Fresh-Start Ranch

by Leann Harris

“Not a problem.”

  Ethan raised his voice and pointed at Tessa. “You need to chat with Tessa, Beth. She can give you a better perspective on your brothers. One that’ll help you appreciate us.”

  Beth rolled her eyes. “In your dreams.”

  He shrugged and leaned toward Tessa. “See what Zach and I have to put up with?”

  Beth wrinkled her nose at him.

  “I need to hear this, too,” Zach added. “I don’t think I’ve been appropriately appreciated.”

  Beth held up her forefinger. “I think you have. There was a certain incident the night of the football game with Mesa Heights High School your senior year that still remains a secret. I can share...”

  “Okay, Beth, you win.” Zach grinned at his sister.

  Folding her arms over her chest, she nodded. “I thought so.”

  Laughter rolled around the table.

  Midway through the meal, Doc got a call. He excused himself and walked into the living room. “I can be there in twenty minutes,” Tessa heard him say. When he reappeared, he explained that there was an emergency at the Randalls’.

  “I’ll come with you,” Tessa offered.

  “No. You won’t have your mother here often. Besides, I’ve had experience with this particular cow before. She loves eating that loco weed.” He shook his head. “Stay here and enjoy dessert.”

  They quickly finished the meal. After dishes were cleared away and coffee brought out, Lynda brought out a large dish of banana pudding. “Sophie fixed this. And if you don’t want pudding, I think Beth brought her brownies.”

  “I’d like both,” Ken said, causing the men to agree with that sentiment.

  Sophie studied her sister-in-law. “Beth seems to be on a chocolate jag—she brought chocolate cake last Sunday.”

  “And the week before that, when we were making s’mores, I caught her inside eating the Hershey bars,” Zach added.

  Everyone looked at Beth as if waiting for her to announce something. She stood and said, “What?”

  “Since when have you been a chocoholic?” Zach asked, his voice full of suspicion.

  Beth grinned. “For about the last few weeks.”

  Lynda looked at her daughter. “Really?”

  Beth nodded.

  Her mother squealed and hugged her daughter.

  Ethan frowned. “What’s everyone yelling about?”

  Zach looked at his brother. “Think, O Single Man.”

  The light came on for Ethan. “Oh.”

  Ken grinned. “So I’m going to be a grandpa again?”

  “I haven’t been to the doctor yet,” Beth explained, “but according to the store-bought test, yes. I’ll go Tuesday morning for the official verdict.”

  The women laughed and cried and made a fuss over Beth. When Tessa’s eyes met Ethan’s, her heart fluttered in her chest. And she thought she saw something special in his eyes that made her heart dance in a way it never had before.

  * * *

  After lunch had been cleaned up, Ethan used the excuse of having Tessa check the progress of the rescue horse to escape with her. His mother just grinned at him.

  Mumbling to himself, Ethan walked with Tessa out to the corral where the horses were.

  “He looks good,” Tessa said, watching the bay with black stocking on his legs. “He was in the worst shape of all the horses, besides Lady. You’ve done a good job.”

  “He doesn’t miss a meal, that’s for sure.” Ethan rested his arms on the top rail of the enclosure. “And the farrier came on Friday morning to get his feet in shape.”

  “Ranger’s healing well, too, along with Ringo and Sadie.”

  He nodded and looked out at the other horses in the corral.

  As Tessa turned toward him, the wind caught several strands of her hair, blowing them into her face. Ethan reached out and tucked the strands behind her ear. Their gazes held.

  She swallowed. “Thanks for making my mom feel so welcome.”

  “I think my mom, sister and sister-in-law wanted to get the dirt on the new doctor from a close source.” He grinned.

  “That’s a good idea. I wonder what kind of dirt I could get on you,” she shot back.

  He shrugged. “I’m sure my sister would be willing to spill her guts. As I said before, she liked to snitch on both of her brothers.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Probably with good reason.”

