Second Chance Rancher

by Brenda Minton

  Dane accepted a pen and the contract, and after a deep breath and a prayer, he signed. Then Haven signed. It was done. Jeff shook their hands and left.

  “I have to go. Issy and Lois are reading a book.” Haven glanced at her watch. “Lois is a gem.”

  “I couldn’t do it without her,” Dane acknowledged. He started to walk away. “She’s going to be gone, what with her daughter having a baby. But Maria Palermo said she’d help out.”

  “Maria is really good with her, Dane. Let her help.”

  Let someone else into his daughter’s life. Yes, he knew that he needed to ease up a little. He had to trust people. He had to trust Issy. It was easy to say, but then he would remember how it had felt to hold his little girl at night while she cried for her mama. A mother who had walked away without a backward glance.

  “Was that Lucy Palermo I saw sliding back into town?” Haven asked. He could hear the humor in her tone. Great that she thought it was amusing.

  When a man put a woman at risk, he had a hard time recovering his sense of humor. He’d been too young to realize that their secret meetings would create such an uproar at the Palermo ranch. He hadn’t known how to handle it when she’d told him they were done, that she couldn’t see him anymore. After that she’d closed herself off from him and everyone else.

  “Yeah, it was Lucy.”

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

  He shrugged and managed a smile for his sister. “It’s okay. She’s here to take charge of Maria and the ranch.”

  “She won’t stay long. She never does.”

  No, she didn’t. He didn’t blame her.

  “I’ve got to head to town and pick up some supplies I ordered from the feed store. Need anything?”

  “No, nothing.” Haven glanced at her watch. “Pastor Matthews called. He’s putting together the groups that will help with the shelter renovation.”

  “I’ll call him. Or stop by there. Tell Lois I won’t be gone long.”

  The shelter. As he got in his truck he wondered if anyone had told Lucy what the new pastor had done with her father’s church.

  Less than a half mile from his driveway he saw Lucy’s truck parked on the side of the road. She was in the ditch, pulling fence. She stopped, wiped her face with the bandanna tied around her neck and went back to work. She had to know he was there but she didn’t spare him a glance. He smiled. She’d always been so self-contained.

  Except that summer thirteen years ago. It had all started when he saw her riding the back fence of the Palermo property. She was pretending to check fence but later she told him she’d just needed to get away from her dad so she’d offered to clean out the weeds along that fence. They’d been neighbors their whole lives but that summer something shifted. When he saw her on that horse, he saw a woman, not the little girl in raggedy clothes and pigtails he’d always known.

  But she hadn’t been a woman. They’d both been kids. They hadn’t been mature enough to handle what they felt, or her home life.

  He got out of his truck and joined her at the fence, pulling on gloves before grabbing the line of barbed wire she was stringing between new posts. She gave him a quick look but kept working.

  “I told you I’d have a couple of my guys do this,” he said as they worked together.

  “I told you I would do it myself.”

  “Stubborn,” he said with a smile and some admiration.

  “Yeah, you’ve said that before. So let’s not go back there.”

  “Because you still won’t talk about it?” Suddenly he wished he’d taken her advice and let it go. There was no point in going back.

  Lucy stopped working. She pulled off her gloves and shoved them in her pockets. “You were right. Let your guys fix this. I’ll cover the cost.”

  She stomped away. He let her get a few feet ahead of him, then he followed. He didn’t really know when to quit. It was something his mom had been telling him for as long as he could remember.

  “Lucy, wait.” He caught up with her on the shoulder of the road. “I’m sorry for pushing.”

  “Good, so don’t do it again. I’m here to take care of my sister and to make things right on our ranch. I don’t have time for anything else. I don’t want anything else.”

  That couldn’t be any clearer than the nose on his face. It was the same message she’d given him that long-ago summer.

  “I understand.” He held out a gloved hand. She gave it a long look before accepting the gesture. “Friends?”

  “Neighbors.” But she smiled as she said it.

  Neighbors? He could handle that.

  “How’s the bodyguard business?” he asked as they headed for their vehicles.

  “Busy.” She folded her arms in front of herself. “Is this really what we’re going to do?”

  “Safe conversation. Isn’t that what you want?” He should walk away. Because nothing felt safe with Lucy. But he kept going.

  “Let’s stick to the weather.”

  “Okay.” He glanced up at the blue sky. “I sure love spring but we need rain.”

  She walked away from him but he saw a flash of a smile on her face. “I have to go.”

  He debated telling her about the shelter—he didn’t want her to be blindsided. If she didn’t know about the church, she should.

  “Lucy, they have a new pastor at the church. They’ve changed the name.”

  She froze, her hand on the truck door. “Okay. Good to know.”

  “It isn’t the same.” They both knew what that meant. Her dad had called it a church but it had been a cult. He’d controlled his flock, taken their money and left them empty and lost.

  He’d done the most damage to his own family.

  “I’m sure it’s not,” she answered.

  “It’s a good place now. They’re starting a shelter for abused women.”

  Women like the ones who had attended the church her father pastored. A church where men were encouraged to force their wives and children into submission.

