Second Chance Rancher

by Brenda Minton

  “From the Community Church? That doesn’t make sense.”

  “No, someone from the Church of the Redeemed. Someone angry either with our father or that Jesse Palermo’s church, his legacy, is being torn apart and rebuilt into something good.”

  “I don’t think our father had many fans.”

  “No, but there were a few.” She shot her sister a concerned look. “Until we figure this out, I want you to be careful. When you’re in the house alone, I want the doors locked.”

  “You’re making me nervous.”

  “I know and I’m sorry. But I want you safe.”

  Lucy slowed to pull into the church parking lot. The fire truck was still on scene. The police were standing next to the building talking.

  “Wow, life is never boring in a small town,” Maria said.

  “Isn’t that the truth,” Lucy agreed. She parked next to Dane’s truck. “Do you want to stay here?”

  Maria shook her head. “No, I think I’d rather go with you.”

  As they walked up the sidewalk, Dane joined them. “The system was definitely turned off by someone who knew the code. They’re talking to Pastor Matthews, his wife, Elaine and a few others.”

  “None of them would want to see this ministry hurt.” It didn’t make sense. Whoever this was, they wanted to send a message.

  “Do you think it was a spouse of one of the women?” Maria asked.

  “It’s possible.” Lucy headed around the side of the building. She’d just been here the day before, giving the women their first lesson in self-defense. “I know it looks minor, but can it be fixed?”

  “Yes, the fire truck got here within minutes. If it had been at night, it might have been a different story.”

  “Can I go inside?” Maria asked.

  Lucy looked to Dane. He nodded. “The sanctuary is clear. You can sit in there if you want.”

  He watched Maria walk away, waiting until she was out of earshot before he spoke again. “Is she okay?”

  Lucy realized that he would worry, because Issy had been born early. “She’s fine, just tired. She’s having a little girl, by the way.”

  A grin split across his handsome face at the news. “Another little girl to wrap us all around her little fingers.”

  “She wants to give her up for adoption.” Lucy brushed a hand over her eyes. “She asked me to raise her.”

  “And?”

  “And I told her I wasn’t sure I could do that. I understand she wants to do what’s best for the baby and she feels as if she isn’t ready to be a mom. But I’m not sure if I’m the right person for the job.”

  “You have time to think it over.”

  She spotted Pastor Matthews coming around the corner. He looked beaten down but still managed a half smile.

  “Have either of you seen Elaine? They want to talk to her.”

  Dane shook his head. “I got here after the fire truck and first responders. She wasn’t here.”

  Pastor Matthews scratched his chin. “I don’t know that she was here today. She usually helps out in the kitchen and the nursery. I’ll call her again. Maybe she’s out of town.”

  Maybe, Lucy thought. But she doubted it. She remembered Elaine’s husband, a man who had followed Jesse Palermo without question.

  She looked up and Dane was studying her, his blue eyes clear and steady.

  “We should go check on her,” Dane suggested before she could get the words out.

  “Yes, we should.”

  * * *

  They didn’t find Elaine at her house. Dane had worried they wouldn’t. They did find signs of a fight. There were broken dishes on the floor, and a broken front door. The police were going to follow up, calling Elaine’s family and putting out a BOLO for her and her ex-husband, Jerry.

  “Are you and Maria going to be okay tonight?” he asked as he said goodbye to Lucy at her truck.

  She grinned and he shook his head.

  “You’re right, silly question,” he admitted.

  “But sweet of you to ask.”

  “Yes, sweet.” He brushed a hand through his hair and took a step back from her. “I have to leave now because I want to kiss you good-night.”

  In response she reached for the truck door. “And we both know that’s a bad idea. Dane, we have to step back from this, whatever this is.”

  “You’re right,” he admitted. “We both have a lot going on.”

  He could admit she was right, but all the way home he was thinking that he wanted her to tell him he was wrong. Wanted her to make this easy on him. If she picked him, it might change everything.

  He walked through his front door, exhausted. Haven eyed him from her chair in the living room. Issy was curled up asleep on her lap.

  He kicked off his boots and walked into the living room, dropping his hat on the coffee table before he stretched out on the sofa. The kitten hurried across the room to curl up with him, because it obviously didn’t have a clue about his aversion to cats.

  “How’s it going?” Haven asked in a hushed tone as she stroked his daughter’s curly blond hair.

  “Wonderful. How is it possible that when I made a decision a few months ago it felt right, and now it seems completely wrong?”

  His sister laughed. “I think sometimes we convince ourselves the wrong answer is the right one because we feel it will make everything better. But then the right answers roll over us, forcing us to let go of our plans and choose God’s.”

  “That didn’t help.”

  “Is this about the offer on the ranch?” she asked quietly, soothingly, as if she was talking to his daughter and not to him.

  “The offer on the ranch. Lucy. My own stubborn convictions.”

  “I’d love to give you advice, but I’m about the worst person to ask.”

  He sat up so that he could face her, because tonight his little sister sounded as if she might be in a bad place.

  “Are you okay?”

  She looked down at Issy, sleeping in her arms, and a tear rolled down her cheek. “I’ve been better.”