  Holding up his hands, he surrendered. “Okay, truce.”

  “As I thought.” She turned back to the corral. “What’s the real reason you brought me out here?”

  His heart raced. You’d think he was fourteen, wanting to hold a girl’s hand. “I wanted to see if you’d go out with me.”

  Tessa went still, remaining silent, which only added to his edginess. He thought things went well the other night. Sure it was a board meeting with other folks there, but it made him want to have a real date. At least he thought he wanted a date. One minute he thought asking Tessa for a date was a good idea. The next, he didn’t know.

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “The rodeo is in town this weekend. I thought you might like to go and see it. Besides, I’m going to compete.”

  “You’re what?” She turned to face him.

  “Well, when I was a teenager, I rodeoed. They’re having a roping competition for us over-the-hill guys and I signed up.” He shrugged.

  “Over-the-hill?”

  Was that a smirk?

  Leaning against the corral, he ran his fingers through his hair. “They’re defining it as men who hadn’t competed in the last eight years.”

  “So you’re an old codger?”

  “I’m starting to rethink this. Maybe having you witness my humiliation might not be the best idea I’ve ever had.”

  She waved away his last words. “Oh, no, you can’t back out now. I’d love to go and see you compete.”

  He searched her face, weighing her answer. “Okay, the prelims are on Friday night and the finals will be held on Saturday.”

  “So is this a date for two nights?” she teased.

  “Only if I make it to the finals.”

  “I think I might like that.” Her eyes twinkled with delight.

  Ethan felt that smile way down in his gut. He prayed he didn’t end up eating dirt and leaving his pride on the arena floor.

  “Then I’ll see you for sure on Friday night about five.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.”

  Ethan hoped she felt that way at the end of the night.

  * * *

  The call came into the clinic just after noon on Wednesday. Tessa took it.

  “Tessa, this is Mary Jensen. Could you meet me at the courthouse by three this afternoon? I’m going to talk to the judge in the Moore case. Things got crazy at the courthouse and they postponed my Monday hearing and rescheduled it for today. I want you to tell the judge how much improvement the horses have made. I think your testimony before the judge impressed him. I also want you to tell the judge how William and Kevin kept harassing the animals and the people caring for them. I want all the ammunition I can get.”

  “Sure, I can make it.”

  “Good. See you at three.”

  Tessa made it to the courthouse just in the nick of time. She joined Mary and the judge in his chambers. The restraining orders were quickly granted.

  As they headed toward the elevator, Mary asked, “Would you like a glass of iced tea at the restaurant across the street before we drive back? They also have great flan and pralines.”

  Thinking that Mary wanted to discuss more Society business, Tessa agreed.

  Once they were settled with the iced teas, Tessa asked, “What other Society business do you want to talk about?”


  Mary looked directly at Tessa. “It wasn’t the rescue group I wanted to talk about exactly. I guess you know that Ethan and I were once engaged.”

  Tessa squirmed. “I heard that.”

  “Yeah, it isn’t a secret. I ended it kind of publicly. For years, I’ve felt bad for Ethan that he had to stay here and deal with the fallout...to be the focus of all those pitying looks.”

  “Then why did you do it?” The words shot out of Tessa’s mouth, surprising her. But now that they were out, she wanted to know the reasons Mary had stood Ethan up.

  Mary leaned in and dropped her voice to a whisper. “He was my friend, Tessa. My best friend, but I didn’t love him like I should. I wrestled the night before our big day with that very question. I prayed and I knew I couldn’t go through with the wedding. It would’ve slowly choked me—us. We would’ve both been miserable and ended up hating each other.

  “I had a drive to go to college, then to get my law degree. That was the most important thing in my life at seventeen. I didn’t want to be married or be a rancher’s wife. There’s nothing wrong with that, but that wasn’t what I wanted—who I am. I wouldn’t have been happy. Can you understand that?”

