Cassidy slipped her arm through his. “I’ve missed you, Rand,” she said, and she meant it. “How’s your love life? Have you married yet?”
“We’ll be back,” he called to someone working in another room. “I’m still a single man,” he said in a grave voice once they were outside. “But I have hopes.”
“What about Pebble? Roxie always said you two would get together after she’d had sufficient time to mourn.”
He led her to his car and opened the door for her. “I’ve had a few serious issues that have caused problems. Pebble, as you know, is a wonderful woman.” He studied his polished dress shoes before meeting her with pained eyes. “Cassidy, you might as well know I’m an alcoholic. I’ve been sober now for six months, and I’m never going back to the bottle. But you should know this now that you’re back. I just spent three of those six months in a rehab center.”
Cassidy couldn’t believe it. Rand, an alcoholic? It was unthinkable.
She didn’t know what to say as she hurried inside the car and waited for him to come around and slide behind the wheel.
“I don’t know what to say. Are you okay? How are you doing?”
“I’m as good as I can be at the moment. Got my life straightened out, was able to keep the paper operating while I was in detox, and things are going fine. Now I’m trying to mend trusts that I’ve destroyed.”
He sounded so positive. But she sensed a deep sadness in him.
“And how is Pebble?” She was being nosey now, but hey, everyone knew everything about her, right? “Like I said, Roxie always thought—”
“And Roxie always did talk too much. Pebble is as sweet and lovely as she’s always been.”
He drove back out of town to the Bull Barn, and just before pulling into the white rock parking lot he said quietly, “I’ll always love Pebble, but I hurt her. Sometimes a person has to do what is right for them, what might be hard but right. Pebble is doing that now.”
Cassidy’s heart caught at the certainty of his words.
She’d done that when she’d ended her broken, dysfunctional marriage. Knowing her husband had been unfaithful for most of their marriage had left her feeling so empty and alone. But she’d hung on, stayed in the house, living in denial that she was going down the same path as her parents and refusing to acknowledge that her marriage was doomed. But when she’d finally awoken from the coma, something had clicked inside of her and she’d walked away.
Now she let the harsh memories fade as the hometown energy inside the Bull Barn embraced her. The place wasn’t packed yet, but it was already buzzing with chatter from the five or six tables that were full so far.
Big Shorty lumbered their way. “Cassidy, great to see you.” Big but not short, not by a long shot, he gave her a smile that filled out his whole face.
“She’s moved back,” Rand told him. “Going to reopen the strawberry farm.”
“And the peach orchard along with a bed-and-breakfast,” Cassidy added.
“For real? That’s great. I used to buy strawberries from Roxie and I’d love to have fresh peaches and make the best cobblers. You get a crop this year, I’ll buy from you.”
Cassidy was awed. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you. You got produce, come see me. This place may look rough, but I pride myself on my ingredients, and though my wife and I grow a garden ourselves, sometimes I need more.”
Cassidy’s mood lifted even more. Every commitment to buy from her helped. “You’ve got a deal.”
They took a table by the window while Big Shorty went to get their drink order. She studied the different rodeo champion pictures on the walls. She realized the table across the room had pictures of Jarrod’s brother Tru. She’d read he was a quarter horse champion two years running, and here he was now on what was basically the Wishing Springs wall of fame. She thought of Jarrod, wondered if he’d competed after he’d left Wishing Springs that summer. He’d been good on a horse too.
She was not going to think about Jarrod.
Through the window she saw more cars turning into the white rock. Dust flew everywhere. It seemed the floodgates had opened from town and everyone had raced to find a spot at the local favorite.
The first ones she saw coming into the parking lot were two county sheriff’s SUV vehicles, and she recognized Jake Morgan, the sheriff. He was a friend of Jarrod’s growing up. She didn’t recognize one of his deputies and a couple of other men in starched, tan button-ups, dark jeans, and buffed boots as they climbed out of Jake’s vehicle. They all had their Stetsons on too. Cassidy noticed Rand looked intently interested in the group as they entered the diner.
