Since Melanie didn’t have a car, Violet swung by the other cabin to get her. Before she barely put the SUV in park, Melanie came hurrying out of the door.
“Good morning. Thanks for picking me up.” Melanie smiled and climbed into the SUV.
“You seem wide awake for this early in the morning.”
“I didn’t sleep last night. I’m so excited for today. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you giving me this chance. You and Mr. Crandall are both so nice.” Melanie hesitated and then asked shyly, not looking at Violet, “Tell me about Mr. Crandall—no family anywhere? Does he have kids?”
“No, not that I know of. He’s never been married. I can’t say I really know anything about his past. He lived here in Peakview when Stan and I arrived over twenty-five years ago. He and Stan—my late husband—became instant friends. I guess he’s always been a loner. He’s got a sister in Pennsylvania. She and her husband and son come out each summer for a few days, but He never goes back there to visit.”
“Why is that?”
“I don’t really know.” Violet laughed, “I don’t think he’s ventured farther away than Denver in all the years I’ve known him. He’s pretty quiet about his personal life. I guess like most men his age. He sure is a Godsend to me since Stan passed. I feel very blessed to call him my friend.”
Having reached the café, Violet maneuvered her vehicle into its usual parking space behind the building.
As usual, Howard had already shoveled the walks in front. The new snow that fell overnight was also gone from the alleyway. Walking into the establishment, the aroma of fresh coffee greeted them.
“Morning, Howard.” Violet hung up her coat and poured herself a hot steaming cup.
“Morning, Violet, Melanie.” Turning his attention to Melanie, Howard said, “You and Sophie get settled in okay? Find everything you need?”
“Yes, the cabin’s wonderful. Thanks again. I hope Sophie wasn’t too much of a bother yesterday.”
“Not at all. She was an asset, helping get Haley and Chase up and down that hill over and over. Did she have a good time?”
“She loved it. Couldn’t stop talking about it all evening. I let her sleep in this morning. She was either worn out by mountain air or just being a teenager.”
Melanie turned back to Violet, “What do we need to do first?”
“Follow me in back, and I’ll show you how to make the biscuits.”
The morning flew by. Melanie proved to be a quick learner, friendly, and personable with all of the regulars. By the time the lunch rush ended, Violet felt comfortable that she couldn’t find a better person with whom to entrust her café. Her nervousness at leaving for the afternoon started to subside.
Violet plopped down with a sigh on the closest counter stool, as Hank, the last of her lunch crowd, drove away.
Melanie immediately picked up his plate and wiped off the counter. “How’d I do?” she asked.
“You’re wonderful. Thank you so much. I can tell you’ve had a lot of experience.”
“I like people, I really do. At least the ones who aren’t drunk and obnoxious.”
“You’ve proven yourself to me. If you’re comfortable with it, I’ll try and duck out for a few hours before it’s time to get ready for the dinner crowd.”
“Go enjoy your precious family. I’ll hold things down here.”
“You’ve got my cell number. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call. I’ll be back before four.” Violet slipped into her coat and hat.
When she drove up in front of the cabin a few minutes later, a sizable snow fort had materialized in the side yard. She opened her door to the sounds of muffled laughter coming from its direction. Grabbing her purse and shutting the door, she turned around only to be assaulted by a barrage of snow balls, hurtled by occupants of the fort. There were Haley and Chase, along with Justin and Sarah. Even Howard and Sophie popped up from behind the snow walls, busy packing ammunition to be hurled at an unsuspecting newcomer.
“Hey, no fair attacking Grandmas,” Violet laughed ducking behind her truck to prepare some ammo of her own. Soon she began firing back, but the six to one odds stacked against her. Covered in snow, she held her hands up in surrender.
“There’s warm chili in the truck, if anyone’s hungry.”
Howard emerged from the fortress and hurried over to carry the big pot inside for her, while the others continued to work on their creation.
