Living With Lies Trilogy (Books 1, 2, and 3 of The Dancing Moon Ranch Series)

by Watters, Patricia

  "That's another thing, Mom," Rick said. "He looks like he's ten years younger than you."

  "I like a younger man," Susan replied in defense. "They appreciate me."

  Rick found it strange that he could love such a woman, but where he used to be angry with her for the string of men she'd kept over the years, now he felt pity. She was getting older and trying to hold onto her youth by keeping men who made her feel young, even when he knew that the men were flattering her and giving her everything she thought she wanted, just to keep the perks coming. "You've been moving men in and out of your place for years and that's all you have when you end things with them. Nothing," Rick said. "Have you ever thought about getting married again? Maybe you and dad didn't work out but it sure beats what's going on in your life."

  "I know this might surprise you, but some women are just not cut out for marriage," Susan said in all honesty. "Your dad and I had a good marriage for a while, but after a few years I began to feel restless, and then Ross came along and, well, you know the rest."

  "Yeah, I know the rest," Rick said, in disgust. "And I think you need to go now. I wouldn't want Dad and Jayne to come home and find you here."

  "I have a right to see my son."

  "Not at their house you don't," Rick said. "But, whenever you do come here looking for me it's always because you need money, so how much do you want?"

  "That is absolutely not the case!" Susan clipped.

  Ignoring her angry retort, Rick took his wallet from his jacket pocket and pulled out a fifty-dollar bill and held it out, and said, "This is it for now. It bugs the crap out of me to have to subsidize your live-ins. Doesn't Don pay anything at all?"

  Susan took the bill and tucked it into her bag. "Like I said, he's between jobs," she replied. "He does maintenance, and there isn't as much work as before. I also have some expenses with Kenny there now. Young men eat a lot, but he's helping me around the gym, sweeping up in the evening and doing light cleaning, so he earns his keep."

  Rick eyed her, dubiously. "Where is Kenny's family?"

  "They live a little ways out of town, but it's a very dysfunctional family. I'm just giving Kenny a place to live until things get worked out. He's a very nice young man."

  "He's also under eighteen," Rick pointed out, then immediately regretted it.

  Susan stood. "I refuse to listen to this."

  "Sorry," Rick said, realizing he'd crossed the line with his mother. Having a stud ten years younger didn't necessarily mean she'd hit on a yet younger guy if he came along, but her past behavior patterns with men didn't exclude it either. He could see the future clearly. His mother would get older and harder looking, the toy boys would be younger and more demanding of perks, and a practicing vet could hardly turn his mother away.

  He was on the verge of pointing out that reality when she said, "I know you don't understand how it is with women like me but I'm very glad you seek out the kind of women who do want marriage, and that's the way it should be. Are you dating anyone special right now?"

  Rick knew this was more about changing the subject than his mother being pleased with his choice in women. "Vet school doesn't leave much time for dating," he said. "The amount of study material's staggering. Even as Dr. Terry's assistant this summer I'm up to my elbows in stuff to study." He hoped that would take his mother off the who are you dating subject.

  "What about, Sophie?" Susan asked. "When I ran into the two of you a while back you couldn't keep your eyes off her."

  "We're just friends," Rick said, his mind conjuring a pair of big blue eyes fringed in long brown lashes, and a face about as perfect as a woman's face could be, surrounded by a cloud of natural blond hair with just enough curl to make him want to run his fingers through it.

  "I suspect you like her more than just friends," Susan replied.

  "She lives in California which is a little far for dating," Rick said, knowing he didn't want to carry this conversation any further. Discussing love interests with his mother was not something he intended to do. Ever.

  "Would she make a good veterinarian's wife?" Susan asked in a tone that led Rick to believe she was actually asking out of maternal concern.

  "I suppose," Rick replied, trying to sound indifferent. But the fact was, Sophie would make a good wife for any man, and that had not been a sudden realization. He'd thought about it for years, more so after she graduated from college. Sophie, the perfect woman. The perfect wife. Opposite in every way from his mother, who was in every way the most imperfect woman he'd ever known. But Sophie had it all. Looks. Brains. She wasn't allowed to date in high school and she'd just graduated from an all-girl's college where she'd only dated casually, so she was definitely available.

