But as good as it felt to be on a horse’s back, she couldn’t help but flashback on that awful day six years ago. Given her advanced pregnancy, she had no business riding Alice Cooper, but she’d spent so many years on a horse, and on her personal mare specifically, riding was like breathing.
The day had started out well. The sun was full and bright, but the typical sweltering Texas temperatures hadn’t yet arrived. The grass had just begun to turn green. Tiny leaves were pushing their way out of tree limbs. She and new husband, Drake, were spending the weekend with her parents. She’d awakened that morning rested but restless. The Dallas Herald newspaper arrived on her parents’ doorstep delivering a two-page spread on the society wedding of Mitch Landry to Joanna St. Claire. Although she’d known of the wedding plans from Mitch’s own mouth, the reality of the situation spelled out for her in color pictures and detailed descriptions sent her fleeing to where she always found her comfort…riding and her beloved Alice Cooper. AC greeted her with a toss of her head and a loud neigh, seemingly as restless as Olivia herself.
So far, her pregnancy had been unremarkable. No hint of any problems other than some light spotting early in the first trimester, but her doctors had assured her there was nothing to worry about. As she’d stroked AC’s nose and neck, Olivia told herself that between being a new mother, a new wife and running her gym business, her opportunities for riding would be few and far between. She wasn’t due to deliver for another ten weeks. She needed the peace and comfort that riding always gave her.
After saddling her racer, Olivia had used a small ladder to help propel her onto the horse’s back. At a little over seven months pregnant, swinging into the saddle using a stirrup was out of the question. Nudging Alice Cooper forward with her knees and a click of her tongue, they’d charged from the barn into the open pasture. Her pregnant belly poked over the saddle’s horn, making the ride uncomfortable at times, but the sheer joy and mental high she got from being out in fresh air—and as far away from the newspaper reports of Mitch’s wedding as she could get—offset any minor physical discomfort.
About forty minutes after she’d ridden out, she turned into a pasture Travis had added to his holdings. She’d never been on that piece of land and should have been more cautious, but she’d finally lost a battle with her emotions and tears filled her eyes. Blurry-eyed, she failed to see the uneven ground and numerous holes. She kicked AC into a gallop, sending them both charging across the unfamiliar landscape. Five minutes into the run, AC’s front leg dropped into a deep hole, causing the horse to stumble and tossing Olivia over the horse’s head and onto her swollen abdomen. Alice Cooper screamed in pain. Olivia looked on in horror as her beloved mare tried to stand on a broken front leg. The rest of the day was pretty much a blur. The phone call to Drake. The ambulance arriving to transport her to the hospital. The pain in AC’s eyes just before Travis was forced to put her down.
Her breath skipped at the memory. A blanket of guilt settled over heart.
“Hey, pokey. Get a move on,” Mitch called over his shoulder.
“Yeah, pokey,” Adam parroted.
Olivia’s vision focused on her son’s shinning face. She pushed her lips up into a smile. “What’d you call me?”
Adam threw his head back against Mitch’s chest and giggled hysterically.
“Everything okay with Lady Belle?” Mitch asked as he circled back into the barnyard. “She not the spunkiest mare I own, but usually she’s faster than this.”
Olivia shook her head. “No, no. Everything’s fine. I was just thinking.”
Adam looked over his shoulder at Mitch. “She thinks a lot.”
Giving Adam a very serious look, Mitch nodded. “I see.” He looked at Olivia. “Do try to keep up with the rest of us. I realize you haven’t ridden in this pasture before, but I don’t have time to keep circling back to check on you.”
Heat climbed into Olivia’s cheeks. She nodded. With that, Mitch turned his horse and cantered toward the rear of the herd of slow-moving cattle.
The sound of hooves beating on dirt reached her ears just before Sylvia Landry rode up beside her.
“Good morning, Olivia.”
Olivia smiled at the older woman. “Morning, Sylvia. I see you’re up with us early birds this morning.”
The older woman shook her head with a chuckle. “Robert loves getting out there with his sons to move the cattle so I told him I’d ride over this morning.”
Olivia looked around. “I didn’t see Caleb. Is he home from college?”