“Thanks, Howard.” Violet said, unconsciously reaching up and brushing the snow off of his jacket. “You looked like you were having as much fun as the kids.”
“Can’t remember when the last time was that I had an honest to goodness snowball fight. Nothing like it.” Howard was grinning from ear to ear.
***
After enjoying some of Violet’s famous homemade chili with the rest of the crew, Howard excused himself to head down to the garage to see if anyone needed his services today. He hummed along with the radio he drove. He always enjoyed Violet’s family, but that Sophie, there was something special about her. He had to put aside all of his fears and find a way to spend some one-on-one time with her. See what he’d find out about her background. He wouldn’t be able to rest until he knew for sure. If by some crazy chance he was related to Melanie and Sophie, he vowed to spend the rest of his life making up for the time he missed.
By the time Violet and Melanie entered the café the next morning, he sat at his usual stool enjoying his second cup of coffee. “Morning, ladies. Melanie, I need to drive up to Peaktop Ranch in a little while to see if I can fix a problem with one of their ranch trucks. Do you think Sophie would like to tag along with me? I know she wanted to see their ranch.”
“That’s very kind of you. I’m sure she’d love it! If you let me know when you’re planning on leaving, I’ll give her a call and make sure she’s up and ready to go.”
“How about around ten? Would that work for her?”
“Sounds good. I’ll let her know.”
“Now don’t you ladies work too hard,” Howard teased walking out the café door.
CHAPTER SEVEN
After finishing up an oil change, Howard locked the garage and drove down to pick up Sophie. She climbed in the cab of his truck, and he turned toward Peaktop Ranch. His nerves were about to get the better of him. How should he ask the questions he wanted answers to without sounding too nosy? He had no idea, so he just dove in and prayed for the best.
“So Sophie, have you spent much time around horses?”
“No not really, I grew up in the city. I didn’t have any friends who lived in country or had animals.”
“You said you live in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. Have you lived there your whole life?”
“Yep. Mom was forced to move a lot when she growing up. She didn’t want the same thing for me—wanted me to feel I had roots.”
“Where did your mom grow up?”
“I guess pretty much all over the State of Ohio. My grandma never kept any one job for too long, so they kept moving from town to town.”
This was going well. Sophie was such an outgoing, friendly kid that she didn’t seem to mind talking about her life. “That must have been hard for her.”
“Yeah, I think it was. My grandma had a drinking problem never could keep a job.” Sophie looked down at her lap as though embarrassed by her revelation.
Howard’s heart clenched. “Did she ever stop drinking?”
“I think as she aged, she cut back. I do have so many great memories of her and fun things we did together when I was little. I didn’t know she had a problem. She was just grandma. The older I got the more I noticed when her breath smelled like alcohol or when she would begin to slur her words. It scared me sometimes. But I loved her.” Sophie paused to take a deep breath. “It’s what eventually killed her last year.”
“”I’m so sorry, honey.” He reached over and patted her leg. “Your grandfather, was he around? Any other relatives?”
“Nope, ju
st me, Mom, and Grandma. I guess my grandpa left before mom was even born. He didn’t want anything to do with Grandma or her baby. Maybe that’s why she drank. Mom always said we were better off without him, if he really didn’t want us. He was probably a drunk, too. I mean, who leaves their kid before she is even born?”
Someone who didn’t know she existed. “I’m sorry,” Howard mumbled. She couldn’t know how very sorry he felt. A sinking feeling gripped his heart. He sucked in a deep breath and asked THE question. “What was your grandmother’s name?”
“Connie. Connie Gentry.”
There it was—no more denying it. Melanie was his child, and this lovely young lady, his granddaughter. Tears welled up in his eyes and he tried desperately to choke them back. How had this happened? How did he not know all these years? Why hadn’t Connie told him? Or had she tried, and he just didn’t want to believe it?
