by Kim Redford
“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”
“You think?”
“I knew you and Kent were always a special couple, even if you were young. Anybody could see it.” Ruby nodded toward where Kent had been before he drove away. “Far as I can tell, you still are.”
“I’m not sure I can ever trust a guy again.”
“Give it time.” Ruby set her mug in the sink. “And get some sleep. Life always looks more doable in the morning.”
“You’re right.” She drank more cider before she set her mug beside Ruby’s. “Thanks for the cider. And everything.” She put her arms around her friend and gave her a big hug.
“Welcome home,” Ruby said as she returned the hug, then stepped back. “The Sun Room is at the end of the hall, so you have the most privacy on the top floor.” She quickly headed down the stairs, then glanced back. “Sleep late if you like in the morning.”
“I might do that, but I bet Hannah will be up and raring to go.”
“I don’t doubt it.” Ruby chuckled in her alto voice. “Just let her come downstairs. We’ll make blueberry muffins for breakfast.”
“Thanks.”
Lauren glanced downstairs where Temple jumped down from his cozy seat in a chair to lead Ruby into her suite.
When the door closed behind them, she looked up the staircase, thoughts turning to her daughter asleep in their suite. After being in Wildcat Bluff a single day, she felt sure she had done the right thing in bringing Hannah home. Of course, time would tell, but she hadn’t felt so surrounded by love since she’d left her parents’ home in Connecticut. And love of all kinds was exactly what she wanted for her daughter.
She quickly washed the mugs, always careful with the Frankoma pottery, and left them out to dry. She noticed Kent’s cowboy hat on the counter and picked it up. She held it near her face and inhaled the scent of him, reminding her of the clean, heady smell of sage and leather. Somehow just holding his hat made him seem closer to her again. She’d just hold on to his hat till he asked for it.
She walked up the stairs to the top floor and quietly opened the door to her suite. She stepped inside and locked the door behind her. For a moment, she simply stood very still and looked at the small shape snugged beneath the vibrant-orange spread in the center of a queen-size bed, having abandoned the foldout bed. She felt love as big and hot as the sun envelope her. Hannah was simply the love and light of her life. She was glad her daughter felt safe enough at Twin Oaks to be sleeping so soundly in a strange environment, but Hannah also had to be completely tuckered out after such a big, long day.
Lauren walked over to the bed, then pulled the cover up and over her daughter’s small shoulders. She placed a kiss on Hannah’s soft hair and felt the inner glow that she’d felt since the moment she’d nestled her daughter’s tiny body against her breast. Whatever it took, she’d do the right thing by Hannah.
She stepped back and glanced around the cheerful room that had been painted with peach walls and bright-white trim. Contemporary furniture with straight, elegant lines in cherry wood made up the headboard, dresser, desk, chair, and settee. Colorful purple and apple-green throw pillows that probably belonged on the bed now filled the settee. A rocking chair with a floor lamp beside it looked like a cozy place to read or rock a little girl.
Lauren yawned, feeling the day catch up with her. She’d take a quick shower, brush her teeth, and join her daughter in deep sleep.
She set Kent’s cowboy hat on top of her sundress on the desk, smiling at that bit of togetherness. She pulled out her phone, sent a quick text to her parents to let them know all was well, and checked for messages. She felt her breath catch in her throat when she read a text from Kent. “I’m in bed thinking of you.”
Heat flashed through her at the thought and she couldn’t resist a reply. “I’m thinking of Lovers Leap.”
And with that, she set her phone on the desk, resisting the urge to check for an answer. She quickly walked into the bathroom with its gleaming white tile, chrome fixtures, and orange bath towels.
Her new life in Wildcat Bluff had begun.
Chapter 20
Kent stepped out the open front door of his farmhouse onto the covered porch after he’d done his ranch chores early that morning. He held a cup of coffee in one hand and his phone to his ear with the other.