“No. I don’t know what I was thinking. It’s just Mitch out there.”
Olivia knew Sylvia was remembering the days with her husband working alongside James and Mitch before James’s death. The two women began walking their horses side by side.
“I would have liked to see Caleb. It’s been a long time.”
“Yes, it has.” The older woman paced her horse to match Olivia’s speed. “It’s good to see you on a horse again, dear. You doing okay?”
Olivia nodded then drew in a shaky breath. “So far, so good. I admit my heart’s racing just a tad.” She patted Lady Belle’s neck. “But I’m being well taken care of this morning.”
“Lady Belle is a good horse. You pick her?”
“Nope. Hobbs.”
Sylvia nodded. “Good choice.”
They rode in silence for a moment, both of them ignoring the elephant in the room, so to speak.
Finally, Sylvia sighed. “Okay, you haven’t volunteered any information, so I guess I have to ask. What happened after I left last night?”
“Nothing. Mitch locked himself in his study and we didn’t see him the rest of the night. I figured he’d called y’all.”
She snorted. “Oh yeah, he called. Must have left ten different messages but…” Sylvia caught Olivia’s gaze. “This isn’t our story to tell him. You have to be the one to explain about the accident and Adam’s birth. Robert and I can’t keep avoiding our son.”
Mitch’s whistle drew her eyes toward him. A calf had decided to make a run for it. Mitch signaled and one of the ranch hands broke off and raced after the small black calf. Within moments, the cowboy had the little guy rounded up and reunited with his bawling mother. If she’d had any remaining questions about allowing Adam to come along today to move cattle, they were answered by the whoop and grin on his face right now. She couldn’t hear the conversation, but Adam appeared to be talking non-stop to Mitch, who didn’t show the least bit of annoyance, more like the patience of Job.
Olivia drew in the smell of horseflesh, dirt and cattle. The combination of scents took her back to her earlier life of rodeos, barrel racing and cowboys. Until today, she hadn’t missed those days, but a wave of nostalgia swept through her and elicited a loud sigh. She looked back at Sylvia. “I’m sorry you got caught in the middle of this mess.” She shook her head. “My mother should never have called you that night. But since we were all convinced Adam wouldn’t make it to morning, she thought you should meet him. She meant well, but it sure has put you in a rough situation with Mitch. I’ve always been bothered by that.”
“I thank God every day that not only did Adam live, but that you’ve allowed us to be a part of his life. I agree this is a bad situation all around. But talk to Mitch. You two have got to figure out how you’re going to make this shared parenthood work.”
The idea of sharing her son with Mitch made Olivia feel slightly queasy. She swallowed against the rising nausea and nodded. “I will. Soon. I promise.”
Three days of early mornings and hard ranch work had finally taken their toll on her son.
“Adam. Sit up and eat your dinner,” Olivia said as an exhausted Adam slumped in his chair.
Getting him to bed each night had been easy. Keeping him awake for dinner and baths was the challenge. But still, she couldn’t remember ever seeing Adam so happy. He mimicked Mitch in dress, attitude and stand.
Last night at supper, he’d complained when he’d been given milk to d
rink while Mitch drank tea. Mitch had stood, poured his tea in the sink and refilled his glass with milk. Olivia’s heart had softened at Mitch’s action. So far, nothing she’d said or done had softened Mitch toward her. Around their son, Mitch smiled and chatted, putting on a good front, but outside Adam’s presence, Mitch hadn’t spoken to Olivia.
The tension between them was palpable. Olivia knew she couldn’t let this go on. Time had come to open up the can of worms known as their past.
Adam propped his elbow on the table and his head in his hand, holding his face a scant few inches from plate. “I am sitting up.”
His little-boy whine screamed overtiredness. Olivia wondered if she’d be able to keep him awake long enough to take a bath. His eyes slid shut. His head swayed dangerously close to his mashed potatoes.
“I think he’s done, Magda.”
Magda ruffled his hair. “Long day, huh?”
Adam yawned and opened his eyes. “Me and Mitch worked hard today. He said I was the best help he’d ever had.”
