Cal turned to his father in obvious exasperation. “I can get my own dates, Dad.”
“Not very well.”
Susan attempted to give Cal a way out. “That’s a very nice offer, but I’m afraid I couldn’t accept, anyway. I don’t ever leave Hank to go on dates.”
“Well, shoot. That’s easily solved. Bring your boy along,” Mr. Riddell boomed. “He’s going to love the ranch.” Nudging Cal, he said, “I can’t do no more for you.”
“Susan, would you care to come over to our ranch this evening?” Cal asked stiffly. “With your boy, of course.”
She knew he was embarrassed. So was she. She knew he was only asking out of obligation. She got that.
“Thank you, but it’s just not a good idea. I really better continue on my rounds.”
Cal frowned. “Wait—I’ll walk out with you. Dad, I’d better head on home, now that we might have company coming over and everything.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”
Susan couldn’t help but notice that there was a new note of hope in Calvin Sr.’s voice.
She noticed that Cal noticed it, too. His eyes softened for a moment and all the love she’d suspected he kept bottled up tight inside him flashed brightly. Then he schooled himself again. “Sure, Dad, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Tipping his hat, he nodded to Rosa. “Ma’am.”
Rosa waggled her fingers. “See you soon, Junior.”
After a few more goodbyes were shared, he walked by her side. “So, are you really going to turn me down?”
“You mean, turn your father down? He’s the one who pushed this.”
“Even so, it might be fun. Hank could see the horses. And meet Ginny.”
“Ginny will be there?”
“Yeah. She’s a year younger than Hank, and a girl, but she’s good company. They might have fun.”
Oh, she knew Hank would love it.
Thinking about a Friday night with nothing planned, she asked, “Do you mind if I really do take you up on your offer? It would be a treat to see your ranch.”
“Actually, I was just about to ask you the same thing. I, uh, would like to see you again. And Hank.” He looked at his boots. “I was about to ask if y’all wanted to go out for pizza or something. Having y’all at the ranch sounds real good, too.” Lowering his voice, he added, “There’s something about that boy of yours I like.”
And just like that, all her reasons for ignoring him vanished. Hank was her vulnerable spot. She was willing to do most anything to make him happy. “All right. Around four?”
“Four’s good.” He paused, then took her hand. “Sue, I’m glad you’re coming over.”
His hand was callused and hard, just like a man. But he was clasping her hand so gently, Susan realized that there was a softness inside him, too. “I…I am, too.”
Then he turned and walked away before she could say anything else. In fact, she stood there a good long minute. All the while thinking that Sue sounded really nice on his lips.
Chapter Nine
This was most likely one of her worst ideas ever. But as she drove down the narrow two-lane highway to the Riddell Ranch, Susan had to admit that all her worries had little to do with Hank’s happiness and a whole lot more to do with the way Cal made her feel.
From the backseat, it was evident that Hank had no worries at all. “What’s Ginny like, Mom?”
“I don’t know. I told you, all I know is that she’s a year younger than you.”
“What if I don’t like her?”
“Then I guess you won’t.”
A herd of cattle appeared on their left, the small cluster of brown and white making her smile.
“Mom, what if I start to feel bad?”
She gripped her steering wheel harder. Obviously his diabetes was on his mind more than he let on. Softly, she said, “If you start to feel bad, you tell me. I’ve got candy and a shot, too, if you feel real bad. Okay?”
“Uh-huh.”
She was about to ask him what kind of answer that was, when she saw the reason for his distraction; they were now driving along an endless line of white posts. The posts signaling to one and all that they were near the Riddell Ranch.
“Wow,” Hank said.
Wow was right.
“Do you think we’re going to ride horses or just see ’em?” Hank asked as they drove along, the pastureland in her peripheral vision so pristine and inviting, Susan was tempted to take her eyes off the road and stare.
Instead, she focused on her boy’s question. “I think we’ll just look at them.”
“Why can’t we go riding?”
