by Alexa Davis
“I didn’t know Tucker had a girl. Glad you warned me before I said something else stupid,” she said with a sigh. I shook my head, not sure what to say, and tipped my hat before making the trek to Rachel’s quarters at a quick step. Her door was locked when I got there, so I knocked and waited for a minute before tromping through the garden bed under her bedroom window. I knocked on the glass and a moment later, the curtain pulled aside and I was staring into her blotchy, surprised face.
“What the Sam hill are you doing?” she exclaimed as I stood in the azaleas, hoping my mother didn’t catch me.
“You locked me out. Considering I’m not your husband, it seemed ungentlemanly of me to kick the door in just yet.”
“Go around, I’ll let you in.” She disappeared from view and by the time I made it back to the door, she was standing just inside the doorway, frowning. I stepped in and removed my hat. Holding it in my hands and crushing the rim as I relayed my mother’s embarrassment and guilt about making a big deal out of unnecessary things.
“I told you, your family is about tradition, and part of that tradition is sons.”
“Hang tradition. We’ll adopt a son if it’s so important to you,” I barked. Poor Skipper jumped and ran out of the room as we raised our voices. “I’m sure there is a little boy out there just waiting to be adopted and to learn to be a cowboy. Did you even consider that?”
“Did I consider telling a man I’ve known for mere weeks that his only chance at being a father was to raise someone else’s offspring? No, I can honestly say that did not occur to me,” she snapped.
My hands balled into fists as I tried to control the curses that wanted to escape my mouth, but when she flinched, my frustration instantly gave way to guilt. I thrust my hands away from my body and opened them in surrender.
“For future reference,” I blurted out, “I don’t even know if I ever wanted to have kids. So, just imagine my mother is your mother and love her while also ignoring her if what she’s saying counters what you want.”
Rachel snorted and a smile appeared on her face. I held out my arms and stood waiting for her to either come to me or walk away. “I can’t force you. But, I’ll make sure you don’t do any shit shoveling, if that’s really all that stands between you and the symbol of my love for you.”
She stumbled into my arms, and I held her while she cried. When she was worn down to dry heaves and hiccups, I pushed her away and handed her my handkerchief to wipe her eyes.
“I have to deal with some people before we get married,” Rachel announced through her sniffles. “I’m willing to bet you do to.” I didn’t respond, but she didn’t need me to anyway. The ways my past had snuck up on her and hurt her was my responsibility, and I had promised not to let her down. The last thing I needed was that stupid woman showing up at our wedding to pull her “mean-girl” act.
“I don’t suppose you’d sneak away and take a ride with me, Doc?” I teased. I wasn’t sure she knew what it meant that the guys had renamed her. In a year, she’d have no choice but to let it stick, but Pete and his boys weren’t going to wait that long. They’d seen her in action too many times, and she had their loyalty to the end.
“I think now that Dancer’s safe, we can sneak away. Hell, it’d be easier to get away with than sitting in here for an hour and being seen coming out,” I chuckled.
“I don’t know. I was just getting used to the looks of envy,” I boasted, wiggling my eyebrows at her as she scoffed. My phone went off, playing my favorite song, “Friends in Low Places,” and I caught a look from her before I picked up.
“Daniel, we’re all wrapped up down here, see you in a couple hours.” Tuck’s voice came through the phone tinny, as though he was about to pass through a tunnel.
“No problem, Tuck. We were just about to take a quick ride to refresh. We have a ton to tell you when you get here.” He made a noncommittal sound on the other end before responding.
“Yeah, we definitely need to talk,” he agreed. He hung up without saying goodbye, an annoying habit I still hadn’t got used to. Rachel tied back her long curls and slid her hat down low on her forehead, probably to hide the cried out eyes from anyone we passed. We collected Kaiser and Peacemaker amidst yet another sweep of the stables, a practice I was sure would become a part of the daily routine for the next months, or even years, until the ranch had collectively moved on from the near-tragedy.
