by Lois Richer
“Oh, goodness no,” she said with a laugh. “I don’t know the first thing about horses.”
“Then how can you love them?” Cade looked totally confused. The look was so cute on him.
“I’ve always been infatuated with horses.” She shrugged. She thought a moment, searching for a way to explain. “They’re so—pretty,” she finally managed.
“My horses are not pretty.” Cade snorted his indignation. “They’re strong, capable, well trained, but pretty? No.” He frowned at her. “You sound like a city girl.”
“I am a city girl.” She giggled when he rolled his eyes. “You and Max share that same macho characteristic. He always teased that I was naive.” She sobered suddenly. “I guess I was naive,” she murmured, remembering how her husband’s romantic dreams had melted away in the face of his post-traumatic stress issues and how he’d refused to accept his illness.
She glanced up and found Cade watching her, a curious look on his face.
“Max had no idea of the ugliness I’ve seen through my work,” she said quickly. “City or country, ugliness always rears its head.”
Cade nodded but said nothing.
When the moment of silence her words brought had stretched too long, Abby cleared her throat. “What do you raise your horses for?”
“We sell ours for riding of all kinds, but rodeo stuff mostly. There are a lot of families in the area who are involved in 4-H.” Cade raised an eyebrow as if to ask if she knew what that was.
“4-H. A group for kids to learn skills,” she shot back with a grin, anxious to show her knowledge. “Lots of involvement in gymkhanas which means riding and training a horse and participating in judged events.”
“Very good.” Cade grinned back. She could tell he loved verbally sparring with her. “A lot of the dads around here buy their kids horses from me, which means they have to be broken and properly trained before the boy or girl ever gets on. We also dabble a little in pedigreed horses.”
“And the cattle?”
“Our cattle are Black Angus, raised strictly organic, prime Alberta beef. We also have a few pigs because I like ribs, a few dozen chickens because Mrs. Swanson likes her eggs fresh and natural, and some sheep who supply her with enough wool to knit her scarves and mitts for the street kids in Calgary.” A smile played at the corner of his lips. “We also get a few ducks and geese on the pond in the spring, the odd coyote or wolf after our cattle and some owls in the woods. That about covers the animals on the Double L.”
“Why is it called the Double L?” Abby asked. The moment she said it, she knew she shouldn’t have. A dark, brooding look filled Cade’s face.
“My great-grandfather homesteaded the land, then my grandfather and father.”
“And now it’s passed on to you,” she said with a bright smile, trying to understand his odd manner.
“For the time being,” Cade said, then pressed his lips together and stared at her.
“That’s nice,” Abby said. “After my parents died, I had to sell their place. They had some serious bills from the nursing home they stayed in.” She blinked when Cade suddenly jerked upright.
“Did your parents choose to go into the nursing home?” he asked in an intense tone.
“Yes.” She nodded. “It was the best option for them. I was at university and couldn’t always be there when they needed me. They both had mobility issues because of lung problems. In the nursing home they got the care and support they needed to enjoy their lives.” She couldn’t help wondering why he’d asked.
Cade said nothing but a raised eyebrow told her to continue.
“They served overseas in Africa when they were young and got some virus that affected their lungs,” she explained. “That’s why they eventually came home. But the virus never went away.”
“I’m sorry, Abby.” His hand brushed hers, then drew away.
“It’s okay. They were both strong in their faith. I know they’re in heaven, waiting to see me. It’s just—” She paused a moment, sucked in a breath of courage to chase away her sadness and summoned a smile for him. “I get lonely now with Max gone, too.”
A crash from the other room cut off whatever Cade had been going to say. They glanced at each other, then hurried to see what had happened. Abby could tell from Cade’s face that he expected the worst. What they found were Ivor and Ed laughing. The chess board and pieces were spread all over the floor.
“Sore loser,” Ivor said to Ed, who simply grinned. Then he saw them standing in the doorway and the laughter stopped to be replaced by the scowl he habitually wore.
