Second-Chance Cowboy

by Carolyne Aarsen

  “Of course not. It’s summer. No.” She felt a niggling suspicion that they might pin the blame for her house burning down on a chimney fire.

  Carl tapped his pen on the folder, then flipped through another file, folded papers back, scratched his temple with his pen, whistling through his teeth while he read. Then he sat back in his chair, his fingers drumming on the desk.

  “So here’s the thing. Your policy doesn’t have coverage for a woodstove.”

  “But it’s the same policy my dad had. On the same house and I never used the stove.”

  “I realize that, but for all practical purposes, you taking it out makes it a new policy. We don’t grandfather in clauses in insurance policies. They are based on each person as an individual. Your father may have had a woodstove in his policy on the house, but you don’t.”

  A shiver of dread trickled down her spine. “I was told I could take over my father’s policy.”

  Carl slowly shook his head, trying to look sympathetic but not hitting the mark. “Whoever told you that was wrong. You are a new and unproven client—it would be a new policy. They would have given it to you to read over if you had questions.”

  Tabitha remembered now. The lady who had sold it to her had given her exactly that opportunity, but Tabitha hadn’t wanted to sit in her office, struggling to decipher the words of an insurance document in front of a lady who had already treated her with vague disdain and a measure of impatience. It was difficult enough to work her way through books or newspaper stories, let alone the convoluted legalese of an insurance policy.

  “I’d asked questions about it,” she said. “Lots of questions. But how...? Why didn’t...? Why wasn’t I told about the stove? Whoever drew it up should have known what my dad’s policy covered. Why didn’t they inform me about the woodstove? I would have removed it.” She was growing more frantic, more angry, more frustrated and, as a result, more shrill. She clamped her lips together as she caught Carl’s expression.

  “I’m sorry. We’ll have to see what the adjuster says, of course, but I have to warn you—it doesn’t look good.”

  Don’t cry. Don’t give him the satisfaction.

  Oh, Lord. Why all this too?

  Had she done something horribly wrong somewhere? Messed up so badly that she was being punished?

  I should have read the policy. I should have checked it over.

  Trouble was, she couldn’t.

  Another reminder of who she was and what she couldn’t do.

  Illiterate, dyslexic Tabitha.

  Behind that came an even more insidious thought.

  She was glad Morgan was gone so she didn’t have to face him with yet another failure in her life.

  * * *

  Morgan hit a button on the screen on his truck’s dashboard, ending the phone call he had tried to make to Tabitha. Again.

  Nathan was sleeping in the backseat of the truck, his head lolling sideways despite the pillow Donna had provided for the trip back to Cedar Ridge.

  The visit with Donna had gone well. She was so excited to see her grandson but, to Morgan’s surprise, Nathan had acted shy around her. Morgan had felt bad for Donna, but what had shocked him even more was how Nathan had clung to his hand.

  In spite of the small breakthrough he’d experienced with Nathan, however, the entire time he was gone, his thoughts were tied up with Tabitha.

  In spite of a number of calls from him to her, she had neither answered nor called him back. He was trying not to panic. Too easily came the memory of the last time she had walked out on him. How she had shut him out and he hadn’t heard from her again.

  Please, Lord, get her to answer my calls, he prayed.

  His mother had always told him when he prayed to be specific. Well, he was being specific now.

  An hour later, he pulled into his own driveway, parked the truck and dragged his hands over his weary face. His ears were ringing from the steady engine noise and his head ached.

  Nathan still slept while Morgan took their suitcases into the house. When he came back, he unbuckled his son and smoothed his hair back from his face. Nathan’s lips twitched, and when he opened his eyes and looked at Morgan, he smiled.

  Morgan’s heart clenched at the sight, and as he lifted the still-sleepy boy out of his booster seat, Nathan wrapped his arms around Morgan’s neck, laying his head on his shoulder.

  Morgan laid his head against his son’s, a deep, abiding love seeping through his soul as he held his boy tight. He carried him up the stairs into the house, his booted feet echoing in the silence. He brought him upstairs and laid him on the bed, tugging off the boy’s boots. Nathan murmured a protest, and then his eyes opened and he smiled at Morgan.

  “Are we home?”

  “Yes. We are.”

  Nathan looked around. “Where’s Tabitha?”

  He was surprised that his son expected Tabitha to be here.

  “She’s not here.”

  “But she doesn’t have a house anymore. Because it burned down. She should stay here.”

  At one time Morgan had allowed himself the dream that this might be what happened, but that was not how things seemed to be playing out.

  “She has a sister, Leanne. She’s staying at her place.”

  Nathan didn’t seem satisfied by that answer. “Can we go see her?”

  “Not tonight,” Morgan said, not sure when that might happen given Tabitha’s lack of contact with him.

  “Tomorrow?”

  “We’ll see.”

  Nathan seemed satisfied with that and allowed Morgan to change him into his pajamas. He snuggled down in his bed and smiled as Morgan settled on the edge of his bed to say good-night.

  “I’m glad we could see Gramma,” he said.

  “I’m glad too.” Morgan brushed the boy’s hair away from his face again, just because it gave him a chance to touch his son, to connect with him.

