Sweet Talking Rancher

by Kate Pearce

  “Did Faith get held up at work?” his mom called out to him as she took her place at the foot of the table.

  “Yeah, she sent her apologies. She might not be able to make it,” Danny replied.

  “That’s a shame. I was looking forward to talking to her.” Leanne smiled sympathetically before turning to Ellie, who sat on her right.

  “Why did Mom invite Faith?” Evan asked Danny. “Like, she’s not family or anything.”

  Danny shrugged. “How should I know?”

  “You didn’t ask her to?”

  “Why would I?” Danny met his brother’s gaze.

  “Because you’re totally gone on her?” Evan rolled his eyes. “Maybe she didn’t come because she knew everyone else wouldn’t be pleased to see her.”

  “Like you, you mean?”

  “I like her, but as I told her it doesn’t mean I like her messing with your head again.”

  “You told her that? To her face?” Danny asked.

  “You’re my favorite brother.” Evan frowned. “Of course I did.”

  “You thought it was okay to interfere in my relationship with her?”

  “Whoa.” Evan held up a hand. “Back off, Bro. What relationship? I did it for your own good.”

  “Like you’d know what was best for me?” Danny was only aware that his voice had risen when he realized the whole table had gone quiet. “You know nothing, Evan.”

  “I know you’re keeping secrets from this family and that Faith walked out on you. Isn’t that enough?” Evan wasn’t backing down.

  “You also know why Faith did that, so maybe you should shut the hell up right now before you say something you shouldn’t,” Danny snapped. “Grow up, Evan. This isn’t some stupid TV drama. It’s my goddam life!”

  “Evan . . .” Their mother attempted to intervene. “I don’t think this is the time or the place for this, do you?”

  “Why not?” Evan looked around the table. “We’re all here. Maybe it’s time to talk about why you’re all suddenly okay with Faith hanging around Danny after everything she did to him? I remember how gutted he was. Don’t you? Like he’d lost his way? And you’re all okay about her doing that to him again?” He slapped the table with his palm. “Come on!”

  Something inside Danny shifted and he rose to his feet, his gaze meeting his father’s, who gave him an imperceptible nod.

  “Maybe Evan’s got a point and you should all know the truth about why Faith left.”

  “You don’t owe anyone an explanation, Danny.” Adam immediately jumped to his defense.

  “Thanks, but I can’t sit here and let you all think badly of Faith anymore.” He took a steadying breath. “We ran away to Vegas to get married because she was pregnant. We didn’t realize we were too young to do that without parental consent. While we were there, Faith went into premature labor and I had to call her parents. She ended up in the hospital having an emergency caesarian, went into a coma after the birth, and almost died. Meanwhile, Dad arrived, I was bundled back home like I didn’t matter, and Faith’s parents made some decisions about the baby that neither of us had any control over.”

  He studied the horrified faces of his audience.

  “Part of the deal was that if Faith wanted her parents to support her then she couldn’t come home until she’d at least qualified. As it turned out she didn’t come home until her parents needed her here because she didn’t want to upset my life again.” He stared down at Evan. “So, if any of you want to talk shit about Faith, come and talk to me, okay?”

  Leanne raised her hand. “We have a grandchild?”

  Danny nodded. “Yup, his name’s Marcus, unless they changed it, which is highly likely. He’s seventeen and he lives on the East Coast with his new family.”

  “Have you met him?”

  “No, and we don’t intend to. He’s happy, and he has parents who love him. What would happen if we turned up now and disrupted his life for no purpose?”

  “But he’s your kid,” Kaiden said slowly. “Don’t you think he has a right to know where he came from?”

  “If that’s something he wants to find out when he’s older, he can do that,” Danny said. “But until then, I think he deserves to live his life in peace, okay?”

  There was a lot of consternation on some of the faces, but he got that. He felt it himself.

  “Did you know?” His mom had now turned his attention to her ex-husband.

