Grace and the Rancher

by Mary Alford

  “Good. You want to pick me up, or should I come here?” she asked with a little frown creasing her brow.

  “I’ll pick you up. I’m still a little old-fashioned. I believe in picking women up for a date. Even a church date, and even if we do have a chaperon with us.”

  She giggled, and he was grateful she didn’t take offense to his reference to a date.

  “OK, I’ll see you then. Good night, Kyle.” She hesitated.

  Kyle took a chance, leaned in close, and kissed her cheek.

  She didn’t pull away or flinch.

  He stood outside in the cold until her taillights disappeared down the road. Maybe they were further along in this friendship than he’d thought.

  9

  “Thanks to all of you men for coming to our Bible study tonight. Does anyone else have something to add?” Pastor Mark Andrews asked the group of ten-plus who had braved the elements to attend the Saturday evening men’s weekly Bible study. “No?” Mark glanced at the faces and then nodded toward Kyle. “Then one of our members has an announcement before we say a prayer and are dismissed. Kyle, why don’t you come up? You all know Kyle Delaney.”

  Kyle walked up to the podium. “I’ll keep it short. I’m sure most of you want to dive into those doughnuts in the annex.” The group laughed, and he paused a second to gather his thoughts. “Most of you know I’m working on making my family’s spread an active ranch again. If all goes well, it should be up and ready by springtime. With that said, I’m looking for ranch hands. I’m offering a decent wage, a place to live, and a chance to learn a trade. I’ll leave a sign-up sheet on the back table for anyone who’s interested. I’m not going to lie to you. Its hard work, and the hours are long. So if you’re looking for something easy, you probably don’t want to sign up.” He turned to Mark. “That’s all I have.”

  Mark nodded and then addressed the group once more. “OK, then lets end with a prayer.” After the final amen, the group of men began to file into the annex.

  Kyle made his way back to Ryan. “Do you have time for coffee?” While Kyle wasn’t much on sharing his feelings aloud, his quiet talks with Ryan always helped to put things in prospective.

  “So, how’s living with Jessup going?” Ryan asked after they’d found a couple of vacant chairs at the back of the annex.

  Kyle took a sip of his coffee. “Believe it or not, I really enjoy having him around. He’s good company and an excellent cook. He’s been telling me stories from when he and my dad were kids. It’s amazing to hear. How’s Austin doing? Beth sitting with him tonight?”

  As a single father, Ryan had worked hard to be there for his son since his wife passed away a few years back. Still, Ryan had admitted it was hard doing it alone, and Ryan was grateful that his parents lived close enough to babysit from time to time.

  “Yes. He’s spending the night with them.” He shook his head. “That boy is growing like a weed. It’s hard to believe he’ll be six in a couple of months.”

  “Amazing. I still can’t believe you’re a dad.” Kyle became aware of someone.

  A young man who had attended several of the Bible studies stood close. “Got a second, mister?” The young man made eye contact with Kyle.

  Kyle glanced at Ryan.

  “Sure, go ahead,” Ryan said. “I’ll have a word with one of my crew members.”

  Kyle point to the chair Ryan had just left. “You want to sit?” he asked and the younger man shook his head. “OK, what’s up? I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

  “It’s Noah, sir. Noah Henderson.”

  Kyle stuck out his hand. “It’s good to meet you, Noah. What can I do for you?”

  Noah cleared his throat. “This is kind of hard.”

  “No problem, bud. Take your time.”

  “Well, I'm kind of new to Delaney Mountain, and I don’t really know too many people, mostly just the folks at church. I’ve actually been staying here. Pastor Andrews lets me crash here in the annex. You see, I…don’t really have any family. But what you said tonight, did you mean it?”

  It took Kyle a minute to realize what he was talking about. “You mean about working at the ranch?’

  Noah nodded. The young man was rail-thin and probably underage. He’d most likely had difficulty finding a job in this area.

  “Yes, I meant it. Are you interested in working on a ranch?” Kyle wasn’t sure if Noah had what it took to survive ranch work.

  “Yes, sir, I sure am.” Noah grinned.

