Susan Mallery - The Rancher Next Door

Katie thought she’d done her best to remain calm and in control, but as soon as they reached the main road, she began to shake. Her legs trembled so hard it was difficult to press on the accelerator. Her heart fluttered, and her eyes burned with unshed tears.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this, she thought sadly. She and her father were supposed to be able to have a mature relationship as she got older. She actually had been stupid enough to look forward to being at home for a couple of months. She’d thought she and Aaron could reconnect, that he would enjoy being around Shane, that the family bonds would strengthen.

She glanced at her son and saw tears trickling down his cheeks. She reached over and touched his shoulder. “I’m sorry,” she said, swallowing against the lump in her throat. “I don’t remember your grandfather being so difficult when I was growing up. Maybe he was always this way and I didn’t see it before. I don’t know. I never thought he would be scary for you.”

Shane sniffed and nodded, but didn’t speak. Katie’s heart ached for her child. She searched for words to ease his pain. “Aaron has his own way of doing things. He thinks he always knows best and it’s impossible to make him see otherwise. I want you to know that his temper and screaming were about him rather than about you.”

Her son looked at her. “I’m sorry I made Grandpa so mad at me. I wanted to do what he said. I thought he’d be happy that I was learning to ride a horse, but he wasn’t. And then he was yelling and I was scared.”

Katie pulled to the side of the road. She put the Explorer in park, then unfastened her seat belt and released Shane from his. Finally she pulled him close and kissed the top of his head.

“None of this is your fault,” she murmured. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You are a wonderful child, and I am so lucky to have you in my life. I’m so sorry I brought you to a place where you feel frightened. I swear, we’re never going back. Even if we eventually make things right with my family, you don’t ever have to spend the night there again.”

Shane looked at her. Tears swam in his blue eyes and smudged his glasses. He was so young, so vulnerable. He was her responsibility, and she’d let him down.

“Don’t cry,” he whispered.

It was only then that she realized her face was damp. “We’re a mess,” she said with a small chuckle. “Just look at the two of us, leaking all over the place.”

Her humor earned her a small smile from her son. “When I get bigger, I’ll make Grandpa stop yelling at both of us.”

“Hopefully he will have learned his lesson by then,” she said, although she doubted Aaron would ever change.

There was a sharp knock on the driver’s side window. Katie turned and saw Jack standing next to her Explorer. She bit back a groan. As if the day couldn’t get any worse, she thought glumly. Of all the people to stumble across them right now. She shifted in her seat and pushed the button to lower the window.

“Hi,” she said brightly, hoping he didn’t notice her or Shane’s tears. “What’s going on?”

He frowned. “That’s my question. I saw you parked here. Is everything all right?”

Katie didn’t know how to answer that. She’d just run away from her father’s ranch. She had her son, her keys and about ten dollars in her pocket. Not much with which to make a fresh start.

But she didn’t want to say any of that to Jack. He had flat-out said he regretted their kiss and wasn’t interested in being friends. She wasn’t going to confide her current problems to him.

She opened her mouth to tell him they were fine when Shane beat her to the punch.

“Hi, Jack,” he said, leaning over her and smiling at his hero. “We’re running away from Grandpa’s ranch. Grandpa was yelling at me about letting you teach me to ride and then Mom came in the room and stood up to him. Then she sent me to my room and they were fighting. He was yelling and telling her that-”

The boy hesitated. Katie remembered the horrible things her father had said about Shane and cringed when she realized her son had heard them.

“Anyway,” Shane continued, “she came and got me and now we’re running away. Mom says we don’t ever have to go back. Except when I’m bigger I’m gonna go beat up Grandpa so he never yells at my mom again.”

Jack looked from Shane to her. Katie didn’t know what to say. Her son’s bare recital of the facts hadn’t left anything to the imagination. She knew that eventually she was going to have to explain to Shane that beating up Aaron wouldn’t accomplish anything, but this wasn’t the time.

“It’s such a beautiful day,” Katie said by way of a fairly pitiful distraction. “Spring has always been my favorite time of year. I thought we might head into town and get some ice cream. Maybe see a movie.”

Jack frowned. “You’re not going back there.” He made a statement rather than asking a question.

She rubbed her hand up and down Shane’s back, then shook her head. “No. We can’t. I’ve been trying to figure out if Aaron changed or if it’s me. Either way, he’s made the situation intolerable. I thought we’d stay at a hotel in town.”

