John leaned forward. He cupped his hands over mine, his warmth familiar and telling.
“You’re so much more than just the neighbor lady.” His smoldering voice lured me closer.
“You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
“Not while I’m still here,” he whispered.
The sound of Chloe’s flip-flops grew louder.
I pulled my hands away and sat back in my chair. Something inside urged me to hide my feelings. John’s gaze held my attention. I felt my face warm with embarrassment at the glint in his eye.
“Hey, Dad.” Chloe sucked in a deep breath of air and played with her silver Tiffany necklace. “Are you coming to career day?”
“Afraid not, you’re only allowed one customer, and it’s up to your granddad to hold down the fort now that he’s signed on.”
Chloe scrunched up her nose. “Okay.”
Winston towered in the doorway behind Chloe. She peered up at him. He snickered at her and rubbed the top of her head. “I think I can manage. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a school. And your daddy’s school was nothing like the fancy one you go to. The country ain’t nothing like the city.”
“Ain’t isn’t a word,” Chloe informed him. “My dad doesn’t let me say ain’t.”
“Well he’s a pretty smart man. You should listen to him,” Winston told her. “You too, Maggie Abernathy.”
Winston’s gaze roused my senses as he spoke to me. My cheeks smoldered like midnight coals, his voice smooth as velvet. John laughed. Chloe looked from me to her father then to her granddad. Intimidated by his presence, I sat frozen. What was I supposed to say to that? What did he know? What had he heard? Shit, he was from the same planet that beamed my mother to this world.
Chloe trotted off.
My sweaty palms stuck to the table as I pried myself up from the dining room chair. “Well, I really should be going.”
“Don’t leave on my account,” Winston said.
I forced a smile and tucked my hair behind my ears. “Really, I’ve got some school work to finish.”
Winston crossed his arms atop his chest just like John. He squinted in my direction, deep thought reflected in his eyes.
My insides squirmed.
“I’ll see you out,” John said.
“I’m sure I’ll see you later,” I said to Winston. “You did a great job on the project. The students will love it. They’ll love hearing your stories.”
He gave me a nod as I exited the room. He unnerved me more than his son.
John held the door for me as I left. “Don’t mind him. He’s just a meddling parent. He doesn’t mean any harm.”
“What did you tell him?” I asked as John followed me out.
“Not much, just that you’re important.”
“Important?”
“Yeah, you know, that you feel like family.”
A thin smile crossed my lips. “Yeah, you do, too,” I mumbled.
John strolled beside me as I meandered back to my house.
“Does Chloe know how you feel about me?” I asked, holding his stare.
He glanced down. “I haven’t said anything. I don’t think so. Why?”
“I just don’t want her to get hurt.” I didn’t want anyone to get hurt, most of all, me. John’s arm brushed up against me, and our eyes locked.
“You can’t live life trying to prevent every bruise, cut or heartache. It doesn’t work that way. Getting thrown from the horse can make you a better rider.”
I knew he was right, but I stifled my expression.
“You never know, you just might find happiness at the end of a rainbow or in the mountains of Montana. I’m trying to be patient,” John said, leading me home.
I stood against the pillar at the top of the steps, avoiding eye contact. My insides ached. “I know,” I whispered.
John patted the seat next to him on the swing, and I joined him. He scooted closer then put his arm around me. His shoulder made the perfect headrest.
“I really should finish that school work,” I said.
“When my mom died, my dad shut out the world. Don’t shut out the world.”
Raw emotion stung the back of my throat. “I don’t want to shut out the world,” I said.
John sighed.
“I just don’t know what to do. What’s right? What’s wrong? I don’t know.” Closing my eyes, I imagined myself under the blue Montana sky.
“Maybe it’s not about knowing what to do. Maybe it’s about following your heart,” John whispered.