“Yes, Mom, I know you’re glad Lauren’s back in town.”
“And I’ll throw a big party to welcome her back,” Mimi Duval said in an excited voice. “I always did like that girl.”
“Let me run it by her first. She might not want the hubbub.”
“Of course she’ll love a party in her honor.”
“She’s got a little girl now.” Kent wedged his cell between his ear and his shoulder so he had a free hand to shut the door behind him.
“Perfect! I can’t wait to meet her.”
“I mean Lauren might be protective of Hannah and not want her around a bunch of strangers.”
“We’re not strangers. We’re almost family. In fact, we would be family if not for—”
“Please don’t go there.”
“No need to get cantankerous. I heard you spent most of the day with Lauren yesterday, so naturally I assumed that—”
“Don’t assume anything. We’re just friends.” Kent hated that his mom sounded hopeful because he didn’t want to disappoint her on the wife front. Again. “She asked for my help.”
“That sounds interesting. What kind of help?”
“Hedy.” He looked out across the ranch and watched a small herd of black cattle contentedly grazing on hay. His mom was getting more desperate by the year for a grandchild of her own. No two ways about it, Charlene had been a disaster.
“Of course Lauren would want to help her aunt, but we all know that’s just not possible,” Mimi said in a hushed tone, as if the matter was almost too painful to discuss.
“Lauren’s got some ideas. She needs my help to get there, and that means I need your help, as well as Dad’s.”
“I’ll throw that party so she can get reintroduced to the folks of Wildcat Bluff County. That ought to do it.”
“Not what I mean.”
“Then what?”
“Okay, here goes. I want you to keep an open mind.”
“When have I ever not been open to your ideas?”
“I know, but this may surprise you.” He was glad his parents had always been supportive of what he chose to do in life, but Lauren was a different matter. He felt overly protective of her.
“Just give it to me straight.”
“Okay, Mom.” He took a deep breath, hoping against hope that this went well. “Lauren is a physical therapist, and she came up with the idea to use equine-assisted therapy to get Hedy back on a horse and help her get stronger.”
“Hippotherapy,” Mimi said in voice filled with wonder. “Is that even safe for Hedy?”
“If it’ll work, it’ll be worth the chance, won’t it?”
“Maybe, but still—”
“And Hannah wants to be a cowgirl.”
“How delightful!” Mimi sounded excited at that idea. “I’d love to help Lauren’s daughter any way I can. Hedy, too.”
Kent gulped coffee, knowing his mom was imagining helping her own grandchild become a cowgirl. But that wasn’t in the cards, at least not right away. “I might need a little time off from doing my part in running the ranch.”
“And you want your father and me to take over?”
“Just for a bit. I’d like to help Lauren get her idea up and running as quickly as possible to help Hedy. And Hannah.”
“How involved are you in this project?” Mimi sounded cautious, as if evaluating the extent of the situation.
“Lauren’s staying with Ruby right now, so she doesn’t have a place of her own. First off, she needs horses,
a barn to house them, and an arena.”
“Kent, dearest, I don’t want to see you hurt again.”
“I’m not putting my heart out there.” He gripped his coffee mug, hoping that was true. “What I’m doing is helping friends.”
“That’s admirable, but—”
“I’ve got the old horse stables, the arena, and the pasture out here. They’re not in use since y’all built the fancy new barn up by your house. I thought it’d be a good place for Lauren to start.”
“What about horses?”
“I figure we can find something right in Sure-Shot.” He knew he could depend on the horse breeders and trainers there.
“Most likely so.”
“What do you say?”
“I say you’ve got a big heart.”
“Mom, I mean about me taking some time off to help Lauren start her new project.”
“Are you saying this is more than just for Hedy?”
“I think Lauren’s the one with a big heart.” He paced across the wooden floor, then back again as he realized how important his mom’s reaction to Lauren’s idea would be for getting her hippotherapy center off the ground.