The sun was filtered through a smattering of soft, white clouds as we rode, and along with the light breeze that dipped and rustled through the trees, made the late morning temperature as perfect as a summer day could be. I let Rachel take the lead, and she rode us back to the spot on the bank of the lake where she’d first stumbled on Kaiser and I. She let Peacemaker play in the shallow water’s edge and I followed suit with Kaiser, who bucked and splashed until even the gentle Peacemaker kicked out and whinnied.
I brought Kaiser in on a shorter lead while Rachel calmed Peacemaker, and we walked along the shoreline while we walked our mounts instead of riding. For a few minutes, we strolled without speaking, enjoying the magpies and crows arguing among the trees.
“Do you think you could go with me to see Jason in the hospital?” she finally asked, breaking the silence. I rubbed the stubble on my jaw, wishing I’d taken the time to shave, even though I realized there were more important matters that I’d been attending to.
“I could go with you. I’m not sure I could stay silent,” I admitted. Rachel’s chuckle was her only response for an eternity while she thought.
“I just want to make sure your family doesn’t end up with their attention,” she warned. “They are like spoiled children, incapable of understanding or caring what consequences are for the people around them.” She bit her lip and tugged her hat down further over her forehead.
“People like them have always existed and will always be there,” I cautioned. “Darlin’, you can’t live your life worrying about what they’ll say or do. Your past is behind you, and that piece of dirt may have changed your future, but you still get to decide what that is.” She paused and looked up at me.
“You’re right,” she stated simply. “I don’t know if I’ll always be able to keep that in mind, but he didn’t take anything I can’t get around. Hell, look at me, top of my class, an intern on the most prestigious ranch in the state of Texas, wearing a rock the size of Gibraltar, and it still manages to be classy.” She took a breath as I laughed. “So what do we do when I have to go back to school? Do you want me to quit?” Her voice wavered. I knew that we’d finally gotten to the question she’d had on her mind.
The day before, I’d have quipped about how I’d let the new jockey keep me company while she was gone, but as she asked, I realized that she was asking me if she needed to choose between herself and us. I took off my hat and brushed it against my leg as I thought.
“I don’t want you to be gone for a year, and weekends won’t work for us for long,” I mused as I lifted her onto a large flat rock to sit while Peacemaker nuzzled her shoulder looking for treats. “How much do you think you would really have left, if all your husbandry, snakebite rescues, sheep shearing, vaccinating, grain testing, and herd inventory work went into your thesis?” I asked. She shrugged and dug some sugar out of her pocket for her nosy mount.
“You mean, could I test out of some credits?” I nodded, excited.
“Christmas would be a wonderful time for a wedding here on the ranch, if your classes were done,” I suggested. My grin nearly split my face as Rachel’s eyes lit up.
“We can really do this,” she gasped. “I just spent the entire summer in school, and really didn’t think about it. I have to go through my journals and make some sense of it all. This isn’t just us trying to legitimize ourselves; we’re really getting married, and we have just enough time to plan a wedding for Christmas, if we keep it small.
“Fat chance, darlin’.” I shook my head. “I would suggest we simply tell our mothers today at supper and let them handl
e it. Unless you’ve dreamed of your perfect wedding all your life and…” My voice trailed off at the peal of laughter that erupted from her so suddenly, she almost fell off her perch.
“No, I have not actually thought about a real wedding in my life until right this moment. And because of that, I’m glad I wasn’t wearing my beautiful ring. It would’ve sullied it for me.” She took the necklace she was wearing out of her shirt and there, dangling and winking in the sunlight as it swung in a gentle pendulum motion, was her ring. I helped her retrieve it from the necklace and slid it onto her finger, smiling at her as she stared happily at it for a moment before sliding her riding gloves back on.
“We should get back. Everyone will be arriving shortly for Verica’s first ride on Texas Tango,” I reminded her. She glanced at her watch and then used the rock she’d been sitting on to boost herself onto Peacemaker. I slipped a few sugar cubes out of her saddlebag and let Kaiser nose them out of the palm of my hand before swinging up onto his back. We made a race of the ride home, and despite Kaiser’s bulk and obstinacy, we jumped the gate a bare second before Rachel and Peacemaker easily cleared the metal rail.