Chapter 28
Anxious to hear about Chloe’s career fair, I rushed home. Her presence had been scarce with Winston around. All day, I found myself stopping in the middle of things just wondering what was going on at John’s house. I couldn’t finish a task without distraction. John’s words wafted through my head and tugged at my heart. Pulling into the driveway, I peered over to Chloe’s house. Loud eruptions of laughter came from their backyard as I stepped out of the car.
Bones jumped on me the second I was inside the house. I scowled at him as he knocked me backward.
“Get down,” I growled at him then he nudged the screen door open with his stubby nose. “Hey, hey, hey,” I said. “Stay.”
He stopped momentarily then gave the door a final thrust and out he went.
I dropped my bag in the foyer and slung my purse into the messy front closet. “Crap,” I said under my breath. Scurrying out the front door, I chased after my little runaway.
“Bones,” I called, my voice growing louder. “Bones, where’d you go?” I rounded the side of the house. The back gate was closed.
Chloe’s laughter cut the air like a knife.
Winston came around the corner with Bones under his arm. Chloe followed behind.
“Sorry about that,” I said.
“No need to be sorry. It seems that this guy likes my granddaughter.”
Chloe smiled up at her granddad.
“That he does,” I said. “Here, let me get the gate.”
Chloe led the way to my backyard. Bones’ tongue waggled as he panted. His stumpy legs dangled against Winston’s muscular build. He wiggled free as his paws hit solid ground.
“Get me.” Chloe egged Bones on. She darted back and forth across the yard.
I picked up a faded tennis ball and lobbed it past both of them.
Bones bolted, snatched it up, and Chloe tumbled into the grass after tripping over him.
“That’s quite some arm,” Winston said, tucking his fingers into his front pockets.
His presence seemed less intimidating today. I stared at him. His stature, majestic, rugged, and strong, like a human mountain. Feeling more at ease, I crossed my arms and focused on Chloe and Bones’ tug-of-war game.
“Chloe can’t stop talking about you,” Winston said.
“Kids are like that.” I smiled. “Watch the flowers,” I called as Chloe and Bones wrestled near the planters.
“Sure thing,” Chloe shouted back. She stole the ball from Bones and threw it under the Dogwood tree. Chloe cackled as Bones’ ran under the low branches to their hiding place. Bones grabbed the ball and plopped down.
Chloe knelt in front of the tree. “Come on out, boy.” She crouched lower. “Come on. I’ll rub your belly.”
Bones slunk out after hearing Chloe’s enticing request, then he rolled over on his back in front of her.
“How did it go today?” I asked.
“I think I did okay,” Winston replied.
Chloe’s gaze met mine for a brief moment. “You were better than okay! You were the most awesome person there. Everyone wanted to be a rancher after talking to you except Barnyard and her stupid BFF,” Chloe said. “Oh and those geeky boys that want to design video games. That doesn’t sound like much fun to me.”
“Me neither,” I concurred. “Would you like to sit?” I invited Winston to the patio.
He sat in the chaise lounge next to me. His long le
gs hung off the end of the chair, his pointed cowboy boots like jagged peaks grazing the sky. The doors behind us jiggled.
I glanced over my shoulder. “Hi, Mom.”
Chloe stood and ran toward Glad.
“This was the best day ever,” Chloe said, hugging Mom. “Except for that part when Jillie Sander’s grandma started flirting with grandpa.”
I smiled.
Winston greeted my mom.
“Stay put.” She scooted a chair over and sat next to me.
“Yeah, she was something else,” he responded, shaking his head. “The women around here are something.”
I glanced Mom’s way, wondering if we were included in that demographic.
Winston’s lip curled when he caught my jeer.
“Are they now?” she jested.
Winston chuckled. “No wonder my boy is having such a hard time making up his mind.”
There it was, a ray of hope, a shred of insight that he and Chloe just might not move. I held my breath. I glanced over to my mother who read my face with impeccable timing.
“So, John’s not sure he’s ready to move to Montana? He’s thinking about sticking it out here in the Midwest?”
I studied Chloe’s profile as she rubbed Bones’ belly in the shaggy grass that needed to be mowed. My yard went from waking up to overgrown in a matter of days.