“It’s a wonderful idea,” Mimi finally said with warmth in her voice. “In fact, I believe it’s something Wildcat Bluff could get behind in a big way.”
“You’re sure?” He tried not to sound relieved, but he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
“Absolutely.”
“She just wants to start with Hannah and Hedy.”
“I’ve heard hippotherapy can help with a lot of medical issues, but I’ve always been too busy with the ranch to learn very much about it.”
He smiled, knowing his mom was almost always ahead of the game.
“Think about it,” she said. “In this county alone, we’ve got experienced riders and horses. We could also get official training as volunteers like our firefighters do.”
“Do you mean certification programs?”
“Yes. I understand programs can be coordinated with physicians, psychologists, and—”
“Physical therapists like Lauren.” Kent paced back across the porch as he realized the idea was quickly getting out of hand—or maybe Lauren was already thinking big. “I guess if she started an equine-assisted therapy program, she could eventually provide local jobs.”
“Folks who love horses always need work, volunteer or otherwise,” Mimi said with determination in her voice. “It’s a terrific concept for our community. But first we need to get Lauren’s idea off the ground. We might want to turn our party into a hippotherapy benefit.”
“You’re way ahead of me. And Lauren. I don’t know how she’ll feel if we get too many cooks in the kitchen.”
Mimi chuckled. “So true. If she’s as independent as the rest of us, she’ll want to be in charge.”
“I like the way you’re thinking. Let me feel her out about it as we go along. First, I wanted to run the idea by you and Dad before I focused on getting her set up.”
“I’ll tell your father. In the meantime, let me know what we can do to help. And please, call me when Lauren’s at your place so I can come over to welcome her home and meet Hannah.”
“Will do.” He smiled at the phone, once more glad his parents were his parents. “And thanks.”
“Anything for my favorite son.”
“I’m your only son.” He gave the much-used response to their old standing joke.
She laughed in a low tone as she dropped her voice to a whisper. “And remember, roses are always good, particularly yellow ones for Texas.” She disconnected.
Kent groaned as he tucked his phone in the back pocket of his jeans. He should’ve known this would somehow turn out to be all about getting him a wife. His mom was probably planning the wedding, or more likely, pulling out her original plans. Nothing he could do about it. Moms would be moms. And he’d lucked out with one of the best, so he couldn’t complain, or at least not where she could hear him.
He paced over to the railing and leaned against it, feeling as if his get-up-and-go had got-up-and-went straight to Lauren Sheridan. He hadn’t been able to get her off his mind or out of his bed, if only in the metaphorical sense. He had a hot ache that was burning a hole in his jeans, and he wasn’t sure he liked it one bit. How the hell had she come back to town and gotten under his skin in only one day?
He liked relationships simple anymore. He’d built his life around simple. He was dedicated to simple. Sure as shootin’, Lauren was anything but simple.
He took another swig of coffee out of his porcelain mug shaped like a much-worn cowboy boot. He used it because he didn’t have the heart to tell his mom, who’d given it to him, all proud-like, that it was a pain in the neck to clean and tended to spill out the uneven top if he didn’t hold it just right.
He sighed and glanced over at the glossy front door of the hundred-year-old farmhouse. Pink. Not bright pink or even an acceptable red, but pale pink. He didn’t complain about it either, or change the color, because his mom had put her heart and soul into decorating their family’s original house on Cougar Ranch. Not that his parents lived there anymore. They’d built a comfy, stone ranch house on the highest point, and he’d taken over the farmhouse.
He squinted, trying to get the pink to change color. No dice. His mom insisted the color was a tribute to former First Lady Mamie Eisenhower’s love of pink. As she’d explained, that was why so many houses built in the 1950s had pink bathrooms and other stuff. Pink was considered a neutral color instead of a feminine shade back then.
