She waited until Clint had the two kids in the water with him, and then she sat on the edge of the pool. It wasn’t hard to see that Max still wore a chip on his shoulder over Clint’s earlier behavior at the paddock. Sometimes, her boy was overly sensitive. After all, he’d grown up with two attentive adults and expected everyone to treat him with the respect he was used to.
Since André was the most predominant male figure in his small world, he’d imitated many of his habits. In some ways, it had stifled his innocent childishness and made him much more sophisticated than his peers. On the other hand, he had a wonderful sense of humor, and a fearless nature when it came to doing something he loved.
Anne noticed the quiet in the pool and watched to see how the big, strong, ranch-owner, who employed at least twenty hands, and ran a huge spread with hundreds of horses, cows and other animals, was holding out against two small children. Not so good!
That is until he took his son’s hands in his own to show Debbie how to kick her feet and stay above the water. From then on, he did seem to be making more headway. Debbie watched their every move, and the smile she couldn’t hide made Anne hopeful that the little girl would soon be the one holding her daddy’s hands.
Clint’s laugh pulled her eyes back to the two in the water. A fist in the stomach wouldn’t have had as much impact as seeing those two males, who she thought looked so much alike, interacting to help one small sprite not to be afraid.
Their ploy worked. Debbie took her turn and seemed to be having the time of her life. Anne understood that some of the little one’s happiness was showing off that she was as brave as Max but the largest part was having her daddy smiling at her, pleasure lighting his face.
The moment was emotional for Anne. Slipping into the water herself, she turned from the scene to hide her sentimental tears. That’s when she saw that Rose looked strangely lopsided in her shaded chair. Hiking herself out of the pool, she grabbed her towel and slowly approached the woman in case she’d caught her napping.
Except… she wasn’t sleeping. Something was dreadfully wrong.
❋
“Thank you, Doctor.” Clint walked to where Anne and the children were waiting for him in the hospital lounge.
Anne could tell, by the lightening of his features, that things weren’t as calamitous as they’d first imagined. Rose’s collapse had terrified them all. Now, Anne just prayed they’d be able to take Clint’s mother back to the ranch with them. She knew the other woman had a goal. Stay home for as long as possible—at least until the final coma; the one she wouldn’t wake up from. Anne had promised her they would make it happen. Clasping her hands together, fingers against her lips, trying to keep her prayers from turning into screams, she waited.
“Is Grams going to be okay?” With her arms raised, Debbie ran to Clint, reverting to being a little girl. The fear on her small features was heartbreaking.
Max, reverting to being a little boy, slipped his hand under Anne’s arm and hugged closer to her side. He’d been very quiet since they’d arrived at the hospital. Watching Clint carry his mother to a wheelchair at the entrance, and then push her to the emergency area; he’d been all eyes. Other than the boy commenting on the smell of disinfectant they encountered when reaching the ward, he’d said little else.
Clint smiled wearily and in a soothing voice he answered, “It’s not as bad as we feared. Doc says she’s plum tuckered out from doing too much. She needs to slow down more, even sleep during the day. That kind of thing.”
Thank you Lord! “I’m so glad. We’ll keep her tied to her chair if need be.” Anne tried to make a little joke, her relief overwhelming.
Clint added, “She’s been ridin’ me to hire some more hands, take life easier. I’ll git it done now for sure, so I can spend more time at the house.”
Max piped up and added. “Deb and me can play games with her and watch her shows on TV with her. Right, Debbie?”
“Right! And we’ll draw her pictures. Max can draw really good, can’t he Annie? Grandma likes to put them in her room. Is she coming home with us, Daddy?”
“No, baby. She needs to hang in here at the hospital because they want to run a few more tests. I’ve promised to be back for her before lunch.”
Clint waved them all toward the elevator, but held Anne back as the kids ran ahead to get the button. “When the doctor took me into Ma’s room, I saw something I didn’t understand.”
“What’s that, Clint?”
“She insisted on coming home. Got kinda crazy when we said she needed to stay overnight. For some crazy reason, I’d say she’s frightened. And I don’t know why.”