  "Is she coming to the ranch with her folks again this summer?" Susan asked.

  "Probably not," Rick replied. "Now that she's finished college she’s looking for a job."

  "Maybe she could work at the ranch until she finds one," Susan said.

  Rick refrained from telling her he was actually thinking about suggesting that to Sophie. The less his mother knew about his personal life the better, and Sophie was definitely off limits to his mother, especially if he managed to convince her to work at the ranch until she decided what she wanted to do. But his plans for Sophie included more than just getting her to the ranch for a few months. Although their relationship over the years had been platonic, he intended to change that. He'd even found himself looking at rings and wondering what she'd like, if it ever came to that, but first, he had to get her to the ranch. He mentioned it in one of his emails, but she'd gone off on other tangents about wanting to travel some before settling into a job.

  A sharp rapping on the door surprised him. No one at the ranch knocked. Most just poked their heads in the doorway and announced they were there, but when he opened the door, he was startled to find Sophie staring at him, a grim look on her face. "Hey, Soph," he said. He glanced around her for her parents. "I didn't know you were coming."

  "Neither did I." Sophie swept past him. "Justine and Dad don't know I'm here and that's fine with me."

  "What's with the Justine thing?" Rick asked. "When did she stop being Mom?"

  "When I found out my beloved step-mother was a slut. I'm sorry to break it to you in such explicit terms but that's what she is, or was, before she married my dad." Sophie shoved her arms together, locking them tightly across her chest.

  Rick glanced out the window and saw a car. "Is that a rental," he asked, "or did you just drive six-hundred miles?"

  "It's my car," Sophie replied. "I had to get away from those hypocrites. All the time I was growing up she and my dad preached about saving myself for the man I’d marry. Well, I've been saving myself alright. I might as well have grown up in a nunnery."

  Rick glanced off to the side and said, while flicking a thumb in the direction of his mother, "Yeah, well maybe you'd better fill me in later. You remember my mom?"

  Sophie looked around, clearly surprised to see they were not alone. Unfolding her arms, she said in a hesitant voice, "Umm... hello, Mrs. Hansen."

  Susan gave her a cordial smile. "Clearly you are upset, honey," she said, "so go ahead and vent to Rick and pretend I'm not here."

  Before Rick could insist his mother leave, Sophie started into a tirade, saying, "I was looking for my birth certificate so I could get a passport in case I needed one and I found some correspondence between Justine and the president of the college where she graduated as valedictorian, only the way she managed to become valedictorian was by having sex with her professor. There was a copy of the letter she sent to the college describing what happened. It was pretty graphic, and pretty disgusting. So no, she's no longer Mom. She's nothing."

  Rick put his hand on Sophie's shoulder to calm her, and Sophie gave a little jerk, dislodging it, and said, "Please don't give me a sermon about having to love the woman, Rick. I'm in no mood for that."

  "Yeah, I kinda got that impression," Rick replied. "But why would she tell all to
the college now, after all these years?"

  "The letters were old," Sophie said. "It was eighteen years ago, but when I confronted her with the letters she didn't deny it. Instead, she gave me some song and dance about changing her life once she met my father. When I asked if there had been other men, she made a feeble attempt at trying to explain that once she'd started into a pattern she couldn't seem to stop. As it turns out, she pretty much slept her way up the corporate ladder. And all the while I was growing up my father led me to believe he'd waited for the one special woman who was pure and untouched and morally sound. It's enough to make you puke."

  "You need to call and let them know you're here," Rick said.

  "No, I don't need to do a damn thing."

  Rick eyed Sophie with unease. All the years he'd known her she'd never used curse words. But then, she'd been at college for the past four years, and he'd only been with her during her family's summer visits, so things might have changed. "Where do you plan to stay?" he asked. "The lodge and cabins will be full starting Sunday, and with Adam and Marc home from college for the summer, Aunt Grace and Uncle Jack's house is full, and Becca's here with the baby while Chase is in Afghanistan. Had you even thought about that, or did you just leave in a snit?"