His mind returned to that night thirty years ago. He’d come home after a particularly long day at work to find her in one of her moods. She was lonely and bored, and she blamed him. Many shots of tequila later, she turned even more hostile and started slapping him as she cursed. Having matched her shot for shot, Howard did something he would have sworn on a stack of bibles that he’d never do in his whole life. He lost control and hit her back. She started shrieking so loud, he was sure the neighbors were dialing 911.
“You can’t hit me, you bastard. I’m calling the police, and you’re going to jail. You were never good enough for me.”
All Howard wanted was out, and he didn’t want to end up in jail. He stumbled into the bedroom and started throwing his clothes into a duffel bag along with the $500 he had stashed in a metal box in his closet. When he could stuff no more in the bag, he grabbed it and his keys and headed for the door.
“Where do you think you’re going? You can’t leave me.”
“Watch me.” He slammed the door in her face. He could hear her screams all the way to his car. Howard knew he was in no shape to drive, but he got in his car anyway and peeled down the street. Away from her and away from the only life he’d ever known.
Somehow he managed to not kill himself or anyone else that night. He drove down a small country road, heading west for at least an hour and then pulled over under some trees and fell fast asleep. When he awoke, the sun shining in his windshield, his head was throbbing. Disoriented at first, the events of the prior evening quickly flooded back into his memory. He wasn’t sure exactly where he was, but it couldn’t be too far from where he’d started. The police might be already looking for him. After relieving himself on a nearby bush, he jumped back in his car, downed a bottle of water he found in the back seat, along with a couple Advil, and headed his car in the opposite direction of the rising sun. The last thing he needed was sun glaring in his bloodshot eyes. Hitting a major highway, he kept driving for the better part of three days, stopping only to get gas, a bite to eat, and occasionally a couple of hours of sleep at a rest area.
“Mr. Crandall? Are you okay, Mr. Crandall? Sophie’s worried voice brought him back to the present.
“I’m fine. Sometimes I feel sad that I never had any kids or grandkids of my own. I’m sorry your grandfather never had the chance to watch you grow up.”
Sophie reached over and squeezed his arm. “You can pretend to be my grandpa, if you want.”
Howard smiled a sad smile. If she only knew would she want him to be her grandpa? The cattle guard signaling the entrance to the dude ranch rumbling under his tiers and he maneuvered his truck down the narrow lane to stop by the horse barn. All conversation came to an abrupt halt as Sophie spied a horse in the corral and changed the topic abruptly. It wasn’t clear to him how or why Melanie and Sophie were here now, but he was pretty sure that whatever Melanie knew, or thought she knew, she hadn’t shared it with her daughter. It definitely wasn’t his place to tell Sophie. The next and much harder conversation needed to be with Melanie.
“Howdy!” Jim Peyton said, walking up and shaking Howard’s hand. “And who’s this lovely young lady with you?”
“Meet Sophie. Her mom’s helping Violet out at the café for a few days while I fix their vehicle, so I thought I’d bring her along. Is Allie around?”
“I remember now. We met at the café. Yep. I’m sure she’d love some company.” Jim turned to Sophie, “My daughter, Allie, is thirteen. You look about the same age. Let’s go see if we can find her.”
***
The sun was heading behind the mountains, by the time Howard got Jim’s old truck running again. Howard headed up to the ranch house and found Allie and Sophie sitting in the dining room enjoying some warm, freshly-baked, chocolate chip cookies. He walked up behind Sophie and ruffled her hair.
“Did you girls have fun?”
“It was wonderful. Allie gave me a tour of the whole ranch, and I got to play with a couple of baby horses. They’re so soft and fuzzy with their entire winter coat. I really want to come back here and ride when the weather warms up. Then we baked cookies. Here have one—they’re delicious.” Sophie shoved a warm cookie toward his face giggling.
“Well then, I’m glad you came along. We’d better get going. You mom is going to wonder where you are, and I need to get back to the shop.”
The new friends hugged and promised to try and get together again before Sophie went back to Ohio. Sophie reluctantly climbed into the truck beside Howard.
“I wish I could live here. It’s so much more fun than boring Ohio.”