  “Have you ever worked on a ranch before?” Kyle asked.

  “No sir, but my grandpa used to talk all the time about how he worked on the Flying Z Ranch outside of Denver. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to work one as well. Just like my grandpa.”

  Kyle found himself drawn to the kid. “Is your grandpa still around?”

  The young man glanced down, nervously scuffing his foot against the tile floor. “No, sir, Grandpa passed away last year. I've been on my own since then.”

  “I'm sorry to hear that, son. It must be hard being on your own.” Lord, I don't know how to help him, but if You sent him to me, then don't let me screw this up. “Have you eaten anything lately?” Kyle asked.

  “Yes, sir. Pastor Andrews lets me eat whatever’s in the fridge in the annex. I had some left over chicken for lunch.”

  “Yeah, Mark’s an old softie, all right.” Kyle got to his feet and clapped the young man’s shoulder. “I'll stop by tomorrow afternoon to get you. You can stay at the bunkhouse. It ain’t much, but you’ll have a roof over your head, and there’s a woodstove for heat. You can take your meals at the house with me and Jessup, and you’ll have the bunkhouse to yourself for a while.”

  “You mean it, mister?” The young man looked as if he'd been given a million dollars.

  “I do. We’ll take a chance on each other. Don’t make me regret it.”

  “No, sir,” Noah all but shook his arm off with enthusiasm, let out a yelp of victory, and raced over to where the pastor stood talking to several men.

  As Kyle walked over to Ryan, his hands were actually shaking. He wasn’t used to being the good guy, but he liked how it felt.

  “What was that about?” Ryan asked.

  Noah was talking excitedly to Mark.

  Kyle gave his friend the details of the discussion. “The poor kid doesn’t have anyone,” Kyle finished.

  “It's a good thing you're doing, Kyle. You're helping this kid who probably won’t make it without someone’s assistance. You’re growing, becoming a better man. I’m proud of you.”

  Kyle just about got whiplash turning to look at Ryan. Was he kidding? Didn’t his best friend in the whole world remember the wreck he’d been when he left town as a teen? “You’re kidding, right?”

  Ryan chuckled at Kyle’s expression. “Not at all. You’ll be a good role model for this kid and the others who will follow. Pray about it. God’s never shy about giving His help.”

  For Kyle, Ryan’s praise had been hard won. “Thanks. That means a lot.”

  Ryan smiled his acknowledgment. “So, what’s going on between you and Grace? You two seem to be spending a lot of time together?”

  Kyle was surprised it took his friend this long to ask. He gulped some coffee and stayed focused on the door. “We’re just friends.” He glanced Ryan’s way and saw the smile. “I like spending time with her. She’s nice, and we’ve both had a lot of hard knocks. She’s easy to talk to, OK?”

  Ryan held up a hand in defeat. “I’m only asking. I think it’s nice−you two being together. Who knows?” Ryan chuckled when Kyle remained silent. “She’s gotten under your skin, hasn’t she?”

  He couldn’t answer his friend because it was true. Grace had gotten to him. He looked forward to their time together. Her smile melted his heart. He was very quickly becoming crazy about her.

  10

  Grace spotted Kyle’s SUV coming up her drive and she rushed to shut down her laptop. She’d been listening to a radio station out of Nashville onl
ine. For most of the morning, it was featuring songs by her late husband, Nick Samuels.

  With the anniversary of Nick’s death approaching, the local station had announced the huge memorial celebration at the Grand Ole Opry in which Nick would be inducted. His family would be in attendance, along with many huge names in the music industry. Nick had written or produced songs for a lot of them.

  The DJ had mentioned that so far no one knew if Nick’s widow would be attending. The usual rollercoaster ride of rage, fear, and even guilt, dominated by nerves, was right there boiling up once more. It felt as if the new life she’d carefully constructed was crumbling.