  “I’m sorry, Haven. Is there anything I can do?”

  “Undo the past?” She offered a watery, hopeful smile.

  “I would if I could.”

  She sniffed and he pulled a tissue from the box on the table and handed it to her.

  “You could do me a favor,” she said after a few minutes.

  “Name it.”

  Another grin, this one a little mischievous. “Be happy. And if that means selling the ranch, sell it. If it means keeping it and pursuing a relationship with Lucy, then take the chance and go for it.”

  “I think Lucy needs space.”

  “Oh.”

  He was in love. He had come to that realization as he’d stood in the church parking lot watching Lucy drive away. He hadn’t wanted her to go. He wanted to chase her down and tell her that he loved her. He shook his head at the thought. Man, he needed her the way he needed air to breathe. Only problem was, she didn’t seem to need anyone.

  He wasn’t going to do this again. He wasn’t going to love a woman who wanted the opposite of everything he wanted. He wanted a marriage that lasted this time.

  Not a relationship built on maybes.

  “You’re making me look like an optimist,” Haven whispered.

  He glanced at his auburn-haired sister and thought of her heartache, her loss. He felt foolish.

  “Don’t get that look on your face,” she warned him.

  “Okay, no looks on my face. Just brotherly concern.”

  She smiled down at the little girl in her arms. “Issy makes everything better. Do you want to hold her?”

  “I will when you’re done.” He was content to sit and watch Issy sleep. “
I think before I take the offer on the ranch, I’ll talk to a couple of local schools. If there is one outside our district but close by that might be better for her, I could pay the tuition.”

  Haven’s eyes widened. “That’s a big step.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  Issy stirred in Haven’s arms but went back to sleep as Haven rocked back and forth. “I’m praying for you, Dane. I know this is tough. I know you don’t want to give up the ranch. I know you can do your electrical contract work anywhere. But this has been home for a long time.”

  “I know it has. I promise you, I won’t take this offer if it doesn’t feel right.”

  Suddenly his phone rang. “Lucy? Everything okay?”

  “They found Elaine in her car on a side road. She was in pretty bad shape. They’re calling for medevac and they’ll fly her to Austin.”

  “You’ll keep me updated?” he asked, aware that his sister was watching with obvious interest.

  “Yes, of course.” She paused. “Dane, Maria and I are going to drive up there. We’ll stay at my place. Alex will stay here and take care of the ranch. I want to make sure Elaine is okay and I really need to help with the business. One of my partners is injured and needs to be off his feet for at least two weeks. Maybe longer.”

  For some reason, that sounded like goodbye to him.

  “If you need anything...”

  “I’ll call you if I need you,” she replied. “Good night.”

  The call ended.

  “What happened?” Haven asked as he hung up.

  “They found Elaine Collins. She’s in pretty bad shape. Looks like her husband, Jerry, beat her up.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m not really sure. I have a feeling he also broke into Lucy’s apartment. Maybe anger over the past, and over doing something different with the church.”

  “That’s really just crazy. Dane, if you want to go check on Lucy, I’ll take care of Issy.”

  “I know you would, but I don’t think Lucy wants me there.”

  “So you’ll just give up?”

  “It isn’t giving up.” A better word was accepting reality. Lucy was running scared.

  He had received an offer on the ranch that no sane man would turn down.

  A month ago the two of them had been living separate lives with separate goals. Maybe this was how they got back on track and remembered those plans.

  Or maybe this was how he learned the hard way that he didn’t want to be alone anymore.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Lucy and Maria arrived at the hospital in Austin early the next morning. They took the elevator to the fourth floor, where they found Elaine’s room. Lucy knocked softly, waited for an invitation to come in, then pushed the door open.

  Maria, looking a little pale, pointed to the waiting room. “I’m going to sit down and wait.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Just a little icky, but I’ll be fine.”

  Lucy hesitated to leave her alone. “If you need me, I’ll be here.”

  “I know.”

  Lucy waited until her sister entered the waiting room before she walked into Elaine’s room. She smiled at the woman sitting next to the bed. She hadn’t seen her in years, but she knew she must be Elaine’s mom, Nadine.

  “Lucy, how are you?” Elaine asked, her voice hoarse.

  “I’m obviously better than you are. Elaine, I’m so sorry.”

  Elaine’s brows drew together. “You aren’t to blame.”

  “Maybe not, but I feel responsible. I wish I’d known.”

  “That Jerry is a crazy person?” She laughed a little. “He’s obsessed, even after all of these years. He wanted to rebuild the church. He thought if you came back, you’d do it. Because you’re a Palermo.”

  “I’m sorry to disappoint him.”

  Elaine pointed to the empty chair on the opposite side of her bed. “He was disappointed. So he set out to put you in your place.”

  “I have news for him. I’m not good at being controlled. But the police got him?”

  Elaine’s eyes widened. “No, they didn’t.”

  Lucy hadn’t known that. The call she’d gotten... The speaker said he’d been caught. But he wasn’t in jail. Why wasn’t someone here guarding Elaine?

  “Elaine, there should be guards at your door.”

