Slade and Kally: Letting Go of the Reins, Book 1

by AE Rought

  Nodding, Bonnie stood and ruffled his hair. “Don’t fret, son. I understand…” Her sentence trailed off when she looked at his father, who’d walked into the room unnoticed. Pine was a large man, thick arms and a tree trunk of a body. Slade always felt the thinning gray hair looked out of place atop his head.

  “Did I hear right?” Pine’s smile was part smirk. “You want to bring the girl home?”

  The knife opened and closed, and then Slade pocketed it before he stood. “Yes, sir.”

  Pine wrapped Bonnie in his arms. She nodded when he looked at her, and Slade knew instinctively they’d already discussed the subject. The expression in their eyes spoke volumes. “It would be nice to a have a younger girl around here. Even with all the guests, this house has been too quiet since your sister left.” He kissed the top of Bonnie’s head. “Don’t you agree, darlin’?”

  “Of course I do.” Then she leveled her gaze on Slade. “Job or not, the Fourth Moon will be a good place for her to heal.” She pulled Pine’s arms tighter around her. “This place has a way of growing on a person. She may really like it here.”

  His father took Bonnie’s hand in his and stepped closer to Slade. “You just make sure to take good care of her.”

  “I learned from the best, sir.”

  Pine smacked Slade’s shoulder. “Good answer, boy.” Pine laughed and Bonnie rolled her eyes.

  “I’ll drop in on her before our plane leaves in the morning.” With Pine in tow, she crossed the large rug anchoring the living room furniture. “Why don’t you give her the room beside the upstairs bath? She’ll be just down the hall from you. You can keep a good eye on her.”

  “I’ll do my best, ma’am.” His parents stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “Good night, sir. G’night, Mother.”

  Slade pitched a couple of logs onto the fire and dropped back into the cushy armchair. He spun the chair and propped his feet on the hearth. Quiet settled on the house. The shadows spread from the corners when the stairway light shut off. Slade’s gaze ran over the stones making up the hearth and wall. He remembered building the fireplace with his father, remembered many holidays in front of it. This would be the first holiday season without his parents, a silly sense of loss kept company with the late dinner in his gut.

  Slade looked forward to the possibility of sharing a ranch Christmas with Kally. He looked into the shadowed corner where they always put the Christmas tree. He was determined to make this a special holiday, one of healing and happiness for both him and the girl brought to them beneath the new moon.

  A knock on my doorjamb roused me. I rolled to my side to see Bonnie standing in the doorway, beating the sunrise and my breakfast. Her silver-gray business suit complemented her gray hair, which seemed a premature color when it was wound back into a neat French twist. The plain paper sack she carried was bulging, and completely incongruous to her sleek, stylish new appearance. “Good morning, Kally. Are you up for company?”

  “Of course.” I motioned for her to come in. She left her perch at the door, drifted across the floor in her pumps and then settled on the end of my bed. She placed the bag between us and then nudged it closer to me.

  Her sophisticated attire made her appear like a corporate bigwig. When she spoke, however, she was the same Bonnie I’d grown attached to. “The bag is full of odds and ends, dear. The ranch hands towed your car to the barn.” She took my hand in hers, a gentle pat with her fingers. “I’m afraid there wasn’t much left. An electrical fire destroyed whatever was still in the vehicle. They managed to find a few things in the snow around the culvert…”

  Her voice fell away, but I gained hope and encouragement from her eyes. I pulled the bag closer, covering my favorite patch of fabric on the quilt. At the top sat my small jewelry bag, other than the water marked satin, my mother’s pendant and the few other trinkets were intact and unharmed inside. Beneath the jewelry bag sat a couple of cassettes, a hairbrush, a bottle of shampoo and some perfume.

  There, beneath the sundry items was my jacket. Hands shaking, I checked the breast pocket. Tears welled up and ran. Susan’s money was still there, what little was left. And, when I pulled the meager stash free, I found Susan’s hanky. The bloody spots had stiffened. It crinkled in my fingers. It was a tangible message from home, a reminder to never allow Matt to hurt me again. For a moment I forgot about the woman sitting beside me. I could only imagine the storms crossing my face.