“You sure were,” Mitch said. “You’re gonna be the best cowboy on the ranch pretty soon.”
Magda smiled at the child. “I bet you were loads of help.” She picked up his dishes and carried them to the sink.
“I think it’s bath time for you,” Olivia said, pushing her plate away. “You smell like that little calf that tried to make a getaway the other day.”
Adam giggled. “Do not.”
Olivia struggled to her feet, slipping the crutches under her arms. “Oh yeah, you do,” she said with a laugh. “I’m going to herd you into the bath like that cowboy herded that calf.”
Adam stood but dragged his feet leaving the table.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want to take a bath anymore. Cowboys take showers, not baths.”
“Is that so? Says who?”
“Hobbs.”
Magda laughed. “Good ol’ Hobbs strikes again.”
Olivia brushed a lock of sweaty hair off Adam’s face. “Well, I think Hobbs is wrong. Remember that movie we watched last month? That cowboy took a bath. Remember?”
Adam squinted as he thought. “Yeah.” He yawned again. “Do you, Mitch?”
Mitch smiled. “Sure I do, buddy.” He leaned over and made a big production out of sniffing Adam’s head. “And your mom’s right. You do smell a little like a cow.”
Adam laughed.
Olivia pointed a crutch toward the door. “Okay, cowboy. Let’s go.” Before she’d taken a step, her phone began playing the theme from Jurassic Park.
“Drake,” Adam yelled. “Let me talk to him. I wanna tell him about riding a horse today.”
She hesitated answering the phone. Her gaze met Mitch’s across the table. His expression hardened. Before she could stop him, Adam snatched her phone off the table.
“’Ello? Drake? It’s Adam.” Adam laughed at something Drake said. “I miss you too. But guess what? Mitch says I’m the best cowboy he’s ever had. Uh huh.” He listened “Uh huh. Uh huh. Okay.” He held the phone out to Olivia. “He wants to talk to you.”
She took the phone. “Hi, Drake. Can I call you back? I was just getting ready to give Adam a bath.”
“I’ll do it.” Mitch shoved his chair back and stood.
“Hold on a sec.” She covered the receiver. “You don’t have to. I can call him back.”
Adam looked with an anxious expression from his mother to Mitch. The last thing Olivia wanted was for Adam to pick up on the tension between Mitch and her. She forced her hunched shoulders down into a relaxed position and smiled at her son. “I—”
“Olivia. I can bathe him. In fact—” he picked up Adam and threw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, “—us guys have to stick together. Right, buddy?”
Adam giggled and wiggled around until he could see Olivia. “Yeah, Momma. Us guys are stickin’ together.”
“Okay, but make sure he washes behind his ears.”
“Ears?” Mitch said as he walked out the room. “What ears?”
Adam howled with laughter.
Olivia shook her head. “I’m back, Drake. How’s the dig going?”
Chapter Eleven
In the six days since he’d discovered he had a child, Mitch also discovered his son was well-adjusted, funny and inquisitive. Nothing escaped Adam’s attention. Many times he reminded Mitch of his younger brother, Caleb.
But if Mitch had had any residual question about Adam being his son—and he really didn’t—tonight’s bath sealed the deal. As he had lifted Adam into the tub, he’d noticed a brown birthmark on the back of Adam’s right thigh—the same one Mitch had, the same one Mitch’s dad had.
Mitch had always thought he understood how strong the pull of love could be. Now, as he stood at Adam’s bedside watching him sleep, he realized he’d never had a clue. His heart felt ten sizes larger than it’d been just a week ago.
An overwhelming urge to protect his son from all the hurts in the world filled every crevice of his soul like sand between rocks. There was nothing he wouldn’t do, wouldn’t get for his son. Nothing.
That he’d missed so many years of Adam’s life, missed the major milestones like walking and first words, infuriated Mitch. Combined with the undeniable fact that his parents not only knew about Adam but had had a relationship with their grandson shot his blood pressure into orbit. Attempts to talk to either of his parents about their part in Olivia’s deception always returned the same response… Talk to Olivia. While he knew they were right and he did need to talk with Olivia, he had to wait until his fury at her duplicity had lessened.
