The Second Chance Rancher

by Kate Pearce

  Cauy slowly rose, his face ashen, and held out his hand. “Jackson, I had no idea, I—”

  “Can we just forget I said that?” Jackson shot to his feet. “I’m tired, and my mouth is working way harder than my brain. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  He picked up his backpack and went down the hallway to his bedroom. He was tired out, having spent most of the previous night either making love to Daisy or staring out over the city. Why was everyone getting at him for being the person who smoothed things over, who never got offended or angry when everyone around him was raging? Why was he suddenly the bad guy?

  For once, he didn’t immediately unpack his belongings but stripped off and lay down in his bed. He missed being beside Daisy, hearing her little snores and snuffles—the way she turned toward him and held him like he was important to her.

  But he wasn’t important to her, was he? Daisy loved Brody, and his mom had loved Cauy best. She’d shown it in every caress, every loving word, and had never been the same after he left. Intellectually, Jackson knew there was nothing he could do about either of those situations. He shifted one arm until his hand cupped the back of his head on the pillow. Was that why he chased the other prizes? That he had to win at something? That he couldn’t deal with being second best? Even the thought of that made him uneasy.

  Cauy was right; people weren’t trophies, they were living, breathing, feeling entities, and none of them owed him a damn thing.

  * * *

  When Jackson went into the kitchen the next morning, Cauy was already up and cooking breakfast.

  “Hey,” Jackson said awkwardly. “I just want to apologize again for—”

  Cauy turned toward him, the spatula in his hand. “Don’t, okay? I’m the one who should be apologizing. Just because my life is going great doesn’t mean I get to lecture you about yours.”

  He tipped the scrambled eggs onto the plates that already contained strips of bacon and sausages and brought them over to the table, where a stack of pancakes stood waiting.

  “You’re apologizing to me?” Jackson glared at his brother. “How about you shut it as well? I don’t begrudge you your happiness and maybe, just maybe, you said some things that made me think.”

  “Whoop-de-doo.” Cauy sat down and speared a pancake on his fork. “You were right about coming between me and Dad. I’d blocked it out. I didn’t think about how it was for you after I left. I was just so damned desperate to get away.”

  “And you were right that I shouldn’t be chasing Daisy like she’s a prize.”

  Jackson locked gazes with Cauy for a long, tense minute before he couldn’t prevent his face from cracking into a smile.

  “So maybe we should both shut up?”

  Cauy ate a slice of bacon. “Works for me.”

  For a long while, they ate in silence before Jackson got up to get some more coffee.

  “What needs doing today?” Jackson asked, glad to be back to noncontroversial subjects.

  “The Morgan horses are finally going tomorrow, so we need to make sure all their gear is accounted for, check over the horses one last time, and work out an evacuation plan for loading them up into the trailers.”

  Jackson grimaced. “Not much, then.”

  “Shouldn’t take too long.” Cauy cleared his plate and set it in the sink to rinse. “We should be thinking about getting some more horses.”

  “Yeah?” Jackson looked over at his brother. “Maybe some more cows, too? You know, like a real ranch?”

  “I was talking to Roy about that the other day. He said we can come out with him next time he goes to the county auction.”

  “Sounds good.” Jackson continued eating as Cauy cleared the table around him and opened the dishwasher.

  “I’ve been invited to dinner at the Gardins,” Cauy said. Jackson put down his fork and stared at the back of his brother’s head, but Cauy didn’t turn around.

  “Are you going?”

  Cauy shrugged. “Yeah. Tonight, actually.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?” Jackson offered.

  “I think I’d rather handle this one myself.” Cauy finally looked over his shoulder. “It’s going to be damned awkward enough without—”

  “Me putting my foot in it,” Jackson completed his brother’s sentence. “It’s okay, I get it. Did they say what they wanted to talk about?”

  “Shep didn’t mention anything specific. I think they just want the chance to get to know me.”

  Seeing as they’d missed out on the last thirty years of Cauy’s life because Mark had made that a condition of their mother marrying him, Jackson could totally understand their need to get to know their only grandson.