Winston cleared his throat.
I focused on Chloe not wanting to seem overly eager with Winston’s nugget of insight.
“I don’t think it’s for me to say, but there’s something here that’s caught his attention. Sure wish he’d get on the stick and come home. You know, I used to be a city boy, but the mountains called to me. They’d whisper to me in the midnight hours and that’s all I dreamed of.”
I gazed into Winston’s face. His mind was in Montana, but his body was in Michigan. I desperately wanted to ask about his wife, but couldn’t bring myself to because it seemed like prying.
“It must be beautiful there,” Mom commented.
“It’s beautiful, all right, and can be mighty tough at times.”
Melancholy washed over his expression. I pictured him riding with the herd through harsh weather.
“I imagine so,” Mom said. “Especially raising a teenager on your own.”
John’s mom had passed when he was young. I waited for the story. I wanted the story. I needed the whole story.
Winston sighed. I expected resistance, but when I acknowledged his soft gaze, his jaw softened as well.
“Yeah, that was a tough time. John was in high school when we lost his mother …” His voice trailed off.
“I’m so sorry,” I said.
They had something in common that I couldn’t sympathize with, but could only surmise the devastation from losing a spouse. I wondered how that grief measured up to losing one in a divorce. A loss was a loss despite circumstance.
“It’s okay, darlin’, but I appreciate your kindness. I can see how my boy and Chloe are so fond of you.”
Bones sauntered in-between our chairs. Chloe stood up, stretched, then did two cartwheels in our direction.
“Hey, Grandpa, what’s for dinner?” she asked.
Winston ran his hand through his white hair. “I’m afraid I’m not much of a chef, little darlin’.” He checked his watch. “And your dad’s not due home for an hour or so.
In true Glad fashion, she chimed in. “We have a grill right here. We could cook something up and have it ready by the time John gets home. Maggie and I could use some grub, too.”
Winston laughed. “I can grill a mean steak.”
“Then steak it is,” Mom said. “I’ll go to the market and we’ll get started.”
Chloe sat on her grandfather’s lap, admiring his cowboy stature. Bones licked her toes, and I wondered how Mom was able to mastermind an impromptu dinner probably more for my sake than any other reason. I smiled, then reached over to pat her knee.
“Grandpa, are you really going to make steak?”
“Sure am,” he replied.
Winston’s eyes connected with my mother’s then he glanced over to me. “Couldn’t let these two go hungry now, could we? Seems like they’ve done a lot for you. It’s the least I can do to repay their generosity.”
Chloe giggled.
“Plus you need to get some meat on your bones. You’re looking a little scrawny, runt. You must get that from your momma,” Winston said, trying to pinch her belly. “What do you say we go with Glad to the store, help her shop, and get out of Maggie’s hair for a few minutes since she’s been rustling kids all day. I imagine that’s more difficult than roping the White Park Cattle we got back on the ranch.”
“White Park Cattle?” They sounded mysterious.
“There isn’t anything like them for miles. They have a lot of history.”
Soft lines appeared at the corners of Winston’s eyes.
I smiled at the analogy, his language, and the love for his animals.
Transfixed by her grandfather’s voice, Chloe’s eyes grew wide and bright as she took him in like a summer breeze.
Bones stared up at me then put his paws on the edge of the lounge chair. His tongue waggled and he gave a grunt as if to say he wanted steak, too.
I patted his beasty head then stood up.
“Can we get cake at the store? That will fatten me up,” Chloe claimed.
Winston patted his slim belly. “Maybe it will fatten me up, too. All this grandpa stuff is making me hungry.”
Chloe climbed down from her Grandpa’s lap and gestured for Bones to follow her into the house. I followed. Mom and Winston discussed a shopping list, more like Mom listed what we needed and Winston listened, and nodded.
“Your grandpa is a nice man,” I said. Two days ago I was unsure about his gruff exterior. He and John probably had more in common than I realized.
