by Helen Lacey
“Val said you left college in your first year?”
He nodded, unflinching. “That’s right.”
“What were you studying?”
“Art.”
Valene wasn’t surprised, considering the quality of the adorable portrait of Bruce he’d drawn freehand. But she was stunned that she hadn’t asked him that question herself. They did, she realized, spend a lot more time talking about her than they did about his life or his past. It was something she intended to remedy. She certainly didn’t want her sister learning things about him before she did.
“Why did you leave school?” Maddie asked, relentless.
“My father passed away and I was needed at home.”
“That must have been a difficult decision.”
“Not really,” he replied. “My family needed me. And at the end of the day, family is all that matters. But of course, you know that.”
It was the perfect shutdown. Val noticed the edge of “mind your own business” in his tone, but he was too polite to say it outright. And Maddie didn’t know him well enough to pick up on anything other than his calm and quiet courtesy. They stayed another couple of hours, talking over dessert, which Jake declined, and then playing a few rounds of pool, two of which Jake won, much to Zach’s good-humored irritation. As soon as they were in his truck and heading back to her condo, Val apologized.
“I’m so sorry about Maddie. She can be a pain in the neck about some things.”
He chuckled. “You worry too much. She wasn’t so bad.”
Val sighed. “That’s generous.”
“She was right about one thing,” Jake said and took a left onto the highway. “The beef ravioli at Toscano’s is the best around.”
Val laughed so loudly she snorted, which made Jake laugh. It was such a wonderful moment, and her heart fluttered madly. The more time she spent with Jake, the more she wanted to spend with him.
When they pulled up at her building, he was out of the vehicle and around to her side in seconds.
“So,” she said, “are you coming in?”
Jake gently hauled her into his arms and kissed her soundly. “You know, Valene, I’ve never been the self-sacrificing type, so you better stop asking me that question.”
She groaned and pressed against him, snaking her arms around his waist. “I’m sorry I didn’t know about what you were studying in college. I should have known,” she said and rested her ear against his heart. “I should have realized after that wonderful portrait you did of Bruce.”
“Stop apologizing,” he said softly. “And you better get inside, because it’s getting colder out here, and I don’t want either of us to catch pneumonia.”
He left as soon as she was inside, and Val was uncharacteristically unhappy afterward, moping around her place for an hour or so before she showered and headed to bed, with Bruce firmly taking up his spot on one side.
“You better get used to the floor, buddy,” she said playfully and petted him. “I’m pretty sure that spot is going to be taken up soon.”
And as she drifted off to sleep, her thoughts and dreams were filled with images of the man who had captured her heart.
* * *
Val headed to Austin early on Tuesday morning and worked through until Wednesday afternoon and was back in Houston by six in the evening. On Thursday morning she headed out to Fulshear to meet with the owner whose listing she’d acquired the week before. It had been an eventful couple of days in Austin, and now she was back home she needed to focus on the week ahead. The Messer building was now hers to sell exclusively, and she had scored another prospective new client, a woman who owned a large estate in River Oaks and who had been recommended to her by Karl Messer. For her, things were definitely looking up, but the agency had lost another two clients and Zach was now talking conspiracy and sabotage. After what had happened to the Robinsons, and what were clearly more than coincidental losses at Fortunado Real Estate, everyone was taking the possibility of it being a real threat very seriously.
The upside was that she talked to Jake every night. He called her at eight o’clock in the evenings and they chatted for close to half an hour, discussing their days and anything else that came to mind. It was a lovely way to finish off the day, and she looked forward to hearing his voice each night more than she’d believed possible.
The land in Fulshear was cleared and fenced and had a small, neat dwelling and several water holes—it would be perfect for running stock. Val spent half an hour with the owner, Otis McAvoy, an ornery man in his midsixties who clearly had no tolerance for fools. But Val didn’t mind straight talk and quite liked him. He would be a no-nonsense, no-fuss client who only wanted the best and fairest price for his land.
It was simple providence that made her drive past the Double Rock Ranch. Her GPS had diverted her down a shortcut and she spotted the ranch where Jake worked and lived. There was a huge picture of a dark stud bull on a sign beside the gate, along with the letters JJB and a phone number beneath.
She drove through the gates and up a long driveway, which was blanketed by lush coastal grasses, and pasture, which was dotted with mature oak and pecan trees. It was a postcard-perfect scene. As she drove farther she spotted a ranch house at the end of the driveway. The home was clearly in the midst of a renovation, as it was surrounded by scaffolding and there were tarps attached to several sections of the roof. Behind the house she saw several other dwellings, including one that had a perfectly beautiful cottage garden. She looked around and noticed several round yards, cattle pens, stalls with turnout areas, a huge barn and three tall windmills.
She sighed, finding it odd that for the first time, she wasn’t thinking about how easily or quickly she might be able to make a sale should the place ever go on the market. Instead, she thought about how lovely it would be to live somewhere so beautifully idyllic.