  “I’m glad to hear that,” she said with a catch in her voice.

  He started to reach for her but he knew she wouldn’t welcome his touch. The very last thing he needed to be doing was building a connection. She was still broken. He had his own life now. He had a daughter who needed his full attention and he didn’t have time for relationships that were destined not to end well.

  “You should stop by and see what they’re doing,” he suggested. “It might be good for you, to see it in a new light.”

  “I’ll think about it. But you don’t know me well enough to give me advice.”

  “I’m trying to be a friend,” he offered. “Sorry, a neighbor.”

  She smiled, the gesture softening her features in a way he hadn’t expected. “Neighbors bring casseroles but they don’t pry.”

  “This neighbor isn’t much of a cook,” he confessed.

  “Really, Dane, thank you for telling me about the church. I’ve had enough surprises for one day.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  She glanced at her watch. “I have to get ready for dinner. Essie wants us to eat with her tonight.”

  As he watched her drive away, he realized what Essie had done. Lucy was in for another surprise. One she probably wasn’t going to like.

  Chapter Three

  Main Street Bluebonnet was busy for early evening. It took Lucy by surprise when she cruised down the two-block-long street that had once been the business district. The stores had long since been turned into antiques shops, flea markets and craft stores. Hadley’s Tea Room graced a corner building and the Bluebonnet B & B next door to it catered to tourists passing through Texas Hill Country.

  Essie’s Diner was at the end of the two-block strip of businesse
s. It was next to the Farm and Feed Store, making the locals happy and the tourists charmed. The diner boasted a covered deck that overlooked the spring and the railroad tracks, where an occasional train rumbled along, blasting a horn that shook the tables.

  New businesses, including a grocery store, clothing store and discount chain store, were located in a strip mall on the main road going through town.

  Lucy parked up the street from the diner. She didn’t allow herself to glance down the side road. She didn’t want to lay eyes on her father’s church. Church of the Redeemed, he’d called it.

  Maria reached for her door but stopped.

  “Lucy, I think Essie is trying to drag you into something you aren’t going to like.”

  “Is that a warning?” Lucy asked as she pulled the keys from the ignition.

  “Yeah, it is. It’s Saturday night. Essie is closed on Saturdays.”

  “Then why is everyone in town?” Apprehension grew in the pit of her stomach.

  “The church,” Maria said. “It’s new. A community thing. People meet for dinner.”

  “And you didn’t feel the need to tell me until now?”

  As Maria opened her mouth to explain, Lucy held up a hand to stop her.

  “Don’t worry about it. We’ve survived a lot. This is just stuff. We’re going in. We’ll have dinner with Essie. End of story.”

  Maria’s features relaxed. “For what it’s worth, I am sorry.”

  “It’s okay. You didn’t do anything, other than lure me here so you could have fried chicken.”

  They walked the short distance to the diner, entering to find the tables filled and conversation buzzing. Essie hurried from table to table, barely pausing to give them a distracted smile as she refilled water glasses. There were people Lucy knew, quite a few that she didn’t.

  A few of the locals glanced their way, quiet whispers following as they moved through the crowded dining room. Essie caught up with them.

  “I have a table for you.” She pointed to a table marked with a reserved sign. There were six chairs and only one was taken. By old Chet Andrews, a local farmer who had never remarried after his wife of forty years passed away. And that had been a good twenty years ago. He was dapper, with his silver hair and silver mustache. He stood up as they approached and held out a chair for Maria.

  “Hello, young ladies. What a fortunate man I am, to be able to share a table with the two of you.” Chet winked at Lucy as she sat across from him. “Lucy, I’m glad to see you back in Bluebonnet.”

  “Thank you, Chet.” She reached for a menu but Maria shook her head. “No?”

  Chet handed her a paper. She browsed it, her skin going clammy as she read. Essie had quietly moved away from their table.

  The paper trembled in her hands as she read. The evening menu was catfish, hush puppies, fries and coleslaw. The profit from the sales would be given to the Bluebonnet Shelter for Abused Women and Children. Located in the Community Church building. No mention of the Church of the Redeemed. The irony hit her and she laughed a little. The place that had once hidden abuse now sheltered people from it. She knew that Essie had something to do with this. She’d bought the building. She’d closed down the church her nephew had started. She’d always told Lucy that she meant to use the building to rebuild lives, not to destroy them.

  A man approached. He wore an open, friendly smile on his middle-aged face. His blond hair was thinning. Laugh lines crinkled at the corners of pale gray eyes.

  “Ladies, mind if I sit with you for a few minutes?”

  Maria cleared her throat. “Lucy, this is Pastor Matthews.”

  He held out a hand to Lucy. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Duncan Matthews. Some of the residents prefer just to call me Preacher.”

  She took his hand briefly. “Pleased to meet you.”

  He sat down next to her. “I’m glad that the two of you are here to support us. That means the world to me, and to our ministry.”

  “I’m not...” She started to reject the idea that she supported this ministry. A warm hand on her shoulder stopped her. She glanced up at her aunt. Essie smiled down, a gentle look in her dark eyes.

