by Kat Brookes
“Well, we’ve certainly seen some—”
“Nice ones?” Autumn said, cutting her off with a teasing smile.
Lainie laughed. “Exactly.” She liked Tucker’s wife a whole lot. Garrett’s, too. Only she hadn’t gotten to spend as much time with Hannah, but she hoped they would have the opportunity to get to know each other a lot better in the near future.
“Getting back to the house hunt,” Autumn prompted. “I want to know what you see when you imagine the place you want to settle down in with your son.”
Lainie thought for a moment. “I’ve always wanted a place with a large picture window in the front of the house. One I can display our Christmas tree in when the holiday rolls around each year. And a fireplace, or maybe a woodstove, would help make a house feel cozy. Lots of cupboards and maybe a farm-style sink in the kitchen.” She looked to Autumn. “Too much to ask for?”
“Not at all. This helps a great deal. In fact, it tells me that I should sweet-talk Jackson into selling you his place. It fits your list perfectly.”
Lainie’s eyes widened. It did? While she had spent a lot of time at the main ranch house growing up, she’d never been inside Jackson or his brothers’ homes, which had been built after she had gone away to college. All she really knew about Jackson’s place was that he had a wraparound porch with the oversize window she hoped to have in whatever home she decided on buying. “I don’t think any amount of sweet-talking is going to convince your brother-in-law to sell his place.”
“Probably not,” Autumn agreed. “But I’m sure I can find something that would fit most of your requirements.” She glanced in the direction of the home they’d just toured. “We should probably get going or the listing Realtor is going to think we’re out here writing up an offer.”
“I should be getting back to the ranch anyhow,” Lainie said with a sigh. “Jackson will probably be wondering where we are.” He’d been kind enough to offer to watch Lucas for her while she went house-hunting. He’d even offered to teach her son how to saddle and ride a horse. If it had been anyone else, she might have had reservations about him doing so without her there. But she trusted Jackson.
That thought had her taking a mental step back. She trusted Jackson. Even though he’d broken her heart, she knew her son was in good hands. As if he knew she’d been thinking about him, Lainie’s cell rang, the screen displaying Jackson’s name and number. “Someone’s ears were burning,” she said, laughing softly as she answered the call. “Autumn and I were just getting ready to head back,” she told him.
“I’m glad.”
Why did he sound unusually tense? Like he was upset but trying to sound calm. “Jackson?” she said, sensing something was wrong. “Is everything okay?” His hesitation in responding sent a surge of panic through Lainie. Her heart began to pound in her chest. “Please tell me Lucas didn’t fall off the horse,” she begged, her eyes welling up with tears. “Please, Jackson.”
“He didn’t fall off the horse,” he quickly assured her. “That boy’s got his mother’s genes when it comes to riding. However, he did fall.”
She closed her eyes, wishing his words away. “What happened? How bad is it?” Autumn’s hand came to rest atop her own in a comforting manner.
“Just a small incident at the chicken coop,” he explained. “But he’s doing okay.”
Okay? Okay wasn’t the same as fine. At least, not in her book. She looked to Autumn with an anxious smile as she fought to hold it together.
“Lainie? You still there?”
“Yes,” she said, the word a forced whisper. “Did Lucas hit his head when he fell?”
“No. His head is fine.”
Fine was better than okay, Lainie thought with a bit of relief. “Jackson, what happened?”
“Tucker was replacing the latch on the chicken coop door. Afterward, he planned to collect whatever eggs had been laid and save Mom a trip out there. Lucas saw the egg basket sitting off to the side and offered to go in and collect them while Tucker finished up on the door.”
“But he’s never collected eggs before,” Lainie said.
“I know, but he wanted to do it,” Jackson told her. “So we instructed him on what he needed to do and off he went. When he was done, he came out of the henhouse beaming from ear to ear. A young man proud of his accomplishment. Only he tripped on his way back down the plank and took a tumble.”
“Is he okay?”
Autumn motioned that she was going to start driving.
Nodding, Lainie buckled her seat belt.
“A banged-up knee, scraped-up palms and a slightly wounded pride.”
She knew Jackson was trying to make light of things to keep her from having a panic attack over her son’s fall. “We’re on our way.” She hung up without saying goodbye, concern making it almost impossible to concentrate.
“Lainie?” Autumn said worriedly. “What’s going on?”
Lainie filled her in. “I need to call Justin. He should be able to get to the ranch pretty quickly.” She and Autumn were out in the country on the opposite side of town.
“If Jackson says Lucas is all right, I’m sure he is,” Autumn said, her tone consoling as Lainie made the call to her brother.
She prayed Autumn was right. But a part of her feared Jackson might be holding back because of what he knew she’d already gone through with Will.
* * *
When Lainie and Autumn arrived at Tucker’s parents’ ranch, Justin’s patrol car was already parked just outside the main house, alongside Jackson’s and Tucker’s trucks, and a car Lainie didn’t recognize. She let herself out of Autumn’s bright yellow Mustang GT and raced toward the porch.
“Lucas?” Lainie called out as she stepped into the house’s entryway.
“In here,” Jackson hollered back from the direction of the kitchen.