“Who are those men?” she asked.
He tried to appear less interested, but she’d seen the reporter in him come out.
“Probably some law enforcement officials of some sort.”
Within moments Doonie and Doobie came in. The identical twins were tall and lanky and thankfully had different colored shirts on. Like Rand, they were in their late fifties, or maybe just over the sixty mark. No one could tell them apart. Thus they’d always gotten away with all kinds of pranks and schemes. They were Rand’s best friends.
“Do they still pull jokes on everyone?”
Rand chuckled. “Doonie got voted in as mayor about four years ago and they share the position. They won’t admit it to anyone, not even me. But we’ve caught on to their shenanigans.”
She laughed. “That sounds like them. They didn’t tell me when I called to say I was coming back.”
“It works out. They do a good job, and we just let them go with it.” He looked serious suddenly. “They’ve been good friends to me.” He hesitated, looking momentarily embarrassed. “They’re good as gold and they love this town and only want what’s best for it.”
Before she could ask about Roxie’s good friends Clara Lyn and Reba, they and Pebble entered the restaurant. Cassidy glanced at Rand as he ran a hand over each side of his hair. Obviously he had seen them, too, and he looked a touch nervous as his gaze was riveted to Pebble, who seemed to be looking everywhere but at him.
Pebble had been widowed by the love of her life many years ago. Roxie had said from the moment Rand opened the newspaper that he’d come back just to be near Pebble.
Cassidy got a sudden lump in her throat. She’d known fleeting attachments that her parents thought were love but were obviously something else. At least not the kind of love she dreamed of a long time ago.
What would it feel like to know someone had loved you and waited on you for years? She couldn’t believe Rand had turned to drinking. She was still stunned by his blatant declaration. But like her with the divorce, maybe it was easier to get it out there in front of everyone than have to worry about it. It wasn’t as if she was a stranger to him.
The diner began filling up all at once, and within moments all eyes were on her.
“Look who’s here,” either Doonie or Doobie said, a wide grin lighting up his lean face. He wore a blue polo shirt. She hugged both him and his brother, who was grinning just as big.
“We weren’t expecting you till tomorrow,” he said. He let her go and looked at Rand. “How did you score a lunch with her?”
Rand gave a gleeful smile. “She came to see me.”
She laughed as if her coming to see him was a score for his team.
“Y’all can join us,” she said.
“I believe we will,” the brother in the red polo shirt said. They each grabbed the extra chair at the table. Just then Clara Lyn spotted her.
“Cassidy!” Clara Lyn squealed as she hustled over and engulfed Cassidy. The hairstylist rattled and jangled from all directions.
Cassidy sneezed when her nose was buried in the shorter woman’s abundantly sprayed hair. She pulled back to breathe, but Clara kept a grip on her arms as she studied her.
“Oh, just look at you. You are too thin. And you look tired. That divorce has done a number on you. You’ve come home where you can fatten up a little and dig i
n the dirt a little and—”
“Let her go,” Reba scolded. “You’re right about all that, but there’s more of us wanting to give our girl a hug.” The beaming nail tech bumped Clara out of the way with her ample hip and gave Cassidy a bear hug.
Pebble stepped up the moment Cassidy was released. She was tiny but spirited, and her hug was gentle but enthusiastic.
“It is about time for you to come home,” Pebble said.
Her beautiful smile was a balm to Cassidy’s soul. Working the counter at Pebble’s motel when she was younger had been a wonderful experience. She’d loved Pebble and her husband, Cecil.
“And just look at you. As your aunt would say, you’re as pretty as a wildflower and as good to see as daffodils at springtime.”
Tears sprang to Cassidy’s eyes at the quote from Roxie. Goodness, she had to get a grip on these emotions that kept sideswiping her. “That sounds just like her. It is so good to see y’all. It has been too long.”
