by Sable Hunter
“Isaac gave me a key to their BDSM playroom.”
“Wow.” Tricia giggled, then crossed her legs really fast.
“What’s wrong?”
“I got really warm and tingly down there.”
Lance laughed. “Don’t tell me that, now I’m all warm and tingly.”
She stared at his crotch. “Yea, I can see that.”
“Have I told you I love you today?”
Tricia sighed with happiness. “Yea, but you can tell me again.”
“I love you.”
…When Lance whipped underneath the old Shenandoah sign, all he could think about was that photo of Tricia and her grandmother. God, if he could just turn back the clock, he’d lay that photo down and go crawl back in her bed. Nothing was worth the pain he’d caused her. He parked in the dirt driveway and stepped from the truck. Lance was about to go around to help Tricia down, but she bounded out with excitement before he could reach her. “Hey, easy now. Remember you’re with child, sugar.”
“Oh, I couldn’t forget our baby.” She laughed and ran forward, holding her arms out as if she were trying to embrace the world.
When she drew nearer, Tricia came to a stop. “Oh, Lance, just look at this.” She gazed at the stone house and the overgrown yard. She tried to imagine a young Lance running and playing, climbing trees, and running into the house when called for supper. The image caused her pain. Pain for what he’d lost.
“Yea, I’m looking.” Lance was surprised. His reaction at seeing Shenandoah was nothing like he’d anticipated. His heart didn’t race. There was no instantaneous surge of joy or homecoming like he’d always expected there to be. What he felt, instead, was just sadness.
“This is beautiful, Lance. I can understand why you missed it so.” They held hands and walked the rolling hills and stood by the tranquil lake. “With a little work the house could be made habitable.”
“Maybe.” Lance took it all in, his eyes roving over the ranch he hadn’t seen in almost twenty years. The Lamberts had run cattle and horses on the land, but they hadn’t done much with the outbuildings. What he’d built up to be a paradise in his mind was just a rundown piece of Texas real estate, full of ghosts and empty memories.
“We’ll do whatever makes you happy. Okay?”
Lance felt his heart contract with love. “You make me happy.” Hooking an arm around her neck, he pulled her in for a hug. “Let’s go home.”
* * *
Married life proved to be all Tricia dreamed it would be. She loved taking care of Lance and making a home for him. Their days flowed from work, to shared evenings, to nights of wedded bliss. Early one morning, as they lay next to one another, perfectly content, her phone rang.
“Don’t answer.”
“It might be important,” she said, reaching for the phone. “It could be Avery or Skye.”
“All right.” He covered his head with a pillow.
“I don’t know this number.”
“Don’t answer,” he mumbled again.
“Oh, I can’t stand it!” She fussed. “Hello?”
There was an extended pause and then she gasped. “Oh, no!”
Lance tensed. Raising up, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
Tricia was crying as she laid down her cell. “Grandmother died a few minutes ago.”
“I’m so sorry, baby.” Lance couldn’t believe his change in attitude, but he was truly sad. Seeing Tricia cry so hard just broke his heart.
“I don’t know why it hurts so much,” she sobbed the words. “I didn’t know her long or even really well.”
“She was your grandmother, it’s natural.” He cradled her to his chest in front of the stove. “Sit down and let me fix you some breakfast.” Tricia chose the chair nearest to him, seemingly unable to bear to be too far from his side. He was worried about her, hesitant to let her out of his sight for very long at a time. He wished he could just take off work until this was over, but he couldn’t.
“I don’t feel good,” Tricia murmured, rising.
“What’s wrong?”
“Morning sickness, I think.” She rushed from the room and Lance went with her, following her to the bathroom where she knelt by the toilet. “This is normal.”
He wet a rag and sank down beside her. “Yes, it’s normal.” Lance placed a hand on her back and rubbed gently. “It’s just not good timing, is it?”
Tricia didn’t throw up, but she leaned her arm on the seat and rested her head against it. “Cady’s little girl, Angel, told her than she planned on playing with our little girl when she’s born.”
