By the time they’d finished Sunday brunch this morning, Cara couldn’t leave the Hitching Post fast enough. She had told Andi she needed to stop at the pharmacy before meeting the work crew at the store.
The pharmacy made her think of Lizzie and the pregnancy test. She hadn’t seen the teen at all yesterday and probably wouldn’t today, either, unless she stopped by the Big Dipper after they finished painting.
Cara heard the door of the store open.
She hurried out from the back room, expecting to see Lizzie standing in the doorway. Instead, she found Wes. He didn’t speak, but who needed words when his hands gave him away, revealing his comfort level by his death grip on his hat brim.
She could have used something to hang on to, too. For her, discomfort and longing and love all blended together. Only pride kept her from letting those feelings show. “Hello,” she said coolly. “Did you make a wrong turn on your way to somewhere else?”
He’d asked her that the first night she’d shown up on his doorstep.
Wes’s contrite expression confirmed he remembered, too. Today he had turned the situation around and shown up on “her” doorstep.
“What can I do for you?” she asked.
“Hear me out,” he said simply.
After a moment, she shrugged. “I’ve got coffee if you’re interested. Only instant right now. Or tea.”
“Coffee will work.”
She led the way into the back room and gestured to the folding table and chairs borrowed from the Hitching Post. At the small sink, she ran water into the kettle.
“All the comforts of home,” he said.
“More or less.” She didn’t want to think of home. And she didn’t know what his hear me out meant. But she wouldn’t ask—no matter how strongly her rabid curiosity tried to push away her stubborn pride. “We don’t have a refrigerator yet. Would you like powdered creamer? And sugar?”
“Black’s fine for me.”
As she put coffee crystals into one mug and a tea bag into another, the kettle let out its high-pitched whistle. She carried the brimming mugs to the table and sat across from him. First things first. “How are the kids?” Only two days since she had last seen them, and it felt like forever.
“They’re fine.”
No surprise there. Everything with this man was always fine. Or so he thought. Or...so he pretended, just as she pretended now?
The possibility made her thaw a few degrees. “You wanted me to hear you out about something.”
He nudged his coffee mug on the table and nodded. “Yeah. I picked up the kids from Rhea’s last night. The day care’s quiet on a Saturday, and we got to talking about the show the other day. Rhea told me Mark gave you both a hard time when he heard I couldn’t come to it. That he nearly pitched a fit. That he begged you to stay.”
She raised her chin. He wouldn’t like hearing the truth but she would tell him anyway. “I wanted to stay. I wanted to be there for him and Tracey.”
“Yeah. And if I’d been thinking even halfway straight, I’d have wanted that, too. You’ve been good with the kids, and they’re used to you picking them up at the sitter’s. There’s no reason you couldn’t have hung around to watch a fifteen-minute show. I...” Staring down at the mug, he nudged it again. “I don’t usually get to those things at Rhea’s. Patty was always the one to go. But I wanted to be there for this one. Mark’s acting up lately, not behaving like himself.”
Wes sighed. “It didn’t sink in for a while, but I started wondering if you’d nailed it and he’d been worried about the show all along.” Still not looking at her, he said in a lower voice, “Like the drawing sessions he had with Patty, I don’t know what memories he might have about other recitals. It was his first time presenting without her there to watch him.”
Cara’s throat constricted. She touched his wrist in sympathy, then retreated to clutch her mug in both hands. “I didn’t know,” she murmured.
“No way you could have known. Anyway, that was on my mind when I arrived, already on edge, sure I had gotten there too late. Then I saw Mark up in the front of the room...” He paused for a mouthful of coffee. “With all that, I definitely wasn’t thinking straight, or maybe at all, when I saw you.” Finally, he looked at her. “You didn’t do anything wrong. There’s no excuse for the way I reacted. And I’m more sorry than I can say.”
At those words, she thawed completely. How could she not? She had already seen so much good in Wes. His heartfelt apology added another point in his favor. But what won her over...what she heard beneath his words...what she had seen in him again and again...was his love and concern for his children.
Wasn’t that all she had wanted once she found out she was pregnant—a man who would love and take care of his child? And wasn’t Wes all she had ever wanted in a partner—a man eager to raise a family?
“Apology accepted,” she said softly. “You didn’t have to come all the way into town to tell me that.” Yet she was thrilled he had made the effort.
“I was heading this way, anyhow. Jed told me you were all going to be working here today. I want to volunteer my services.”
“Really?”
“Really. It’s the least I can do to repay you for picking up the kids every day.”
And...? Pure greed kept her waiting, wanting to hear him say she had helped him, too. That having her around made a difference in his life.
She didn’t get her wish.
Silence dragged on between them. Before it could stretch to an embarrassing length, the door in the outer room opened. Lizzie called her name. After sending Wes a quick, strained smile, she set her tea mug aside and went to the display room.
The moment Lizzie saw her, the teen burst into tears.
Please, no.
Cara hurried across the room. Don’t think. Focus. Breathe. Her heart in her throat, she put one hand on Lizzie’s arm and repeated that last calming word aloud. “Breathe... Deep breath... And now one more... Better?”