The second Lainie stepped into the room, several pairs of eyes shifted in her direction, but her focus was fixed solely on her son, who was seated at the kitchen table, eating an ice-cream cone. The only evidence that he’d been hurt was the twin trails the tears he’d shed had left on his dirty face.
She hurried over to him. “Are you okay? Where does it hurt?”
“Lainie,” her brother said softly as he moved to stand beside her, “he’s okay.”
She shook her head. “We don’t know that for sure. Things happen. We should take him to an urgent care center or the emergency room to get looked at.”
“Mom, I just tripped,” Lucas said with an embarrassed frown. “That’s all.”
Blue, who was standing guard over her new friend, looked up at Lainie with those big green eyes of hers. “And he only cried a little bit.”
“I didn’t cry,” Lucas grumbled. “My eyes watered ’cause I got dirt in them.”
“That would make any man’s eyes water,” Jackson agreed.
“Oh, honey,” Lainie groaned, hating that he was trying so hard to put up a tough front. Reaching down she touched gentle fingers to his scraped-up kneecap, made visible thanks to the oversize gym shorts he was wearing.
“Jessica couldn’t tend to his wound through the tear in his jeans,” Emma explained. “I found an old pair of Jackson’s shorts for him to change into that would allow Jessica to see to his knee.”
The tear? she thought with an inner wince. Oh, her poor baby. He must have hit the ground so hard. “Of course,” she said shakily. “Thank you.” She looked down at the angry red scratches and slight bruising on her son’s kneecap. “We should go have this looked at.”
“It looks worse than it is,” a woman whose voice Lainie didn’t recognize said softly.
Lainie glanced around, noting for the first time everyone that had gathered in the kitchen. Jackson, Tucker, Emma, Autumn, Justin, Blue and a pretty, very petite young woman she didn’t recognize. She was dressed in white pants, white sneakers
and what looked to be a scrub top with tiny pink and blue storks all over it. Her long blond hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, and her light blue eyes were trained on Lucas.
The young woman smiled. “I looked him over and cleaned the dirt from his knee and both palms. He was able to put weight on that knee, and there’s no swelling, only slight bruising, so I don’t think anything is broken.” She looked to Emma. “Mrs. Wade had some antibiotic ointment to put on the abrasions. He’ll be tender for a few days, but he should heal up just fine.”
“But his knee’s so red,” Lainie countered with a troubled frown. “I really think I need to take him somewhere to have it looked at.”
“Lainie,” Jackson said calmly, “this is Jessica Daniels.” He motioned to the woman who had tended to her son. “She’s a registered nurse.”
“Hannah’s friend,” Lainie acknowledged.
“Yes,” Jessica replied with a soft smile.
“Mom was on the phone talking to Hannah when I brought Lucas into the house. Jessica had just arrived to pick up her son and offered to run over and have a look at Lucas before heading back to the city.”
Lainie looked to Jessica, feeling beyond grateful that she had taken the time to look in on Lainie’s son. Her assurance that Lucas was all right helped to settle her frazzled nerves. “Thank you so much for taking care of my son.”
“Yes,” Justin chimed in with a charming grin, his gaze fixed on the woman who had come to his nephew’s rescue, “thank you.”
Jessica nodded. “You’re welcome. I’m glad I could be of help.”
“Lucas,” Lainie prompted, “is there something you’d like to say to Mrs. Daniels?”
“Miss,” the young woman corrected.
“Miss Daniels,” Lainie repeated.
Her son’s head bobbed up and down. “Thank you for taking care of me.”
A smile spread across Jessica’s face. “It was my pleasure. Do be careful when leaving the henhouse from here on out. Those ramps are better suited for itty-bitty chicken feet. I think to keep those pesky foxes away. You’ll need to take your time and watch your step.”
“I will,” Lucas replied with a smile. He looked to Lainie. “Are we leaving now?”
“Shortly,” she told him, wanting to express her gratitude as well before leaving.
“I need to get going,” Jessica announced.
“Could I repay you with dinner this evening?” Lainie heard Justin call out to Jessica, drawing her attention back to the conversation going on around her. “For your help today,” he added with a smile.
Lainie exchanged a surprised look with Jackson, who gave a slight shrug in response. They both knew Justin rarely took time for himself.
“Thank you for the invite,” Jessica replied. “But Hannah’s had Dustin far longer than she expected to have him today. We didn’t know how badly Lucas was injured, so she insisted on keeping my son there until I was done seeing to your nephew. I really do need to go get him.”
“There’s a small Italian eatery that recently opened up at the edge of town, and I’m pretty sure they have a children’s menu,” her brother said with a charming grin and a determination Lainie had never seen in him before. “If you or Dustin don’t care for Italian, I know a place that has really good burgers.”
Jessica’s gaze lowered to Justin’s uniform. “Are you allowed to eat on duty?”
“It’s not against the rules,” he told her. “But it just so happens I got off duty about forty-five minutes ago.”
And he wasn’t heading home to catch up on some rest? Lainie looked to Jackson, who simply shrugged his own amazement at this unexpected turn of events.