“Little girl?”
Tricia laughed weakly. “Angel said her name would be Serenity.”
“That’s a pretty name.” Right now, he didn’t care about names. He wanted their child to be healthy and its mother to be happy. “The baby could be a boy, you know.”
“Maybe, but I’d be surprised. Cady’s always right and Angel is her daughter.” She pushed herself to her feet. “I think I’m okay now, it was a false alarm.”
“All right, let’s get you something to eat.”
He led her back to the kitchen and Tricia was grateful. There was much to do and she needed her strength and his support. So far, she’d spoken to Avery and told her the news. Bryn would keep the shop open and Freddy volunteered to give her a hand when Kristen couldn’t be there.
“I’m just not sure what will happen.” Tricia sipped a glass of water Lance had set in front of her. “Am I supposed to make the arrangements?”
“What did the lawyer say to you when he called?” Lance asked as he dished up a bagel and scrambled eggs.
Tricia shrugged. “Not much, just that he’d be in touch.” She glanced at the clock. “I wonder if I should call him?”
“It’s only nine o’clock, baby. I don’t think lawyers keep early hours.”
The sudden ringing of a phone caused them both to jump. “Maybe that’s him.”
“No, it’s mine. Hold on.” Lance answered it, “Rogers.”
“Hey, Aron. Yea, it was bad. Unfortunate.”
Tricia stood and walked to the window. She still couldn’t believe her grandmother was gone. When she placed her hand to the glass, staring out at the cattle in the distance, she noticed the glint of the diamond on her finger. Pressing the ring to her lips, she gave thanks that she had Lance. Filled with emotion, she turned, colliding with him. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Lance rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “You’ve got me, you don’t have to wonder such things.” He kissed her. “I do have to go out for a little while, if that’s okay. Aron just got a call from Bull Redford and there’s an equine virus going around. We’ve got to round up the horses and have them all tested.”
“Of course, go. They need you.”
He squeezed her hard, closing his eyes at the relief of having her in his arms. “I won’t be gone long. I just need to get the ball rolling. Will you be all right?”
“Yes.” She rubbed her face against his chest. “If I don’t hear from the lawyer, I’ll call him and try to find out what’s going on. Grandmother has a brother I’ve never met, maybe I can get in touch with him. I just want to know what the plans are for her…” Tricia found it hard to say the word ‘burial’.
“I understand. I wish like hell you didn’t have to go through this.”
“Everybody does at one time or the other.” She wiped her eyes and smiled up at him. “Be careful, husband.”
“I like the sound of that, wife.” He tapped the top of his hat. “If you need me, call the ranch office. Cell phone service isn’t reliable in the more remote sections of the ranch.”
She walked to the porch to watch him leave, holding her hand up in farewell. “Be careful!”
Retracing her steps, Tricia finished the breakfast Lance had prepared for her, then did the dishes. She also put a roast and vegetables in the crockpot and set the timer. As she wiped down the cabinets and cleaned a spot on the stove, she considered repla
cing the kitchen curtains, the material was a little frayed on the edges. This was her house now and there were just a few changes she wanted to make. Maybe she should stop by the mercantile store and see what they had in stock. If only…
Her grandmother’s death put a damper on everything. “I wish I’d had you in my life a little longer,” she spoke softly, picking up the envelope off the counter which contained the trust information. She noticed the deed was gone and assumed Lance had moved it to a safe place. Opening the letter, she reread it. There wasn’t a lot of information, the document stated that the lawyer would furnish all the details when she came in for a visit. Tricia’s face crumpled into a sob.
When her phone rang, she wiped her eyes and looked at the display. James Elkins, Attorney at Law. “Hello? Mr. Elkins?”