  “But I like being home.” Then Nathan looked around his room. “Can I hang up my posters tomorrow?”

  “Of course you can,” he said, smiling so hard it almost hurt. “We’ll put them up first thing in the morning.”

  “Gramma never let me hang up my pictures. She always said I would have to take them down again. But she told me that I was staying here. Forever. And that you would take care of me.” Nathan’s eyes seemed to bore into Morgan’s. “You will, won’t you?”

  “I will. Forever and ever.” Then Morgan took another risk, bent over and kissed his son’s forehead. “I love you, Nathan.”

  Nathan grinned, then pulled the blanket up around his neck and curled up on his side. “I love you too.”

  Morgan thought his heart would burst with joy. Though he had been extremely reluctant to visit Donna, something good had come from the visit after all.

  He gave Nathan another kiss and said his prayers with him. He didn’t want to leave but his cell phone started buzzing.

  He felt a jolt of anticipation. Tabitha?

  He pulled the phone out of his pocket as he left the room, leaving the door open and the hallway light on exactly the way Nathan liked it.

  But his heart dropped as he saw the number on the screen.

  Not Tabitha.

  His brother, Cord. Probably calling to make sure he made it home okay. Morgan was tired and didn’t feel like talking to anyone, so he slipped the still-ringing phone back in his pocket and made his way downstairs. He sank into his chair and dropped his head on the back, staring up at the ceiling.

  So, now what?

  He felt as if his life had been thrown off course the past few days. The plans he had dared make for a future with Tabitha seemed even further from becoming reality than ever.

  And if Tabitha wasn’t answering his calls, he doubted she would be coming to take care of
Nathan.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “What are you doing?”

  Leanne walked into the spare bedroom and sat down on the chair tucked into the corner.

  Tabitha shoved the few clothes her sister had given her into her backpack and zipped it shut, trying not to wince at how little space the few earthly possessions she had took up.

  “I need to get away. Just leave for a few days.”

  “Where?”

  “I’m heading up to Sundre. I have an old college friend there.” Tabitha slung her backpack over her shoulder and gave her sister a wan smile. “I’ll be back in a couple of days.”

  Leanne held her gaze, her expression serious.

  “Have you talked to Morgan?”

  “I phoned Ella and told her that I need to get away. She offered to take care of Nathan.”

  “That’s not what I asked.” Leanne blew out a sigh and got up. Tabitha tensed herself for the mini-lecture she guessed was coming. She so didn’t want to talk about Morgan. Didn’t want to think about the failure her life had become, yet again.

  “He’s been trying to get hold of you. I think you should at least let him know you’re okay.”

  “Well, I’m not okay.” Tabitha lifted her head, chin up, gaze holding Leanne’s. “I’ve got no way to pay back his father. I couldn’t even take the time to read my insurance policy because it was too much work and as a result I messed up. I’m a—”

  “Don’t you dare say it.” Leanne held up a finger in warning like she would to her toddler son. “You did what you were supposed to do. Your insurance adviser should have done exactly that. Advised. It wasn’t your fault.”

  “Well, you can say that all you want, but at the end of the day I still don’t have a house to sell.”

  “You have the land. It’s got to be worth something.”

  Tabitha shrugged. “Not as much as the house.” She blew out a sigh, wishing her sister would let her go. “Anyhow, I need to get away and clear my head.”

  “I wish you would let me help,” Leanne said.

  As soon as Leanne had found out about their father’s debt, she had tried to give Tabitha money as well, but Tabitha had refused. Though Leanne worked on her father-in-law’s ranch, George only paid her enough for her day-to-day expenses. Tabitha knew Leanne didn’t have much extra money. Besides, if she did have extra, Tabitha preferred that her sister set it aside for her son.

  “I’ll figure something out,” Tabitha said with a weary smile.

  “You’ll call me, though?” Leanne asked.

  “Of course I will.”

  “And Morgan?”

  Tabitha answered that with a shrug. She wasn’t ready to face him yet. Didn’t know if she ever would be.

  I can’t avoid him forever and I still have an obligation to Nathan.

  The thought of leaving him, abandoning him, bothered her more than she wanted to think about. But seeing Nathan meant seeing Morgan, and there was no way she could face him right now.

  “I’ll call you when I get to Sundre,” Tabitha said, giving her sister a quick hug. “Give Austin a kiss for me too.”

  Leanne returned her hug, then held her by the shoulders, looking like she wanted to say more, but then she shook her head. “I will. Drive safe and call me when you get there.”

  Tabitha nodded. Then, before she could chicken out, she left. As she got in her truck and drove away, she tamped down her second thoughts. What she didn’t tell her sister was that she wasn’t going to Sundre only for a break.

  She was going for a job interview, and if she got it she was leaving Cedar Ridge and all the bad memories behind her. Starting fresh in a new place as she had hoped. She would sell the acreage and give what she could to Boyce and not come back.

  Her sister’s question about Morgan rang through her head. Leanne seemed to expect that she would simply call up Morgan and carry on. But she knew that wasn’t happening. She was too ashamed.

  * * *

  It was the For Sale sign that finally did it.