“I do. She wants to stay home at the ranch until the very end, Clint. I think she’s worried you’ll get to thinking that we can’t look after her and make her end her days in the hospital.”
Halting, he scanned her features. “What did you tell her?”
“That I wouldn’t let that happen; and that you wouldn’t make her leave.”
“Good girl!”
Chapter Seventeen
As if the universe had decided that Clint’s promise to take life easier wasn’t realistic, the next day the proverbial shit hit the fan and flew in every direction. Not only had one of his men broken his arm while fighting at the bar the night before, but they also had problems with moldy hay. The barn’s air conditioning system had been cutting in and out for days; which had caused mold to form, and a few of the horses were suffering from heaves because some idiot had gone ahead and fed it to them anyway. Then a horse trailer went missing and no one seemed to know where it had disappeared to.
By the time he had to go pick Rose up, he was at the end of his very short rope. Heading to the house, he slapped his gloves against his dusty thigh, then tucked the pair in his back pocket. He hung his hat on the hook, washed his hands and found Annie in the kitchen cooking up a storm.
As he moved to the coffee pot, she smiled at him. He stuck a packet into the holder and placed his cup to be ready. “Going to leave soon to pick Rose up?”
“That’s why I’m here. I’m sinking fast, with a shitload of work, Annie-girl. Could you and the kids go in and get her?” He watched her eyes narrow, and then, as if understanding he wouldn’t ask unless it was absolutely necessary, she said, “Sure. What’s happened?”
By the time he spilled all his woes, he felt better for sharing. Despite her own obvious load of chores, she instantly agreed. “Of course I can. Donny phoned the kids earlier and invited them to his house. Mary said she’d watch out for them, so I said they could ride their ponies over there. I’ll just give her a call and ask her to keep them until after lunch and I’ll go in myself.”
The intense weight of his responsibilities lightened a little, and Clint leaned toward her, placing a light kiss on the top of her head. Not sure who was more shocked, him or her, he moved to throw the rest of his coffee into the sink.
Her voice sounded funny, kinda weak. “You used to do that all the time, remember?”
“You sure that was me?”
“Mais oui. How could I forget? You were such a tease. I miss the old Clint.”
“Moi aussi”! Me too!” Sparring with her in French brought a smile, but it slid off pretty quickly.“Since you left, there hasn’t been much to tease about. A bitch of a wife, who dumps her own baby, just makes me sadder'n a woman twice widowed. Dealing with old Jake’s passing was no tea party either. The cranky old bastard had fewer people who cared about him than I figured. Besides, Ma took it pretty hard and needed a shoulder. And building this ranch into one of the best in the country took every bit of energy this cowpoke had. Not much left over for fun and games.” He worried that Annie would think his griping made him less strong-natured. It bothered him until she answered.
“I’m sorry, Clint. It must have been dreadful for you. I guess your only sunshine was Rose and Debbie.”
Lord help him! If a horse had kicked him in the stomach, it wouldn’t have made the impact those words did.
For years he’d believed he had nothing to be thankful for. He’d wallowed in the pain and the hurt a rotten woman could inflict on her man. Not once had he given any thanks for having two people in his life who loved him like his girls.
Shame fought with fury at his own stupidity. Not liking the feeling, he stomped from the room and left poor Annie holding the fort.
❋
“We gotta stop ‘em. They’re kill buyers. I heard my pa talking about those guys.” Max watched as Donny planted his feet and crossed his arms, looking like he wouldn’t budge.
“What are kill buyers?” Max had to ask, even if it made him look like an outsider.
“They’re horse thieves who take what they go no rights to and sell them to the slaughter houses. That’s where they kill them and make them into dog food. It’s what my pa says. We gotta stop ‘em.”
“I know, but how?” Max instinctively knew that the men in the canyon below were bad guys. They wouldn’t hesitate to hurt kids if they interfered. “Maybe we should just call your pa and let him come and deal with them.”
“I don’t like those men, Max. Let’s go.” Debbie pulled at Max’s arm to get his attention.