Lizzie nodded, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. She gulped, then nearly gasped, “I told Kyle just now. About the baby. And h-he doesn’t want to h-hear about it.”
“I’m sorr—”
“He always told me he wanted a family.”
The blood rushed from Cara’s face. She shoved away painful memories to focus on Lizzie. “This doesn’t mean he’s changed his mind. The news was a shock to him, the way it was to you. When he has some time—”
“He doesn’t want time.” Lizzie’s voice broke. “He doesn’t want the baby.”
Cara pushed that memory away, too.
“He says this will mess everything up—the prom, graduation, going away to school.”
“None of that will happen for a while. Once Kyle has a chance to get used to the news, you can talk again.”
“He doesn’t want to talk, either.”
“Well, maybe not this minute. But, Lizzie...” Cara waited until the teen met her eyes again. Then she said slowly, “What’s most important right now is to think about you and what you’re going to do next. Right?”
Lizzie nodded.
“Have you told your parents?”
“Not yet. I will. I wanted to tell Kyle first.” She breathed a heavy sigh. “I’d better get back home.”
“Do you want to sit here awhile?”
“No. I need to see my mom and dad.”
“All right.” She had given Lizzie her cell phone number earlier in the week. “If I don’t talk to you later today, stop by here after school tomorrow, or call me. Anytime. Either way, I’ll be waiting to hear from you.”
“You will. Thanks.” Lizzie gave her a quick hug and a wave.
As the door swung closed, Cara wrapped her arms around herself, longing for the pressure outside her body to ease the hurt inside yet knowing nothing could ever take all the pain
away.
“Are you okay?”
At the sound of Wes’s voice, she nearly shrieked. She had forgotten he was in the back room. He stood in the doorway, watching her.
“Yes, I’m okay.” She slipped past him and went to the sink. “I never finished my tea, did I? It’s probably cold by now. I’ll make another one. The answer to any problem is always a nice cup of tea, isn’t it? My grandmother used to say that to me all the time when I was a little girl. And she—”
Wes rested his hand on her shoulder. His touch made her jump. The same nerves that triggered her babbling now left her fumbling with the kettle. She grabbed for it, but he was quicker, wrapping his hands around hers. “Steady, girl.”
She laughed unevenly. “Sounds like you’re trying to calm a horse.”
Yet, his tone was soothing. And though his hands were rough from hard work, they were comforting. And gentle. And very warm.
Slowly, he released his hold but continued to stand close to her. Did he still expect her to drop the kettle?
Evidently not, because in the next instant he shoved his hands into his back pockets. “Didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but this isn’t a big room, and there was nowhere else for me to go, other than escaping through the emergency door. Since the noise would probably have given me away, I figured it was better to sit tight so Lizzie couldn’t tell I was here. She didn’t need to know she had someone else listening in on her conversation, even accidentally.”
Now who was babbling? Obviously, the situation had stressed Wes out, too. And he still hadn’t backed away from her.
She set the kettle safely on the small counter, then leaned against the sink, facing him. “You heard the whole thing?”
“Most of it. I didn’t hang out close to the doorway trying to catch every word. And I didn’t see anything, so don’t ask me how Lizzie was doing when she left. But after listening to you then and watching you now, something tells me you’re not okay.”
He touched her wrist gently, as she had touched his.
Wes had saved her from disaster with the kettle, but he couldn’t save her. At his show of sympathy, she fell to pieces, her breath catching on a sob.
“Hey, hey,” he murmured, taking her into his arms. “It’ll be all right.”
A tear slipped down her cheek. He brushed it away, his thumb gentle on her damp skin, his fingers curled beneath her chin. His lips touched hers in a kiss she had secretly wished and waited for. A kiss that held promise and offered hope...
A kiss she had never dreamed would end so quickly.
He lowered his arms and stepped back from her. As if they were dancing, she wanted to follow his lead, to move forward, to ask for more. Instead, she forced herself to stay in place. His retreat was the best thing he could have done. Nothing could come of a ten-second show of support, one she should have refused the moment it began.
She brushed away the dampness still cooling her warm cheek. “Sorry.”
“I’m the one who should apologize.”
“For offering sympathy? You don’t need to say you’re sorry for that. And I meant about...” She pointed to her eyes. “I’m like Mark. I don’t usually cry. But Lizzie’s situation touched a nerve. I...I’ve always wanted a family and, like Lizzie, I had a boyfriend who said he wanted that, too. Only, even though we had talked about having kids, he changed his mind—after I had already moved in with him.”
After I was already pregnant.
She exhaled a long breath. “I still can’t believe I was weak and stupid enough to fall for his lines.”
“That doesn’t sound weak or stupid to me.”
“No? You don’t know the whole story. I’d already given up my job, my apartment—everything in my life—for a man who didn’t plan to give up anything.”
“Maybe he thought you’d want him to provide a home for you both.”
“Which means that should let him off the hook for needing to compromise on anything else?”
“I didn’t say it was a reasonable thought.”