I wish she could live here too. Out loud he said, “Anywhere new and different always seems more fun. I bet there are fun things to do in Ohio, too.”
“I guess—just not as much fun.”
“You want me to take you to the café or back to the cabin?”
“I’d like to go back to cabin and read or maybe go see Haley and Chase. You know they’re leaving tomorrow.”
“Okay, I’ll drop you off on the way into town. Tell your mom that your car will be ready to go soon.”
He pulled into the driveway, and Sophie jumped out, yelling thanks and waving goodbye as she let herself into the cabin. Alone for the first time since their earlier conversation, Howard smiled and waved back at his granddaughter. His granddaughter. Words that until a few days ago he never thought he’d get to utter. Now that he knew who she was, how could he let her go? He needed to talk to Melanie. But what would he say? How could he possibly ever make up for thirty-two lost years of her life? Why did she come here? Did she know the truth he had just discovered? He drove back to his shop at a loss as to what to do next.
***
Shortly before 5:00 p.m., Violet walked back into the café. Melanie had to admit she was exhausted. She had put in a long day and was glad to see Violet return.
“Why don’t you head back to the cabin and spend some time with Sophie?” Violet asked while she hung up her hat and coat.
“That would be nice, if you’re sure you don’t need me. Everything is ready to go for the dinner crowd.”
“Thanks to you, I enjoyed some great quality time with my family today. Now get out of here and spend some time with your lovely daughter.”
Melanie thanked Violet with a hug and then headed out the door. Violet seemed like a true friend even though she had only known her a couple of days. A few minutes later, she entered the cabin to find her daughter curled up on the big leather couch with her fleece blanket and a suspense novel.
“Tell me all about your trip to Peaktop Ranch.” She plopped down beside her child and pulled some of the warm fleece over on herself.
“Oh mom, I had so much fun. I wish I could live there. Their daughter’s name is Allie and she is so lucky.”
“I hope you thanked Mr. Crandall for taking you along.”
Sophie made a face. “Of course, I did, Mooom. He is a nice man. We had a nice talk on the way up there. He seems truly interested in what I have to say, not like some adults.”
“What did you talk about?” She didn’t want to sound too nois
y.
“He wanted to know all about my life in Ohio. Asked me about Nana and what she was like. He even asked her name. I think he’s lonely. He seemed a little sad after hearing me talk about our family. I wonder why he doesn’t have a family of his own?”
“Some people just like being alone, I guess. I’d better fix us some dinner.”
“Oh, he said to tell you our car will be ready sometime tomorrow.”
Melanie walked into the kitchen, her heart racing. He knew. If he didn’t know before, now that Sophie told him her mother’s name, he had to know. If it was really him. Fear gripped her heart like a vise. What happened now? Isn’t this what she’d wanted since she was four years old? To find her father? But now that it was real and not just part of an active childhood imagination, did she really want to disrupt Sophie’s life in this way? What if he rejected them? Wasn’t that worse than never knowing him? She’d been let down by every man she ever knew. Every single one. Why was she foolish enough to think that Howard Crandall would be any different? Her car would be ready tomorrow. They just needed to get out of here and not look back, but that would be robbing Sophie of her chance to know her grandfather. She couldn’t think straight. Maybe she should have left well enough alone. Why had she come here? She needed to talk this through with an objective person, but whom?
When they’d finished their meal, Sophie asked if she could walk next door and say goodbye to Haley and Chase.
“Sure, honey, that’s a good idea. Would you mind hanging out with them for a little while? I’d like to head back into town and help Violet close up the café. She’s been so wonderful to us this week.”
“No problem.” Sophie kissed her on the cheek and headed out the door. Melanie watched her from the window until she walked safely inside the other cabin. Despite her arguably screwed up life, somehow she’d managed to raise a really well-adjusted daughter. God, please don’t let me mess this up for her.
Breakfast for Two (Peakview series Book 2) Page 4
