The Rancher's Texas Match

by Brenda Minton

  “Of course I will.” She smiled and waved to her friend. She had thirty minutes to work in the library. She wanted to start organizing things for the move. With the goal of moving at the end of the month, Bea was in overdrive, trying to get everyone and everything organized.

  The library would be one of the easiest rooms to pack. It was fairly new and already somewhat in order. The rest of the ranch, she shuddered to think of that process. Decades of accumulation and living and only a month to box it all up.

  As she wandered about the lovely old room with the high ceilings and dark stained woodwork, she heard footsteps in the hall. Light footsteps. Not the heavy booted footsteps of one of the hands or the soft swish of Bea’s sensible shoes.

  She turned and caught sight of a slip of a boy, his dark hair mussed and his sneakers scuffing back and forth on the wood floor, as if he wasn’t sure of his welcome. She knelt and held out her arms.

  Colby ran into her embrace.

  “Hey, sweet guy, what’s up?” She wrapped her arms around him, wishing she could take away all of his pain, all of his anger. She would. She’d do it in a heartbeat because she knew she could process it, figure it out and move on. She had been moving on for the past year. Losing her brother, Grant. Losing her fiancé, her job.

  But gaining Colby.

  If only she could find a way to help him move on.

  He shuddered in her arms, and his hand raised to swipe at tears rolling down his cheeks, dampening her sleeve. She tried to pull him back against her, but he stiffened, unwilling to have the embrace a second longer.

  “Are you okay?” She stayed on her knees, her hands on his arms.

  He nodded, but his green eyes swam with tears he was fighting to hold back. She bit down on her lip, trying to think of the right words. A mom should know what to say. A mom would know how to help him. She closed her eyes and admitted her failings in this area.

  “Colby, I want to help you. I want to make it all better. If you could just tell me.”

  He shook his head, but he stepped a little closer.

  “I love you,” she whispered close to his ear. She brushed a kiss across his head, and he didn’t move away.

  “I love you, Aunt Macy.” With those words her heart grabbed hold of hope.

  “Did you sneak away from the cabin?”

  He nodded and again swiped at tears that threatened to fall.

  “Did someone upset you or hurt you?” Stupid question. Of course he was upset and hurt. But was this a new hurt or lingering pain?

  It was like trying to put together a puzzle, but without all of the pieces. How she wanted all of the pieces! She wanted him whole. Sometimes she saw glimpses of the Colby she’d known before the accident. But the glimpses were fleeting.

  He sat down on the floor in front of her, and she took that as an invitation and sat next to him.

  What would a mom do? She desperately wanted to think like a mom, be a mom. She scooted close, but she didn’t put her arms around him. She waited, knowing he needed time.

  “Diego called me a big baby.”

  Diego, not much older than Colby. But with a different story and different baggage to work through.

  “He’s wrong,” she told her nephew. “You’re tough. Really tough.”

  “Ben took up for me. He told Diego to be nice, but Diego said that I’m not nice to you.”

  “You are nice to me.” She covered his hand with hers. “We’re going to make it through this.”

  “Because we’re family now. That’s what Eleanor says.”

  Eleanor Mack was counselor and house mother of Cabin One. Macy smiled and told herself to thank the other woman.

  “Yes, we’re family.” She wanted to hold him. He smelled of the outdoors, of hay and livestock. He had red cheeks from playing in the sun. He was everything to her.

  “I have to go.” He stood, looking down at her with such a serious expression. For a moment she saw his father in him. Grant’s seriousness. Her heart ached at the thought. “I’ll walk you back.”

  He reached for her hand. It might as well have been her heart.

  “Eleanor says I can have a pass to go to church on Sunday.”

  “I like that idea.” Macy glanced down at the little man leading her through the house.

  “Me, too. Do you think you can tell me another story?”

  “I’m sure I can.”

  “Ben says you’re going to read stories to us. He said he’d come with me.”

  She surprised herself by smiling. “That’s fine.”

  “He’s not too old for stories?” Colby asked as they walked out the front door. It was warm for the first week of October, but a light breeze blew, bringing country scents of cut grass, livestock and drying leaves.

  “No. We’re never too old for stories.”