“Ravioli?” Jessica inquired, her eyes reflecting more than a hint of interest in the invitation.
“The best,” he answered.
“Well, I am hungry,” she conceded.
“Then dinner it is,” Justin replied with a victorious grin.
“I insist on paying for myself and my son,” she said determinedly.
His grin wavered, but her brother managed to force it to remain intact. “I’m supposed to be taking you to dinner to show my appreciation for your having taken care of my nephew.”
“Your company will be thanks enough,” she told him. “In fact, it will be nice to have some adult dinner conversation for a change. Not that discussing the best techniques for catching the fattest fishing worms isn’t entertaining.”
Justin laughed. “No doubt. And I promise to avoid bringing up anything worm-related at dinner.”
“I can’t promise the same for Dustin,” she told him. “Fishing is his favorite thing to do.”
“You’ll have to bring him over to the house sometime and fish in the river that runs through my property.” He looked to Lucas. “The boys could fish together.”
“I don’t know how to,” Lucas said with a pout.
“I’ll teach you,” Jackson volunteered. Then he looked to Lainie. “Or your mom can.”
“My mom?” Lucas said, looking her way as if trying to imagine her actually fishing.
Jackson nodded. “Something tells me there are a lot of things you’re going to find out your mom can do that you never imagined her doing. Like riding a horse or casting a fishing line.”
It had been far too long since she’d last gone fishing. She assumed it would be like riding a bike—once you learned how you never forgot—but she couldn’t know for sure. What she did remember was the fun she’d had doing so with her family. Fun her son should have the chance to experience for himself. “Jackson would be a much better teacher,” Lainie said. “I could bait a hook and cast a line, but taking a fish off the line is something I never learned to do.”
“It’s never too late to learn,” Jackson said with a grin and then turned his attention back to Lucas. “So how about it? Are you in?”
“Dustin would love to have a friend here to do things with,” Jessica told him. “We’re going to be moving to Bent Creek and he won’t know anybody here.”
“He knows me,” Blue wasted no time in pointing out.
Jessica laughed softly. “Yes, he does. And you are his good friend. I should have said another friend would be nice.”
Blue appeared satisfied with that response. She looked to Lucas. “We can all fish together.”
“That would be fun,” Lainie’s son agreed with an excited grin. One would never guess he had taken a painful tumble not long before.
It was so good to see her son eager to participate in something she, too, had been invited to partake in. He’d shut her out for so long that even feeling the slightest crack in his emotional wall filled her with such hope. And to see him making new friends warmed her heart.
“Okay, so it’s settled,” Justin said, his grin stretching wide. “We’ll set an afternoon aside just for fishing.”
“Wanna go color?” Blue asked Lucas with a sweet smile.
“I’m too old to color,” he told her.
Blue shook her head. “No, you’re not. My daddy colors with me and he’s old.”
Autumn muffled a snicker.
“Not that old,” Tucker said in his own defense. “But Blue’s right. Anyone can color. There is no age limit.”
Lucas eased his leg off the kitchen chair that it had been propped up on during Jessica’s ministrations. “I suppose I could.”
“I have a coloring book with dogs in it,” Blue said with a triumphant smile.
Lucas stood, one hand gripping the oversize shorts to his waist. “Can I go out and swing on the tire swing after Blue and me are done?”
His request helped to calm Lainie’s frazzled nerves even more. Clearly, her son had recovered from the traumatic tumble he’d taken in the chicken coop ramp. “You may.”
“Thanks!” Lucas made his way out of the kitchen, limping ever so slightly.
“I’d best go keep an eye on them,” Tucker volunteered. “I’m good with a crayon. And I’m even better at swing pushing. Besides, one accident is enough for today.” His lengthy strides carried him easily from the room.
One accident was enough for a lifetime, Lainie thought sadly. She sent a quick prayer of gratitude heavenward that Lucas hadn’t been injured worse in the fall, as Jackson had been during his last and final rodeo. The memory of it had her sending up an additional prayer of thanks that Jackson hadn’t suffered more serious, long-term injuries.
“Cover up with one of the throws while you’re coloring,” Emma called after them. “I don’t want either of you catching a chill from lying on the living room floor.” She looked to Lainie. “That’s where Blue likes to color when she comes over here.”
“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Lainie said.
“As soon as Lucas’s jeans are done in the dryer, we’ll have him change back into them.”
“Thank you for washing them,” Lainie told Jackson’s mother. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know, dear. But I’ve raised three boys. I’m used to tossing soiled clothes in the washer before the stains set in.”
“Jessica,” Lainie’s brother said, “why don’t I follow you to Garrett’s place to get your son? Then you can follow me into town to the restaurant.”
She nodded and then turned to Lainie. “Feel free to call me if you have any concerns. As a mother, I know how hard it is not to worry when your child is sick or injured.”
That is true, Lainie thought to herself. But it was so much more than that. She had seen how quickly and unexpectedly someone she loved could be taken away. It was so hard to get past the fear of it happening to her again. “I will,” she replied with a grateful smile. “Maybe we’ll have a chance to meet up under better circumstances since we’ll both be living here. Especially since our boys are so close in age.”