  “It’s a good ministry, Lucy. I told you we would find a use for that building. Pastor Mathews also started the Community Helping Hands ministry. We have teams of people. Some fix meals, others do construction work on homes that need fixing up, some do lawn work. It’s a good thing. We were so glad that Duncan joined us in Bluebonnet.”

  “It sounds as if the church is doing a lot for the community.” Lucy found the words, though her throat felt tight.

  “We’re trying,” the pastor said. “And we’d love to have your help going forward.”

  “My help?” She didn’t know what to say to that.

  “We’re remodeling, as well as trying to help prepare the women to start new lives.”

  “I see.”

  “Come by and see what we’re doing.”

  The guy didn’t back down. She gave him kudos for bravery. And with a tight smile she glanced away from the hopeful look on his face. Aunt Essie was there to distract her.

  “I’ll bring you a fish dinner. And I have chicken, just for Maria.” Aunt Essie gave her shoulder a final pat.

  Maria gave their aunt a wide smile. “Thanks, Aunt Essie.”

  “Anything for you, kiddo.” And then she was gone.

  “I’m going to step outside,” Lucy said to no one in particular.

  “Lucy, don’t go.” Maria started to stand. Of course she would insist on following if she thought Lucy meant to leave.

  Lucy touched her sister’s shoulder. “I’m not leaving. I just need some air. It’s crowded and warm in here.”

  She smiled at Chet when he half stood. Quickly, ignoring people who called her name, she escaped the diner. Stepping out the side door, she inhaled the country air, a combination of spring grass, flowers and nearby farms.

  She leaned against the side of the building, taking in deep breaths. Boots on the sidewalk pulled her from the quiet place where she’d found a sense of calm. She opened her eyes and groaned at the sight of the man approaching, a small child in his arms.

  * * *

  She stood against the building taking slow breaths. Her eyes were closed. She was whispering, counting, he thought. Dane paused, and when Issy started to speak he put a finger to her lips to quiet her. He waited a long minute as the woman standing there calmed herself, and then he took a step forward. She quickly jerked to attention and faced him.

  He held up his free left hand. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

  “I wasn’t frightened.”

  No, she probably wasn’t. But in that moment before she’d sensed him there, she’d looked like she was having a panic attack.

  “Okay, not frightened,” he conceded. He didn’t know how to ask if she was okay, if she needed anything. A change of subject would probably be best. “Have you met my daughter, Isabelle?”

  It worked. Lucy’s features softened the tiniest bit and a hint of a smile tugged at her lips.

  “I haven’t. It’s good to meet you, Isabelle. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  Issy, just three years old, never feared a situation or a stranger. She held out her little hand for Lucy and grinned. “Good to meet you. I like chocolate cake.”

  Lucy chuckled, a little breathless. “Really? I think chocolate is my favorite, too.”

  “Essie always has chocolate cake. Even if it isn’t my birthday.”

  “Does she really? Then maybe we should go inside and have a piece of cake.”

  “Dinner first,” Dane warned his daughter.

  Issy frowned and let out a loud sigh. “Dinner first.”

  “Are there empty chairs in there?” he asked Lucy.

  “There
are a few at our table.”

  “Is that an invitation?” Dane teased.

  “Not an invitation, just a fact. Don’t push it, Scott.”

  “Back to a last name basis? And here I thought we were friends.”

  A hint of a smile hovered on that wide, generous mouth of hers and she shook her head. “Neighbors.”

  He reached past her to push the door open and she slid through but she didn’t walk away as he thought she might. Instead she walked just in front of him. If he was to guess, he thought she might need a friend. Even if she only wanted to call him a neighbor.

  As she navigated the crowded café, he thought of the girl he’d known. She hadn’t been a typical teen girl, eager to be seen with him, talking of forever before they’d even had a chance to know each other. She’d always been self-contained, keeping her hopes and dreams to herself.

  He’d wanted desperately to know what made her tick. And then he’d wanted to protect her. He’d failed miserably on both counts.

  In his arms, Issy struggled, wanting down. He leaned in close. “It’s too crowded, honey.”

  There were too many obstacles. Too many chairs, too many legs stretched, too many purses. Born two months premature, she’d lost her vision. It had been devastating to Dane and his wife. Issy didn’t know any different. She ran, she played and she chased kittens. She navigated the world with the bravery of a three-year-old.

  They reached the table at the back of the room. Lucy pointed to the two remaining chairs. “I’m sure Essie reserved them for you.”

  Of course Essie had planned those chairs for him. Right there, next to her niece. The older woman had been telling him for over a year now that someday he’d find someone. She’d told him to give God a chance. Up to now, her meddling had been harmless.

  Lucy’s return to town had changed things. Essie was convinced everyone deserved a great love, the kind of love she’d shared with her husband. Dane didn’t want to hurt Essie’s feelings, but since his ex-wife left him, he wasn’t looking for that. She hadn’t been a partner in their marriage. She hadn’t been a mom to Issy. The day she walked out, she said she’d never planned on being tied down on a ranch and she hadn’t signed on to raise a child who was less than perfect.