“What happened?” Abby asked when Cade remained silent, his gaze locked with his dad’s.
“I told Ed that cane would be the death of him,” Ivor explained. “He keeps waving it all over. Finally it caught on the board.” He shrugged. “We were finished anyway. I won.”
Cade began picking up the pieces. Ivor knelt to help him. “Do you play chess with your dad?” he asked innocently.
“No.” Cade gave no explanation, simply set the pieces back on the board and rose.
“I think it’s time I went to bed,” Abby said before Ivor could ask more questions. “This has been a busy day for me.” She walked over to Ed, bent and brushed her lips against his leathery cheek. “Good night,” she whispered. She managed a quick hug for Ivor.
“Want me to walk you to your room?” When he shook his head firmly she recognized that he didn’t want to be seen as a baby and it was too early for him to accept someone else doing what his mom had done. She nodded, then looked up at Cade. “Thank you again,” she murmured, keeping her voice low enough so the others wouldn’t hear. “Good night.”
His eyes held hers for a long moment. Finally he said good-night, but as she walked out of the room, Abby could feel three sets of eyes boring into her back and was grateful Mrs. Swanson had already shown her the way to her room. Abby scurried down the hall, grateful the house was ranch style with only one floor. She didn’t think she could manage stairs tonight. She was just too tired.
She was tucked up in bed when she heard the others go to their rooms. Cade’s calm, level voice penetrated as he wished Ivor good-night. She couldn’t decipher what he was saying to his dad but Ed’s cane made several loud thumps, which were soon silenced. Sometime later she heard Cade say “Good night, Dad.” Then a door clicked and the house settled down.
Abby lay on her big, wide bed and marveled at the lovely room. It was twice the size of the one she’d shared with Max. There were huge windows opposite the bed. Come morning she would probably have a view of the entire ranch, maybe even the horses. God had certainly taken care of her. For now.
But what was she going to do about getting a permanent home for the babies?
Abby smoothed her hand over her bulging stomach as she pressed down the rush of panic that threatened to overwhelm her.
“God will provide,” she whispered. A tiny unborn foot in the center of her midsection kicked her hand. She smiled. “For all of us,” she said. But how? That question haunted her. While the babies went through their nightly calisthenics routine, she picked up her Bible, flipped it open and began reading in the Book of Psalms.
God adopts us as His very own children.
Abby smiled to herself. Here was a promise she could cling to. God had adopted her. She was His. He’d used Cade to bring her here, to give her a home, even if it was temporary, and she had new friends in Mrs. Swanson, Ivor and Ed, not to mention Cade.
For a moment her thoughts got caught up in the strong, handsome rancher, in his gentleness to her, his protective attitude and the way he’d insisted on rescuing her. Poor Cade. He was trying to do the right thing here, too, but his father certainly didn’t make it easy on him.
An idea blossomed. Maybe that’s why she was here, to help the two of them mend their relat
ionship. Despite Ed’s crankiness, Abby had seen a glint in his eyes when he’d surreptitiously watched Cade. She was certain father and son loved each other. They’d just gotten off track.
She could never repay Cade for all he’d done for her. Except, maybe she could help him find his way back to the man he clearly loved.
Show me, Father, please? she prayed.
Then she put her head on the pillow and closed her eyes. As usual, her fingers closed around the tiny locket she wore, the one precious thing she couldn’t bear to sell. She popped it open and stared into Max’s eyes. For the first time in months, tears didn’t well up. She traced his features with a forefinger.
“Your friend’s taking care of us,” she murmured. “We’re fine. And you’re at peace now. I’m sorry I couldn’t do more to help you. I’m sorry I failed you. But I promise I will not fail our babies. Cade will help us.”
But just how much help could she take from the handsome rancher with the deep blue eyes?
* * *
In all his years on the ranch, Cade had never had a more frustrating day. His two best bulls had broken through a fence last night and it had taken forever to round them up, get them back with the rest of the herd and fix the fence. It had to happen on the day he’d given Garnet Jones, his hand, the day off. The drifts were so deep he’d had to use the snowmobile. Ivor had seen him and rushed out, eager to try the machine.