Despite her stress, his reply made her laugh.
“I might have handled that situation as badly as he did,” he said. “In fact, I know I would have. I’ve already got proof of that.” He shrugged. “Men—people in general—don’t always understand what other people need.”
“Brad knew. I wanted us to be equal partners. That’s why I said I was so dumb. I should have seen the warning signs.”
As if she had thrown a punch at him, Wes stepped back abruptly, hitting the folding table. The table legs screeched against the tile floor. “If missing the signs makes a person dumb, then neither one of us is too bright. Now... Well, forget now. Years ago, I didn’t understand half of what I should have known about Patty before we got married. Or after.”
He shook his head. “That’s beside the point, too. What I’m trying to say is, from what I’ve seen, you’re a strong, capable woman. And you’ll get your life back on track as soon as you’re home again.”
Her heart jolted so hard her chest hurt.
Her heart and her home were here, with him.
“I’ve already made progress. And Wes...” She hesitated, then went on, certain she felt ready for the risk she intended to take. “I have you and the kids to thank. I never thought I’d feel this happy again this soon—”
“I’m glad.” He returned to his seat as abruptly as he’d spoken. “Then, like I said, you’ll be on track once you get back to Phoenix. You’ll find an apartment and a job and eventually have the family you want, too.”
She couldn’t find words, abrupt or otherwise, to respond. What did it matter when he wasn’t ready to listen?
Maybe he needed more time. Maybe he was as afraid to open up with her as she had been with him until now.
Or maybe he still grieved so much for Patty that nothing she could say would make a difference.
* * *
IN THE BACK ROOM of the store, Cara stared at the bare wall in front of her. Blinking, she struggled to focus. Letting her mind wander wouldn’t get her share of the painting done. On the bright side, if Andi would pay her a dollar every time her thoughts went to the men in the display room, she could earn a full-time salary.
Okay, who was she kidding? Only one man out there interested her. The one who had kissed her not ten feet from where she now stood.
Andi gave her shoulder a nudge. “We like to get the paint on the wall before it dries on the brush.”
Cara laughed. “I was daydreaming, sorry.”
“And we don’t keep secrets,” said Jane, the more outspoken of Andi’s two cousins.
“And we can take a good guess at what you’re daydreaming about,” Tina said.
“She means who,” Jane clarified, smiling.
Cara looked at Andi, hoping she would run interference, but her best friend only shrugged.
She glanced toward the door to the display room, where deep voices rose in conversation over the blaring radio. No way could anyone out there overhear. Still, Cara lowered her voice. “Andi, when we break for lunch, I’m making sure you get the biggest slice of pizza. You sure have a big enough mouth to handle it.”
“Andi didn’t tell us anything,” Tina said. “If you’re talking about Wes, that is.”
“Of course, she is,” Jane said. “And Tina’s right. Andi didn’t have to tell us anything. All we had to do was look at you looking at Wes today and last week at the cookout.”
Cara’s entire face flamed. “I can’t be that obvious.”
“Only to the three of us,” Tina said soothingly.
Somehow, Cara wasn’t convinced.
Jane looked at her watch. “Time to pick up lunch.” She and Tina had volunteered to get the pizza and soda.
Both women went to the sink to wash their hands—the sink she had stood in front of when Wes kissed her.
S
he needed to stop obsessing over that. Sure, he had kissed her, but obviously, it hadn’t meant nearly as much to him as it had to her.
As Jane and Tina left to pick up lunch, loud cheering from the front room startled Cara back to the present.
“Guess that means the guys are hungry,” Andi said.
“Sounds like it.”
“Now we’re alone, we can really talk. And if I don’t ask, you won’t tell. So, what happened between you and Wes before we got here?”
“What makes you think something did?”
“Umm...how about the way you’re answering a question with a question? I’ll ask again, what’s happening?”
“Nothing. And nothing can.”
“Cara, you know you can’t hide anything from me. And I already know how you feel about Wes. Why would you leave without giving things a chance?”
Because she had to go home. Home where she belonged, which wasn’t in Cowboy Creek.
She was almost grateful to Wes for the harsh reminder of the mistake she’d made and her need to stand on her own.
Her thoughts were too complicated to explain. She gave Andi the simplified version. “Because there’s no sense in staying around. Right now all Wes can focus on is taking care of his kids, and of course, I respect him for that.”
He’d told her plainly how he felt about getting involved with anyone, and like Marianne, she’d refused to listen.
“He’s still grieving,” Andi said softly.
Yes, she’d thought that, too. Still grieving, and maybe more. She’d once sensed he was fighting guilt—over his kids, Patty, or someone or something else, she couldn’t tell. And he certainly wouldn’t tell her.
The guilt and grief combined made it harder to go on with life. Cara ought to know. But when Wes did finally move on, that didn’t mean he’d move in her direction.
“Things will change eventually,” Andi said. “They’ve already started. Even though I knew you would make a difference with Wes, I didn’t realize how quickly it would happen.”
The Rancher's Family--A Clean Romance Page 17