  She’d come home from work the day before only to find two separate messages from a Nashville reporter who wanted to know if she was the Crystal Samuels who was once married to Nick Samuels. The reporter wanted to interview her and had left a phone number for her to call. Grace had erased both messages. Only Cat could have told them her phone number. Grace was sorry she’d ever given it to Nick’s family. Now, she couldn’t stop shaking. Her ugly past was closing in and she wasn’t sure she could face Kyle. He’d see everything right there on her face. “Father, please help me,” she whispered and opened the door.

  “Hi, there. How are you?” His smile faded a little when he got a good look at her.

  She tried to smile. “I’m good. I just need to grab my purse. Where’s Jessup?” She glanced out at his vehicle and didn’t see the older man.

  “He wasn’t feeling up to coming this morning. I think he’s coming down with a cold or something. Noah said he would stay with him.” Kyle shook his head. “I have to say, Noah is proving to be a huge help. I think he’s a good addition to the ranch. Once it’s up and running, I think he’ll be even better. He learns quickly.” Kyle came in and closed the door.

  “That’s great. I’ll just be a minute.” Grace turned away. “I-I can’t remember where I left my keys.”

  “Grace, is something wrong?” Kyle stared at her.

  She couldn’t hide the truth any longer. She sank down to the sofa. “Yes,” she said in a weary voice. “Yes. Something is wrong.”

  He sat down next to her. “What happened? Is this about your sister-in-law?”

  She shook her head, got up, and went over to her desk where she kept the clippings from her past. Grace drew in a much needed breath and then held them out to him.

  Kyle didn’t break eye contact. “What’s this?”

  “This is me. At least, the person I used to be.” He took them.

  Grace walked over to the window and looked out at a perfect Colorado day. She could hear him flipping through the pages. She waited for the inevitable reaction.

  “You’re Crystal Samuels?”

  She turned to him and gave a shaky sigh. “Yes. Crystal is my middle name. Nick didn’t think Grace had enough star power so he used my middle name as my stage name.” She hated that she couldn’t keep the bitterness from creeping into her voice.

  He stared at her in amazement. “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you before. We’ve actually met once. Briefly.”

  Grace searched her mind but couldn’t remember the time. “I’m sorry, but I don’t remember meeting you before.”

  Kyle managed to smile. “I’m not surprised. There were so many people there. It was a couple of summers before…the accident. At a fundraiser in Nashville. I met both you and Nick. You were about to go on stage at the Ryman Auditorium.”

  She remembered the time. It was a crazy night at the height of hers and Nick’s success. “Yes, it was a madhouse. There were so many people backstage.”

  “I remember thinking you two together would be superstars. What happened between you and Nick? You seemed so happy together back then.”

  She couldn’t control the bitter laugh that escaped. “Everybody thought so. Even me. In spite of the way he treated me.”

  His gaze narrowed. “What do you mean, the way he treated you?”

  She came and sat down next to him. “In the beginning, Nick was…mentally abusive. Towards the end, well, that changed.” She shivered at the terrible memories, and she couldn’t look at him. She was so ashamed that she had foolishly stayed with a man who only used her for his own benefit.

  Kyle touched her arm. “What happened the night of the accident?”

  Grace shuddered. “It was so…horrible.” She swallowed and tried to get the words out. “We’d been singing for a charity event. Nick was doing his usual ‘palming’ as he liked to call it. That meant he was talking to the press. I was alone in our dressing room. Nick had forgotten his phone. It rang, and I picked it up. It was…a woman. I knew her. She was Nick’s latest prodigy. Lauren McClellan.” Grace glanced Kyle’s way.

  He didn’t hide his disgust. “I know her. She’s making quite a name for herself, and not in a good way,” he said in a tight voice.

  Grace wasn’t surprised. “The second she heard my voice she hung up. I knew something was off, and that got me to thinking. There had been so many times in the past when Nick would get a call and leave the room to take it. I’d asked him about it once, but he told me it was just the lawyer. I believed him until that night. After the call, well, I looked through the phone’s history and there were dozens of calls and…uh…raunchy…text messages from Lauren. Needless to say, I was crushed, but I was also terrified of making him angry if I mentioned it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t hide it in my performance. I forgot lines in the song. My voice was unsteady. It was terrible and Nick got furious.”