Cade wanted the kid to feel at home, even to enjoy himself. Since he hadn’t had much luck interesting Ivor in anything else the past three days, he figured the snowmobile might act as a kind of bridge between them. That was before Ivor had raced the machine too close to the pond and broken through the ice on the edge.
“It could have been worse,” he told Ivor after he’d pulled the snowmobile out with his four-wheel drive.
“How?” Ivor glared at him.
“If you’d gone further, you’d have sunk in completely and taken a cold bath. And you’d have ruined my machine.” He studied his snowmobile and sighed. “Not that it won’t take a fair bit of work to dry it out and get it running now.”
“It’s really old. You should probably buy a new one,” was Ivor’s only comment before he wandered back to the house.
“Why didn’t I think of that?” Cade muttered as he towed the snowmobile into his machine shed, dismayed that his attempts to bond with the boy had gone so poorly.
Things got a little better after lunch when Abby insisted on seeing his horses. She crept up to the stall as if in fear for her life, but when Liberty, his favorite mare, stuck her head over the gate and whinnied, Abby seemed to forget her inhibitions. She reached up a hand and gently brushed it over Liberty’s golden-red mane. A moment later the two were holding a mutual admiration meeting. Abby’s green eyes grew huge with wonder when she looked at him.
“She’s beautiful,” she murmured.
“She’s a sucker for apples.” Cade handed her one of two he’d tucked into his pocket earlier.
“Does it have to be cut up—oh!” Abby blinked as the horse nipped the apple from her fingers and chewed the treat. She looked at her hand in wonder. “She didn’t even touch me.”
Cade laughed.
“Liberty’s an expert thief. Sometimes she searches my pockets for carrots when I’m cleaning her stall or feeding her and she always finds them.” A sudden rush of satisfaction filled him when Abby began to caress Liberty, which made Cade wonder why it seemed so important she was comfortable with his animals.
How at home do you want her to feel? He ignored the voice in his head.
“Liberty loves her treats almost as much as she loves being brushed,” he explained. “Want to try?”
Abby studied him for a few minutes, then slowly nodded. Cade went to the tack area, grabbed Liberty’s favorite brush and carried it to Abby. Carefully he opened the gate and positioned himself by Liberty’s side so he could show Abby how to brush. When his fingers covered hers, Cade’s heart rate giddyapped, just as it had right before he’d shot out of the chute on an ornery bronc when he competed at the Calgary Stampede.
As soon as Abby had the motion memorized, Cade let go and stepped back, trying to even out his erratic breathing. What was wrong with him today?
Liberty shifted and whinnied. Abby backed away with a frown. “Did I do it wrong?”
“No. You’re doing it right. That means she likes it.” Cade smiled. “She won’t hurt you, but she might not want you to stop,” he warned.
“Do all her noises have meanings?” Abby resumed her work.
“Not always, but you’ll know if she doesn’t like something. She’s not subtle.” He couldn’t tear his gaze away from Abby’s face and the pure joy that radiated from it as she curried the horse.
“I hear you had some trouble with Ivor this morning.” She gave him a quick sideways look.
“We don’t seem to be hitting it off,” Cade admitted. “He won’t listen to anything I say. I tried to tell him to keep the snowmobile away from the pond but—” He shrugged and let the rest of his sentence die.
“Ivor doesn’t come from a ranch family, does he? I think Mrs. Swanson mentioned his dad was some kind of mechanic.” Abby moved to Liberty’s other side. Cade followed and stayed close, just in case she needed him.
“Maybe Ivor worked with him,” Cade said dourly. “Then he could help me fix my sled.”
Abby chuckled, then smoothed her hand between Liberty’s eyes, whispering soothing words. She winked at him.
“Maybe Ivor would like to brush a horse,” she mused in a speculative tone.