“Yes, it has.” Clara Lyn harrumphed. “We didn’t even know till yesterday you were coming. The twins let it slip when we were at their office.”
“Hey, don’t mean to break up a party, but y’all planning on ordering?” Big Shorty asked, looking like a man intent on keeping the lunch crowd rolling along at an even pace.
Everyone instantly took seats. The ladies grabbed the table next to them and everyone settled in for a visit.
Cassidy had just relaxed when Jarrod and his two brothers walked into the diner.
8
Jarrod went on high alert the instant he scanned the diner and saw Cassidy. She met his gaze briefly, then she smiled at his brothers. They greeted her, and at the same time gave him speculative glances that he wasn’t real comfortable with.
Tru gave her a hug. “It’s great to see you. I had no idea you were here.”
“She’s moved back,” Clara Lyn supplied.
“Moved back—that’s good to hear,” Bo said, grinning from ear to ear and shooting another glance at him, undoubtedly noticing he was being quiet.
Jarrod knew there was no way to keep them from realizing that he had omitted telling them she was in town. There was no use denying it. She lived right beside him and they knew he’d have seen her over there. And they also knew he hadn’t said anything. They’d find that odd, because though they didn’t know what had happened between him and Cassidy all those years ago, they knew something had happened.
“How’s the barn cleaning going today?”
“Fine. No snakes today,” she said a bit stiffly, which caused a lot of eyes to shift from her to him and back to her.
“That’s good. Found anyone to mow your peach orchard?”
“I’m going by the feed store after this and inquiring if anyone’s advertising. I assume they still have that wall of advertisement in there, for folks to put their cards and such?”
“They do,” he said, feeling his shoulders pinch at the base of his neck. He had a perfectly good tractor, and if she had let him take care of it, her place would have already been mowed. He wanted to tell her this, but it would draw attention to the strain yanked up between them.
Tru looked at him with more speculation in his eyes. “We’ve got a perfectly good tractor—”
“I’d rather hire it done,” she said quickly. “Thank you, though. Jarrod already offered.”
“Well, that was nice of him,” Reba said.
“Sure was,” Clara Lyn added. “Let him do it.”
Jarrod wasn’t going to stand there and let everyone talk her into doing something she was clearly set against. “Cassidy’s got her mind made up on the subject. I wouldn’t want to butt in on that.” He tipped his hat. “Nice seeing you, neighbor. Jake’s waiting. Ladies, fellas, have a good lunch.” He turned and strode across the diner, knowing the entire time that he’d just messed up.
He could feel the eyeballs on his back.
“We’ve got a meeting,” he heard Tru saying. “But we’ll have you over for dinner one night before I have to go back on the circuit. Maggie will want to meet you.”
“Yeah, Abby too,” Bo added, and Jarrod grinned. Cassidy was going to find avoiding him and trying to push him away wasn’t exactly as easy as she was hoping. He loved his brothers.
“I’ll have Maggie set it up . . .”
Jarrod didn’t hear the rest as he greeted Jake. As sheriff, Jake had called them and set up a meeting with the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association’s Special Rangers. Jarrod hadn’t even mentioned to Jake that he suspected theft yet, but there was something going on in the surrounding counties and Jake liked to be prepared. He had work to deal with right now, so he didn’t need to be dwelling on thoughts of Cassidy.
A few days after seeing Pebble at the Bull Barn, Rand knew it was time to do something. He’d spent ninety long days in rehab to kick the drinking habit and he’d done it for Pebble. Yes, she’d told him she wanted him to do it for himself and she’d reminded him that the Lord would help him. She’d told him he was hiding behind the alcohol and that he needed to get well for himself. Not for her.
She’d told him that she would come and support him at rehab but only as a friend. And she’d done exactly that.
But what had he done for her? Except put her in an awkward position of having to be uncomfortable around him. She didn’t deserve any of this.
He’d loved her since they were in high school and he’d lost her because of his drinking then. He wasn’t going to lose another opportunity. He was done with the bottle for good and he’d turned his life around. He wished with all of his might that he’d made better choices.