“Don’t smirk too much; that will be the last race you ever win,” she warned me as I strutted from the stable to the mounting block. She sidled past me and jumped down from Peacemaker feather-light, leaving old Hugh to rub her down and give both horses grain.
Rachel pointed to the dust of gravel in the distance growing as visitors started to arrive. She tugged her riding gloves off and looked down at her pink diamond again.
“A Christmas wedding, hmmm?” she asked as we chose our seats on the veranda to await the arrival of what seemed to remain of our combined social circles. “I really can’t imagine what more I could possibly ask for than to give myself to you and you to me for Christmas.” She sighed, holding my hand across the small space between the white wicker chairs.
“I’d prefer making you mine tomorrow, but I agree, Christmas will do nicely. Of course, if Edith really forces you to stay there beyond that, we can just put Jackson in charge and I will come to you.” She squeezed my hand and sighed.
“It won’t come to that, lover,” she assured me. “In this particular scenario, you actually DO get to have your cake and eat it too.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Rachel
By the time Daniel and I had finished our ride together, it seemed as though the stars had all fallen into place. My life had actually started to feel like the pieces of me that I’d worked so hard to gather when I’d fallen apart were present and accounted for. I hoped that it meant we could enjoy some peace as we planned our mothers’ dream wedding. God knew I didn’t care about it as much as either of them, as long as Daniel was standing there when I made my walk down the aisle.
I didn’t want to face his mother, though. I felt like I’d done her some great wrong, stealing her grandchildren from her before they even existed. I planned to avoid her for a while as I figured out what to say to her. Between my friends and family, Tucker and his Amanda, middle child Logan, the mystery brother I hadn’t met yet (not George, the soldier in Afghanistan), I figured she’d have her hands full. So, apparently did she.
I’d no sooner stepped up onto the veranda than I saw the library curtain flutter. With a sinking feeling, I sat and waited for our guests to arrive, counting the dust clouds as they kicked up off the private driveway up the hill from the lake. Within minutes, and before the first car could even breach the gate, Hannah stood at the doorway with a tray in her hands, bringing us iced tea in tall, frosty glasses.
“Daniel, dear, could you please go to the kitchen and tell Patty that company is arriving and bring back the other tray with you? Thank you ever so much,” she cooed at him as I desperately tried to signal him to stay with my eyes.
“You know what? I can do that for you,” I offered. I tried to stand, but she put her hand on my shoulder and stopped me.
“Nonsense. Daniel will have a much easier time with that tray; your wrist is still healing.” I wanted to argue, technically, I could go without my brace now, I just wore it to ride or work to avoid reinjuring myself. But, Daniel was already on his feet and I knew better than to start a scene with a southern belle. I shot him a look, and he replied with a tiny shrug, as if to say, “What can you do?” He strode off and left me alone with the one woman I had no idea how to talk to. She smiled politely and sat on the edge of the chair Daniel had been lounging in, poised to bolt if necessary.
“Daniel has suggested a Christmas wedding.” I offered the words to her as an olive branch, tentatively, wishing I could snatch them back as soon as they’d left my mouth. My fears were misplaced. Instead of anger or irritation, I was the uncomfortable recipient of tears as she thanked God for finally marrying off one of her stubborn, pig-headed, obstinate, foolish sons. By the time she was finished, I was nearly in tears myself, barely controlling my laughter.
“I do not need you to join our family as a…as an incubator for future Hargraves,” she finally told me. “Besides, I have five sons. Eventually one of them is bound to reproduce, even accidentally.”
At that blithe statement, I lost my careful control and laughed out loud and long enough to make my sides hurt. I was glad that she wasn’t upset with me for “luring” Daniel to a childless marriage.
As if on cue, Daniel pushed the front door aside with his foot and stepped out, carrying a large tray. On it were all manner of petit fours, small tea sandwiches, crudités, and even a fruit and cheese plate, which was my personal favorite of any party food.