She parked the car in the driveway and got out, looking around, hoping to find some sign of Jake, hoping it wasn’t too inconvenient or inappropriate that she’d stopped by. She quickly called him, but it went directly to voice mail and she left a brief response, asking him to call her back if he wasn’t too busy. She could hear music coming from the barn, and when she didn’t get a reply after a few minutes Val grabbed her coat, slipped it on and then walked in that direction.
She spotted a young man, about nineteen, swaggering out from the barn, a saddle perched on one hip. “Hi,” she said and managed a tight smile. “I’m looking for Jake Brockton. Is he here?”
The young man gave her a quick once-over, rubbed his whiskerless chin and half shook his head. “He’s out musterin’ strays with a coupla the guys. He left me here to clean some of the gear.”
“I tried to call him,” Val said and motioned to the cell phone in her hand.
He grinned. “You ain’t gonna get no good reception from where they’re at, ma’am. Too much rock.”
The way he called her ma’am made Val feel about sixty years old. But there was a genuine politeness about the young man that was impossible to disregard, and she quickly thanked him and headed back to her car. She decided to check out the house and walked up the path and started heading around the side.
“Can I help you?”
The sound of a cheerful voice quickly grabbed her attention, and she spotted a middle-aged woman walking the path from around the rear of the house. She was a tall, thin, fair-haired woman who wore jeans, a thick sweater and a long multicolored vest. A friendly-looking small dog stood at her side, and the woman was smiling.
“Oh, hi,” Val said and took a right turn toward the other woman. “Actually, I’m looking for Jake Brockton.”
The woman regarded her curiously, looked her up and down, tilted her head to the side, and then responded. “You must be Valene.”
Val stiffened. “Ah...yes.”
“I’m Lynda... Jake’s mom.”
&
nbsp; Val felt both relief and embarrassment. She certainly hadn’t expected to come face-to-face with his mother. She moved forward and held out her hand. “It’s lovely to meet you. I was passing by here and thought I’d stop to see Jake. I called his cell, but it went directly to voice mail.”
The other woman nodded. “He’s out mustering a few strays down past the creek. There’s a lot of rock around that way and it makes for poor cell reception.”
“I met one of the hands by the barn and he said the same thing.”
Lynda grinned. “That’ll be Ricky. He’s been working here a few months. Jake should be back soon. Why don’t you come up to the house and I’ll make tea?”
Val resisted the urge to check her watch. She had a later appointment at the office but could certainly spend some time with his mother. She nodded and followed the woman up the path. The dog wound itself around Val’s legs, and she petted the animal on the top of the head.
“Jake’s spoiled baby,” his mother said and grinned.
“Sheba?”
The dog barked at the mention of her name, which made Val smile. When they reached the cottage behind the house, Val stopped in her tracks. The garden was like something out of a fairy tale, with a well and small pond, plus rows of colorful shrubs whose survival defied any logic since it was winter and chillier than usual.
“Everything okay?”
Val nodded. “This is such a beautiful garden.”
“Thank you,” Lynda said and headed up the cobbled pathway. “My little piece of heaven. An English cottage garden in the middle of Texas. My daughter thinks I’m crazy for putting so much effort into it, but it makes me happy.”
“How do you get these flowers and shrubs to grow?”
“Love and kindness,” Lynda replied. “Plants really aren’t all that different from people. They thrive on both of those things.”
Val smiled and decided she liked Jake’s mother very much, particularly when she discovered that the inside of the house was as adorable as the outside. From the mahogany furniture to the soft pastel accessories, the place was like something she’d seen on one of those old BBC shows about living in the English countryside. Val was tempted to grab her camera from the car and take a few snapshots.
“Your home is lovely,” she said and half twirled around. “Jake said you’ve lived here for a long time.”
Lynda nodded and moved into the kitchen. “Twenty years. My husband got a job as ranch foreman, and this cottage was where we lived. When he died so unexpectedly, I thought we might have to leave. Cassidy was still a child, and I was working a few days a week at the local elementary school. But then Jake came home, and everything worked out. And Cassidy was so happy she got to stay on the ranch.” As she spoke Lynda moved around the small kitchen, gathering cups and filling the teapot.
There was a large framed sketch on the wall, of a herd of mustangs galloping through a creek bed, and Val recognized the strokes immediately. “Jake did this?”
Lynda nodded. “When he was about sixteen. He’s very talented. And you work for your family’s business, right?”
“Yes,” she replied. “We sell real estate.”
Lynda nodded again. “It’s lovely when family can work together. You know, my son likes you very much.”
Val’s insides leaped. “I like him very much.”
Lynda smiled. “He’s been through a lot. Don’t break his heart, okay?”
She was obviously referring to his last relationship, and as warnings went, it was mild and said with the utmost warmth. Val didn’t mind. “I won’t, I promise,” she said and walked toward the fireplace.
There were several photographs on the mantel and she lingered over one that was of three men, one younger, one older and another older still, arms linked companionably at the shoulders. They all shared the same sandy-blond hair and glittering blue eyes. Jake and his father and grandfather. The picture made Val experience several different emotions. There was love and affection in the photograph, but she also knew it represented loss, of both his dad and grandparent. And suddenly it made her miss Glammy more than she usually allowed herself to. She knew how much Schuyler grieved the loss of their beloved grandmother, and Val made a mental note to talk more about Glammy to her sister.
