Peace in the Valley

by Ruth Logan Herne

  “Perfect.” His smile faded slightly. He grasped the back of an empty chair and took two slow breaths. “I think I’m going to call it a night, ladies.”

  Angelina followed his progress with a worried gaze. “Good night, Sam.”

  “Rest well,” added Elsa.

  Lucy watched him walk down the wide hall. Hesitant steps. Loss of stature. He leaned to the right as if standing straight was simply too painful. And then she couldn’t help herself. “God bless you, Mr. Stafford.”

  He paused and turned slightly. “Thank you, my dear.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Angelina covered Lucy’s hand with one of hers when Sam was out of earshot. “That was nice of you.”

  “He looks frail.”

  “He is.”

  “And he’s trying to make things better.”

  “Also true,” Angelina confirmed. “I know that fixing things now doesn’t erase the past. But maybe it eases some of the sharper corners. The ones that cut deep.”

  Little voices shouted outside the kitchen window. Lucy stood.

  “I’ve got to get back. It’s been almost an hour, and I can’t believe I just dumped four kids on country music’s finest while I grabbed some girl time.”

  “It’s good for Trey,” Angelina told her as she stood.

  “Gives him practice for more nephews and nieces,” added Elsa. “You’re just doing your part to help shape future family dynamics.”

  “You know he misses living here.” Lucy wasn’t sure she should say anything, but Trey hadn’t said it was a secret. “He misses the hills and the mountains and the ranch. And his family.”

  “He said that?” Angelina looked surprised. “Trey talks more than the other two combined, and actually says less. A clever trick.”

  “I’m glad he was comfortable enough to share his thoughts with you,” Elsa said. “Eventually we all need a place to call home. Not just a place to store our stuff.”

  “An imperfect home, but filled with love and hope. Does that sound as corny to you as it does to me?” Lucy asked. “Because I think the likelihood of finding that on a scale of one to ten is about a two.”

  “Then you need to toughen that faith, girl. Because I’m not settling for anything less than an eight-point-five,” Angelina told her as the kids raced across the stone. “I’d go higher, but I am marrying a stick-in-the-mud stubborn Stafford.”

  “I think eight-point-five sounds solid. I’d be happy with that,” Elsa agreed.

  Two funny women, jumping into marriage with good-looking, rich cowboys. Maybe it would work for them. Maybe being older and financially secure would help.

  Then Lucy thought of Mary and Joseph, trudging to Bethlehem, about to have a child, and realized that stature of heart mattered far more than financial standing. And that’s what she’d missed in Chase. He’d fallen in love with the idea of a cute wife and steamy nights, not the responsibility of real life.

  “Mommy!” Noah burst through the side door. Elsa caught it on the backswing before it smacked Dakota. “I caught free toads!” He held up three fingers and had to wrestle his pinky down with his other hand.

  “And Uncle Nick said we could name th-th-them, so I did. I named them Uncle Nick, Uncle Trey, and Colt!”

  “Three toads, huh?” Elsa reached out and hugged Nick’s arm when he came in behind the boy. “Out of the mouths of babes,” she teased.

  Nick laughed, grabbed a handful of cookies, and saluted Lucy with them. “You’ve been keeping our country star busy I hear.”

  “With no effort on my part, he came ready equipped, it seems. I don’t think he has an Off switch.”

  “It’s going all right?” he continued, around a mouthful of cookie.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “Good. Let me know if you need any extra man power to get things wrapped up. I could spare a hand or two for a little bit.”

  Nick Stafford had been fairly glum for the past several years, so for him to smile, be nice—no, wait, make that cheerful—and offer help was about as surreal as Sam’s turnaround.

  And really enjoyable, which meant Lucy better get out of there or she’d start thinking the Staffords were about the kindest family around. She knew better. She’d experienced the reality, but if she was grading family performance right now, the family next door would be edging toward an A, and that was a sharp step up from the failing grade they’d had for so long.

  “Elsa, Angelina, thank you.”

