The Soldier's Homecoming

by Patricia Potter

  “She has been at times.”

  Jenny grabbed one of the rolls. How could an inn feel so much like a home? Or was it just warmer than her own home had been? The employees seemed to adopt their visitors rather than just serve them. Several tables and chairs had been placed in the lobby, and she took a seat.

  She opened up her laptop. News was her drug. She usually kept a television on an all-news station as well as trolling the internet several times a day. She was often doing something else at the same time, such as shoulder exercises, reading or writing. But she always kept one eye on the news.

  Not since she arrived in Covenant Falls, though. It was weird. Out of character. And yet, she didn’t care. It was like being in some kind of Neverland for the hard-driving realist she’d been these past few years.

  She finished her coffee and refilled the mug. Then she tasted the cinnamon roll and thought she’d died and gone to heaven. She thanked Mary and took the coffee and another pastry to her room to watch the news. Time to get back to normal.

  She was anxious. Would Jubal, whom she’d never met, veto her inclusion on the trip? Would she have a chance to plead her case? Or would Travis veto it himself when he rethought it?

  She finished the cinnamon roll and then did her shoulder exercises while watching the news. Her shoulder ached more than usual, but at least she could use it.

  She was pretty sure she could still ride a horse.

  Her phone rang.

  “Hope I didn’t wake you,” Eve said.

  “No. I’m an early riser.”

  “I suspected as much. Plans have changed. Instead of a ride at my house, how about taking it at Jubal’s ranch today? If that’s okay with you, I’ll pick you up at eleven and drive you there.”

  Jenny was stunned and then elated. In addition to needing his approval for the trip, Jubal Pierce would make a great story subject. “Sounds good,” she said, trying to contain her excitement, although a small voice inside said it was a test.

  “Wear jeans,” Eve said. “And some kind of boots or laced shoes if you have them.”

  “Can do,” Jenny replied.

  “Great. See you at eleven.” Eve hung up.

  Then Jenny called her mother to say she might be on the road for a while. Before her injury, she’d gone months without contacting her family. But during her stay at her parents’ house, she’d noticed how hard her mother had tried to connect with her.

  “Why don’t you come back?” her mother said. “I miss you. It was so nice having you here for a while.”

  Maybe for her mother, not so much her father. In the weeks she’d spent there, he’d been gone ninety percent of the time and had little time for her when he was present—except to tell her she’d brought her wounds on herself. “I have to get back to work,” Jenny said.

  “We can give you money if that’s the problem,” her mother said.

  “I’m fine,” Jenny said. “My shoulder is better, and I’m working on several stories.”

  “Well...if you’re sure...” Her voice trailed off.

  “I am, but thanks for offering.”

  “You’re my youngest. If you need anything...”

  She heard the ache of loneliness in her mother’s voice, and it ripped into her heart. “I know,” she said softly. “And I’ll be back to see you in a few weeks.” Maybe, she thought, she’d been selfish not to notice her mother’s unhappiness. Was it new? Or had it been there twelve years ago when she finished college and took off on her own? She’d felt so alienated then, after years of criticism from her father and little or no support from her mother. She hung up the phone and glanced at the clock. It was nearly nine thirty. She went out to the lobby.

  Susan was back at the desk. “Good morning.”

  “I’m off to the General Store. Can I get riding boots there?”

  “You certainly can.”

  “Is it just a general store or is it named General Store?”

  “The latter,” Susan said with a smile.

  Jenny had noticed the store earlier and knew how to get there. It was a cool morning, with wispy clouds floating through a deep blue sky. It was going to be a good day. She sauntered rather than walking briskly. She wasn’t in a hurry, and it was a sheer pleasure to smell the scent of pine and look up at the mountains. She noted everything around her. The houses in this neighborhood were modest but well-tended. Grass was mowed, house exteriors painted.

