Tularosa Moon

by Stacey Coverstone

  “What are you doing here?” he asked pointedly.

  Color flooded her face, and she looked down at her feet.

  “Cole, that’s not polite,” Ella admonished gently.

  “Sorry, Mom.” Remembering his manners, he stepped forward and held out his hand to shake. “I apologize, ma’am. We didn’t formally meet at the grocery store. I’m Cole Roberts.”

  “So I gather.” The brunette hesitated before offering her hand, as if his was a snake ready to bite. When her hand did slip into his, the touch sent another jolt of longing racing through him. She was more striking than he’d realized on their first encounter.

  “You two have already met?” Ella asked when their hands unclasped.

  “Sort of,” Cole answered. “She knows my name now, but I don’t know hers.”

  “This is Lindy Grainger,” Ella said. “I’ve hired her as our housekeeper and masseuse.”

  Cole’s head snapped toward his mother. Had he heard her right? “Did you say masseuse?”

  “I did.” Ella pursed her lips and crossed her arms over her chest as if to challenge him in a verbal sparring match.

  His shoulders lifted in a questioning shrug. “Why did you hire a masseuse?”

  “We must have a masseuse if we’re going to offer spa services at the Painted Pony.”

  “Spa services?” He narrowed his eyes and shook his head, uncomprehending. “You never mentioned any of this to me, Mom.” He glanced at Lindy. From the look on her face, it was obvious she was confused by their banter.

  “Will you excuse us a minute, Miss Grainger,” he said. “I need to speak to my mother in private.”

  “Of course. I’ll get my bags and take them up to my room.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Ella said, fishing a key out of her shirt pocket. “Here’s the bedroom key. Get settled in, and I’ll see you in a few minutes.” She winked and tossed the key to Lindy, who then scurried to her car and grabbed two duffle bags from the back seat.

  “Her room?” Cole questioned Ella. His and Lindy’s eyes met over the roof of her car. Then she turned and walked rapidly to the house carrying a bag in each hand.

  “Who is she?” he asked once Lindy was out of earshot.

  “I just told you. Her name is Lindy Grainger.”

  “I mean, where did she come from? And whose idea was it to offer spa services? We didn’t talk about that.”

  “In case you’ve forgotten,” Ella said firmly, “this is my ranch. I don’t need to clear all my decisions through you, son.”

  He inhaled through his nose and nodded. “I haven’t forgotten, Mom. I’m sorry. I was out of place.”

  “Apology accepted. What’s gotten you so riled up?” she asked.

  He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. Then his gaze slid toward the house and back to Ella. “I met her at the store a half hour ago. I’d just gotten out of my truck when Mrs. Smith, the retired high school librarian, struck her car.” He pointed to the Ford’s dented bumper and broken taillight. “Your masseuse acted really strange. She refused to give Mrs. Smith her name or exchange insurance information. She said she’d repair her own car if Mrs. Smith agreed to fix hers.”

  “What’s strange about that? Seems they worked it out without bothering with the police or insurance companies. I wish all problems were handled so easily.”

  “Then she left without so much as a backward glance.”

  “So?” Ella laughed. “What did you expect her to do? Stand around and talk to you all afternoon? She was probably in a hurry to get out here. We had an appointment at one o’clock, and she was a few minutes late.”

  It was evident his mom didn’t understand his point. Actually, neither did he.

  “By the way, don’t call her my masseuse. She works for the ranch, and her name is Lindy,” Ella reminded him good-naturedly.

  Cole glanced at the upstairs windows of the house to see if Lindy was looking out, but she wasn’t. “You’re letting her stay in the house?”

  “Yes. And we’re calling it headquarters from now on. I’ve given her your old room. The middle bedroom is now the massage room. You should check it out. I think I did a pretty good job decorating and furnishing it. It was fun.”

  He finally cracked a smile. “You’re sneaky. I had no idea what you were up to. I thought you were simply slapping a new coat of paint on all the bedroom walls. What made you decide to offer massages?”