Walking briskly down the tree-lined street, he reached the motel just as she was coming out of one of the bungalows. His stomach tilted and he forced himself to move toward her.
She was lovely standing there with her red bucket of fresh flowers.
“Hello, Rand. What a perfect day for a walk.”
He removed his hat. “It is. And it looks like you’re enjoying it too. Are you putting fresh flowers in the rooms?”
“I am.” She smiled, and his heart skipped several beats. “Guests love the fresh flowers and I love making them feel welcomed.”
“Just a smile from you does that. But the flowers add to it too.” He was being bolder than he’d been since getting out of rehab, but seeing her blush and her kind blue eyes brighten did his heart good.
He was responsible for the awkward strain that stood between them now and the strain was growing.
“You weren’t at the Bull Barn for lunch yesterday or today,” she said.
The fact that she noticed gave him hope. “No, no, I had . . . meetings. I . . . well, I drive over to Kerrville for my AA meetings two or three days a week, and we’re having some morning sessions now too. Today I had a meeting with my sponsor.” He was planning on starting a meeting here in town soon. When he was more ready.
“Oh, I see. And that’s going good? You seem to be doing well.”
He cleared his throat and fiddled with his fedora. “Yes. About all of that.” He yanked his shoulders back, forcing his backbone to stiffen and his resolve and determination to do the same. “I came to thank you, Pebble. To thank you for coming to the rehab all that time. For standing by me as a . . . friend.”
“You are my friend. That’s what friends do.”
“Yes. And that is one of the many things that I—” He halted before he blurted out that it was one of the things he loved about her. “That I admire about you. If you commit to something you do it. And I want to thank you for your friendship the last few months.” He cleared his throat. “And I need to tell you that from here on out I want you to relax. To not fear that I’m going to be trying to take—I mean, try to have more than a friendship with you. In the grocery store the other day and even at the Bull Barn it felt like we were walking on eggshells. I don’t want that. I just want you to know that I’m at a comfortable place in my life and with us.” He was letting her go. It was the right
thing to do . . . for her.
She studied him for a long moment. Her pretty lips clamped together just a little more tightly than usual. “I see,” she murmured a heartbeat later, her eyes growing soft.
Was it pity he saw there? He needed to know that she found a redeemable quality in him. And if she saw him overcome his addiction to alcohol, then maybe she’d respect that. If he could see that in her eyes, then there was a chance that one day he might respect himself again.
“That’s all I have to say,” he said. “I just wanted you to know. Our friendship means the world to me. I need to get back to the office. I have a lot of stories with the Fourth of July celebration coming up next weekend.” He put on his hat and turned to go.
“Rand,” she called out, and he turned back. “You’re doing well. I’m so proud of you.”
And there were the words. But Rand didn’t feel them in his soul. He tipped his hat. “I’ll be seeing you. If you need anything, you know to call me. You can count on me, I promise.”
It had been a long time since he’d said those words with conviction.
Her eyes mellowed and she smiled gently. “I’m believing that, Rand.”
If only he could believe that. He turned then and forced his feet to carry him away from the love of his life.
He didn’t look back.
9
Jarrod saddled his horse and loaded him in the trailer with the horses that belonged to his men. They were going out to start doing a head count of all the cattle.
“You not get any sleep last night?” Gil, one of his ranch hands who also happened to be one of his old school buddies, eyed him hard as he exited the trailer.
“Some. I had thieves on my mind. If we want the cattle found we need to know which ones are missing. So y’all work as fast as you can.” They’d be checking tags to document exactly which animals were missing, and then the TSCRA agents would load them into the databases and the auction barns would be on alert.
He didn’t mention that he’d also had a redhead on his mind. That was a personal detail his brothers were now bugging him about. They had not missed the tension between him and Cassidy. Nor had anyone else in the diner two days ago.
Kissed by a Cowboy Page 7