  “Great, then I’ll get my own dinner.” Jackson nodded.

  “Or go see Daisy?” Cauy finished loading the dishwasher. “Maybe it’s time to have an honest conversation with her, dude. If you really don’t think she’s into you, maybe it’s time to break free for your own sanity.”

  “Yeah, there is that.” Jackson paused. “Although her reasons for hanging out with me are a lot more complicated than you might think.”

  “That’s on her.” Cauy met his gaze head-on. “It’s not your job to sacrifice yourself to make her life easier.”

  “Walking out on her right now would feel wrong,” Jackson confessed.

  “Are you sure about that, or are you just hanging on in case you can change her mind?”

  Jackson raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t it my job to ask the stupid questions?”

  “Not always.” Cauy’s rare smile emerged. “I’m just looking out for your interests, bro.”

  “Great,” Jackson muttered. “Complicate everything, why don’t you?” His cell buzzed and he removed it from his pocket to check the incoming text. “BB Morgan wants me to come over to his place this afternoon.”

  “As long as we get the Morgan horse stuff sorted out this morning, you can do what you like this afternoon.” Cauy filled his flask with the remains of the coffee.

  “Thanks, boss,” Jackson retorted, and texted BB a thumbs-up. He wanted to check in with Daisy, but something was holding him back “Then I’d better get a move on.”

  Roy, the foreman of Morgan Ranch, didn’t hold much with computers and liked everything done the old-fashioned way, with paper and ink. Each Morgan Ranch horse had a set of paperwork detailing nutritional needs, veterinary encounters, health, daily exercise, and what kind of temperament the horse had so it could be paired with the right kind of ranch guest rider. Chase had backed everything up on digital spreadsheets, but Roy pretended not to know about that.

  Being a numbers-and-information guy himself, the paperwork didn’t faze Jackson. He was more than willing to spend his morning reading through each bible and working out which horses would load best together in each trailer. He also checked out their gear, halters, lead ropes, blankets, fly masks, and all the other stuff the horses had accumulated during their long stay at Lymond Ranch.

  Cauy did the actual physical checking of each horse and updated Jackson’s record keeping as he went. The barn would look empty when the horses were rehoused. Jackson would miss them, as would the remaining Lymond horses, who only numbered five.

  Cauy turned the last horse out into the meadow and came back to the barn, swinging the lead rope like a lasso in his hand.

  “They’re all good to go.”

  “Great.” Jackson checked the rope Cauy handed him and hung it back on its correct peg in the tack room. He liked to keep everything tidy in there. “I’m going to miss these guys.”

  “Me too.” Cauy leaned against the open doorframe. “I wasn’t so sure when Chase originally asked to borrow our barn, but the Morgan ranch hands were awesome at helping out around here and saved us months of extra work.”

  “Yeah, something our dad never bought into—the concept of sharing the load with the other ranchers in this valley,” Jackson said. “When I’m at the Morgan Ranch later today, I’ll remind Roy about taking us to the nex
t auction.”

  “Yeah, seeing as we claim to be a ranch, we really should get some more cattle.” Cauy nodded. “And maybe some ranch hands, now that we have all the newly renovated accommodation.”

  “All hat, no cattle?” Jackson grinned. “Ranch hands might be harder to get than the cows. There aren’t many guys around who want to bunk together without their families anymore.”

  “Which is why we need more housing.” Cauy turned toward the house. “Did you hear that the Cortez Ranch is for sale?”

  “Nope.” Jackson reviewed what he knew of the old ranching family. “Didn’t the daughter marry Adam Miller?”

  “Yeah, she did, but she died really young, and she was the Cortezes’ only child.”

  “That sucks.” Jackson grimaced. “Is that one of the ranches Chase was talking about that might end up being sold to a housing developer?”

  “I’d guess so. It’s pretty close to town.” Cauy led the way into the mudroom, where both he and Jackson removed their boots and heavy jackets and washed up. “It would be perfect for new housing.”