“Yes, Tricia, I know you’ve been waiting to hear from me. Dealing with something like this in the middle of the night is difficult. I needed to get in the office and check my files. I’ve notified Peter Stevens, Mrs. Lambert’s brother, and he’s coming into town this afternoon. I was wondering if you could visit North-Star in the interim and locate a folder in Marcelle’s desk. Her last communication to me was that she’d left instructions for her funeral in a letter addressed to you. Now, I know some of the details are prearranged, but since you’ve entered the picture, she did make some changes. I’d go and pick up the folder for you, but I’m due in court in a half hour.”
“I don’t mind going. Will someone be there to let me in?”
“Yes, her staff is still there. They probably will remain, if I had my guess. We’ll iron out all those details when the will is read after the funeral. Right now, we just need to insure all of her final requests are carried out to the best of our ability.”
“I’ll take care of it, Mr. Elkins.”
“Great. If you’ll plan on being at my office at two, we’ll take care of everything together.”
Once she ended the call, Tricia phoned Freddy. “Hey, are you really busy with deliveries?”
“No, not at all. It’s pretty quiet here, actually. Bryn hasn’t raised anything from the dead or turned water into wine lately.”
Tricia smiled at the antics of her friends. “If you can break away, I need you to go with me to North-Star, I need to pick up something my grandmother left for me.”
“I’ll be at your front door within minutes.”
“Thanks, Freddy.” While she waited, Tricia puttered around the house, made their bed, and left Lance a note in case he returned before she did. Stopping in the bathroom, she repaired her makeup and brushed her hair. The simple black dress she wore would be fine. Studying her face in the mirror, she frowned at the dark circles under her eyes. “You look like a raccoon, girl.”
A tap on a car horn outside set her feet in motion. She grabbed her purse, headed out to the porch, locking the door behind her. Freddy was out of the car and ready to help her inside.
“How are you, sweetie?”
“I’m okay.” She cleared her throat and settled in, fastening her seat belt. “This was such a shock, you know?” When he climbed in beside her, Tricia turned to face him. “I knew she was sick, I just didn’t know I’d lose her so soon.”
“I know, I lost my dad last year, prostate cancer.”
“I’m sorry, Freddy.” She put her hand on his arm. “How about your mom?”
“She’s still kicking, started dating again, some salesman from Topeka.”
Tricia giggled. “You said Topeka like it’s a bad word.”
He shrugged, pulling out on the highway. “I have a first draft done on the article.”
“Great! When all of this is…over. I’d love to read it.”
“I’m counting on it.”
They were silent the rest of the way, both lost in their own thoughts. When Freddy parked in front of North-Star, Tricia was slow to leave the car. “She’s not going to be in there.”
“No, she’s not.”
“This is my first real experience with death. I didn’t know my father or my grandfather, other than by name.”
“It’s never easy, I don’t think it’s supposed to be.” He helped Tricia from the car and escorted her up the steps, pressing the doorbell.
When the old butler came to let them in, he gave a courtly bow. “Please accept my sympathies, Miss Yeager.”
“Thanks. I appreciate you.” She brushed her hair back from her face, glancing around the museum-like room. “I just need to get some papers from my grandmother’s desk.”
“Of course, follow me.” He led her to the office and turned on a light. “I don’t suppose you know what will happen to the house, do you, Miss?”
“Grandmother never spoke of this with you?”
“No ma’am, Mrs. Lambert was a very private person.”
Tricia nodded. “I assume we’ll learn everything at the reading of the will.”
“Of course.” He backed out of the room and Freddy shivered. “He reminds me of Lurch.”
“Really, Freddy,” Tricia admonished him. Going to the desk, she took a deep breath and sat down in her grandmother’s chair. “All right. Let’s see if I can find this information we need.”
First, she looked where the lawyer had told her it would be. Nothing. There were several fountain pens, a bottle of ink, a stamp pad, and some paperclips. “Okay, next drawer.” The top right hand one held several folders, which she took out and spread on the desk. Thumbing through them, she saw one with the word ARRANGEMENTS on it in bold letters. “This must be it.” Opening the folder, she saw an envelope with her name on it. Opening it, she found the list of her grandmother’s requests for her funeral. Tricia didn’t take time to read it, she knew the lawyer would know how best to handle the situation. As she was returning the folders to the drawer, she spied one with the name LANCE ROGERS spelled out on the tab.