Donny turned on her faster than a cat with a pinched tail. “Shut up, big baby. Those guys aren’t sticking around until we can get help. They’ve finished painting over the writing on that trailer of Clint’s so they’ll move on soon. Hey!” Donny pointed to the happenings below, excitement ringing in his lowered voice. “Ain’t that your black yearling? The one I saw at the paddock the other day?”
Oh no! Blackie! Max couldn’t let them hurt his horse. Donny was right, they had to stop them. Except, his maman had made him responsible for Debbie. She’d told him to look after her. He’d even hesitated when Donny had asked his ma if he could take them to his favorite hideout, thinking it might be too hard for Debbie. Not that she’d had any problems. His small sister sat a horse better than he did; she’d ridden a lot more than he had so she knew how to ride just fine.
But Debbie didn’t like being with Donny and he knew why the moment they’d left the house. First Donny called her a baby when she didn’t want to approach the barn until his pa had taken away an irritable horse, who was acting up. He’d jeered. “Yer a plug-ugly baby.” That’s when Max had attacked. He’d had Donny on the ground, fists flying, connecting, until Donny had yelled. “Okay, I’m sorry! Geez, you don’t have to get so mad. I was joshin’ with her.”
“No, you were being un jeune con.”
“A what?” Donnie had rolled away from Max, and stood, brushing the dust of his pants.
“You were being mean and you made her cry.”
Both of the boys had looked at Debbie to see if indeed she was crying. All they had seen was a little girl, smiling brilliantly, looking like someone had handed her a huge basket of candy.
Now, having called Debbie a baby again, Donny looked at his shoes and then he spoke real low. “Sorry, Debbie.”
“That’s okay, Donny. We need to hurry, Max. Mary wants us home by noon.”
“I know.” He thought back to their earlier conversation. At first, she hadn’t wanted to let them out of the yard until Max had told her he had his mother’s phone for emergencies. Seeing their disappointment, she’d agreed. “Fine, but you have an hour only. Then you get your butts back for lunch. Annie called to say she was going into town to collect Rose, and that you two were supposed to stay here and eat. She’ll call when they get back to the house. I’m making mac & cheese for lunch, so don’t be late.”
“Look, they’re getting ready to put the horses in the back of the trailer.” Donny pointed.
He was right. If they let them leave now, they’d never get Blackie back. Deciding quickly, Max gave orders. “You two, go and tell your pa about the trailer. Tell him they painted over Clint’s name with a symbol that looks like coiled rope.”
“It’s a lasso.” Both Donny and Debbie corrected him.
“Right, a lasso rope.”
“What are you going to do?” Donny’s eyes were huge.
“I’m going to sneak in there and ride along. I’ll keep the phone with me so I can call Clint and let him know where they’re going.”
“Shoot, Max. How are you going to do that?”
“When they go to get the next horse, I’ll hide behind Blackie. He knows me. You’d better get going.”
“Okay. Let’s go, Debbie. We gotta hurry.” Donny ran to where they’d left the horses tied to a bush.
“Ma-ax!” Debbie sniffed, her lip trembled and then she hugged him. “Be careful.”
“Don’t worry about me. You tell them I’m fine. Blackie’s my friend. He’ll hide me.”
Chapter Eighteen
If her relieved laugh was anything to go by, Rose seemed extremely happy when Anne arrived at the hospital. She looked past Annie, as if searching for someone else. “Clint couldn’t make it?”
“He really wanted to come himself, Rose, but there are all kinds of complications to deal with at the ranch.”
The older woman sighed and began gathering her belongings. “There always are.”
When Annie had first entered the room and saw Rose dressed in her own clothes, looking pink-cheeked, and more rested than she had since Anne had arrived in Texas; delight had filled her to overflowing. Now, her heart dropped. “You’re disappointed? I’m sorry. I should have insisted he make the time. But when he asked me to come in his stead, he looked like a man on the edge. I figured it was the least I could do for him. For me, I’m delighted to get to spend extra time with my favorite Mama-Rose.”