“I’m not sure he likes animals.” Which was a relief since Cade wasn’t sure he wanted Ivor anywhere near his prized horses. Sensing that Abby was wearying, he called a halt and put Liberty back in her stall, placating her whinny of complaint with another apple.
“It’s coffee time,” he said as he closed the stall door. “Let’s go see what Mrs. Swanson baked today.”
“Does she bake a lot?” Abby asked. She slid her hand through the arm he offered and daintily picked her way over the snowy path toward the house.
“She usually makes something special every day. It’s her way of trying to tempt my dad to eat a little more,” he told her.
“Has she been here a long time?” Abby wondered.
“Since my mom died. She practically raised me.” He cleared his throat and said the words that had nagged at him for hours. “You were with my father for a long time this morning. I really think it’s better if you stay away, Abby.”
“Your father and I were playing games.” She stopped when he paused outside the back door and studied him. “Ed seemed to really get into them, so I didn’t want to cut it short. But if you’d rather I didn’t interact with him—” She stopped, waited.
“I don’t want you hurt,” Cade said firmly. “I heard his cane banging several times. When he gets riled he sometimes loses control—”
“He wasn’t riled.” Abby laughed. “He was celebrating. He beat me at every game of checkers. Ivor told me he’d lost to Ed earlier, too.”
“He didn’t get upset?” Cade frowned when Abby shook her head.
“Your father seems to enjoy winning.”
“Yeah, he loves winning,” Cade told her with an ironic grin. “Understatement of the year to say he loves winning. My father has to win.”
Winning was all that mattered to Ed. At least it was all that seemed to matter in his relationship with his son. Since Cade had often overruled him in regard to decisions about the ranch, he’d assumed that accounted for his father’s worsening behavior.
Confused by the different view of his dad, Cade held the door for Abby to precede him inside. They shed their outer clothes and boots in the mudroom that adjoined the kitchen.
“Something smells wonderful,” Abby said, following he
r nose. “I can’t believe I’m hungry again. I ate a huge lunch.”
“Ranch life does that to you.” Cade accepted two cups of coffee from Mrs. Swanson and set them on the kitchen table. “It’s the fresh, unspoiled air.”
“It’s also the wee ones wanting a snack,” Mrs. Swanson said with a knowing glance at Abby’s midriff. “Some cinnamon rolls might quiet them.”
“They certainly would.” Abby sat next to Cade, then accepted a steaming cinnamon roll. She nipped a bite between her pink lips, closed her eyes and smiled. “Delicious,” she said, much to Mrs. Swanson’s satisfaction.
A few moments later Ed and Ivor joined them. Ivor pushed Ed’s chair to the table as if he’d done it a thousand times before. As they all sat around the table sharing the delicious treat, Abby teased Ed about winning and then Ivor about almost sinking the snowmobile.
For the first time in memory, Cade realized that he and his father were seated together at the table without the usual tension. Everyone seemed to find harmony, fun and pleasure in one another’s company. Cade had no doubt that was Abby’s influence on them. She seemed to bring out the best in everyone she met.
Cade’s gaze slid to Ivor. According to Marsha’s call this morning, the kid was going to be here a while. None of the relatives she’d spoken to seemed ready to add the orphaned boy to their menageries, which meant Cade needed to find a way to connect with Ivor. His horses had reached Abby. Maybe they would Ivor, too.
Cade spared a moment to wonder why it was so important for him to connect with Ivor, then decided he was just being a good host.
“Maybe tomorrow you’d like to go for a horse ride,” he offered. “I could teach you if you don’t know how to ride.”
“No, thank you.” Ivor didn’t even look at him. He did turn to Ed and ask him for a rematch. The pair left the kitchen with Ivor teasing the older man and Ed thumping his cane as he rolled along in his wheelchair, just for effect.
“Well, that went well,” Cade muttered, embarrassed that Abby had witnessed the brush-off he’d just received.
“Don’t get discouraged,” she encouraged, patting his arm. “Ivor’s hurting. He’s found a safe place with Ed. Let him savor that for a bit.”