  “It was Doni Lyn’s idea.”

  He took a moment to digest the news. “I like it,” he admitted. “Offering massages on a ranch is unique, and it’ll bring in more revenue.”

  Ella winked. “Doni Lyn knows a thing or two about bringing in revenue.”

  “That’s why we hired her,” Cole said before moving the conversation back to the new woman. “Where does Lindy come from? How did you find her? I can tell she’s not from around here.”

  “Her application came through on the computer. She apparently found our ad on the internet. When I called the number on her resume to speak to her, a Mr. Griffin answered. He said Lindy had worked for him in Wyoming, and he recommended her without reservation. He spoke so highly of her, in fact, that I was determined to talk to her myself that very day.”

  “Hold on,” Cole interrupted. “Who is this Mr. Griffin, and why did he answer at the number she’d listed on her resume?”

  “Obviously, he was her former employer. Maybe she was without a phone at the time and he allowed her to use his number. I don’t know all the particulars. Anyway, later that day, Lindy called me back, and we chatted for close to forty minutes. I really liked her and hired her on the spot.”

  Cole could not believe his ears. Despite the quickening in his chest, he remained composed. “Mom, you don’t just hire someone over the phone and without getting more references. She could be an axe murderer.”

  Ella snorted. “Don’t be silly, Cole. Lindy is a perfectly lovely young woman. I’m even more confident about my decision now that I’ve met her in person. I have a good feeling about her.”

  “Mom,” Cole sighed. “She could be some kind of a con artist, or a psychopath. You shouldn’t be so trusting. I don’t like the idea of her staying under the same roof as you. Why did you offer her a room?”

  “She doesn’t have anywhere else to live.” Ella placed her hand on Cole’s arm. “I don’t think she has a lot of money right now. I threw in the room and board because I want to help her out.” Her voice grew soft with sentiment. “A lot of people offered you and me their love and support when your daddy died. I’m just paying it forward, as they say.”

  The sincerity in his mother’s gaze caused him to cough to clear the emotion lodged in his throat at the mention of his father. “All right, Mom. I understand. You’ve always been a pushover for underdogs. Guess I’m not going to change you now.”

  “And you haven’t done the same kind of thing before?” She punched his arm lightly. “You take after me in the compassion department, you know.”

  Smiling, he drew her into his shoulder and squeezed her tight. “I’m still not sure I like you being alone with her in the house.”

  “I won’t be alone with her. There will be guests coming and going. You need to remember that the family home is now ranch headquarters. Besides, if there’s any trouble, I keep your father’s shotgun under the bed. And I know how to use it.”

  “I realize that.”

  Ella grinned. “I’m not going to have to use it. Lindy is not the trouble-making kind. Now, if we have everything cleared up here, I’ve got some work to do inside. Why don’t I send Lindy out and you can show her the cabins? I’ve introduced her to the boys and the barn, but you drove in before I could take her to the cabins. She’s going to be cleaning them. She needs to see them.”

  He frowned. “I’ve got work to do. Bobby and Tony will be here any minute. We’re already a half a day behind.”

  “Oh, it won’t hurt you to take an extra fifteen or twenty minutes out of your day to give Lind
y the grand tour. Maybe she’d like to meet Butch and Sundance, too. She’s pretty, don’t you agree?” Ella’s eyes lit up, and Cole suddenly saw straight through her.

  “I’m not letting you play Cupid, Mom. Got that? I’ve had enough of women for a while. Anyway, there’s something fishy about that girl. I don’t know what it is, but something hints she’s not exactly who she claims to be.”

  Ella blew air out of her mouth in exasperation. “You need to learn to trust again.”

  “Rachel messed that up for me.”