“Oh God,” he huffed, setting down the tray while the two of us wiped our eyes and stifled our giggles. “I don’t even think I want to know.” His mother nodded sagely, then tittered again.
“No, you really don’t. Then again, you’re the good son. So, at least Rachel should be safe from any surprises down the road. Right?” Daniel glanced at me in alarm as I controlled my breathing to prevent another fit of giggling. I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly, trying not to consider Sara approaching us ten years down the road for a paternity test. I physically and mentally shuddered at the thought, drawing a concerned look from Daniel.
“Truck approaching!” I called out as the timely appearance of Tucker gave me the opportunity to change the subject. He hopped out and Amanda slid out after him, leaving the shadowy figure of a man seated on the passenger side.
“Well, I’ll be damned. Is that Logan?” Daniel exclaimed as he leaped from the top of the front porch to the sidewalk and ran over to the truck. Before I could say anything, Hannah had joined him, yelling her husband’s name as she ran to greet her son. Logan had been out of the country for months, and from what little I’d heard, was not one to stick around the farm. I was interested in meeting him, but held off to let the family enjoy their moment.
It didn’t matter anyway. No sooner had Mr. Hargrave senior gone flying out the door and down to the car, the second dust trail we’d been following cleared and the little red Ford Ranger my dad refused to give up came through the gate. I checked my phone for an estimated time of arrival from Tracy or Freddie, but my phone was blank. Unworried, I joined my parents as they unloaded bags of rolls and meat and a crockpot of chili my mother had brought to share. We were still unloading the truck when Daniel called my name. He motioned me over to him, and as I approached, pointed out the last dust cloud I’d been waiting to see.
“Looks like a full house tonight.” He grinned and led me over to his younger brother, Logan. Nervous, I clung to his hand and let him make the introduction. Where Tucker had been cool and business-like, Logan was warm and gregarious. He dragged me out from behind Daniel and wrapped me up in the hug of long-separated friends, rather than new acquaintances. I coughed out a short laugh in spite of myself at the burly bearded man who still held me off the ground.
“Put her down, you idiot,” Mr. Hargrave growled behind me, and with a belly laugh, I was freed from his grip and the ground rose up to meet my feet. Jackson s
nickered as I found my land-legs. Daniel took my place and hugged his brother again while their father looked on with thinly veiled excitement.
“So, you’re the pretty little thing I’ve heard so much about,” Logan said past his brother’s shoulder. I glanced up at Daniel, who shook his head.
“Not me, I’m terrible at keeping in contact with anyone,” he confessed.
“Ain’t that the truth,” Logan drawled. I looked the big man over. He was broader than Daniel across the chest and shoulders and taller than Tucker. Still, it was easy to see they were brothers when the three stood together. I had heard Logan mentioned in passing, when the family spoke of their other missing son, George, who was representing the Hargraves as an Army engineer. I found out, as we stood around waiting for the stragglers to show up, that Logan was the only other son who had pursued a degree in agriculture. He had returned from a months’ long backpacking trip across Europe just before his Master’s program was set to start in a few weeks.
As Tracy and Freddie pulled up next to the Ranger in Freddie’s Jetta, the brothers took off together to discuss whatever farming or irrigation techniques Logan had been studying. Tracy took one look at Logan and I knew she was lost to me. I wouldn’t get an intelligent thought out of that girl until she’d at least tried to get him to pay attention to her. With a dramatic sigh, I steered her towards Amanda, whom Tucker had abandoned to his parents to commune with his brothers.
I looked around the circle of women that awaited the Hargrave men for our various purposes. Glancing at my watch, I figured we had just enough time for me to take the Verica Blythe fan club to meet her before dinner. With a jerk of my head, I indicated to them to follow me. The brothers took no notice of us as we passed, and seeing Daniel so animated and joyful to be with most of his brothers made me grin like an idiot. Pete met us as we headed toward the stables and stopped us from advancing.