So tonight would be the night for their talk, even if he had to break into his own bedroom. First, he needed to get out of his wet clothes and take his own shower, but his feet were glued in place. Pulling his damp shirt away from his chest, he chuckled. How was he to know that a bathtub of water, plastic cups and a five-year-old boy added up to splashes and sloshes of water over the tub’s rim?
The scent of lavender alerted him to Olivia’s presence seconds before she made her way quietly to his side. “Thanks for giving him his bath.” She touched a wet spot on his shirt. Her finger burnt like a lit match. “What happened?”
He shrugged.
She chuckled. “Let me guess. Too much water in the tub and a set of cups.” She nudged his shoulder. “Amateur.”
The word made the lost years with his son a painful reality that drilled a burning hole through his gut. He struck without thinking. “Whose fault is that?”
The smile fell from her face as a mask of regret took its place. “I know. I’m sorry,” she whispered, then stepped around him to the bed. “He’s my life.” She looked over her shoulder. “I love him more than words can describe. I did what I thought best at the time. Can you understand that?”
He looked at his son, then back at Olivia. “Yeah. I get it.”
After tucking the covers snuggly around Adam, she leaned over and kissed his forehead. She glanced at Mitch. “I think it’s time we talked…about Adam, Joanna, everything.”
“Way past time, I’d say.”
Her cheek muscles tightened. She was probably gritting her teeth. Well, let her. He’d worn his almost down to nubs.
“Your office?”
He tilted his head toward the door and she followed him into the hall, pulling Adam’s door behind her until a slight opening was left.
“I’m not thrilled that he’s up here and I’m downstairs, but I have to admit he seems to be doing fine.”
Mitch shot a pointed look at the stairs and back to Olivia. “Like you could have gone up and down those stairs multiple times a day, which does beg the question, how did you get up here tonight?”
“Not easily. Hopped up each step.”
“Not smart, Olivia,” he said with a shake of his head. “But since you’re already up here, c’mon. We can sit on the deck outside the guest room.” He opened the door to his temporary bedroom. “Unless you’re afraid to walk
through a bedroom with me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I can restrain myself from throwing you on the bed.”
He grinned at the vision she described. He couldn’t help it. As mad as he was about her keeping Adam from him, he still loved being with her.
Olivia swung around on her crutches and made her way into his room. His scent filled the room, assaulted her senses as she entered. She paused. The room was spotless. Bed still made. No clothes thrown away. No boots lying around.
“Nice room. Very neat.”
“Thanks, but tell Magda. She’s a gem. Not sure what I’d do without her.”
Olivia wondered if Hobbs had it in the back of his mind to marry his daughter off to Mitch. Wouldn’t that put a dent in Joanna’s plans to get Mitch back?
She sighed. Good thing she wasn’t entering a horse in that race. Once she was back on her feet, she’d be hightailing it back to Dallas as fast as her credit card could book airfare and be glad to be gone, done with her infatuation with Mitch, and her roiling gut, and her jealousy, and—
Liar.
“I assume we’re heading out those?” She pointed one crutch toward a pair of French doors.
“Yeah, but can you give ten minutes? I want to finish what Adam started.” When she frowned in confusion, he pulled his wet shirt away from his chest again. “A quick shower, then I’ll join you. Okay?”
“Sure. Whatever.” She opened one of the doors, hobbled through and shut it. The last thing she wanted to see was a naked Mitch.
She touched the tip of her nose to see if it was growing. A naked Mitch would be the number one item on any woman’s must-do list…including hers.
The night air was warm, but not yet filled with the typical south Texas humidity. Soft mooing in the distance accompanied the closer croaking of tree frogs. A light breeze twisted her skirt around her thighs. She drew in a deep breath of the mesquite-scented air and released it slowly, forcing tension from her neck and back. The throbbing muscles in her legs and arms confirmed she’d been too long off a horse to hop back on without twinges and aches. But she was fine with those. It was the twinges and aches in her heart that threatened to wring her dry.
Texas Two Step: Texas Montgomery Mavericks, Book 1 Page 16