She waited to answer him in order to pass a rickety truck piled high with hay bales. “Well, because going riding takes a lot of time, I imagine,” she murmured when the truck faded into the distance. “And we’re just going to stay for a short visit.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t be sad. I do imagine we’ll get to see their horses. A woman at work told me that the Riddells have lots of horses.”
“Lots?”
“Uh-huh.” A dozen, to be exact. Actually, ever since she’d told Paula that she’d been invited to the ranch, a whole lot of people at the home had started talking to her about the Riddells. And Cal, aka Junior.
As Hank chattered in the backseat, half counting fence posts, they finally came upon the wide, super impressive entrance to the ranch. Slowing down, she turned right, on to the property, and drove through a pair of enormous gates that stood wide open.
As if everyone there was waiting for them.
She and Hank chuckled as the car bounced over the cattle guard. And looked in awe at the majestic wrought-iron sign that arched above them. Made up of a pair of bold black Rs, she felt as though she was entering a movie set.
Behind her, Hank craned his neck out the window. “Where’s their house?”
“I don’t know.” All she could see were rows of white fences and six brown-and-white cows lazily eating grass.
“What should we do?”
“I guess we’ll just keep driving up this road until we see something,” she murmured. Staying nice and slow, she pressed the accelerator and slowly started forward. “This is sure pretty, isn’t it? Did you see the bluebonnets?”
“The blue flowers? Yeah.”
“I think they’re pretty. Why, that field almost looks purple, there’re so many.”
“They’re all right.”
As the road continued for at least a mile, she prattled on some more, hoping that Hank would think she was simply in a talkative mood. Not that she was feeling nervous. Though everyone and their sister had told her that the Riddells were a big deal, nothing compared to actually seeing the huge spread with her own eyes.
“There’s the house!” Hank cried out excitedly.
Ah. Yes. There it was. A huge mansion of a house, all decked out in white, with white columns, to boot. Beyond it was a well-tended barn made of metal and wood and looking for all the world like something out of Town & Country magazine. If it all had been built to intimidate unsuspecting visitors, they had done a good job.
She was intimidated. And, okay, impressed. This place was way more than she had ever imagined when Betsy had told her about the famed Riddell mansion.
It was far grander, far more than she’d dreamed it would be…and she had a good imagination. The fact of the matter was, she was gaping at everything just like Hank. “Look over there,” he said, pointing to a swimming pool with not one but two diving boards. “Have you ever seen a pool like that?”
“Never.”
“And look over there! There’s a train car!”
She craned her neck and saw, sure enough, a bright red old-fashioned-looking caboose sitting off to the side. She wasn’t sure, but she thought it was serving as a bar or a dressing area for folks who were using the pool. “It sure is fancy, isn’t it?” she said with false brightness.
Inside, all she really wanted to do was escape. During all their conversations, she’d always felt as if sh
e and Cal were equals. Now she felt a little less than that.
Actually, she felt as though she’d just stepped off a merry-go-round and into another world. Only, this one was a whole lot nicer and better than any world she’d ever known.
That wouldn’t do. She was smart, and she was fine. She really did not need to be intimidated by so much excess. The thing to do would be to visit a bit with Cal, show Hank around…and then get out of Dodge.
“Well, let’s get this over with,” she murmured, then immediately regretted her words. Once again, she was looking at the negatives instead of the positives.
Cal had been awfully nice, inviting her over as he had.
She needed to show some of the good manners she’d been lecturing Hank about.
Slowly, she turned to the right, then went ahead and parked in the circular driveway in front of the main entrance of the house.
The minute the ignition was stopped, Hank had his seat belt off and his door open. “Good thing I’ve got my boots on,” he said with a wide grin. “Now I fit right in.” Scrambling out, he looked her way. “Come on, Mom.”
“I’m coming. Settle down, now.”
But as she followed him, she couldn’t help but feel a pit in her stomach as she contemplated her son’s hopeful words. Because, the truth of the matter was, they didn’t fit in at all. Not even a little bit.