  Ella turned him toward her and placed her hands on his arms. She gazed into his eyes. “Rachel had to live her own life, son. I’m sorry she hurt you, but it’s time to move on. Her leaving to pursue her dreams does not define the person you are. I want you to remember something. At the age of nineteen, you told your father you wanted to do something else with your life. You didn’t want to breed horses. You wanted to own your own construction company because you loved working with your hands and building things. Preston was happy for you. So was I. We both knew you had to do what was best for you. Leaving Tularosa was best for Rachel.”

  “I know,” Cole conceded.

  Ella smiled. “Good. I didn’t think I’d raised a dummy.” She gently slapped him on the back. “I’m not suggesting you marry Lindy,” she teased. “Just show her the cabins, will you?”

  “All right, Mom. But I’ve only got fifteen minutes to spare if you want that last cabin to be done anytime in the next century.”

  “You and your exaggerations.” As she began walking up the walk toward the house, Cole noticed the way her back hunched and she leaned to one side. She’d been working far too hard the past five months, for a woman of her age. “I’ll send Lindy out straightaway,” she called over her shoulder. “By the way, plan to stay for supper tonight. I’m holding a staff meeting afterward.”

  He nodded and turned to gaze across the irrigated pastures and herd of horses that had been his dad’s life work. Cole loved the horses, too. He’d ridden them and cared for them his entire life. But he’d wanted to step out of his dad’s shadow and become his own man. Construction had been his way of doing that, and he had no regrets.

  He saw the pickup with his longtime employees, Bobby and Tony, rattle up the drive and turn onto the path leading to the cabins. Cole smiled, feeling proud of the things he’d accomplished over the past fifteen years. His mom was right in that one woman leaving him to achieve her own goals did not define him. But she’d forgotten about Jordan last summer. Two women had rejected him within six months’ time, and it sure had taken the wind out of his sails.

  Masculine laughter drifted up from the barn, shifting his musings. His folks had made themselves a good life here. Now, his mother was starting a new chapter in her life. He could tell she was excited. And why shouldn’t she be? She had a good group of people backing her up.

  Dalton was a steady hand that had been at the ranch for ten years. Sandy was a quiet but affable man and a hard worker. And the new wrangler, T.J., was a neighbor’s son—gregarious and eager to please. All were excellent horsemen. Luz, a fantastic cook, had been with the family for many years. And now, Lindy had become the newest member of the team. She had a lot to prove, Cole thought, with a prickly feeling niggling beneath his skin. Mom had taken a big risk in hiring her. He hoped Lindy didn’t let her down.

  “I understand you’re to be my tour guide,” came a lilting voice behind him, wrenching him free of his wandering thoughts. He swung around and his stomach clenched like he’d been fist punched. When Lindy smiled, it was like the sun breaking through on a cloudy day.

  Four

  “Ella said you’d show me to the cabins and introduce me to Butch and Sundance,” Lindy said. “I thought I’d met all the wranglers.”

  When Cole’s mouth tipped into a crooked grin, his smile lit up his suntanned face. As he ran a hand through his dark hair, she couldn’t help but notice his bulging bicep.

  “We’ll go to the cabins first,” he said, motioning for her to follow him down the hill.

  She’d changed out of sandals and into tennis shoes, so the walk down the incline and across the gravel road was made easier than when Ella had escorted her to the barn.

  “Mom tells me you hail from Wyoming,” Cole said, as they strolled past the barn side-by-side.

  “I wasn’t raised in Wyoming, but that was the last place I lived.”

  “What part of Wyoming were you in? I’ve seen most of that country.”

  She cleared her throat. “It was a little town. I’m sure you’ve never heard of it.”

  “Try me.”

  “Really. It wasn’t even a dot on the map.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Cole sliding a glance her way. “I take it you were a masseuse there, in that little town that didn’t warrant a dot,” he said, cocking an eyebrow.

  She noted an edge to his tone, and that all-too-familiar knot began to form in her stomach with being questioned about her past. She’d become a pro at telling just enough to placate inquiring minds without arousing much suspicion. But it was still stressful to constantly censor herself.