  “Didn’t do much, but we’ll be glad to have Ashley on board.” Angelina took Noah’s hand as she followed Lucy through the door. “Let’s try her this weekend.”

  “And you’ll set firm boundaries?”

  Angelina pointed toward her mother as she sent Nick’s girls upstairs for a quick shower. “Oh, there’ll be boundaries, all right. And the perfect drill sergeant to go with them.”

  “Saturday at ten,” Isabo called over her shoulder. “We have much to do this Saturday and she will be of great help to me.”

  “All right.” Lucy stepped outside and pulled in a breath of sweet, warm valley air. Elsa and Angelina followed. Colt approached from the first paddock, slipped an arm around Angelina, and kissed her. And then he bent, scooped Noah up, and slung the little boy up and onto his shoulders.

  “I’m so high!” Noah shrieked in delight, his little hands fisted in the collar of Colt’s shirt. “I love this so much!”

  “Me too, little man.” Colt reached out and swept the curve of his knuckles to Angelina’s cheek in a caress so sweet, Lucy ached to see it. “I couldn’t be happier.”

  “Me too!”

  She didn’t want to envy them. She knew what Angelina had gone through, how she’d left her job on the Seattle police force to keep her family safe from racketeers. And Elsa had sought peace and quiet in the woods outside Gray’s Glen after losing two young patients to domestic violence.

  They were embracing their happy endings, and that was wonderful, but right now Lucy would be happy with a great floral sale at Saturday’s market and the much-needed improvements on her farm. To have things taken care of in an orderly fashion would be a dream come true. That was more than enough, but as she climbed into the van, Lucy remembered Trey’s hazel eyes, all gray and green and gold, bright enough to carry a sweet message of promise. But there was no way that hinted promise held true. Not in the real world.

  Trey was a superstar. Women from coast to coast unabashedly crushed on him. He could date, love, marry any woman he wanted, so she was pretty sure he wasn’t looking for a long-term commitment with a beleaguered single mother.

  He’d had it all once, the nearly perfect profile of a dream come true until everything fell apart. He’d been married to a country singer. They had two great careers going and a marvelous home in Tennessee. And then tragedy struck and his wife was gone after an unintentional overdose at a wild party. The tabloids had a field day. Speculation abounded. News reports had made it sound as if Trey and Cathy were never satisfied, no matter how successful they were. That it was never enough, and they’d followed that high-end slippery slope into partying and drugs.

  Lucy had watched what those choices did to her husband, her family, and her marriage. Never again would she risk emotional and physical well-being with a substance abuser. Maybe Trey was straight now. Maybe the papers got it wrong. She hoped so. But she’d risked too much trying to be what Chase needed at the beginning. She’d wised up and quietly grabbed hold of the straight and narrow, and that’s where she’d happily stay. And if that meant being single while she raised her children?

  Lucy Carlton was okay with that, because she intended to be the person who broke the chain of domestic dysfunction. Kids first. Beyond that, life would just have to be put on hold.

  “Lucy. Wait.” She’d eased down the first quarter of the driveway when Colt’s voice stopped her. He crossed to the driver’s side, concerned. “Aren’t they starting the roof tear-offs tomorrow?”

  “Yes. The big dumpster g
ot delivered today.”

  “You can’t be there with the kids.”

  “I figured I’d keep them inside.”

  Colt shook his head. Angelina agreed. “Bring them over here the next few days,” she offered. “Kids and construction are an awful mix, and we’d never forgive ourselves if something happened. I’m working, but Elsa will be here with my mother.”

  Surreal and awkward, but it almost didn’t feel awkward to have neighbors care. It felt greeting-card-commercial nice. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.” Colt nodded. “Why hole up in the house when the kids can race around over here? I bet Murt or Hobbs will give them some horse time. Neither one can resist showing kids the how-tos of ranching.”

  It made sense, even though she didn’t want to be indebted. “What about your father? Won’t that be too much confusion?”