Anne had also decided it would be a good time to tell Rose about Max, her grandson. After the scare of seeing her collapse yesterday, she knew it shouldn’t be put off much longer. Why tempt Fate? Heavens, if anything happened to the woman she loved so dearly, without her knowing she was a grandmother, Anne would never forgive herself.
“Mama!” Rose wiggled her lips, trying to stop the smile from forming. But it lit her face up and broke through anyway. “You sure know how to sweet-talk this old lady. How about I take you for lunch in my favorite restaurant? I have something I need to discuss with you.”
Anne smiled with pleasure. “That’s funny. I also have something to share with you.”
Within a short time, a plump waitress was leading them to a quiet booth at the back of the cafe.
“Can I get you ladies something to drink?”
Rose answered. “Thanks, Gladys. It’ll be iced tea for both of us, right, Annie?”
“Yes, please.”
In her courteous, pleasant way, Rose smiled at the waitress and enquired, “How’s the diet coming along, dear?”
Gladys made a comical face and answered. “Only gained four pounds this week, Rose. It’s going pretty good.”
They shared a laugh before Gladys went off to get their drinks.
Once they'd gotten their tea and had given the orders for their favorite soup and sandwiches, Rose gathered Anne’s hands in her own and rubbed the backs with her thumbs. “Before anything else, I need you to know how happy you’ve made this sick old woman. I can’t begin to tell you the relief I feel knowing you’re here and helping my Debbie and her mule-headed father.”
“I’m happy to do so, Rose. You know I am. It’s been wonderful revisiting a place from the past where I was happy. I just wish Clint hadn’t changed so drastically. It breaks my heart to see him this bitter.”
“Well, now, I’d wager he’s gonna have more hardships very soon. I heard from Linda Doul, a friend who came to visit earlier this morning that his ex, Cathy, is back in town. Linda was positive it was her. I wouldn’t doubt her word ‘cause it’s hard to mistake the blonde tart with all her makeup and tight clothes.” Rose’s voice took on a note that Anne had never heard her use before—disgust mixed with hatred and sizzling with contempt.
“Darn! That’s all that Clint needs now. He told me this morning he’s a man short, and the work’s piling up. Then one of the barn hands
fed moldy hay to some horses who now need a vet. If that wasn’t bad enough, his horse trailer got stolen in the night. Worse than all the other stuff combined, you being sick is breaking his heart. How much more can he handle?”
“I don’t know.” Rose’s tightening of her grip let Anne know that whatever came next was important. “I need to add to his burdens. I’ve been trying to get up the nerve to tell him I know that Debbie isn’t my real granddaughter and push him to start custody proceedings. I’m sure he hasn’t done it so far because he was worried I’d find out. Now that her rotten mother is in town, it would be the perfect time for him to approach Cathy with some papers for her to sign. She’s never wanted Debbie, and having Clint take responsibility would, I’m sure, be just fine with that rotten excuse for a mother.”
“You know for sure that Debbie isn’t his?”
“I’ve known since I saw some blood test results he’d left in his desk. I was cleaning and came across them. He’s never said anything. Silly woman that I am, I used to go on so much about being a grandmother. How a granddaughter was the best thing he’d ever given me. I think he’s been scared to tell me the truth.”
Anne’s smile felt sad, and she had no doubt Rose picked up on it. “I remember when I lived here before; how much you used to tease him about the day when he’d fill the house with noisy little terrors, just like their daddy.”
Rose’s sigh said it all. How sad! Then she declared, “You’re not surprised. I suppose your father told you my secret. Oh well, he never swore not to.”
“He wouldn’t have promised, because he knew something you didn’t.” Anne gripped Rose’s hands tighter and leaned closer so they were only inches apart. “You are a grandmother, Rose. Max is your grandson.”
At first, Rose looked confused. Her eyes grew big, and Anne could see all the thoughts filtering through as she calculated the possibilities. The instant the truth hit, tears gushed out at an alarming rate.
A Touch of Passion (boxed set romance bundle) Page 27