  “I knew the basics.” Jeff shrugged. “I was the one who had to go all the way to Vegas to bring Danny home. He was in a terrible state. I did what the McDonalds asked me to do, brought him safely back here, and kept his secrets.”

  “And you never bothered to tell me?” Leanne asked.

  Jeff held her gaze. “I promised Danny and the McDonalds I’d keep my mouth shut and I have. Not that I wanted to—but a promise is a promise.” He took a sip of water. “I saw the boy once or twice.”

  Danny stared at his father. “You did? Ron McDonald said he didn’t tell you.”

  “He didn’t, and I certainly didn’t go looking for him.” He shrugged. “The mother came up to me once at one of the 4-H events and thanked me. I had no idea what she was talking about at first and almost told her to back off until the penny dropped. Her kid looked just like you, Son, so I had no reason to doubt her story. She seemed nice if a bit overemotional.”

  “I thought you said they lived on the East Coast, Danny?” His mother frowned.

  “They do now,” Danny confirmed, and held up his hand before his father could speak. “I don’t want to know any names, okay? If you two want to discuss this, can you do it after we eat? All this good food is going cold and we’re here to celebrate Ellie, Daisy, and Jackson, not rake over old family scandals.”

  “Yes, let’s eat.” As usual Adam came to his rescue. “Dad, do you want to say a quick prayer?”

  * * *

  Much later, Danny went out to the barn to make sure Roman had secured his calf safely for the night. He tended to get excited and forget to shut the gate before he left. Danny also needed a moment of peace. Between the deafening silence from Faith and the whole dragging out of his private life into the family spotlight he was off-kilter. No one had asked him anything about Faith or Marcus after they’d eaten, which he’d appreciated. Evan had tried to apologize, which Danny respected, but he wasn’t ready to forgive him just yet. Evan’s ability to just blurt stuff out was legendary, but it sure wasn’t helpful and he was way too old to get away with it.

  He checked Applejack’s foreleg and reminded himself to give Andy a call to come and put the regular horseshoe back on. He spent a while feeding apple cores to his horse as the solid stillness of the night curled around him. The sigh of the wind in the pine trees, the occasional shifting of a horse’s hoof against the concrete barn floor, and the scrabbling of the rodents along the draining gutters was a well-loved rhythm that somehow soothed him.

  He wasn’t aware exactly when his mother appeared because she didn’t say anything but simply joined him staring out at the star-filled sky. Eventually she did look up at him.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m hanging in there.”

  “I wish I’d known sooner about what you and Faith went through.”

  “You couldn’t have done anything.”

  “I could’ve been there for you—stood up to the McDonalds because I know what Ron’s like, argued that you and Faith should be given the chance to make your own decisions together when she got well again.”

  Danny shrugged. “They didn’t know if she would survive. She was in a coma.”

  “Then they should’ve left the decision up to you.”

  “I would’ve kept him,” Danny said. “That was the whole point of going to Vegas in the first place. I thought that if Faith and I were married no one would be able to take our kid away from us.”

  “It was a good plan.” His mom nodded. “It’s a shame it didn’t work out.”

  “It was a terrible pl
an.” Danny half smiled. “I panicked. Faith told me I was making things worse and then . . . when she got sick, I felt I’d really screwed everything up forever.”

  “You can’t predict what life is going to throw at you, Danny. Sometimes you just have to take the knocks, pick yourself up, and move forward.” Leanne nudged him. “Ask me how I know.”

  “But you got your happy ending with Declan, and now you and Dad are getting on fine, right?”

  “Yes, because I didn’t give up.”

  Danny shook his head. “Faith’s decided everything was her fault and that she doesn’t deserve forgiveness. I’ve tried to tell her that’s not true, but she doesn’t want to listen.”

  “She sounds just like me when I met Declan,” Leanne said. “I blamed myself for everything that went wrong between me and Jeff. I didn’t think I deserved to be happy, let alone be loved by a decent man like Declan. I pushed him away for years.”

  “I guess Faith shoved everything into a box and tried to forget about it, but coming back here and facing me suddenly made it hard to keep the lid on everything.”