  "Believe me, I left in way more than a snit," Sophie said. "And I don't care where I stay, as long as it's as far away from them as possible."

  "You can stay with me," Susan volunteered. "I have a spare bedroom and you'd be more than welcome. In fact, I'd love to have you stay."

  "Forget it," Rick said to Sophie. "Your folks would have a fit."

  Sophie gave Rick an ironic smile. "Yes, I believe they would, which is exactly why I intend to stay with your mother." She turned to Susan, "If you're sure I won't be a bother."

  "I'm absolutely sure," Susan said. "I do have a friend living with me though."

  Rick gave a short guffaw. "Yeah, right. Friends." He took Sophie by the arm and tugged her across the room and out the front door. When the door snapped shut, he said, "Are you crazy? You can't stay with my mother. She has a live-in boyfriend."

  "I know. That's precisely why I am going to stay with her," Sophie said, "and I hope my father and his wife hear about it." She laughed a low, ironic chuckle deep in her throat. "Maybe it's time I learned what it's like in the fast lane. I've been so long living among nuns and coeds I want to find out what I've been missing."

  "Don't do this," Rick warned. "You're mad, you're hurt, and you'll do something you'll later regret."

  Pinning him with intense blue eyes darkened by anger, Sophie said, "The only thing I regret right now is that I've never been screwed." Turning from him, she marched across the porch and back into the house.

  Rick slammed his fist into the stuffed back of the porch swing and followed Sophie inside, but by the time he was fired up to say his peace, Sophie was walking back out with his mother.

  And there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.

  ***

  Not more than a half hour later, Sam and Jayne returned from town where they'd taken Rick's step-sister, Becca, to show off the new baby to friends. Rick intercepted his father as he was getting out of his SUV. "I need to talk to you, Dad," he said.

  "I've got a wine-tasting scheduled in a few minutes," Sam replied. "Can it wait until after?"

  Rick shook his head. "It's pretty important."

  "Come on then." Sam started across the grounds toward the winery, and Rick matched his long strides, while saying, "It's about Sophie. She's here. Well, not here at the ranch. She's staying with Mom."

  Sam slowed his pace, and said. "What do you mean she's staying with Mom?"

  After Rick filled him in on why Sophie left home, Sam said. "You need to go over there and get Sophie and bring her here. Your mother's place is the last place Sophie belongs."

  "I know," Rick said. "Mom might have two toy boys now."

  "What are you talking about?" Sam asked.

  After Rick explained the situation, he said, "I saw the kid when I stopped by last week. He's man-size, but he's still underage. Do you think Mom would get something going with him?"

  Sam looked askance at Rick. "Your mom's had a steady stream of men from the time she left me, but no, I don't think she'd do that. I'm sure it's just the way she said it was."

  The expression on his father's face showed doubt, and Rick knew he wasn't convinced, which prompted him to say, "Is it younger men Mom likes, or just men in general? They seem to be getting younger each time she moves a new one or more in."

  Sam eyed him with uncertainty. "I don't know," he said. "We've been divorced for years. When we were married she was… that is she never seemed to be able to..." He paused, and his jaws bunched.

  "I'm twenty-four, Dad. I know about women. Maybe we can be a little open here. I'm not trying to pry into your sex life, but Mom's always had a steady stream of men in her life, and it was an embarrassment when I was growing up because everyone knew, and now I'm just trying to understand her some."

  Sam glanced around, as if looking to see if anyone could hear, then said, in a lowered voice, "Your mom never could seem to have an orgasm, or at least I couldn't hold out until she did. For a long time I thought it was because she insisted I wear a condom, then the one time I didn't she still had the problem."

  "And I was the result of that one time," Rick said, setting things straight.

  Sam nodded. "Then I got the cancer, but after having chemo and learning I was sterile and no longer needed condoms I figured everything would be okay, but it wasn't. And I think we'd better leave it at that, but you need to get Sophie out of there."