Before she could weigh the rightness or the wrongness of her actions, curiosity got the best of her. Tricia opened the folder and focused on the first page. At first, she couldn’t understand what it was saying.
“What’s wrong?” Freddy asked, seeing the confusion on her face.
“I’m not sure.” She blinked her eyes and read it again. A pain hit her so hard in the chest that Tricia doubled over. “Oh, no!” she gasped, covering her mouth.
“What’s wrong, Tricia?” Freddy repeated. “Are you hurt? Sick? Is it the baby?”
“No, nothing like that.” She couldn’t believe her eyes. The letter she held in her hand proposed an agreement between her husband and her grandmother. “No, please, no.”
“What?” Freddy demanded, coming to stand by her.
With tears streaming down her face, Tricia told him what she’d found. “Grandmother offered to deed Shenandoah Ranch to Lance…in exchange for marrying me.”
* * *
The drive back to Tebow was made in relative silence. Tricia couldn’t talk. All she could do was relive every moment she’d shared with Lance. Every word. Every touch.
Could everything be a lie?
Tricia groaned, remembering how her grandmother had asked questions about Lance. She’d known who he was from the very beginning. Why had her grandmother done this? If she’d wanted Lance to have the ranch, why hadn’t she just given it to him? “Oh, Grandmother, no.” The truth hit her like a ton of bricks. Marcelle Lambert had known about the epilepsy and she knew Tricia loved Lance with every fiber of her being.
“What’s wrong?”
The words tasted like bile in her mouth. “My grandmother tried to buy me the man she knew I wanted.”
“That’s ridiculous, no grown man worth his salt can be bought like that.” Freddy shook his head, cutting his eyes toward Tricia. “Marrying you would be a privilege, not a chore.”
Tricia’s head was spinning. Everything was suspect.
Laying her head against the window, she tried to think. Why had Lance married her? With agonizing clarity, she recalled the brush-offs, the anger when he found out she was pregnant.
And then, his abrupt change of heart. Why had he changed his mind?
Tricia covered her mouth, stifling her cry. “You don’t know what Shenandoah means to Lance. He hated my family so much for taking it away from his parents.”
“You don’t have to go back to him, you know. You can come to my place.” Freddy’s concern for her was almost overwhelming.
“I’m not sure what I’ll do,” she whispered. “I’m having trouble thinking.”
“Tricia? Are you all right?”
“Pull over, Freddy. I’m…” She began to shake and the seizure stole her words.
* * *
“Tricia!” Lance walked through his cabin. “Tricia! Where are you?” Finding no one, he returned to the kitchen and noticed a note propped up on the table between the salt and pepper shakers. Taking it in hand, he read:
Love of my Life,
The lawyer called and asked me to go to North-Star and find a folder detailing Grandmother’s last requests. After that, I have a meeting in his office to plan the funeral with him and my uncle. I will be home soon. There’s a roast in the crockpot. Check for seasoning.
Your lucky wife
Lance laid down the note and went to the crockpot, removing the lid and forking a bite. “Yum!” Glancing at the clock, he figured she should be home soon.
The sound of car tires on the gravel outside alerted Lance that someone had arrived. When he hurried to the front, he saw Danvers leaving and Tricia climbing the steps up on the porch. “Hey, how did everything go?”
“Okay.”
She looked tired. Pale. “What’s wrong?” Lance immediately went to her, but Tricia evaded his embrace and moved on into the house. “Tricia?”
“I need to lie down for a little while.”
“Of course.” He followed behind her, trying to figure out what was wrong. “Are you nauseated?”
She shrugged, hugging herself as she moved toward the guestroom. “I had a seizure on the way back from North-Star.”
“God, I’m sorry, Tricia.” He felt helpless as she laid down on the bed. “Why didn’t you go to our room to rest?”
“I just need to be alone for a while. Okay?” She turned away from him to face the wall.