  “No, I had to take a job in another field while I was there. The city officials wouldn’t approve my business license. They thought I might be bringing prostitution to their town.” It hadn’t been like that, of course, but it made for a good story that she made up right there on the fly.

  Cole shook his head, unbelieving, but seemed satisfied with her response. “I guess there are a lot of people out there with dirty minds.”

  They stepped off the gravel road onto a grassy path and the cabins came into view. A row of cottonwood trees shaded the back of the two completed buildings. The cabins were wooden structures with porches stretching across the fronts. The house on the end appeared to be mostly framed in, and two men were on top hammering down a metal roof. As Lindy and Cole neared, he whistled and waved when the men looked up.

  “That’s Tony and Bobby. They’re my employees. The three of us have spent nearly every waking minute of every day for the past five months breaking our backs to get this place ready to open by Saturday.”

  They stopped in front of the first cabin and Lindy realized from the letters “A” on one side and “B” on the other that it was a duplex, as was the building next door, and probably the third cabin, as well. Cole had created additional guest housing without the cost of building separate dwellings, she reasoned. Smart thinking.

  Rocking chairs graced both porches. Flower boxes, already filled with colorful blossoms, hung under the windows.

  “I’m impressed, with both the fine craftsmanship and your determination to help your mother succeed,” she said. “And I love the meditation garden, too. She told me you designed it. It’s lovely.”

  “Thanks.” He looked straight into her face, holding her in an iron grip with his burning hot gaze. Despite the mental strength it continually took to stay safe—which included not allowing herself to grow close to anyone—she felt herself drowning in the blue depths of his eyes. Silently cursing herself for letting down her emotional guard for even one moment, she ripped her gaze from his and stepped onto the porch.

  “Can we look inside?” she asked, reaching for calm and an unwavering voice.

  “Sure.” Cole removed a keychain from his pocket and unlocked the door. Like a gentleman, he moved aside and allowed her to enter first.

  The room was furnished with a double bed, a sofa, a writing desk, mini fridge, and an electric coffee pot and mugs. Some paperback books were stacked on a small table next to the sofa. Cole opened the refrigerator and told her it would be her job to restock it with sodas and bottles of water between guests. Packets of instant coffee and tea were also to be replenished, and mugs were to be washed and replaced on the tray.

  “Of course, you’ll change the bed sheets and restock towels in the bathrooms,” he said, showing her the small bathroom with shower, no tub. “We’re going to provide guests with bath towels, as we
ll as special rags for cleaning their boots with. Mom will show you where all the housekeeping supplies are located when you go back up to headquarters.”

  “She did already. Are there no televisions in the cabins?”

  “No. We’ve provided each room with a clock radio, but we’re offering our guests so many ranch activities and fun experiences off-site that we figure they won’t miss television. We plan to keep them so busy, they’ll be exhausted by the end of the day and fall right to sleep each night.”

  “I like that philosophy,” Lindy said. “Hopefully, one of the experiences some of your guests will enjoy will be a massage after a long trail ride.”

  “I have no doubt that will be a highlight for many,” Cole replied. After he had relocked the cabin, they walked silently to the unfinished cabin on the end, and he introduced her to Tony and Bobby and then told them he’d be back soon.

  “I’ll take you to the little red schoolhouse now, and then we’ll meet Butch and Sundance.” He led her through a patch of trees and across a footbridge under which a small creek flowed.

  “This is charming,” she said, stopping to stand at the wooden rail and gaze over the side. Listening to the gurgling of the water as it churned over river rock brought her peace of mind.

  “Wait until you see what’s ahead,” he said, urging her to follow him.

  In a clearing on the other side of the bridge stood an actual one-room schoolhouse, painted red with white shutters, and complete with a bell on top.

  “Cole, it’s adorable.”

  “I’ll confess, this is my pride and joy. It took a lot of sweat and tears for Bobby, Tony and I to get this place habitable. It’ll sleep four guests comfortably now.”

  “What’s the history behind the schoolhouse?”