  “Are you all right, dear?”

  Tucking the money back in the pocket above the kerchief, I tried to pull myself together. “I’ll be okay, Bonnie. I’m just very relieved. The money in the pocket was from my sister.”

  “Well, then you better hold on to it tightly.” Her smile reminded me so much of her son’s.

  A layer of tissue paper disguised the remaining contents, the paper crinkled beneath my fingers, but I did not pull it out. Bonnie’s gaze flickered to the clock and then back to me. “I guessed at the sizes of the new things. The receipts are at the ranch house in an envelope. The sweater is a gift from one of the timeshares.”

  She bought me new clothes? The kindness this woman and her family poured on me made my heart swell and thump in a sweet painful way. But to receive a sweater from someone else, someone I didn’t know? “Timeshares?”

  Bonnie’s rather monochromatic color scheme brightened with her smile. “Yes, Kally, timeshares. Y’see, we own a four thousand-acre functioning cattle ranch. A couple hundred groomed near the big house are divided into twenty-acre mini-ranches we divided into timeshares—like condos in Florida or ski resorts in Vale.”

  “Wow, I’ve never heard of a timeshare ranch before.” Being raised in Michigan suburbia, I struggled to grasp the concept of why someone would want to buy a timeshare on a cattle ranch. The closest thing I could think of was the “finding yourself” film with Billy Crystal. “Is it like the movie City Slickers, where people help with the cattle drives?”

  Bonnie’s smile changed to a hearty laugh. “No, Kally. The people come for various reasons, but none of them are hired hands. The timeshares are like our guests. They are more than welcome to work when we drive cattle. They are also welcome to stop by for a bite to eat or whittle on our wraparound porch all day and spit chew.”

  “Well, there’s an image I’ve never had before.” It was silly and somehow very quaint.

  She sobered a little when she rose. “Maybe not in this life, but I believe country is in your soul.” She cast another look at the clock. “Well, dear, we have a plane to catch and I need to hurry out of here. It was a pleasure to meet you, Kally and I hope to see you again.”

  “Me too, Bonnie.” And I meant it. I’d grown fond of her in the past three days. “Have a safe and successful trip.”

  “Thank you, dear.”

  Bonnie’s shadow had hardly left my door before my breakfast arrived. The eggs were lukewarm, the hash was not crisp, but the coffee was hot and I was thankful for small blessings. I wolfed the food down and then sat back to sip the coffee and look over the clothes Bonnie had brought. The jeans were the right size, so were the tops, only none of them were my style. The jeans were boot cut and the shirts were button up, and flannel. I hadn’t worn flannel since I was in elementary school, and then it was only with nightgowns.

  I pulled out an ivory/sage/forest green plaid shirt. Oh, it’s so soft. Just as I rubbed the shirt on my cheek, Ilene rounded the corner. She stopped dead in the doorway. “Oh, honey, if you need something to snuggle, grab hold of your sexy cowboy when he comes in.”

  “Bite me, Weenie.”

  She huffed and tipped her weight back onto her right hip. “What the hell? You haven’t used my nickname since we were kids.”

  “I know. And it’s still cute, even with both my front teeth and no lisp.”

  Ilene stepped to the little wooden closet, and fretted over my meager personal belongings, stuffing them into a bag. I could’ve sworn I heard a sniffle. “Well, it used to be cute. But then in middle school, we were
awkward kids thrust into a new school and out of our element. Those nicknames kind of lost their cuteness in high school.”

  “Your cute never wore off to me, Ilene.” I got out of bed, wrapped my left arm tight around her and hugged her fiercely. Then, Ilene giggled. She looked at me, her eyelids slanted, teeth puckering her bottom lip and the corners of her mouth twitching. I sniggered and we ended up laughing like howling monkeys.

  “So, what am I going to do now? They’re discharging me today, and I have damn near no money, no car, no ID…”

  Ilene’s arm remained around my shoulders. “We’ll figure things out. I’m sure I can find you a job in Gillette—”

  “Or, you could come to work for me at the Fourth Moon,” Slade cut in. He stepped into the room and tipped his hat. “G’morning, ladies.”