  “He’ll escape to his room when it’s too much, but he enjoys watching the kids have fun,” Angelina assured her. “I think it brightens his days. And they’ll all be gone Thursday for the surgical consult, so your crew would liven things up.”

  Thursday. Jenna was coming by to watch kids while Lucy shaped trees. She frowned because having kids underfoot during a roof tear-off probably wasn’t the best-laid plan.

  Angelina read her expression. “What’s wrong?”

  Lucy explained the time frame and Angelina waved it off. “I’m off on Thursday, so Jenna can watch the kids here, and you can shape your trees.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Good for all of us. And we’ll have Mami bake something delicious and maybe the boys would like to help.”

  “Instead of riding with Hobbs or Murt?” Colt didn’t look surprised. He looked flabbergasted.

  “A wise man learns his way around the kitchen and the barn,” Lucy told him. “The boys love to help in the kitchen, actually.”

  He laughed and stepped back.

  “See you tomorrow then, Lucy.”

  “All right.”

  She pulled away in her new dream van, caught in her neighbors’ kindness, wondering if she was about to wake up to the same-old, same-old reality she’d known for so long. When she pulled into her driveway a few minutes later, there was Trey, cozied on the side porch with Belle, reading a story to all three kids. He’d stretched out his long legs onto the porch rail, looking cramped but quite natural as he related the story.

  She wasn’t dreaming, but if she had been, her dream would look like this. A good man, taking time with kids after putting in a hard day’s work. A simple image, really, but experience told her it was mighty hard to attain. And yet…

  Seeing Trey and the kids on that worn and rickety porch made the impossible seem possible. Maybe some men were good with kids and treated them with patience and humor and kindness. She was learning that her reality didn’t always equate with normal, and that was something to keep in mind.

  He didn’t jump up when she pulled in, as if glad to be done with the kids. He stayed right there, finishing the story, and looked like he was enjoying his role.

  Ashley came out the door when she heard the van. She sat down hard on the listing step, still angry with the world, and Lucy’s perfect family image fractured, tumbling to the ground below.

  Trey stood and hoisted Belle into his arms. She curled in as if she belonged there, which meant she was growing too attached to the soon-to-be-gone singing cowboy. He handed Cody the book.

  “Can you put this away for me, partner?”

  “Sure!”

  Lucy stared at her son as he cheerfully went inside to put the book away.

  “I’m going to practice my riding!” Cade raced across the stones, then turned without being reminded. “Thanks for the story, Trey!”

  One boy cooperating, the other thanking a grown-up without prodding.

  She thought she might be dreaming after all, but one look up into Trey’s eyes put her heart into wide-awake mode. “Thank you for staying.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Ashley.”

  The girl glanced up, clearly discontented with just about everything. “What?”

  “You said you wanted a job.”

  “Yes. Going to school is stupid when you hate it.”

  Lucy wasn’t about to debate that. “Going to school is a necessity; there’s no wiggle room there. But if you can keep your grades up, Isabo has offered to take you on over at the Double S to help her with summer chores inside and out.”

  “You mean, like working there?” She stood up quickly and stared at Lucy. “Like they’d pay me?”

  “You’d be on the payroll, yes, on a trial agreement. If it doesn’t work out, the job disappears. And the contingencies are you have to follow directions and do whatever they ask you to do—”

  “Well, it’s a job, of course you do what they tell you to do!”

  That was the first common-sense statement Lucy had heard from the girl since she moved in.

  “What else?”

  “You have to be passing everything, which means getting through summer school, and then high school. Also, half of your wages will go into the bank after the first two weeks. The other half you can spend as you wish, on your phone, clothing, music—whatever, but there can’t be any smoking of anything.”

  She aimed a direct look at Ashley and was glad when the teen flushed.

  “No drinking, no partying. One infraction and you’re done. You have to be total golden to pull this off.”

  “I will.”

  Ashley clapped her hands together, and suddenly she didn’t look like a disgruntled, aloof teen. She looked energized. “When can I start?”

  “Saturday. I told Isabo I’d have you there at ten o’clock.”