  "Like I have some control over her?" Rick said, with irony.

  "I see your point," Sam replied. "She's pretty much had you dancing to her tune for years."

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  Sam shrugged. "Since you want to be open about things, you've been in love with Sophie for years and she has you wrapped around her finger, reeling you in and out like a yoyo. Maybe if you stood up to her you might get somewhere."

  "If I stood up to Sophie she'd walk out of my life," Rick said. "And yeah, she pretty much has me dancing to her tune. You're also right about getting her away from Mom. Right now Sophie wants to get screwed, and those were her words. She's pissed at her parents and she's in the process of making sure she goes against everything they instilled in her."

  When Rick started to walk away, Sam reached for his arm and said, "I'm sorry about all this, son. Do whatever you need to do to get Sophie away from there and we'll figure out a place for her to stay, at least until she starts to reason things out."

  "Could she stay with Grandma for a month or so?" Rick asked. "Sophie's not about to go back home and work through this with her folks right now, but she's fresh out of college and doesn't have a job, and her degree's in management. Maybe she could work with Jayne managing the guests. She could send out job applications from here."

  "I'm sure we can find something," Sam said, "but if she stays away from her parents too long it could stretch into an estrangement that could last for years, so I don't want to be too accommodating."

  Rick was tempted to confide in his father that he wanted Sophie to stay long enough to convince her he was the man for her, then realized how ludicrous that would sound, as if he'd be marrying her to solve her problem with her parents. Instead, he said, "If her parents had been honest with her from the start, she'd understand why she was so sheltered when she was growing up. This way it's like Sophie learning that Mother Theresa lived a double life as a hooker. I just don't understand why her folks withheld the truth." He couldn't help noticing the penitent look on his father's face. "You knew about Aunt Justine too, didn't you?"

  Sam nodded vaguely.

  Rick eyed his father with vexation. He'd thought he'd been close with his dad over the years, and he was disappointed his father hadn't been open about his aunt's involvement with men, if only to shed light as to why Sophie had been so overprotecte
d while she was growing up. He also wondered now if there were other family secrets.

  Picking up on Rick's displeasure, Sam said, as if in apology, "Aunt Justine's involvement with men was a long time ago. She's been a good step-mother to Sophie so there was no reason to dredge up the past. As for your Mom, she's a pretty messed up woman."

  "Yeah, well, so is Sophie," Rick said, "so I'd better get over there and see what I can do about bringing her back here."

  Twenty-five minutes later, when Rick walked into his mother's living quarters over the fitness center, he was startled to find Sophie half-reclined on one of the two matching couches in the living room, with a glass of wine in her hand. To his knowledge, Sophie hated the stuff. Ignoring his mother and the worthless pony-tailed excuse of a man named Don, who was leaning heavily against her on the other couch, he said to Sophie, "I talked to Dad and you can stay with us, and he said he'll find work for you on the ranch, maybe helping Jayne manage the guests."

  Sophie took a long slow sip of wine, swallowed it with a look on her face that told him she couldn't stand the stuff but would tough it out, then replied, "That's very nice of your father, but I'm comfortable here." She polished off the remainder of the wine.

  "You don't drink," Rick said.

  Sophie tipped her empty glass toward him. "I do now," she replied. "What's more, it makes me feel good. It takes the edge off knowing the woman who raised me like a nun was a whore."

  Rick could get into a long diatribe about how Sophie's mother had been a model mother all the time Sophie was growing up, unlike the woman sitting directly across from her, but he knew now wasn't the time. Instead, he glanced at his mother and said, "You got Sophie doing this."

  His mother immediately became defensive. "You might not have a very good opinion of me," she said, "but I would not do that."

  "She's right," Sophie added. "Actually your mother has been very understanding and very motherly. I don't think you've appreciated her over the years. Furthermore, I intend to have another glass of wine. I'm in no danger of driving while intoxicated since I plan to stay here... indefinitely." She lifted herself up from the couch, brushed past Rick, and refilled her glass. He could tell from her ungainly movements that she was losing control.