Chloe’s slender fingers warmed my hand. She stared up into my face. Hints of her daddy’s personality resonated in her green irises.
Chapter 29
I sat at my desk and made a list of things to do before the school year ended. My chest tightened. “God, I hate this time of year,” I muttered to myself, running my hand through my hair. I leaned back and closed my eyes to escape just for a moment. Visions of green valleys washed across the mountains in my mind. Clear and beautiful. Buttercup flowers danced with the wind that whisked puffy white clouds overhead. I could almost smell Winston’s country. His words stuck in my mind like pinesap on a pair of jeans after climbing a gnarly tree. He’d said when he slept that Montana whispered in his ear. Those were powerful words.
A knock at the door brought me back to reality, but visions of God’s country littered my mind with beautiful imprints. It was Winston.
“Hi, there,” I said, curious about his presence.
“Sorry, to interrupt, but your mom asked me to find you. She’s in the kitchen and was wondering if you could help her.”
I smiled. Mom’s motives were clearly not a cry for help in the kitchen, more like a subtle hint of meddling that only a daughter could detect and hopefully deflect.
Winston inspected the top of my desk.
“You can come look if you want,” I said, spreading out the photographs of my cows.
His cowboy boots treaded softly on the wooden floor, his face somehow gentler as his gaze scanned my work driven by a fascination with cows, who knew? Some of which had sprouted wings during their ordinary lives milling around the fields. I know I wanted wings.
“Thought you were a teacher?” His eyes met mine.
“This is what I do in my spare time. Keeps me sane.” I counted at least thirty finished hand-colored photos. When did I have time? There were advantages to being a hermit. I thought about Fletcher then disregarded the interest. My brow furrowed as I tucked my hands in the back pockets of my jeans. There was nothing there, just some photographer, the guy that slept with Brook wedging that final spike of deceit between Brook and John. I wished I wou
ld’ve known, but then again, Chicago would’ve been a whole different ball of wax covered in tar and feathers, if I had. Sending the belt and jewelry back to Fletcher Thompson was at the top of my to-do list.
“You’re very talented. I’m partial to cattle myself.” Winston picked up a black-and-white matte photo of three cows munching hay as they stood by a rickety trough. “Guess we got something in common, little lady.”
“Guess we do,” I said, thinking we had more than that in common and by the glint in his eye he did, too. He sure was tall. He seemed comfortable hanging out with my mom and me, and that made my heart happy. I snickered, realizing that Chloe had somehow managed to bring another person into my life, another missing link. “Probably should go help my mom. You never know what she’s up to. You can make yourself comfortable if you’d like.”
“If it’s okay with you, I just as soon come back into the kitchen.” Winston rubbed his whiskery chin then let his green eyes connect with mine. “I have to admit, we don’t get many ladies around the ranch.”
Smiling, I nodded. I enjoyed being the hangout house when Bradley was younger and although the players had changed, warm fuzzy feelings filled me. “You’re welcome anytime.”
“Chloe was right.”
“Right about what?” I rearranged the photos and logged off the computer.
“What a nice lady you are. Who else would let a fellow like me hang around?”
Winston was more than just some fellow. He was John’s dad. His eyes flickered, and for a moment, I saw my own father standing there before me giving me a sly grin. “Well, we’ll see about that. You have some cooking to do,” I said. “It’s not every day I have a cowboy show up on my doorstep willing to grill me a steak.”
Winston chuckled. “Don’t go holding your breath. It’s just a slab of beef.”
“Can I see your boots?” I asked, intrigued by the leather design creeping out beneath the hem of his Levis.
Taking in his funny expression, I grinned.
“I probably sound like one of Chloe’s friend’s at the career fair, but I have to see them,” I said. He lifted his faded blue jean pant leg. “Fancy. Very nice.”
“They’re my traveling boots. My work boots are back home. They’re not so fancy. Thought mud and manure might not bode well for Chloe since she was having troubles already.”
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