Second Chance Ranch

by Leann Harris

  He picked up a chip and ran it through the salsa. He popped it into his mouth. “Excellent.”

  Sophie felt like an idiot. She couldn’t eat a chip without choking.

  “I want to thank you for the light saber today.”

  She latched onto the change in topic. “I couldn’t think of anything else to use. It was better than the broken handle of the pitchfork.”

  “After I got over the shock, I liked the challenge. And I’m sure I’ll hear from my parents about today’s exercise.”

  “I hope you’re not complaining about your caring family.”

  He paused with a chip in his hand. “No, I’m not.”

  “Good. Be grateful. They might’ve approached things wrong after you came home from the hospital,” his face took on a mulish quality, “but as I recall your parents have good hearts.”

  When he opened his mouth, she leaned forward and whispered, “Remember, I was your sister’s roommate. She told me a lot of things that her brothers did.”

  He leaned back in his chair and his eyes narrowed. “What exactly did she tell you?”

  She had him worried. Good. Of course some of the stories Beth shared, she had her part in the adventure. There was one time when the boys snuck out to go to a cave in the mountain above their ranch. Beth had followed and ended up falling and breaking her arm, and her brothers had carried her home.

  “I think I’ll keep those secrets. Remember, your parents had a couple of wild boys, but they loved them through it.”

  Before he could respond, the waiter appeared with two plates. On the plate was a chili relleno covered with a light green sauce. Refried beans and rice filled up the rest of the plate.

  Sophie leaned over her plate and whispered, “Try it. The sauce is excellent.”

  He eyed her.

  “Trust me.”

  Cutting the relleno, he forked a bite into his mouth. He smiled. “You’re right again.”

  Her eyes locked with his and Sophie knew she’d lost her heart.

  Zach wolfed down the relleno. Her little mention about knowing about his misadventures rattled him. And of course, those adventures fell into two categories—pre-teen and teen. What had Beth told her? There were lots of things that he didn’t want his folks to know about what Ethan and he’d done. What he needed to do was find a way to talk about her family.

  Leaning forward, he said, “Since you know about my secrets, don’t you think I’m entitled to know some of yours?”

  Sophie put her fork down and picked up her iced tea. After a drink, she sat back. “Why would I want to tell you about my misadventures?”

  “To humor me?”

  Her gaze searched his. “Once when I was six and my brother was nine, he took my Barbie and hid it because I was using his favorite truck for Barbie’s car. He took his car back and I got so mad. I threw his shoes at him. My aim wasn’t good and I missed him and his shoe hit a vase in the living room and broke it. Mom thought Matt threw the shoe. He didn’t rat me out and took the blame.” She fell silent.

  His hand covered hers and lightly squeezed.

  Her gaze met his. “I still miss him. It was as if the light went out in our family when he died.”

  Zach heard the rumors on the rodeo circuit that Matt had been killed in some sort of riding accident, but he didn’t know the details. Sophie had told Beth her brother died when she was twelve, but no one knew exactly what happened.

  She shook her head as if shaking off the sad memories. “Thank you for filling the hole when my sidewalker was late.”

  With her change in subject, Zach knew the door had been closed and he wouldn’t push her further. He sensed a wound or tenderness that Sophie let few people see. He knew that she wouldn’t have shown that weakness in the army.

  “I’m glad I had the energy to do it.”

  Juanita came to the table holding two plates. Sopapillas. “I wanted to bring you the finishing touch of your dinner.” She placed the puffy cinnamon-and-sugar-coated fried pastries on the table.

  It had been close to ten years since he had a sopapilla. “This is a treat, Juanita. And the rest of the meal was excellent.”

  The older woman nodded her thanks. “You need to keep this one, Sophie. Manners are few and far between these days.”

  Sophie’s smiled weakly. “He’s a good worker.”

  Juanita settled in the empty chair at the table and chatted with Sophie for a few minutes. The tension in her shoulders eased. He didn’t know that tension resulted in Juanita’s matchmaking or his questions about her family. But his plan to learn more about this woman had run into a serious roadblock.