  She passed a drug store, a clinic and Maude’s, which looked full. She thought about going into the restaurant, but she was still full of cinnamon rolls. She passed up the temptation and found the General Store.

  Inside, she wandered to the clothing racks in the back and selected a wash-and-wear red skirt and a white short-sleeved blouse, along with a red sweater for chilly nights.

  A woman approached her. “I’m Heather. Can I help you?”

  “I’m looking for some footwear. I have a horseback riding lesson today, and all I have is a pair of sandals and some canvas sneakers.”

  “Where are you going?” Heather asked.

  “Jubal Pierce’s ranch.”

  “Ah...you must be the reporter.”

  She tried to figure out how the clerk knew. “I’m a reporter,” she said good-naturedly. “I don’t know if I’m the reporter.”

  Heather grinned. “You must be. Word is a reporter is in town. No mention of two. News travels fast around here. But let’s solve your problem. You really need boots, especially if you keep on riding.”

  Now that was an interesting assumption. “I don’t know if I will,” she said, “but I’d like to look at them.” If she was going to be walking around ranches, she would need something tougher than the footwear she’d brought with her. She was certainly familiar with boots. She’d often worn army surplus boots in the Mideast.

  Heather led her over to a sizable shoe and boot area. Jenny was impressed at the variety.

  Heather asked her size, and then she selected three different styles of boots. “I would suggest paddock boots rather than tall riding boots. They’re less expensive, more versatile and a lot easier to put on because they zip up.”

  Jenny eyed an elegant pair of riding boots, tall with supple leather and an engraved Western pattern, but realized immediately that buying them would be foolish. In addition to being awkward to carry, she might be wearing them only once. They were also three-times more expensive than the paddock boots.

  She had to watch her money. She had savings, but she knew how fast they could run out. It was essential to sell some stories, both for income and to keep her name out there.

  “I’ll take the paddock boots,” she said after trying them on.

  “A good decision since you’re just beginning,” Heather said. “Both Luke and Jubal are good instructors. My daughter is going to them. They have adjoining ranches, you know. Jubal teaches beginning riders and Luke teaches advanced ones.”

  “Is Luke a veteran, too?” she asked.

  “Yup, Vietnam. We have loads of veterans, one going back as far as World War II. He’s in his ’90s.”

  Before long, Jenny was going to have to expand her mental file cabinet. Possible stories were crowding inside.

  “Luke’s wife also teaches and is a well-known barrel racing coach,” Heather continued. “She’s won several barrel racing championships.”

  Jenny couldn’t wait to get back to the inn and jot down notes on her iPad. She finished shopping and left the store with the boots plus some additional clothes she might need on a road trip, including a nice skirt and blouse along with an additional pair of jeans and a checkered shirt for riding. She still had some time before Eve was to pick her up. She only hoped she wouldn’t make a complete fool of herself and fall off the horse. Or was Jubal Pierce waiting for an excuse to say no?

  She saw the veterinarian office and remembered from la
st night that the vet had gone on a search-and-rescue mission. She wondered how it turned out.

  When she tried the door, it opened. A bell rang, and a pretty young girl came from the back.

  “Is the veterinarian in?”

  “Stephanie?”

  Jenny nodded, noting how the girl didn’t include the title Doctor or Stephanie’s last name. Everyone in Covenant Falls seemed amazingly casual with titles.

  “Yes.”

  “She didn’t get back until early this morning. She’s sleeping. I’m Beth Malloy, her vet tech. Can I help you?”

  “No, thanks. I was passing and thought I’d like to meet her. I’ve heard a lot about Dr. Phillips. Did the search go well?”

  “Yes. They found the woman alive. She took a wrong turn in the mountains, ran out of gas and started walking. She’d wandered way off the road. She should have stayed with the car. It’s usually easier to locate. I’ll tell Stephanie you came by.”

  Jenny thanked her and headed back to the inn. She changed into a clean pair of jeans, the new shirt and the new boots. She reached the inn’s entrance just as Eve drove up.