They weren’t ranchers, they weren’t rich and she didn’t know a soul who’d ever even thought about putting a train car on their property.
At this moment, Cal had all the pluses, and she was a multitude of minuses.
“Well, Hank. Go ring the bell.”
But before he even reached the four steps leading up to the beautifully carved door, it opened.
“You made it,” Cal said. “I’m glad.”
Hank nodded, his face all smiles. “I like your place. Most especially your pool.”
Crossing his arms over his chest, Cal laughed. “You’ll have to come back and swim when it’s a little warmer.”
“Oh, I will,” Hank said, chattering away. “I bet you swim all the time.”
“Hardly ever.”
“I love to swim.”
She shook her head. “Henry, give Mr. Riddell a moment to get a word in edgewise.” Stung, Hank closed his mouth.
As she walked slowly forward, she noticed that Cal had put on a fresh, crisp white button-down shirt and that he must have showered, too. The ends of his hair still looked damp. “I’m sorry he’s talking your ear off. He’s just excited.”
Looking Hank’s way, he nodded. “I’m glad. And I’m glad you’ve got your boots on, too.”
Pure adulation shone in her boy’s eyes. “I wanted to look like I belonged on a ranch.”
“Well, you do, buddy. You fit in real good.” Stepping back, he looked Susan’s way. She noticed much of the warm tenderness he’d shown her son was absent.
In its place was something far more circumspect. For a moment, she froze, then turned back to Hank. She knew it wasn’t a good idea to get to thinking too much about Cal, or their reaction to each other.
Standing there in the doorway, Hank rocked forward on his boots, looking inside as if it was a display window in a fancy store. “Wow!” he said. “Look at all those hats!”
Cal stepped aside so they could enter. “Come on in and look at them yourself,” he drawled. “And later, if you want, I’ll give you a tour.”
Hank stepped right through, walking to the fanciest hat rack Susan had ever seen.
While he counted hats, Susan looked around. It really was as pretty as a postcard. A large spiral staircase reached upward to the second floor. Wood planks covered the entryway. A grandfather clock chimed as if it was welcoming their arrival.
“Wow,” Hank whispered again.
That was her sentiment, too. Wow.
“I won’t bore you by walking you through the whole place. How about I just show you a couple of rooms here, and then we’ll go out to the barn.”
“Where the horses are?” Hank asked.
“Yes. Where the horses are,” Cal repeated.
Slowly, Susan followed him, looking at the oriental carpets and the antique furniture. The comfortable suede couches and the massive flat-screen television. It was all beautiful and expensive and, for some odd reason…cozy.
She was just admiring the stainless-steel appliances in the kitchen when the back door opened. In came a trim gray-haired lady and a little girl. Immediately her heart melted. The girl was wearing a jumper and sandals. With a ponytail and wide swath of brown bangs, she was adorable. “Hey, Junior!” she called out with a smile. “Me and Gwen have been running errands.”
“I got the dry cleaning dropped off and Ginny and me picked up some movies at the library,” the lady said.
“Thanks.” Looking toward Susan, he said, “This is Gwen and Virginia.”
“I’m Ginny,” the girl corrected.
Cal rolled his eyes. “All right. Ginny, Gwen, please meet Ms. Susan Young and her son, Hank.”
Gwen held out a hand. “Nice to meet you.” She smiled, but Susan noticed that she also had a speculative gleam in her eye. “Are you new to Electra?”
“We are. We’ve only lived here a couple of months.”
“Ah.”
“It’s nice to meet you both,” Susan said. “Cal was just showing us around your place. It’s really amazing.”
“Oh, darlin’, you need to get one thing straight.” Gwen grinned, making the lines around her eyes deepen. “This is sure as heck not my place. It’s all Riddell. I just work here.”
“Gwen is like family, though,” Cal said quickly. “She’s helped us with Ginny since she was born.”
Gwen looked at the little girl fondly. “It’s been a pleasure.”