  What was Sophie hiding? Because in his experience, people who shared nothing of themselves often hid wounds they didn’t want anyone to see.

  Zach parked his truck by the guesthouse. Sophie smiled as she watched him drive with his right leg.

  “I’m impressed,” she said after he shut off the engine.

  “I’ve been practicing. When I go home after I finish here, I take my truck out to a dirt road by my condo and practice driving. It’s a good thing that when I bought this baby I decided to get an automatic. When I was at Walter Reed, Dad wanted to have the truck fitted with hand controls, but I refused.” He shrugged. “Maybe it was vanity, but I was going to drive this the regular way.”

  He certainly worked to strengthen his muscles. “It was a goal, and you worked to achieve it,” Beth said. He worked like a man possessed.

  She got out of the truck, ready to say good-night, but he followed her up the walk and stepped onto the front porch. A cane-back rocker sat on the porch surrounded by two whiskey barrels filled with pansies and snapdragons. The crispness of the air made her aware of all her senses. The comforting smells of horse and hay danced in the wind. Suddenly, Zach stepped close, filling all her senses. His tall form hovered over her, and she could feel the heat of him. Dinner took on a new dimension. This felt like a date, and dates usually ended with a kiss.

  Feeling self-consciousness and shy, she said, “I called the army representatives yesterday to see when they could come out and observe your training. The colonel in charge told me he’d give me a call in the next day or so.”

  His eyes grew dark with emotion. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “I wish I could, but this is too important.” Hugging her waist, her hands moved up and down her upper arms. “I’ve been praying the Lord would help us establish this therapy program, but there’d been so many roadblocks thrown in the way. First Margaret’s stroke, then Ollie disappears and when he comes back, he seems off.”

  “But He sent me.”

  Sophie felt her mouth go slack.

  “Uh, that came out wrong.”

  “You think?”

  “What I meant was I was the perfect test case for the army. I’ve got connections I might be able to use to help you.”

  He had a point. The Lord couldn’t have sent a better example. “Well, if you could talk to someone that would be great because the colonel I contacted didn’t seem eager to come out here, and I don’t understand that. Before, he seemed so interested to see what riding could do for the men.”

  Zach grinned back at her. He stepped closer and lightly brushed back a lock of hair that came loose from her braid. “Maybe his superior chewed him out that day. I know that’s happened to me when I got chewed on. What you have to do is keep your head down and keep going.”

  Sophie saw his mouth moving, but she was concentrating on his fingers putting those stray tendrils behind her ears. “Uh-huh.”

  His gaze captured hers. “Give me his name, and I’ll call.” With each word, his mouth moved closer and closer until his lips brushed across hers.

  Once.

  Twice.

  When she didn’t object, his mouth settled firmly on hers and his arms slipped around her back, drawing her close to him. Her eyes fluttered closed. All the times she’d imagined Zach kissing her didn’t hold a candle to the real thing. He curled her toes. />
  When he pulled back, his eyes were soft and his smile broad.

  She needed to respond to him, but words failed her. The phone inside the house rang, saving her from having to say anything. She unlocked the door and rushed inside. Zach followed.

  Snatching the phone off the kitchen wall, she blurted, “Hello.”

  “Sophie. This is Lynda McClure.”

  Zach’s mother. Sophie’s gaze flew to Zach’s. “Hello, Mrs. McClure.”

  Zach’s eyes widened.

  “I was hoping we might have dinner with you tomorrow night. We heard from Beth about Zach’s progress today and wanted to know more.”

  Sophie watched as Zach reacted as she talked. “You could talk with Zach and ask him questions.”

  “I intend to, but I think we’d get a better picture if we talked to you, a more unbiased observer,” Lynda replied.

  Zach held out his hand. Sophie shook her head.

  “Hey, Mom,” he called out.

  “Is that Zach? He’s there?”

  Sophie surrendered the phone.

