron.

  She shouldn’t have flirted with him. She definitely shouldn’t have asked him to take her for a ride. Oh that was good for her ego since he’d turned her down before he even knew who she was.

  The sun was beginning to set as she sent up a cloud of dust and headed towards the big ranch house that sprawled over a mile off the main highway. On either side of her barbed wire fences kept in cattle and horses though she saw very few since it was probably feeding time. In the distance the house loomed larger and the other buildings, the bunkhouse, the barn and stables came into focus.

  What did she really know about Zachary West anyway? He was good-looking. He was older than her even if she couldn’t remember just how much older. He had two younger brothers. The middle son, Devin if she remembered correctly though she wasn’t certain she did, had been a few years older than her but the youngest, Riley, had been in her grade in school. She remembered a very pretty, very popular athlete but she couldn’t remember ever reacting to that particular West so insanely thank God.

  The Montgomery Oaks Ranch sprawled as far as the eye could see. It wasn’t the largest family-owned working cattle ranch in Texas but it definitely wasn’t the smallest. It had been in the Montgomery family for over a hundred years and each generation had added to the acreage and wealth. And someday it would be all hers. That thought was enough to make her shiver despite the heat.

  Her fathe
r had inherited the ranch with her mother’s death. He never had a son, a source of great disappointment for him to be sure. Since he never remarried nor had more children, Blue was his sole heir. They’d never talked about what would happen when it came time for the next generation and she’d never asked. All she’d wanted was to get away from this cold, empty place when she was a teenager and despite their relationship her father had seemed to understand that need.

  It was possible her father had no intentions of leaving her Montgomery Oaks. He could break it up, divide it among the hands that worked it, sell it off. It was his to do with as he chose probably. She had no idea how the lineage worked since he wasn’t technically a Montgomery but it’d never really mattered to her. She used to dream he’d sell it off, give her some inheritance money and she’d be free to live her life without the guilt of not staying in Texas. Seeing the house come into view now, the familiar twist of emotions left her unsure how she’d feel about that now.

  Blue parked the Audi in the circle driveway, grabbed her purse from the passenger seat and headed up the front walk. The main house was classically designed with a wide front porch complete with white pillars and a second floor balcony. It stretched out in a low sprawling design in both directions and formed a U shape in the back that looked out over the horizon. The hedges were freshly trimmed and the white paint looked newly updated, otherwise, it was as much home as it had been the day she’d packed up and left.

  The swamp of emotions wasn’t new. Guilt, apprehension, worry, love, longing, they were all there just like they were every time she came back to Texas. They were always there, just waiting for her to come home.

  The big double oak doors were unlocked so she let herself inside. The familiar scent of wood and leather was the first thing she noticed. The second was that nobody seemed to be around. Some things never changed.

  She crossed down the hallway, through the large family room and back towards the kitchen. The worn-in brown leather sofas were in the same place. The same landscape paintings were on the walls. In the kitchen, the sink still dripped one solemn drop every thirty seconds just as it had for decades.

  When she was a little girl, there would have been a cook here in the kitchen and a maid somewhere else in the house cleaning up. She’d never gone without female companionship, her father had seen to that. She had three meals a day prepared by Arlene Evans and her daughter Alice had made her bed, done her laundry and played dolls with her.

  Years ago she heard Alice married and moved to Ft. Worth. Arlene was still employed by her father to cook for him and the ranch hands and had taken over some of the household chores as well. Blue set off to find her and wasn’t surprised when she heard a crash come from the pantry.

  Arlene was picking up an assortment of dented cans when she rounded the corner. The older woman was in her sixties now, her dark hair starting to pepper with gray. Her curves had always overpowered her petite frame and her sense of style hadn’t changed. She was donning a pair of purple wranglers with a fluttering pink top meant for women half her age.

  Blue grinned, “Hey there.”

  Arlene squealed and dropped the cans all over again, “Oh sweet baby Jesus… don’t you do that to an old lady Bluebell Montgomery Carter. You bout gave me a heart attack!”

  Blue’s heart warmed in her chest. This woman had helped raise her. She was the closest thing to a mother she’d had since she was five years old and it was good to see her. She hadn’t realized she missed more than just her father all this time and tears warmed the back of her lids before she could stamp them down.

  “Sorry.”

  “Oh my… look at you. Come give me a hug.” Arlene was already enveloping her in a tight squeeze.

  She worked to keep the tears back and hugged the other woman. With her height and the added heels, Arlene’s face got buried in her chest but she didn’t seem to mind and held her for a good long minute. Blue didn’t mind either.

  “It’s good to see you.”

  “Oh it’s good to see you too Bluebell.” Arlene held her at arms length and did a quick scan from head to toe before focusing back on her face, “My, my, if you don’t look more and more like your mama all the time.”