“Is this your daughter? She’s very beautiful,” Val said, moving to the next photograph of a young woman standing beside a tall palomino horse.
Lynda nodded. “Yes, that’s Cassidy. My late husband, Mike, and I weren’t expecting we’d have any more children after Jake since I had complications after the birth. But then along came Cassidy, and she has truly blessed our lives. And she adores her big brother.”
Who wouldn’t adore Jake, Val thought as she perused the photographs and then spotted one of Lynda and Jake. He was dressed in a cap and gown. He was younger, maybe midtwenties.
She frowned and pointed to the picture. “Jake’s graduation?”
Lynda nodded proudly. “That was when he got his MBA. He worked so hard and graduated with honors.”
Val’s insides were suddenly and unexpectedly hollow. Jake had told her he’d dropped out of college. “He said he’d left school when his father passed away.”
“He did,” Lynda replied, her gaze narrowing a little. “But he went back to school online a year or so later. He’s not one to boast or talk about himself. He gets that from his dad. My husband was a very humble and yet strong man. And he was such a wonderful father. And Jake will be the same,” Lynda added, a gleam in her eyes.
Val swallowed hard, irritated and a little hurt by the fact that Jake hadn’t told her about graduating college, particularly after Maddie had grilled him about it. Suddenly everything about him began to make sense. He was smart and articulate. He knew some of the people at the charity benefit. The young man she’d talked to by the stables clearly regarded him as an authority figure. He wasn’t an uneducated hick. He was obviously more than a simple ranch hand.
And he had some serious explaining to do!
Chapter Eight
Jake knew he was in hot water the moment he entered his mom’s living room. He wasn’t sure how much his mother had told Valene—not too much, he hoped, because there were things he needed to tell her himself. Plus, he’d made it clear to his mom that he hadn’t mentioned his money or owning the ranch to the woman he was dating. And although Lynda had warned him about the perils of deception, Jake was determined to see how his relationship with Valene progressed before he told her everything about himself.
Valene was sitting on the sofa in the small living room, sipping tea, and shot him daggers when their gazes connected. Seeing her in her work garb, and her hair in a neat ponytail, he remembered she’d told him she was meeting up with a client who lived close by, which should have registered the possibility that she would drop in at the ranch. Jake knew Otis McAvoy very well, since the older man had been a good friend of his father’s. He noticed that his mother looked delighted that she was getting the opportunity to hang out with the woman who had taken up so much of his time and attention.
Jake kissed her cheek, saw his mother’s approval and then sat down.
“Sorry I missed your call, but the cell reception can be a little hit or miss at times.”
“I was in the neighborhood,” she said flatly. “So I thought I’d come and see you. Is that okay?”
“Of course.”
They all chatted for a couple of minutes, about the weather and the cottage and Sheba, who had perched herself at his booted feet, and once Valene finished her tea, she thanked his mother and stood up.
“I have to go,” she said and collected her bag. “But thank you, Lynda. It was lovely to meet you.”
“Likewise. Please come and visit again.”
Once they were outside, she didn’t wait for him, but charged down the path and circumnavigated the ranch house. The contractors w
ere done for the day, but when Jake reached her, one of the young ranch hands passed by and smiled at Jake.
“Afternoon, ma’am. Afternoon, boss.”
Jake saw her back stiffen, and when she reached the front of the house she turned, hands on hips. Her brown eyes were dark and her expression clearly unhappy.
“Your father’s boots?”
“What?”
“Exactly,” she shot back. “You told me someone had to fill your father’s boots. At the time I thought you meant because of your mom and your sister, but it was more than that. You meant his job. He was the ranch foreman. And now you are. You’re in charge here, right?”
Jake wasn’t sure how to answer. He was in charge, so technically her assumption was correct.
“Yes.”
“And you have an MBA?”
He nodded. “That’s correct.”
“And you didn’t say anything about it because you don’t like talking about yourself?”
“Something like that,” he replied, seeing the fire in her eyes and suddenly itching with the need to kiss her. She looked so beautiful and it had been days since they’d been so close.
“It’s really annoying how you do that, you know,” she said flatly.
“Do what?”
“Make everything seem so damned reasonable. Drives me crazy. I really want to be mad at you right now.”
Jake laughed softly. “Does that mean we get to make up and make out afterward?”
She crossed her arms. “Only if you show me inside this house,” she replied, nodding at the ranch house. “If that’s allowed.”
“Sure.”
He held out his hand and she took it, and a bolt of electricity raced up his arm. He wondered if he’d ever get used to that, or if the scent of her perfume would always stay with him for days after he’d held her in his arms.
Jake walked up the steps, crossed the wide veranda and opened the front door. Most of the furniture was covered in protective sheets, and any decorative items were safely stored in boxes. He’d started the renovation over two years ago and put a halt on it during the divorce. Since then, his mind had gotten clearer, and now he wanted the place finished so he could move back in and start his life over.