  “I’m not worried, Lucy.”

  Not worried? About a man who tried to burn the church. A man who had beaten her and put her in the hospital. “But you should be worried. And the police should be worried.”

  Elaine smiled, peaceful, not at all troubled. “He’s not going to hurt you.”

  Lucy shook her head. “What?”

  “He just wants you to take your rightful place.”

  “My rightful place?”

  The older woman smiled gently at Lucy, as if she was a child who didn’t understand. “Honey, your father always said you would take the pulpit if anything happened to him.”

  Lucy stood. She had to get out of here. She had to make sure Maria was safe. “You’re right. I should have taken my rightful place. If he’d told me, I would have.”

  “Of course you would have.” Elaine reached for her hand. “That’s why we had to stop Pastor Matthews from taking over the church. Unfortunately the fire didn’t take. But now that you understand, we can work together.”

  What person in their right mind would ever want to recreate the church that Jesse Palermo had formed? Lucy felt sympathy for Elaine, because the woman didn’t understand freedom.

  “I should go find Jerry,” Lucy said with a smile she had to force. “We’ll work things out.”

  “I’m so glad. We’ve been having meetings at the Ledbetters’, but they’re tired of having it in their home.”

  “Of course they are,” Lucy answered as she backed toward the door. “Is Jerry here?”

  “In the waiting room,” Elaine answered, her eyes closing. “He had to do this, Lucy. I wanted out. I’m sorry.”

  Her mother told her to hush. Lucy felt a chill sweep up her spine as she looked from mother to daughter. Elaine had wanted out. That was the reason for the beating Jerry had given her. And at the moment he was possibly with her sister.

  Lucy rushed down the hall to the waiting room. Jerry sat there, next to Maria. Her sister shot Lucy a worried look and tears formed in her eyes. Her knees were drawn up and her hand was on her belly. She looked young and frightened. She was a girl who needed her mom, but their mother had never been who they needed.

  “Jerry, I heard you’ve been looking for me.” Lucy smiled, hoping to appease the man who sat next to her sister. It would be a very bad day for him if he harmed one hair on Maria’s head.

  “I have been, but I think I changed my mind. Maybe you’re weak. Your dad worried about that.”

  “He shouldn’t have worried. I’m not weak.”

  Jerry squeezed Maria’s arm. “Your sister is weak, too. The minute Matthews showed up in town, Maria and Essie were right there to welcome him. I killed that rooster thinking Essie would get the hint.”

  “You jerk.” Maria spoke with venom in her tone. He reached for her, possibly to quiet her. But Maria had been paying attention. As he reached, her arm shot up. Her palm connected with his chin, knocking his head back. She stood, stomping his toe and giving him a second hit.

  “I’m not going to let you get away with that, Maria.” Jerry stood, as if he intended to go after her sister. Lucy moved, ready to do whatever she must to keep Maria safe. Jerry backed off, proving he had a bit more sense than she would have guessed.

  The door opened, and a police officer stepped into the room, asking if everyone was okay.

  “We’re fine. Jerry just has a few things he needs to discuss.” Lucy gri
nned at Jerry. “With a judge. Sorry, Jerry, I called 911 before I got down here to talk to you.”

  “Lucy.” Maria’s voice sounded as if it came from far away.

  Lucy moved quickly as her sister, pale, perspiration beading her brow, collapsed. She pulled Maria close before she could hit the floor.

  One of the officers that had entered the room reached for the emergency cord and pulled it. He hurried to their side. He was young and his worried gaze swept over her sister.

  “Can I help?” he asked. “Miss, can you tell me your name?”

  A weak smile hovered on Maria’s lips. “Not on our first date.”

  The officer smiled at that and Lucy felt the air seep back into her lungs.

  “I’m glad you can joke,” Lucy told her sister.

  “I’m okay.” Maria closed her eyes as she said it.

  “No, you aren’t.”

  A nurse rushed into the room. Lucy was holding Maria and it didn’t take the nurse long to assess the situation. She called for a wheelchair.

  “We’ll take care of you.” The nurse smoothed Maria’s hair. “How many weeks?”

  “Twenty-one,” Maria whispered. Her eyes darted to Lucy. “I’m scared, Luce.”

  “Don’t be,” the nurse assured her. “You’re in the best place. We’ll get you hooked up to a monitor and examined and I bet you’ll be going home in a few hours.”

  “What are you going to do?” Lucy asked, because this was new territory for them both.

  The nurse helped Maria into a wheelchair that an aide brought to them. “We’re going to take her down to labor and delivery and make sure everything is okay. We’ll monitor and make sure she isn’t having contractions, check her blood pressure, and a few other things.”

  Maria nodded but her eyes were on Lucy, pleading for help. And Lucy didn’t know how to help.

  “I don’t want to lose my baby,” Maria said as the nurse pushed her toward the door. “Lucy, I want you to raise my baby. I’ve prayed about this. I really have. I’m not ready to be a mom.”

  “I’m not sure anyone is ever really ready to be a mom, Maria. That’s why babies take nine months to get here.” She’d heard that once. Maybe from Emma McKay, Daron’s wife.