  “Hello, Mom.” As he listened, his brow rose. “I think that’s a good idea. I’ll ask her.” He covered the mouth piece. “You want to have dinner with my folks?”

  The situation could be a powder keg. “I won’t talk to them without your approval. It’s up to you. If you want me to talk to them, I’ll do it.”

  He put the phone back to his ear. “Okay, Mom.” His mother said something that made him frown. “Driving all that way is a lot to ask. Why don’t we meet at someplace north of the city?”

  Nodding, he listened. “That sounds great, Mom. We’ll see you at seven.” He hung up and turned to her. “I talked her out of dinner at the ranch. We’ll meet them at my mother’s favorite restaurant in Albuquerque.” He stepped to her side. “You sure you don’t mind?”

  “No. I’ve always liked your parents.”

  “Good night, Sophie. Be prepared for an inquisition tomorrow night, but at least you can comfort yourself with the best steaks in Albuquerque.”

  She hoped it would be that easy.

  It probably wouldn’t be. She wasn’t known for her dazzling conversational skills or her wonderful speeches. But she could talk horses, how therapy worked, its benefits and Zach’s progress. But she wouldn’t mention what a marvelous kisser he was. That would certainly bring all the dinner conversation to a screeching halt.

  Chapter Eight

  As Sophie watched Zach drive out of the parking lot, she suddenly felt overwhelmed. She stumbled through the front door, locking it. Her head rested against the door, she wondered what was happening. Dinner with Zach’s parents tomorrow night was simply business. They wanted to know about their son’s progress. Nothing more.

  Walking to the kitchen table, she collapsed into one of the chairs. So, why did she feel so confused? Zach’s kiss.

  Obviously, Zach had feelings for her as proven by what just happened, but where had those feelings sprung from? Gratitude. Simple gratitude to his therapist for his recovery. Nothing more.

  She’d pushed him into riding again, forced him to face the life he’d left. She expected him to ride, to be the man he was before the blast. She didn’t operate from pity. She demanded the best from him and didn’t accept excuses.

  He responded to that tough love with an eagerness that surprised her.

  So had he misinterpreted his own feelings?

  And what about her feelings? Zach tapped into the attraction she felt for him so long ago, but watching him struggle, and watching him interact with the kids and Ollie, she gained a respect for the man. She admired him. That was it. Nothing more.

  Too bad that logic didn’t feel right.

  Unlocking the front door, she raced to the stable and walked to Prince Charming’s stall.

  “Well, boy. I’ve got a problem.” He came to the half door and nudged her hand, wanting her to stroke his nose.

  “What am I going to do?” She rested her head on his neck. “I don’t know what Zach’s feelings are, but I’m sure he can’t identify his feelings any more than I can.”

  Sophie’d been burned before and now she needed to guard her heart. She’d been halfway through her first tour in Iraq when the army sent her back to D.C. to learn the latest updated field techniques for battlefield injuries. She met an army captain, Bryan Denison, who’d lost both of his legs, but was recuperating and doing equine therapy. Sophie fell in love with Bryan and thought he loved her, too. They’d spent the two weeks that she’d been in D.C. together. When she wasn’t in class, she was at the stable or in the hospital with Bryan.

  The day before she was to ship back to Iraq, she went to Bryan’s room in the hospital to spend her last night before she deployed. When she walked into the room, Bryan had his arms around a woman, and he was kissing her. When they came up for air, he introduced his fiancée to her.

  If she’d been hit by an eighteen-wheeler, Sophie couldn’t have been more flattened. When she quickly excused herself and fled into the hall, Bryan followed her and told her he was sorry she’d misread his feelings. He gently explained he did have feelings for her, but they were feelings of gratitude and thankfulness.

  One of the shrinks had seen the scene in the hallway. He’d taken her arm and escorted her to his office. There he told her that she had to be careful to separate professional and personal feelings and that if she didn’t, this wouldn’t be the only time her feelings would be misread by the patient or herself. Even friendship with a patient carried danger. It was a good thing to have friendship with a recovering patient, but any relationship that developed in this stressed situation could be misconstrued by either party. She needed to guard her heart and to be sure her patients didn’t mistake their gratitude for love.