  All week Morgan had been waiting to hear from Tabitha. Dr. Waters was grumbling about her taking time off. He would have more things to grumble about if things went the way Morgan hoped.

  Nathan had been upset as well, and there were times that he wasn’t sure which betrayal bothered him more. Her betrayal to his son or to him.

  Morgan had thought that something was happening between him and Tabitha. Some relationship that meant that she would turn to him if she needed help, but clearly he had read it all wrong.

  Nathan was at his father’s place, so when he was done working, he drove to Leanne’s. He needed some answers.

  Tabitha’s sister was working in the garden when he pulled in.

  He got out of the truck, then hesitated, feeling a sudden attack of nerves. Did he truly want to hear what she might have to say? What if Leanne told him that Tabitha was never coming back?

  Please, Lord, show me what to do, he prayed. Help me to say the right words. Ask the right questions.

  Leanne’s little boy, Austin, was waving a stick around, chasing butterflies. Leanne was bent over a row of beans, weeding them, humming to herself. Okay. This was good. Tabitha’s sister was in a good mood.

  Morgan sent up another prayer, straightened his shoulders and marched toward the garden.

  Austin was the first to see him. He stopped, then ran to his mother, crying.

  Excellent start, Morgan thought, stopping where he was, concerned he would make the poor kid even more afraid.

  Leanne caught him just as she looked over her shoulder. She lifted Austin into her arms, then stood.

  “Hey, Morgan.”

  Morgan drew in a long, slow breath, then walked toward her. “Hey, Leanne. I’m hoping you can help me.”

  Leanne squinted against the sun, her expression unreadable. “Let’s sit over there,” she said, pointing her chin in the direction of the patio and the wicker furniture parked in the shade of a large second-story deck.

  Leanne set Austin down by a box of toys and he immediately began rummaging through it.

  “I imagine you’re here to ask me about Tabitha,” Leanne said as she sat down.

  Morgan decided to go directly to the point. “I noticed there’s a For Sale sign on the property.”

  “Yes. I tried to talk her out of it. Tried to tell her to work with the insurance company and rebuild but—” Leanne stopped there, cutting her gaze over to Austin.

  “But what?” Morgan sensed there was more going on.

  “Not my story to tell.”

  “Well, don’t try to tell me to call Tabitha to find out because she’s not returning my calls.”

  “Still?”

  Morgan nodded. Leanne sighed.

  “What’s going on, Leanne?” he pressed. “Please tell me.”

  Leanne looked as if she still wasn’t sure what to say.

  “I care about your sister. I really do. She means as much to me as my son does. I know when I first moved back here I wasn’t the kindest to her, but I had my reasons.”

  “It was because she broke up with you.”

  “Yes, and did what she’s doing right now. Retreating and shutting me out. She didn’t tell me why she left then and she won’t tell me now.”

  Leanne folded her arms over her chest, looking out over the backyard, a wistful expression on her face. “I’m sure that was a hard time for you.”

  “Hard? I had bought an engagement ring.”

  “I know. Tabitha told me. It broke her heart to walk away from you.”

  “I don’t want to go back over the past,” Morgan grumbled. “That’s finished. I need to deal with the present.”

  “Have you ever thought the past and present might be connected?”
<
br />   “What do you mean?”

  “When Tabitha left you the first time, did you ever wonder why she made such a huge change?” Leanne said. “I mean, one minute you guys were planning a future together. The next, she’d left town.”

  “She told me that I’d meant nothing to her. That she’d been leading me on.” He couldn’t keep the bitter tone out of his voice.

  “And you believed her?”

  “I tried to challenge her about it but she got angry and started yelling at me, told me that I was a fool to think that I meant anything to her. Then she left and I heard nothing from her. The next time I see her she almost runs over my kid.”

  “I heard that Nathan came out of nowhere,” Leanne said, a slightly annoyed tone in her voice. “It wasn’t her fault.”

  Morgan smiled at her dogged defense of Tabitha.

  “At any rate, it’d been a long time of nothing,” Morgan said, returning to the topic at hand. “And it looks like she’s descending into the same pattern and I don’t know what to do.”

  A moment of silence fell over the conversation. Then Austin fell and started crying. Leanne hurried over to pick him up, then brought him back, holding him close. She kissed his head and sat down, still cuddling him.

  The sight made Morgan feel despondent.

  “He’s a lucky boy,” Morgan said.

  “In one way, yes. In another, no.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He doesn’t know his father.”

  “Of course. I’m sorry.”

  “But he has me. And a mother will do whatever she needs to do to take care of her child. Just like your mother did.”

  Her words caught his attention. “What do you mean? What did my mother do?”

  Leanne held his gaze another beat. Then when Austin wiggled off her lap, she leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms over her chest and stared over the backyard. “Ask Tabitha.”

  “And how am I supposed to do that?”

  “Go. Find her. Ask her. You let her go once without challenging her. Without trying to find out why she did what she did.” Leanne reached up and toyed with a strand of her hair, twirling it around her finger. “Sometimes a girl likes to know that you’re willing to go the extra mile. To fight for her. Take a risk.” Then she looked over at him. “In spite of how you see it, I don’t think you did that the first time.”