  “Hi,” Jenny said as she got into the car.

  Eve nodded with approval as she surveyed her clothes.

  “Heather helped me,” Jenny explained. “She recommended the boots.”

  “She has an unerring instinct with customers,” Eve said. “She and her husband own the store. He does the business part. She selects the inventory.”

  “And they’re still married?” Jenny exclaimed.

  “Oh, yes, they adore each other.”

  Damn, what was it about Covenant Falls that kept turning all her beliefs on their head?

  She changed the subject. “Tell me about Jubal Pierce.”

  “Doesn’t talk much, but he’s a good instructor. He’s great with kids. Not so sure about reporters,” Eve added with a grin. “But he just got engaged to the town doctor, so he might be more mellow.”

  A challenge? Well, she liked challenges. They were what drove her—always had and probably always would. She would be darned if she allowed her injury or PTSD to stop her.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  AS EVE DROVE up to a fenced property, Jenny’s gaze was drawn to a young pinto frolicking in the pasture with an older horse. They left the car and approached a neat two-story brick house. Jenny noticed several cars and trucks—including Travis’s rental car—parked in what appeared to be a recently expanded parking lot.

  Had he been invited as well? Was he riding?

  Eve led the way to a stable that was obviously being enlarged. A riding ring had been recently constructed next to it. The lumber was fresh.

  A tall man with dark hair was talking to Travis and a thin young man with a prothesis for his right leg.

  It must be the Danny whom Travis had mentioned: the young soldier who’d been in foster homes. The boy—no, man—had a thatch of dirty blond hair and a wiry body. His jeans were coated with dust, and he had a big smile on his face.

  Danny said something to the older man, and they both turned. Jeans and boots were the uniform of the day, and she fit right in. She was grateful for Eve’s advice.

  Even if she hadn’t already met Travis and heard about Danny, she would have known which of them was Jubal Pierce. He was a little taller than Travis and looked all muscle. His face was hard, his features strong, and he had the most piercing blue eyes she’d ever seen. He didn’t smile as she approached, but studied her as if she was an odd specimen.

  Jenny was not easily impressed, but she was now. Jubal Pierce was one of the very few American servicemen to escape after being captured by terrorists. She had visited the SEAL training camp and had a healthy appreciation of what it took to be a SEAL. She knew better than to mention it, but she had a million questions for him.

  “Eve said you’re interested in riding,” he said in a gruff voice. It was a statement more than a question.

  “Yes.”

  “Ever been on a horse?”

  “Not since I was a kid, and that was a very tame pony.”

  “Never had an interest?” It was more an accusation than a statement.

  “It’s not that. More like no opportunity.”

  He turned to the young soldier. “This is Danny. He’s learning to ride in between working for his keep.”

  “Hi, Danny,” she said. “It’s good to meet you.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Me, too. I mean...meet you,” he stuttered.

  “He’ll be learning with you,” the former SEAL said. “He’s already made friends with the horse he’ll be riding, and I picked one out for you. Why don’t you go meet Lucy, become familiar with her. Danny will show you how to saddle her.”

  She saw Danny’s surprised face as Jubal Pierce turned away. He apparently hadn’t expected to be given the responsibility. Jubal Pierce was obviously a swim or sink kind of teacher.

  Without comment, Danny led the way into the stable. Jenny realized that this was, in some way, a test for both of them. Just inside the stable, the young soldier plucked a carrot from a box and handed it to Jenny. “This is for Lucy. She’s a rescue horse. Jubal says she apparently was abandoned by her owners and nearly starved to death, but she’s gaining weight and happy now. I rode her yesterday. She’s small but a good riding horse.”

  “Great,” she said. “I want a nice horse for my first ride.”

  He grinned. “Talk to her for a few minutes. Let her get used to your scent, your voice, your touch. You might want to stroke her face.” He went to the next stall and gave its inhabitant a carrot as he hummed.