  “Except that it sticks right out into ranching country and would affect the three other ranches around it, including the Gardins.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Cauy paused at the kitchen door. “I’m going to try to find out how much the Cortez family want for the ranch.”

  “Why?” Jackson followed him through and received an enthusiastic reception from the rapidly growing puppies. “It doesn’t affect us.”

  “I just want to get some idea what it’s worth, and it does border our ranch right at the southern end.” Cauy went over to the refrigerator and opened it wide. “Do you want some of those sausages I cooked last night? We might as well eat them up.”

  “Daisy might know,” Jackson said slowly. “I bet Adam talked to the Cortez family about it.”

  “He might have.” Cauy didn’t sound particularly interested. “But I’d rather talk to them myself, so don’t use it as an excuse to go talk to Daisy.”

  Jackson scowled at his brother. For someone who didn’t talk much, his brother sometimes saw through him way too quickly.

  “I’ll leave it up to you, then.” Jackson tried to sound as unconcerned as Cauy, but he didn’t even fool himself. “Let me know what they say.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Daisy!” Auntie Rae dropped her overnight bag on the ground and opened her arms wide. “How are you, my darling girl?”

  Daisy ran straight into the hug and breathed in the well-remembered scent of lavender that always made her feel safe. For an absurd second, she wanted to snuggle into Rae’s shoulder and bawl like her five-year-old self. She recovered enough to pull back and grin at her aunt.

  “Auntie Rae. It’s so good to see you!”

  Her aunt had short hair dyed an improbable shade of yellow and wore bright scarlet lipstick. She tended toward pantsuits, frilly blouses, and lots of gold jewelry. She’d looked that way even when living on the ranch caring for six kids. She had style, and having none of her own, Daisy had always admired her. Rae had given up trying to get Daisy interested in fashion and let her find her own way. At the age of forty, she’d surprised everyone and gone off to marry a guy she’d met at a protest march in Sacramento.

  Daisy had visited Rae’s house and developed a great relationship with Rick, her new uncle, who did something in politics in the state capital that Rae never bothered to fully explain or understand. Daisy had been away from Morgan Valley last Christmas and hadn’t seen her beloved aunt for quite some time.

  Ben picked up Rae’s discarded bag and called out to her as she went into the house with Daisy. “Do you have the keys to the trunk, Auntie? I’ll get the rest of your things.”

  “Thanks, Ben. The keys are still in the car.” Rae paused, her finger in the air. “I think I left the engine running, so you might want to fix that.”

  Both Rae and her brother were terrible drivers and had been useless at teaching the kids. Adam had paid for his own lessons, and once he’d learned, he’d been the one to teach everyone else.

  “Is that you, Rae?” Daisy’s dad came to meet his sister when she walked into the house and gave her a big hug. “You do know it isn’t Christmas yet?”

  Rae patted his cheek. “I’m not going doolally, you silly old fool. Of course I know it’s not Christmas. There’s no snow, for one thing.”

  “And the tree’s not up,” Adam muttered, making Daisy want to laugh.

  “So what brings you here then?” her father asked, leading her through into the kitchen.

  “Give me a chance to get my breath, Jeff, and catch up with the kids, and I’ll tell you.” Rae patted his shoulder.

  “I’ve got to get back to work.” Daisy’s father wasn’t one for frivolous conversation. “Can it wait until this evening?”

  “Sure it can.” Not bothered by his gruffness, Rae waved him away. “Now off you guys go so I can spend some quality girl time with Daisy.”

  Daisy would rather Rae spilled the beans right away, but she knew her aunt well enough to understand she wouldn’t get a peep out of her until the social niceties had been observed. That meant Rae would expect a detailed history of all the families in Morgan Valley since her last visit and at least a summary of the most recent gossip and goings-on in town. Daisy was aware she had been a major disappointment to her aunt in the gathering of gossip but resolved to make up for it now.