  My heart pounded and my jaw dropped. Ilene’s, however, rose slightly when she smiled. She patted me on the back. “Well, there ya go, Kally. You can sleep on my couch and find some job at a department store or work for Slade on his family’s ranch.”

  I had left Michigan intent on staying with Ilene. I had looked forward to renewing our friendship. Her presence in my life was a blessing and brought such joy. But here was this handsome man, without whom I would have died, offering me a job on his ranch. My thoughts whirred with new opportunities and old friends. Plans stood in juxtaposition to an element of fate. Torn and dizzy, I turned from Ilene and dropped my rear on the bed. Slade hurried to my side, while Ilene took up the bag of clothes from Bonnie and began transferring things.

  I wiggled a few inches away from Slade. The heat from his thigh beside mine didn’t help me make a decision. What he said next did. “My mother said you insisted on repaying the Fourth Moon for your hospital stay.” I nodded my head, and he continued. “With my parents and my brother gone, it’s basically down to me to do everything. I thought it would help us both out if you came to work for me.

  “If you find a job elsewhere, you’re welcome to go. It doesn’t have to be permanent,” he added.

  “What about lodging? Transportation?”

  “You can stay at the ranch house. We have more rooms than we need and plenty of vehicles.”

  I mulled over the options and the very reasonable plan Slade offered. I could work off my debt, which would lift a burden of guilt off my heart. The Carlsons did not hold me responsible for the bill, but I was not comfortable with accepting such an expensive gift.

  “Honey, you’d be foolish not to accept his offer.” Ilene’s green eyes searched mine. “Gillette isn’t too far from Hulett. We’ll still see each other plenty. And, like he said, it’s not permanent. You can always look for work elsewhere too.”

  Slade looked from Ilene to me and then loosed a strangled laugh. “How is it you two girls always manage to make things awkward for me?”

  “Sorry.” Ilene winked at me. “We’re quite a pair.”

  “So it would seem.”

  I inched closer to him, our thighs brushing. “Slade?”

  “Yes?”

  “I’ll come to the Fourth Moon, at least for a while.”

  He slapped his thigh and then headed for the door. “Great! Then I’ll rustle up a doctor and get your walking papers.”

  Ilene hurried to the door and peeked into the hall. “You just made him a very happy man.”

  “How can you tell?”

  “He was damned near dancing down the hallway.”

  “Oh for goodness sake, Ilene. You’re just trying to hook us up.”

  “I don’t think I’d have to try very hard.” She winked at me and then returned to help me pack. I handed her clothing, and she packed it into a sturdier bag. Then, I found the sweater at the bottom of the bag. It was an oatmeal-colored cardigan, with cable stitching and earthy tones knitted in a band along the bottom and the wrists, before the ribbing. The patterned band mimicked a Fair Isle sweater but was more Native American in style, with a star-in-moon design knitted in the center of the back like a pentacle.

  “Wow! Kally, where’d the sweater come from?”

  “Bonnie said it was a gift from one of the timeshares on the Fourth Moon.”

  “What in the world is a ‘timeshare’?”

  “It’s a long story. Suffice it to say, Slade’s family ranch is kind of a resort ranch, with timeshare ranches similar to timeshare condos.”

  “Oh cool. Working for the Carlsons is sounding better and better. Maybe I should get a job with them too.” Ilene grinned when she stuffed the last of my belongings into the bag, leaving out a pair of jeans, new white socks and the flannel shirt. Then, clothing draped over my arm, I ducked into the little bathroom to get dressed. The jeans fit well enough to be snug where I wanted and loose where they needed to be and the shirt was slightly fitted. Pleasant surprise piqued my interest in western wear. It was a damned comfortable outfit. Maybe life on a ranch would be a good thing.

  Pondering the thought, I shoved my feet into new, fur-lined mukluk boots courtesy of Bonnie, and then pulled on the heavy sweater from a generous person I hoped to thank very soon. Ilene whistled appreciatively when I emerged and dropped to the bed. Picking up the phone, I dialed Sue. I didn’t have time to prep a story, an explanation, anything. She picked up halfway through the first ring. “Kally?”