  She’d learned a valuable lesson that day. Never mix the two.

  This worried her about Zach. Was he mistaking gratitude for something else? She knew her feelings were the real thing, but she couldn’t be sure his were.

  When Zach arrived home, his answering-machine light blinked. Before he could check the messages, his phone rang. He answered.

  “Son, you need to buy a cell phone,” his mother exclaimed.

  He readied himself for the third degree. “Okay.”

  “I hope you’re not upset about me inviting Sophie to dinner. Beth couldn’t stop talking about how much progress you’re making. Why, even Ethan bragged about you and I thought you probably wouldn’t want to talk about it, so I thought I could get answers from Sophie.”

  Oddly, Zach wasn’t upset with his mother’s tactics. “What Beth and Ethan said must’ve been spectacular to have you call Sophie.”

  “When Ethan told your father and me about that thing with the hula hoop, I laughed. Your dad even commented that it was a smart idea.”

  Zach stretched out in his big leather chair. He remembered seeing that red hoop waving in the breeze and it made him smile. At first he thought Sophie had lost her mind. What was he going to do with a light saber, he wondered, but once he got over the foolish feelings, he wanted to do the exercise they did in the mounted cavalry.

  Her idea had been a stroke of genius.

  “I’ll say she surprised me.”

  “Well, you can fill in all the details at dinner tomorrow night.”

  “Be nice when you pump Sophie for all the details of my progress,” he teased.

  His mother remained quiet. “Do you think I’d do that to her?”

  His conscience pricked him. “Yes, but that’s why I love you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Then we’ll see you around five?”

  “See you tomorrow, son. And I am so grateful to the Lord for the good things that are happening. Do you know He’s got a plan for you? It might not be the one you thought it was, but He doesn’t desert His children.”

  “I know, Mom.” He hung up.

  He knew God had a plan for him, but he still didn’t know what that plan was. He knew it had changed. And suddenly, he
thought about a future with a wife.

  He dialed his sister and got Sophie’s number at the guesthouse. The phone rang several times and Zach began to worry about Sophie’s safety. On the sixth ring she picked up.

  “I was getting ready to drive back out to the ranch and check on you.”

  “Sorry, I was out checking the horses.”

  “Talking to Prince Charming?”

  Her laughter made him smile. “Guilty as charged.”

  “That horse is the best listener in the business. You should just hang out a shingle, Horse Psychologist.”

  “That’s an idea.”

  “The reason I called is I want to make sure you’re okay with talking to my parents tomorrow night. I know Beth has been bragging about your genius. I think Ethan echoed Beth’s excitement.”

  “I’m fine. Remember, I know your folks and how they feel about their children.”

  “You’re not doing this because you feel backed into a corner, are you, because if you are, then we’ll cancel the dinner.”

  “Zach, I’m okay with it.”

  “They’ll have a thousand questions, want your evaluation of my progress, want an overview of what’s happening. I guess they wouldn’t believe me.”

  “I’m okay with it, Zach.” She chuckled. “As I recall, your folks won’t put any thumbscrews on me.”

  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “I’ll consider myself warned.”

  He wanted to continue talking to her. He felt like a teen with his first crush. “I thought we might try having dinner again. And not with my parents.”

  She remained quiet.

  “On the drive to the restaurant we could plan a strategy on how to get the army contract.”

  “That’s a plan.”

  He breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll see you tomorrow. And, Sophie, I had a good time tonight.”

  “I did, too.”

  After the goodbyes, she hung up.

  Zach stared at the phone. Oddly enough, he knew his mother had done him a favor by asking for Sophie to come to dinner. The arguments he gave Sophie were the bald truth. He didn’t want to field any of those questions his parents would have, and Sophie would handle them better than he could.