Jack leaned his forearm against the window frame. “Shane would be miserable in some small room, and so would you. Your house is going to be ready in a couple of months, right?”

She knew what he was going to say-to offer. She didn’t want to hear the words. Right now she was feeling so broken inside, she didn’t think she would have the strength to say no. “You’re not to worry about us,” she instructed. “We’ll be fine. We’ve always done well together, right, Shane?”

Her son nodded. Obviously he hadn’t figured out what Jack was going to say.

Jack’s dark gaze settled on her face. “Come to the ranch,” he told her. “There’s plenty of room. Hattie lives alone in the house, and she hates that. She likes both you and Shane. You’d be safe there, Katie. If nothing else, you’ll save a ton of money. Unless you make a whole lot more than I think you do, you won’t be able to afford a hotel for the next two months.”

She hated that he was right. Worse, her son now understood what Jack was offering.

She felt Shane vibrate with excitement. “We could stay on your ranch, Jack?” he asked, his voice a squeak. “Really? Oh, Mom, could we? Could we? Maybe Misty could sleep inside at night. You know, on my bed. And I could ride every day and it would be so great.”

She avoiding looking at Shane. She didn’t want to see the happiness lighting his face because then she wouldn’t have a choice. Instead she focused her attention on Jack. “I wouldn’t want to presume on our acquaintance.”

She knew she sounded like a character in a Jane Austen novel, but she didn’t know how else to explain herself without going into more detail than she wanted Shane to hear.

Jack got it right away. He raised his eyebrows. “Is that your way of paying me back for what I said before?”

“Mom, can we? Please?”

She ignored Shane and spoke to Jack. “I wouldn’t punish you for speaking the truth. You told me what you were feeling. I respect that.”

He placed both hands on the door and leaned close. “Don’t be stubborn, Katie. I want you to come to the ranch. I want to know you’re safe.” He paused. “I’m sorry for what I said. I would like us to be friends.”

She wanted to believe him for two reasons. First-she didn’t have many friends and right now she desperately needed one. Second-she missed Jack. Being home had reopened a wound she’d long thought healed.

“It’s not going to work,” she said as much to herself as to him. “What about Nora? She’ll hate the idea of me living there. What about my father and everyone in town? What about what people will say and think?”

“That doesn’t matter,” Shane told her. He tugged on her sleeve until she was forced to look at him. The bright happiness in his eyes nearly blinded her. “Can we?”

“At the risk of being accused of playing dirty,” Jack said, “what other people think doesn’t matter. What about Shane?”

He had her there, Katie thought. But then maybe she’d secretly wanted to say yes from the beginning.

“I can’t fight you both,” she said, forcing lightness into her voice. “Thank you, Jack. You’re very gracious to invite us.”

Shane gave a whoop of excitement. Jack stepped back from the Explorer. “I was just heading back to the ranch,” he said. “You can follow me there.”

Katie had entered the Darby ranch house dozens of times in the past few weeks, but suddenly she felt awkward as she climbed the stairs to the front door.

“You need to talk to your mom,” she said. “I’ll wait out here. Don’t worry about telling me that she doesn’t think it’s a good idea. Shane and I can still go stay at a hotel.”

Jack shook his head. “She’s not going to send you away. You should know Hattie better by now. I wasn’t kidding. She’s going to be thrilled to have company. Now come inside.”

She followed him over the threshold, but paused in the living room. “I’ll stay here,” she said, refusing to budge any farther.

“You’re incredibly stubborn,” Jack complained.

“I’m sure it’s genetic.”

She watched him walk across the hardwood floors. His long stride ate up the distance. He was tall and strong. Just being close to him made her want to throw herself into his arms and beg him to hold her until she got herself together. Her insides felt bruised and her emotions were battered. Nothing was working out the way she’d planned.

She turned to look out a front window. Shane and Misty raced together by the barn. The sound of her son’s laughter drifted into the house, easing some of the tension around her heart. If nothing else, being here would allow Shane to feel safe. That was all that mattered.

Jack walked into the living room. “Come on. Hattie wants to talk to you.” He gave her a quick smile, one that made her bones melt. “Don’t look so worried. This is my mom we’re talking about. She adores you.”