  Tessa took a sip of her tea and considered. If Mary had made any other argument, Tessa would’ve blamed her. But she’d been in a similar situation. “More than you know. That desire to go after the life I wanted drove me during my undergraduate years and veterinary school. It’s deep inside.”

  “Exactly. I wanted to talk to Ethan about it, but when you’re that age, you’re lucky to know what you want to wear the next day, and he seemed so set on finishing college and coming back here to ranch. I doubted he would’ve understood my goals.” She shrugged and fell silent.

  Listening to Mary was like hearing herself. Tessa was older when her fiancé gave her that bad option, but she still understood Mary’s feelings. Knowing Ethan as she did, she doubted he would’ve told Mary to blow her dream off, but it’s hard to have perspective on those things when you’re still a teenager. “I understand your dilemma.”

  Mary sat back and relaxed. “You do?”

  “I do. I called off my wedding, but long before we got to the church.”

  Mary toyed with her tea glass, moving it around in circles. “I did the right thing, but I just did it the wrong way. My only defense is I was young and scared.”

  “Have you told Ethan this?”

  The glass quit moving. “No.”

  “I think it would make things easier for you both.”

  Mary’s eyes met Tessa’s. “You’re right.”

  The admission surprised Tessa.

  “You may not believe this, but I’m glad Ethan’s interested in you. Also, if you’re going to be working with the rescue group, I wanted to lay my cards on the table with you. Clear the air.”

  Tessa started to protest Mary’s statement that Ethan was interested in her, but he’d just asked her out and she’d accepted. Still, Mary’s words unsettled Tessa. “You don’t harbor any feelings for the man?”

  “Oh, I have feelings for Ethan, but they are just feelings of friendship, combined with good memories. He’s the most levelheaded man I’ve ever known. He sees things I don’t, and I think he’ll help my cases for the Society.” She laughed and shook her head. “I might have to pay him a retainer as a consultant.

  “I hope you’ll accept my good wishes.”

  Tessa scrambled to gather together some coherent thoughts. “Well, I don’t know if there’s a relationship or not at this point, but thank you.”

  “It’s nice to see my old friend have a goofy grin on his face again.”

  That alarmed Tessa.

  As she drove home, Tessa kept reviewing the exchange with Mary. Tessa understood completely Mary’s dilemma of marrying too young. It hit too close to home. But what really shook her to the core was Mary saying Ethan had a goofy grin on his face when he looked at her.

  Was she ready for that? Was she ready to put her heart on the line again? It’d been disastrous the last time she’d tried. Could she do it again? Did she want to?

  * * *

  Having her mom with her this week had been a blessing. It was the first time since her father left that Tessa had spent any serious time with her.

  Doc, her mom and Tessa took turns making breakfast during the week. It was nice having food waiting for her the days she didn’t cook. The only cloud on the horizon was the tension between Doc and her mother. Early in the week, Tessa just chalked it up to her mom being in a new place and Doc not used to having females in his house, clinic and barns.

  But instead of the tension easing, it seemed to notch up every day. Tessa worried over the situation but couldn’t reach any conclusions. Friday morning, Tessa left her mother in the bedroom as she finished dressing.

  “Good morning, Doc,” Tessa greeted. “What’s on the agenda today?”

  “I’m due to go out to a couple of ranches, but I plan to spend the rest of the day trying to update my files on the computer.”

  Tessa raised her brow. “You know, if we had the right kind of phones, we could actually access those files in the field.” She grabbed up two coffee cups. “Do you want me to pour you a cup, too?”

  He looked up from the pan of scrambled eggs he had cooking on the stove. “I do.”

  Grabbing another mug, she poured three cups. She put cream and sugar in her coffee. The other two she left black. She leaned back against the counter and sipped her coffee. “Do you mind my mother being here?”

  Turning his head, he asked, “Why would you ask that?”

  She looked down into her cup. “There seems to be an awkwardness between you and Mom, and as the week’s progressed things haven’t eased. In fact, the tension seems to have gotten worse. Are you angry with her for some reason?”