  “Okay!” Ashley started to turn, then swung back. “You did this for me, Lucy?”

  Lucy nodded.

  Ashley rarely cried. She’d never been an overly emotional girl, but her eyes went to water now. She reached out and hugged Lucy hard. “Thank you. All I’ve ever wanted is a chance to just be me. Thank you, Lucy!”

  “Don’t blow it.”

  Lucy hugged her back, but when she stepped back, she made direct eye contact with Ashley. “This might be a good time to start reconsidering those friend connections. A good friend doesn’t tempt you to sin or break the law or develop bad habits. A true friend looks out for you.”

  She didn’t mention the Murphy girls by name, but she hoped Ashley began to see the difference. Maybe if she got her act together, the Murphys would let their daughters hang out with Ashley again. “Freshman year is the best time to change up your circle of friends, because everyone’s new at the high school, and you’ll all be in different classes.”

  Ashley nodded.

  Would she heed the advice?

  Maybe, with her new job on the line. And prayer. And support.

  “I’m going to call Gracelyn and tell her!”

  Gracelyn didn’t hang with the wild crowd, and she’d been a friend of Ashley’s since elementary school.

  “She’ll be excited for you.”

  Ashley hurried inside as Cody came back outside. He whooped and hollered like a wild man and raced across the gravel yard, brandishing an imaginary lasso.

  “You got Ashley a job.”

  Trey smiled approval and pride, then shoulder-nudged her and almost knocked her off the step. “Whoa, there. Didn’t realize you were so close to the edge, Ms. Lucy.”

  She was close to an edge every time he looked her way with that boyish grin and a man’s look of appreciation.

  “I stay away from edges for good reason.”

  Understanding lifted his brows, but then he rocked back on his heels. “There’s wisdom in that stance, but every now and again you’ve got to get off the Ferris wheel for a spin on the roller coaster. Something about the wind in your face, the speed, the reactions around you.”

  “I like roller coasters in amusement parks. Not so much in life.”

  He grinned and handed Belle to Lucy as he
descended the two steps. “We should take the kids sometime. Once Ashley’s done with school so she can go with us.”

  “Except there aren’t any in the area.”

  “The county fair and rodeo, Labor Day weekend.”

  “You’ll be here?”

  He didn’t look at her. He stared away as if thinking, then gave her a quick salute. “I should be around. If Ashley is doing well with school and work, that would be a nice reward for all of us, I think.”

  “The kids would love it, Trey.” Of course they would. What kid wouldn’t? A fair filled with lights and sound, amusement rides, farm animals, food, and historical reenactments. “The boys would be over the moon.”

  “Consider it a date, Lucy.”

  She blushed. She didn’t want to and could have kicked herself for lack of self-control because when he saw the blush, his smile went wide and he tipped the brim of his hat ever so slightly.

  “See you in the morning.”

  “Yes.”

  He left, and it wasn’t until he’d pulled that SUV up and out of the yard that she started breathing again.

  He was flirting with her. She loved it, and she could list a host of reasons why nothing could or should come from it. But, when she was all done listing, she was still thinking about that smile. The touch to his hat. And the September date…

  And that made her smile all over again.

  “Trey, we’ll have to paint the shed another day. I’m taking the kids to the Double S to avoid possible catastrophes from roof tear-off. The door’s open, drinks in the fridge. Lucy.”

  Trey read the scrawled note she’d left on the front door and frowned.

  He hadn’t realized how much he’d anticipated seeing her in the morning until he pulled in with painting supplies from Hammerstein’s and she wasn’t there.

  Benson’s crew had started on the house roof. The barn was going to be last, giving him a couple of days to finish fixing the exterior siding. And he wanted to install new porch posts before they put the new porch roof in place, so he mentally blocked out time in the afternoon.

  The place seemed quiet and lonely, despite the noise of men working. Using broad roof rakes, they slid multiple layers of old roofing into the dumpster below. A conveyor belt stood in the drive, ready to deliver roofing supplies to both levels of the worn house.