  She heard the comforting tone of his voice and tried to imitate it as she whispered nonsense to Lucy, who nuzzled her, looking for another treat. She wished she had one as she looked into Lucy’s large brown eyes. Note to self: always carry carrots when approaching a horse.

  Jenny watched Danny attach a lead to his horse’s halter and lead him out. She did the same and followed. He led her to what she recognized from films as a tack room.

  Was she really going to saddle her horse?

  “First,” Danny said as he handed her a brush, “you groom the area where the saddle will sit.” He demonstrated with his horse, and she followed his lead.

  “Then check the saddle pad to make sure there aren’t any burrs, straw or anything else that might cause saddle sores.”

  He went through the saddling process step by step, but when she came to lifting the heavy Western saddle, agonizing pain shot through her shoulder, and she dropped it, startling the horse.

  “Here, ma’am, I’ll do it,” Danny said.

  Her face flamed. She wasn’t used to failing, and she particularly didn’t want to fail in front of Jubal and Travis. She shook her head and waited for the pain to pass. She would be prepared for it next time.

  “I’ll help,” Travis, who’d apparently been watching from the door, said. “I don’t want you to do more damage to that shoulder.”

  “I can do it,” she insisted. She was used to doing for herself. She took pride in it, even if it was painful. Stupid, she knew, but there it was.

  “I don’t doubt that, but then what would you do if it caused more damage? I should have realized... Jubal didn’t know.”

  He took the saddle and, with one smooth motion, placed it on the horse. “There,” he said. “You can buckle the cinch. Reach down with your left hand and tighten the cinch until it’s snug. You should be just able to slip your hand in between your horse’s belly and the cinch.”

  She followed the instructions, despite the pain in her shoulder. She hated that Travis had seen her fail. She hoped it wouldn’t affect his decision to take her along with him.

  “Danny can lead you through the last steps. He’s apparently learning fast. He didn’t know one end of a horse from the other when he came here a week ago. When you finish
, lead him out.”

  Danny watched him leave, a look of hero worship on his face.

  “You really like him, don’t you?” she asked.

  “I would follow him to hell and back,” Danny said. “I was just a corporal at the army rehab center, a nobody who didn’t know what he was going to do with one leg and not much education. It was the major who started challenging me, convincing me I could be anything I wanted to be. And he didn’t forget me. When he was released, he continued to come and see me. He got me this job, even paid my airfare here—although I’m going to pay it back.”

  All she could do was nod. She listened to Danny and followed the rest of his instructions. Despite his claim he didn’t have much education, he seemed a wickedly smart young man. And determined. She knew he’d only been here a few days and guessed from what Travis had said he hadn’t known anything about horses before he arrived.

  When they finished, the two of them led their horses out of the stable. Jubal was leaning against the fence. He inspected her saddle and bridle, and then nodded approval at Danny. “That’s a good job, Danny.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Danny seemed to grow taller. It was obvious he was in awe of Jubal.

  Jubal turned his attention to Jenny. “Do you think you can ride with that shoulder?”

  So Travis had said something to him about her shoulder.

  “I’m going to try.”

  “What’s the injury?”

  She told him.

  “Is it still hurting from lifting the saddle?”

  “Not much.”

  He smiled for the first time and nodded. “Good. Take hold of the saddle horn with both hands. Don’t try to put weight on the right one.” He held out his locked fingers for her left leg and, with one easy gesture, vaulted her into the saddle. It was all she could do to keep from going over the other side. She looked at Travis and found him grinning.

  She would have liked to sock both of them, but she straightened up in the saddle and tried to look dignified.

  The lesson started.

  * * *

  TRAVIS CLIMBED UP to sit on the corral fence and watched as Jubal instructed both Danny and Jenny. He was equally tough on both, although Danny, who’d had several days of lessons, rode with more confidence. He certainly had tacked his horse with a level of comfort that surprised Travis.