  The lovely thing about Rae was that five minutes after arriving, she’d already slipped seamlessly into the routine of the household, as if she’d never left. She helped Daisy start dinner, made pastry for pie, and started a shopping list for the following week. She also kept up a constant stream of conversation about her life in Sacramento interspersed with questions about her old friends in town.

  “So the Cortez family is selling up?” Rae sipped her coffee and looked over at Daisy, who was just shutting the refrigerator door.

  “Yes, Adam said Carlos has some kind of cancer, and they want to move closer to a specialty hospital.” Daisy joined her aunt at the table and added cream to her own cup of coffee. “I don’t think it’s generally known that the Cortez family are leaving town, though, so keep it to yourself.”

  “Will do.” Rae sipped her coffee. “How’s Adam taking it?”

  “He’s not happy.” Daisy grimaced. “They offered to sell him the ranch, but he obviously can’t afford it.”

  “Good.” Rae nodded, making her earrings jangle. “The last thing Adam needs is the opportunity to create another shrine to Louisa.”

  Daisy blinked at her aunt. “You think he’s still too hung up on her?”

  “You know he is, Daisy, and taking on the Cortez place would make things worse. He needs a fresh start, not another attempt to stay stuck in the past.”

  “He asked me if I’d lend him the money,” Daisy confessed.

  “I hope you said no.”

  “I don’t have the money to lend him.”

  Rae sat back. “What happened to those savings accounts I helped you set up?”

  “Um . . .” Daisy gulped in air. She’d forgotten Rae had been privy to her financial decisions all those years ago. “Oh, that’s all tied up for years.”

  “No, it isn’t,” Rae retorted. “I know what you signed.”

  “How do you know I haven’t changed things up a little?” Daisy desperately hedged, aware that everything she’d liberated from the accounts had gone into seed money for the new start-up.

  “Because I know you, my love. I had to drag you kicking and screaming to set up the first lot of accounts. I doubt you went back voluntarily for more.”

  Daisy stared at her aunt, wishing she had Jackson’s talent for babbling on about nothing,

  Rae opened her eyes wide, her voice like honey, and sat forward.

  “You’re looking really guilty about something, Daisy Leanne Miller, so why don’t you just tell your Auntie Rae what the problem is?”

  Her aunt had always won using guile rather
than demanding stuff up-front like her dad.

  “I have a boyfriend!” Daisy blurted out the only thing that might divert her aunt from her financial inquisition.

  “You do?” Rae smiled. “So you’ve finally gotten over your first love? Maybe you could teach Adam a thing or two.”

  “What first love?” Daisy demanded.

  “Oh for goodness’ sake, Daisy, I saw the change in you when you came back from college that first year. I heard you talking on the phone at all hours of the night and I saw your face.” Rae sighed. “You were . . . glowing. And then something went wrong, and you closed yourself up and didn’t come home for almost two years. I had to come out to see you at Stanford.”

  “You never said anything to me.” Daisy folded her arms over her chest.

  “I tried, but you didn’t want to listen.” Rae grimaced. “It was the first time you’d ever shut me out. I didn’t know how to get through to you. I just hoped and prayed that time would heal you.” She hesitated. “What happened?”

  “My boyfriend, Brody, had a huge fight with his family, dropped out of college, and went into the army. Six months later, he died in Afghanistan. He’d just turned twenty.”

  Rae reached across the table and grabbed Daisy’s hand, her eyes filling with tears. “The poor boy . . . why didn’t you tell me?”

  “It didn’t seem right.” Daisy tried to remember why it had seemed so vital to keep her despair to herself at the time. “You’d just met Rick and were finally free of bringing up six kids. Dad wasn’t very interested in hearing about my boyfriends. I wanted you to be happy about your new life and not focused on me.”

  “That was very sweet of you, dear, but I’m a Miller and a woman. I can multitask right up there with the best of them.”

  “It seems stupid now,” Daisy confessed. “But at the time, the shock was so all-encompassing, I wasn’t functioning properly.” She met her aunt’s compassionate gaze. “I don’t think I’d keep it to myself now.”

  For a moment, they simply held hands and sat in silence until Rae stirred.