He shook his head. Who knew from First Ladies or pink tile? Anyway, the farmhouse wasn’t built in the fifties. Still, he never said what was really on his mind. He just endured the annoying pink door along with his boot mug. Sometimes you had to pay a steep price for those you loved, particularly women and their cockamamie notions.
He walked past two white rocking chairs with pale-pink cushions and sat down on a pink cushion that covered the seat of a white porch swing that hung from the ceiling. The wooden house was painted bright white from top to bottom except for the gray porch floor and the silver metal covering its peaked roof. He liked being surrounded by wood and age and heritage. He took another slug of coffee, careful not to spill brown sludge onto the pink chintz.
For some no-good reason, he felt lonely. And that wasn’t like him at all, not with his kinfolk and friends running in and out of his life. Maybe his brain was on the fritz. His hormones sure as hell were in overdrive, thanks to the arrival of his first sweetheart.
He might as well just go ahead and admit it. He’d been courtin’ Lauren since the moment he’d stepped outside the firehouse wearing nothing but his jeans and a big grin and seen her standing there like a dream come true. Bottom line, he could twist every which way but Sunday, and he’d still end up bird-dogging her.
And then there was that little chip off the old block named Hannah. Lauren’s adorable little girl took him right back in time to when he’d grown up with Lauren. Hannah was sugar and spice all rolled into one smart cookie. And yet, there was a loneliness and wistfulness to her that tugged at his heart. He wanted her to be whole and happy, just like he’d want for his own child. If he could help set her on the right path, he’d do it in a minute.
In his world, the right path almost always included the healing power of horses. Kids loved and trusted ponies. They were right to do so. The four-legged animals were smart, intuitive, and generous with their affections. He’d seen it time and time again that folks who were unable to trust other people or communicate with them on an emotional level could do both with horses. Far as he was concerned, horses were a great gift to everyone from leathery-skinned codgers to rosy-cheeked kiddos.
Still and all, the right horse had to be placed with the right person. Sometimes that placement could come fast, but other times it
could take a while to find the perfect mount. Hannah was correct to want a pony of her own. She’d make a fine cowgirl. He wished he’d thought of equine-assisted therapy for Hedy, but he hadn’t even considered going there. He hoped Lauren was right about changing Hedy’s life with therapeutic riding.
He was willing to help find the right horses and provide the space for them. In his book, loved ones came first. And he couldn’t tolerate seeing somebody in emotional or physical distress, not when he had the ability to help solve the problem.
As he finished off his coffee, he set the swing in motion, creaking back and forth like it had for over a hundred years. Time. It had a way of getting away from you if you didn’t catch it and ride it like a bucking horse. Maybe you’d stay on. Maybe you wouldn’t. But it wasn’t the count that mattered in the long run. It was the act itself. If he didn’t take action, he might be sitting here on this same porch in this same swing fifty years from now with not much to show for it. At least, he wouldn’t have much to show for it in the way of family.
He could see now that he’d been blaming Charlene for not being what he wanted her to be. She had as much right to her own way of life as anybody else. But if he gave up the thorns he’d woven around his heart for protection, where did that leave him? He’d be about as vulnerable as a turtle without its shell. On the other hand, he could take a chance again.
He pushed off with his right foot and swung higher, harder, realizing that his head was gonna follow his heart with or without his rational consent.
Chapter 21
About midmorning, Lauren turned off Wildcat Road at an open gate. A sign overhead read “Welcome to Cougar Ranch” studded with a lone star in a circle on either side of the words. The ranch sign stretched from tall post to tall post, and it was made of powder-coated, heavy-gauge steel in a dark-blue finish that was typical of the area. She really liked Cougar Ranch’s traditional sign, particularly since it hadn’t changed in all these years.
She drove slowly across the cattle guard. It had an old wagon wheel on either side of a row of horizontal metal pipes that kept cattle from straying off the property but let wheeled traffic move easily in and out. She headed up the graded gravel road that led to the old farmhouse, feeling as if she were moving back in time to those long-ago happy days.