  His head jerked around to stare at her. “Of course not.” He turned off the gas burner and carried the pan to the counter where the plates rested. He dished out the eggs. “I didn’t even know who your mother was until she drove in here the other night with your truck. I think you’re imagining things.”

  “What’s Tessa imagining?” Joan asked as she walked into the room.

  Doc put the pan on the stove and turned to her. “She thinks there’s a tension between us.”

  Joan’s eyes widened. “What? You’re imagining things, Tessa. What would make you think that?”

  Tessa looked between her mom and Doc. Neither one spoke.

  “There seems to be a strain between you two. Am I wrong?” Tessa prayed she was.

  A look of panic darted across Doc’s face.

  “Tessa, I think you’re borrowing trouble.” Joan grabbed her plate from the counter and brought it to the table. “Now, let’s eat. I’m starved.” She sat and opened yesterday’s paper, which had arrived in the mail, and started reading.

  Doc followed Joan’s example, and pulled his notes close to review them. Obviously, neither one planned to give her a real answer. Something was afoot, but what, she didn’t know. Her mother was the master at hiding bad things from Tessa. She prayed now wasn’t a time her mother was hiding the truth.

  Chapter Nine

  As Tessa went about her day, the situation with her mom and Doc kept nagging at her. It put a damper on her anticipation about the date tonight with Ethan. When he arrived at five to pick her up for the rodeo, she laughed at the horse trailer attached to his truck.

  “It’s going to be the three of us on this date?” she asked, walking out of the walkway door.

  “It is. I need Ranger for the calf roping.”

  “Well, I can’t think of a nicer third on a date. I guess there’s some sort of poetic justice about bringing a horse on a date with a veterinarian.”

  Doc and Joan came outside.

  �
��Good luck, Ethan, with the calf roping,” Doc called out.

  “Mom, you sure you don’t want to see the rodeo?”

  “I think dragging your mother along on a date isn’t what Ethan wants.” She nodded toward him. “His horse is enough of a chaperone.”

  Tessa fought her mirth. “Uh, Doc could take you.”

  If she’d asked them to jump off the roof of the stables into a pile of hay, they would’ve had the same expression.

  Doc was the first one to recover. “If Ethan makes it into the finals, I’ll bring your mother tomorrow night,” he promised.

  “Deal.” Tessa kissed her mom on her cheek and slipped into the passenger side of the truck.

  Ethan waved at Doc and Joan as he pulled out of the clinic. After a moment, he breathed a sigh of relief. “I wasn’t planning a double date.”

  His quip caught Tessa by surprise. She looked and him, and they both broke out into laugher. She laughed so hard, her sides hurt and her stomach ached.

  “Okay, I was pushing it,” Tessa admitted. “But there was a reason behind my madness.”

  “And that was?”

  Tessa knew she needed to talk to someone about the situation with her mom and Doc, and with Mary’s endorsement of Ethan’s levelheadedness, he was the perfect person to voice her concerns. “There’s an odd tension between my mother and Doc. I thought it was just the strangeness of the situation. Doc’s not used to living with two women. But as the week’s progressed, instead of relaxing around each other, the opposite seems to have happened and the tension is worse today than when Mom first showed up.”

  Ethan’s eyes darted to her. “That doesn’t sound like Doc. He’s usually friendly with everyone. Did you ask him about it?”

  “They both denied anything was wrong. Said I was just imagining it. I do a lot of things, Ethan, but dreaming up fantasy scenarios isn’t one of them. It’s driving me crazy. It’s like walking around waiting for an explosion.”

  He remained silent, but she could see from the set of his chin that he was considering various options. “Maybe they don’t like each other. Of course, Joan would be the only person I know who doesn’t like Doc. Aside from that, maybe they aren’t comfortable with each other and are trying not to poison the relationship between you and Doc. It would make things harder for you. From what I’ve seen of your mother, that’s the last thing she’d want to do.”