  Yeah if only she had the grace and charm and manners to go along with it. She’d never live up to the impossible standards Liza Beth Montgomery Carter had left behind. She never had and she’d stopped trying a long time ago.

  “Thank you.” She said instead.

  “We’ve missed you.”

  “I missed you too.” She admitted, not missing the fact Arlene had used the plural and she hadn’t. “Where’s Daddy at?”

  “Last I saw him he was in the bunkhouse with the rest of the guys eating dinner.”

  “Of course he is.”

  He always ate dinner with the ranch hands out there. Even when she was a little girl, if she’d wanted to eat with him she’d have to carry her plate out there. She’d known it even before she’d bothered to call. Oh speaking of calls…

  “Arlene, I left a message on the machine earlier. Have you checked it recently?”

  “I didn’t hear the machine ring. I must have been out serving dinner.” Arlene shook her head, “Did you need something?”

  “Nah, I’ll just erase it and then I’ll go say hi to Daddy.”

  “Go right ahead. I’ll bring you out some fresh tea.”

  “Thanks.”

  Blue went back into the living room where the machine was blinking and hit play. Her voice came through with the message and she grinned at the memory of the look on Zachary West’s face when she’d accused him of being an ax murderer. Priceless.

  She hit delete and put the man out of her mind. The only man she could deal with right now was her father. Lord knew she’d need all her strength for that one.

  Letting herself out the back door she headed across the walkway that led to the bunkhouse. The smaller white house matched the main house and sat fifty yards outside the backyard. When she was a little girl several of the younger ranch hands had lived in the house and she had memories of them showing her how to play a harmonica or whittle wood with a knife. Most of the hands these days lived in town and commuted the few miles out to the ranch but they still used it for meals.

  Her father had always seemed more at home in the bunkhouse than he did the main house. Maybe it was his blood, being around the rough and rowdy hands, the hard-working men who he shared so much in common with. Working the land, loving the land, it was in his nature.

  Raising a little girl had never been in his nature. He’d done the best he could. She knew that and she loved him for it. But it didn’t mean she wasn’t hurt when she thought of the dance recitals and games he’d missed over the years because the ranch came first.

  The bunkhouse door was open and the noise coming from inside spoke of a rowdy conversation about the Aggies chance at beating the Longhorns in the fall. Male laughter, ribbing and cursing greeted her ears. She smiled unconsciously. In a way, those were the sounds of her childhood.

  The racket came to an abrupt end as she stepped through the door and she immediately regretted dressing for the dinner before her drive. Her dress and heels were out of place here. She knew the stares didn’t come from the group of men gathered at the long table so much out of appreciation as curiosity.

  A few of the men she recognized immediately. Bobby Pickens had worked the ranch since before she was born and his sons, Billy and Rusty sat nearby. They were a few years older than her but they’d grown up together so they smiled and stood to greet her. She waved but shook her head that they should stay sitting and finish their meal. Manners were for the main house, this was the bunk and it was completely unnecessary.

  She found her father’s face at the head of the table as usual but he hadn’t seen her yet. As always he was dressed in a ragged denim shirt, worn blue jeans and dirt caked boots. His cowboy hat was on the table and his shoulders were slumped over his plate, his head down as he ate his meal of brisket a
nd beans.

  Her stomach knotted instinctively. It was always the same. She was an adult. She was twenty-eight years old and she had a successful job and life but whenever she was in her father’s presence she suddenly felt like that same unsure little girl she used to be. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

  “Hey Daddy.”

  “There you are. We’s waiting on you. Where you been sweet girl?” He looked up and she met the dark eyes that looked nothing like her own for the first time.

  A slim smile worked at his sun-tanned cheeks as he pushed himself to his feet and her breath caught in her chest. Her father was still young. She’d been born when he was in his mid-twenties, younger than she was now even. He was only in his fifties but unlike the last time she’d seen him when he’d seemed spry for his age he looked a decade older now.

  His cheeks were sunken, almost gaunt. His brown hair had peppered with gray early in life but now it was so short it was hard to tell the color. He’d always been a tall, thin man. He’d never packed on the weight or the beer gut some of the other men she knew had but his jeans seemed oddly loose and his big buckle overshadowed him. For the first time in her life she looked at him and didn’t see a giant, she just saw a man and that terrified her.

  She wanted to ask what was wrong. What had happened since she’d been home last? Was he sick? But she knew he wouldn’t appreciate any of those questions in front of his hands and so she steeled her defenses, sucked it up and put on her best gracious daughter face instead.

  “I had some car trouble. A flat out near the city limit. Sorry I’m late.”

  She hugged him, closed her eyes and breathed him in. He smelled the same as he had when she was a little girl, like dirt and outdoors and Texas. He gave her one firm squeeze and released her. There was no such thing as holding on to her father.

  “You get it fixed wearing that?” He looked at her skeptically and her cheeks heated red.

  “No Daddy. A man from town was passing by and stopped to help me.”