  “I think you’re right,” Leanne said. “You’re the kind of person to work things through, but not everyone can do that. I certainly couldn’t.”

  “What made you change your mind?” Danny asked, his gaze on the crescent moon and the distant peaks of the Sierra Nevadas. “How did you forgive yourself?”

  “Time.” She shrugged. “A growing acceptance of who I was, what I wanted to be in the future, and the solid support of a man who wouldn’t let me shoulder all the blame. Declan had been there with the death of his only son. He knew what I needed.”

  “Which was?”

  “One, to forgive myself, and two, Declan’s unconditional acceptance and love. The first was up to me, the second came from him. Eventually, I began to believe he meant it and that I was worthy of that love.”

  Danny considered her words for a long while. “That’s what I want to do for Faith.”

  She elbowed him in the side. “Then why are you standing here talking to me? Go and tell her.”

  * * *

  “Aren’t you supposed to be at that Miller thing?” Dave asked from his position on the couch.

  “I decided not to go.” Faith ate another handful of chips from the bag. “I didn’t feel up to dealing with all the Millers at once.”

  “Understandable.” Dave yawned until his jaw cracked.

  They had the TV on, but neither of them was really watching. It occurred to Faith that her brother looked almost as miserable as she did.

  “Why aren’t you out and about yourself?” Faith asked. “It’s the weekend.”

  Dave shrugged. “I thought you were going out, so I asked someone over.”

  “You can still do that. I can go up to my room,” Faith said encouragingly.

  “He couldn’t come anyway.”

  “Was that the phone call you had yesterday?” Faith ate more chips.

  “Yeah, usually his grandmother goes to play bridge tonight, but it was called off, so he had to stay home.”

  “That’s a shame.” Faith studied her brother. “You could go over there.”

  “I’m always over there.” Dave hesitated. “He thought it might be a good idea to tell her about us.”

  “Ah, okay.” Faith nodded. “I can see why he might want to do that alone.” She gestured at his phone. “Are you expecting him to call you?”

  “I guess.” Dave shifted restlessly against his pillows. “I don’t think I’ll be able to settle down and do anything until he does.”

  “I’m sure it will be fine—”

  Even as she spoke, Dave’s phone beeped, and he held it up to his ear. “Hey.” He nodded. “Okay, I’ll see you in ten.” He ended the call and looked over at Faith. “He’s coming over.”

  “How did he sound?”

  “His usual charming self.”

  “That’s good, right?” Faith reluctantly closed the bag of chips. “I’ll get out of your way.”

  “Can you stay until he gets here?”

  “If you like.” Faith subsided into the couch, aware that she was in her jammies and hadn’t washed her hair that morning. But it wasn’t as if Dr. Tio would be looking at her anyway. “Shall I make some coffee?”

  “I’ll get on that. I need to do something.” Dave shot to his feet and dusted down his Cheetos-coated T-shirt. “Or maybe I should take a quick shower.”

  “How about you do that, and I’ll deal with the coffee?” Faith offered.

  If she could do one thing in her life to make someone else’s happy-ever-after come true she was all for it.

  “Okay, I’ll be quick.” Dave shoved a hand through his hair. “Just pretend everything’s normal if he gets here early, okay?”

  Faith had never seen her brother so flustered and shut down her usual smart sisterly remarks. “Sure.”

  She’d barely had time to make the coffee before the doorbell rang and she went out to answer it. Dr. Tio looked like he’d run all the way from his house in town. His smile faltered slightly as he looked hopefully over her shoulder.

  “Hi! Is Dave in?”

  Faith had barely stepped aside to let him in when Dave came thundering down the stairs. Even as Faith was shutting the door, her brother and Tio were hugging things out, which made her want to cry stupid happy tears. She didn’t say a word as they disappeared toward the back of the house where, she assumed, they wanted some privacy.