  Kyle’s jaw tightened. “Did he hurt you?” Anger burned in his eyes.

  She would have to tell him the whole ugly truth. “Not until we were alone. After we finished our song, we were surrounded by fans and the press. From there, we went directly to the after party where Nick started drinking like crazy. I knew the ride home would be a nightmare.” She managed a bitter laugh. “And I was right. He barely waited until we were outside before he pounced on me. He grabbed my throat and slammed me against the car. I thought he was going to kill me. He told me if I ever screwed up like that again, he’d replace me with Lauren in a heartbeat.”

  “Someone came out and saw us. I guess they noticed him hurting me and tried to help. Nick told me to get into the car, but I knew I couldn’t let him behind the wheel in his condition. I somehow convinced him to let me drive. We started home, and he continued his tirade. He slapped me so hard that for a minute I saw stars. He told me if my performance back there was the best I could do, then I was useless to him.” A sob escaped.

  Kyle took her trembling hands in his. “What happened next?”

  “I lost it, Kyle. I told him I knew about Lauren, and I wanted a divorce. He actually laughed at me.” She could feel her bottom lip trembling with emotion, and she clamped her mouth closed. Tears filled her eyes and streamed down her cheeks, but she was powerless to stop them.

  Kyle gently brushed them aside, but she was so caught up in the past that she was oblivious to his touch.

  “He said Lauren wasn’t the first. There had been others. Many others.” She glanced his way. “He said there wouldn’t be a divorce. I was his cash cow. His ticket back into the spotlight. Nick’s singing career had been fading for a long time. That’s why he started writing again, and then later on, he opened his own record label. He was desperate to stay in the business. It was like an addiction for him. And then he found me and I became his way back into the spotlight.”

  Kyle’s anger simmered. “I had no idea he was such a creep.”

  She pleated her sweater. “Very few people got to see the real Nick Samuels. Nick and I lived outside of Nashville in the hills. It was freezing, and it had been sleeting for hours. The roads were iced over. Nick…” She hated thinking about what happened next. “Kyle, I think he tried to kill me.”

  He stared at her in shock. “Are you serious?” A muscle worked in his jaw.

  “Yes, I’m serious. He grabbed the wheel and yanked it out of my hands.” She could almost feel the same terror sh
e’d experienced that night. “The car swerved toward the hillside. I fought him to get control of the car, but he was so strong. I saw his face. It was as if he’d lost control. He looked…crazy. Somehow, I got hold of the wheel and yanked it the opposite direction. The car ran off the road. We plowed full force into a tree.”

  “Wow,” he blew the word out. “That must have been terrifying. I remember hearing about the accident. The news said Nick was trapped inside.”

  “Yes. The car skidded on its side and slammed into the tree. Nick was trapped, but I was wasn’t. Someone came by a few minutes later and spotted the smoke. They stopped and pulled me from the car. Before they could get to Nick, the car exploded.” She wiped tears from her face. “I felt so guilty. I survived and he died. But mostly…I felt…horrible about the argument. The way…I felt about Nick before he died. Kyle, I hated him. I hated what he’d done to me. What I’d let him make me into…it’s my own fault. It took me a long time to forgive him. And some days, I’m not sure I have. God is still working on me with that. But I’m still working on forgiving myself…for letting the promised fame go to my head and sacrificing anything to get it.”

  He gathered her close. “The accident wasn’t your fault, Grace. None of what happened was your fault. Nick set the whole thing in motion. You can’t blame yourself,” he whispered against her hair.

  Accepting the truth wasn’t so easy. “It’s hard not to. It didn’t help that even after the police declared the crash an accident, Cat and her family still continued to defame me in public.”

  “I’m so sorry. I know how tight knit the music industry is. That sort of rumor can destroy a career. Is that why you left Nashville?”

  She nodded against his chest. She could hear the steady beat of his heart, and she found comfort in his arms. “That’s part of it. I survived the accident. But I was hurt bad. My vocal cords were crushed. They had to completely rebuild them just so I could talk. My doctor said I would never sing again. After that, well, I knew that my music career was over for me.”