Cal looked at his sister. “I’m fixin’ to show our company the barn. Want to come?”
Ginny seemed to have eyes only for Hank. “Uh-huh.”
When Hank started to squirm, Susan put her hand on his shoulder as a warning. “Do you have a pony, Ginny?”
Eyes wide, she shook her head. “I have a horse named Casper. He’s all white.”
With a parting smile at Gwen, Susan followed Cal, Hank and Ginny out of the house. Before they even made it to the gravel walkway that led to the barn, their arrangement shifted. Ginny was walking with Hank and talking a mile a minute.
And Cal had slowed his pace to walk by Susan’s side.
“If I’d have known Ginny would take to Hank so easily, I would have brought your boy out here the first day we met,” he murmured. “I’m kind of enjoying this peace and quiet. Most days, she talks my ear off.”
“Hank is the same way. He’s an only child, you know, so sometimes I’m afraid he tries too much for attention.”
“They’re getting along real good now.”
“That they are.”
Slowly, he turned and looked at her. “I am glad you came out here. It’s nice not talking to you with a hundred people around.”
Thinking back to their first conversations, Susan said, “I wasn’t at my best at the hospital.”
Looking more than a little embarrassed, he murmured, “I have to say that I’m not real at ease at the hospital, either. Or at the nursing home, to be honest. I feel guilty, sticking my dad there. I’m afraid it influences the rest of me, too.”
Susan knew he wasn’t alone in feeling that way. But she certainly hadn’t thought he had been rude to her there. “Actually, I thought you seemed almost nice when I saw you at the Lodge.”
As she’d hoped, her comment teased a smile from him. “Well, I was trying to be nice…maybe I succeeded.”
“Maybe you did.” Shyly, she added, “And you’ve been on good behavior here, too.”
His eyes flashed with humor. “Perhaps all we need is just some time to get to know each other, huh?”
Suddenly, she did want that. “Maybe so.”
Finally, they were in the barn. Once again she was struck by how beautifully
designed things were. “I always imagined barns would be dusty and smelly. This looks amazing in here.”
He laughed, but his posture proved that he wasn’t immune to the compliment. “We try hard around here to keep things tidy.”
“I’ll say. It hardly even smells horsey.”
She felt warm all over as he gazed at her again with pleasure. “Aw, honey,” he drawled. “That’s not really what I’d call a compliment. The horses are the best things we’ve got.”
“Junior, come show Hank Rainy,” Ginny said.
“Rainy’s one of our mares who’s fixin’ to foal,” he explained to Susan as they joined the two kids.
Susan was impressed with how still Ginny was next to the pregnant quarter horse. Her voice was quiet and gentle, and there was real care with how she examined the horse.
After Cal talked to Hank and her some about the horse, they all moved on. Soon, Cal was playing tour guide, telling Hank and Susan all kinds of tidbits about each horse.
To her surprise, each horse seemed to have its own personality. One of the geldings was an easygoing sweetheart. The other one had a bit of a jokester in him. But with all of them, Cal touched the horses with true fondness. It was obvious in his whole body language just how much he loved the animals.
He was patient with the mare who was shy. Casually waiting for her to approach as if he had all the time in the world.
Susan couldn’t help but contrast that attitude with the first time they’d met, when he looked like a caged animal at the hospital cafeteria. That day, she would have sworn up and down that he had patience for nobody.
As they walked on, every so often, Ginny would add a detail, or would embellish the story.
Beside her, Hank looked mesmerized—not by the horses as much as by the man beside them. Gone were his constant questions, as a sort of contemplative speculation entered his eyes. With each moment, Hank seemed to be more and more taken with the somewhat taciturn cowboy.
In spite of herself, Susan knew she was beginning to feel that way, too. This was Cal Riddell in his element, and it gave her such a sense of what the man was really like. Here, she could see how at ease he was with his surroundings, and with the horses.
Gone was the overriding sense of dissatisfaction and stress that had always seemed to emanate from him.
My True Cowboy Page 9