  The sound of another truck pulling up made her hesitate by the front door. Had Tio’s grandmother come after him? It seemed somewhat unlikely. She cautiously opened the door again and saw Danny coming toward her, his expression so serious that she considered backing up and pretending she wasn’t home.

  He looked up and saw her silhouetted against the light of the house and went still.

  “Hey.” He gestured at the steps. “Can I come up?”

  Faith nodded, turned on her heel, and left the door wide open for him. She went into the kitchen and stood by the coffee maker while she tried to collect her scrambled thoughts. He came in, took his Stetson off, and placed it carefully on the countertop.

  “How are you doing?” Danny asked.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t come to the dinner tonight,” Faith said. “I just couldn’t . . . face everyone.”

  “That’s not like you.”

  She shrugged. “I guess I’m feeling a tad vulnerable right now.”

  “Well, you didn’t miss much,” Danny said. “Daisy’s sold her company and she’s now a multimillionaire. Jackson and Cauy sold the buried coins from Morganville Mine and made a fortune. And I got mad at Evan and told everyone what really went down in Vegas.” He paused. “I also told them that if they had any questions, they should talk to me and not you.”

  Faith blinked and studied the hard set of his jaw.

  “You look just like your father right now.”

  “Maybe it was time to show my Jeff side. Whatever happens I never want you to feel like you can’t live in your own hometown.”

  “Thanks for the heads-up.” Faith tried to gauge how she thought about all the Millers knowing about Marcus and couldn’t quite get her head around it. “I appreciate it.”

  He stared at her for a long minute and reached for his hat. “I guess I should let you get on—”

  “No! I mean, would you like some coffee?” Faith blurted out. She really wasn’t at her best right now, but she’d have to bumble through. “I just made it.”

  “You sure about that?”

  “It’s definitely fresh.”

  He sighed and let go of his hat. “That’s not what I meant, but why not? I didn’t get any at home because I didn’t want to hang around.”

  Faith poured two mugs and added cream and sugar to hers, sugar to Danny’s, and slid the mug across the countertop to him.

  “Thanks.” He took a sip and then set it back down. “The thing is—”

  The doorbell rang.

  Faith gave hi
m a distracted look over her shoulder as she headed toward the hall. “I just need to check who this is.” Maybe Tio’s grandmother really had come after him.

  She opened the door and frowned.

  “Callie?”

  “Oh, thank God you’re here, Faith.” Callie swept into the house. “I was so afraid you wouldn’t be home, or that I’d get the wrong house. It’s so dark out here and the roads . . .” She stopped to unwrap a scarf from around her neck. Her short blond hair was in disarray and her expression tragic. “Wow, what a beautiful house.”

  “Thank you,” Faith said. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Can we go through to the kitchen? I’m dying for a cup of coffee.” Callie headed off down the hallway. “I’m so sorry to intrude like this, but I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “Callie . . .” Faith followed her old colleague and her ex-husband’s new wife into the kitchen where Danny sat at the countertop. “I still don’t know why you’re here.”

  Callie pulled up short. “Oh, God, I didn’t realize you had a visitor.”

  Danny held up a hand. “Don’t mind me. I’ll be out of here as soon as Faith asks me to go.”

  “Don’t go.” Faith looked at him and then back at Callie. “I’m not comfortable with you being here at all.”

  “But you’re the only person who can talk some sense into Brandon!”

  “I’ve already told him that I want nothing to do with this,” Faith said.

  “He told you? He expected you to help him?” Callie snorted. “That’s just so typical!”

  The doorbell rang again, and Danny slid off his stool. “I’ll get it.”

  “Don’t—” Faith held out her hand, but it was too late; he’d already gone. Somehow, she wasn’t surprised when he reappeared with Brandon in tow.

  Brandon went straight to Callie. “Why the hell did you come here? What were you trying to achieve?”

  “I was trying to make some sense out of your stupid decision to divorce me!” Callie fired back. “I thought that Faith might help me explain to you why me being pregnant doesn’t have to be a deal breaker!”

  “Faith doesn’t want to be involved!” Brandon fired back.