  “Yeah, Sue. Um, I’m not sure how to say this, so I’m just going to say it. I am going to the Carlsons’ ranch for a while, to work on paying them back for my hospital stay. I’m not comfortable with—”

  “I understand, honey,” she cut in. “Their generosity is overwhelming. I even offered to pay for the bill, and he shut me down, absolutely refused. Mom didn’t raise us to take things easily. Everything had a string attached. So, if you’re looking for me to say it’s okay, then, Kally, it’s okay to go to the ranch to pay them back and make the start of your new life on your terms, even if they are stubborn.”

  Relaxation flooded me, spreading further from my heart with every beat. Sue’s permission, or at least her understanding, meant the world to me. I was ready, at least I’d convinced myself for the moment.

  The balding Doctor Johnston who had admitted me and administered the majority of my breathing tests came into the room with a clipboard, a pen and Slade in tow. “Good morning, Miss Jensen. It’s good to see you up and around. We were very worried about you when you came in.” He held the clipboard out. “Read the after care instructions, and then sign the discharge papers and you’re a free woman again.”

  The after care instructions were an itemized list of common sense things. I breezed through them and signed the papers. Handing them back, I tucked my two stuffed friends into the bag and then hoisted my sack. My shoulder ached, but I soldiered through to the door. Slade stopped me there, taking the bag from me and signaling to the wheelchair just outside the door. “Not so fast, Miss Jensen.”

  “You’re kidding me. I have to ride in a wheelchair?”

  “Yes’m.” He wouldn’t take “no” for an answer, tipping me back into the chair and onto my butt. Ilene took my bag, and the doctor occupied my hands with a prescription for an anti-inflammatory and a painkiller. “Fill them both at the pharmacy downstairs. Take the anti-inflammatory twice a day, but take the painkillers when needed for your shoulder.”

  “Thank you, Doctor Johnston.” I nodded my head, and we were on our way out. The hall led to elevators and my stomach flipped. I hate elevators. It was a silly irrational fear, and I owned it. The dangling, weightless feeling reminded me of my life with Matt—no solid footing. The doors swished open, and Slade rolled me in backward. The elevator lurched beneath me, and I grabbed the arms of the wheelchair. When the lift reached the lobby it lurched again. This time the wheelchair lurched forward before Slade could catch the handles. Okay, now I hate wheelchairs too.

  The nurses at the desk waved over the counter to me when Slade drove the chair past their station. Slade took the prescriptions from me and dropped them off at the pharmacy before he left me in the care of Ilene. We watched him
hurry out to the truck, the crepe soles of his boots skidding on the icy cement. The second he was out of sight I stood, and Ilene drove the heinous wheeled contraption over to a cluster of them by the front door. I mouthed a silent “thank you”.

  The blue and white pick-up drove under the enclosure, and Slade hopped out with an ice scraper in hand. He went to work cleaning the remainder of the windows, expanding the teensy weensy window hole he’d cleaned on the windshield for himself. I could never understand why men make such tiny clean spots on the window. I scraped and wiped off everything.

  While we waited for Slade to straighten up the front seat, my day nurse ran up to me, her arms full of the quilt from my bed. She piled the warm blanket into my arms. “Mrs. Carlson left strict instructions for this quilt to go home with you.”

  “Thank you! I can’t believe I forgot it.”

  The nurse patted my arm. “It’s okay, honey. Slade Carlson is a walking distraction.”

  I just smiled and folded the blanket in two then wrapped it around my shoulders. “So it would seem.” He was rubbing off on me, at least verbally.

  “Speak of the devil…”

  The automatic doors slid open, and Slade breezed in on a gust of cold air. He stomped his boots on the rubber mat inside the doors, then whacked his gloved hands together. “Ready to go?” He took the bag from me and reached out his free hand. I leaned back from his hand but looked at his eyes. “If we hurry we can get back in time for a reasonable dinner.”

  “Sure.” I wasn’t ready to leave. A question burned in me Slade could not answer. “Can you give me just a minute?”

  “Yup, I can.”

  I rushed over to the front desk to the nurse who’d brought down the quilt. I tapped her shoulder. She turned her attention to me, and I pulled her within conspiratorial distance. My voice was hardly above a whisper. “Why does Slade have all the girls gaga?”