  “That’s good.” They walked along the path to Cabin One, Colby swinging his hand that held hers. “Ben said we’re going to move to another ranch. I don’t know if any of us want to move. We like it here.”

  “But moving can sometimes be good. There will be more room for more boys at the new ranch.”

  Colby stopped walking and looked up at her, his green eyes narrowed against the glare of the sun. “But if they come here, it means there’s something wrong in their homes.”

  “That might be true, Colby. But it’s good that there’s a place for them to go.”

  He continued walking, his hand still holding tight to hers. “But it would be better if moms and dads...”

  “If they never went away?” she asked quietly.

  He nodded, but he didn’t answer.

  “You’re right, that would be better.” She kept walking, trying hard not to give in to the tears burning her eyes. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  He didn’t answer.

  She left Colby with Eleanor. That moment, walking away from him, was as painful as the first day she’d left him at the ranch. The difference was that this time he hugged her goodbye. That first day he’d walked away without a word, without even looking back.

  That parting hug gave her hope.

  When she got back to the main house, Katie Ellis was waiting to give her a ride to the meeting where they would hopefully find that it would be no trouble to track down a few men who hadn’t been seen or heard from in decades.

  “How was Colby?” Katie asked as they pulled up to the restaurant.

  The Candle Light, Haven’s claim to fine dining, was on the main road. The building with the stone exterior had a long, covered porch with rocking chairs and potted plants. The parking lot was crowded. Typical for a Friday night in Haven.

  “He’s good,” she answered Katie. “He was upset with Diego, but that’s to be expected when you have so many kids living under one, or three, roofs. He hugged me goodbye.”

  Katie pulled the keys out of the ignition and gave her a quick and easy smile. “He’s such a sweet boy, and he does love you.”

  “I know. And I love him. I hope he knows how much.”

  They got out and headed for the entrance to the restaurant. A dark blue Ford truck pulled up to the building. Macy knew that truck. She knew the man getting out, adjusting the cowboy hat he wore so naturally.

  And it was just as natural to take a second look. But that was all she was doing, looking.

  * * *

  Tanner tipped his hat to the two ladies standing on the sidewalk of the Candle Light.

  “Looks as if we’re the first to arrive,” he pointed out for no good reason. “I have the back room reserved, so we won’t have to answer a million questions. I know people in town want to know what is going on. Until we have real answers, I’d prefer to keep things quiet.”

  Katie stepped through the door he opened for them, leaving Macy to slide in, b
rushing against his arm. He leaned in a little, just enough to catch the scent of wildflowers. “We’ve been getting calls at the ranch,” Katie responded as he led them through the already crowded restaurant. “I’m not sure what to tell people.”

  “Tell them we’ll release a statement to the local paper.”

  He stopped at the door to the private meeting room to wait for Macy. She’d stopped to say hello to the Macks, counselors from Silver Star, who were having a rare evening out. They waved when they spotted him.

  He’d lived in this small town long enough to know that an innocent gesture had just been turned into a connection between himself and Macy. Because he looked like a man waiting for a woman, not a man merely holding the door the way he’d been taught.

  He disliked small-town gossip, the constant speculation, pairing people up, marrying them off if they were seen having a cup of coffee or even walking in the same store. A few years back he’d dated Nina, a secretary at Fletcher Snowden Phillips’s law office. She’d left town for a job in Houston. Neither of them had felt the need to keep the relationship going.

  But the town had practically had them married off.

  Macy parted from the Macks and hurried to join him.

  “You didn’t have to wait,” she assured him as she slipped past him into the meeting room.

  “I didn’t mind.”

  She glanced up, her smile tipping her lips and crinkling at the corners of her eyes. “Oh, I think you did. You looked cornered, standing there with the door held open.”

  “I’m not sure why you think that,” he countered, his hand going to her back to guide her to the table. There was an easy back-and-forth between himself and the woman who had taken him by surprise several times lately.

  It was easy to touch her. Too easy.

  He pulled a chair out for her. She accepted the gesture, sitting and scooting herself in as the door opened, and they were joined by Gabriel Everett, Beatrice and Flint. Fletcher followed them in. Tanner hadn’t expected to see him at this meeting. It seemed the local lawyer had developed a habit of showing up uninvited.

  It wasn’t that Tanner disliked the other man. It was just that Fletcher did things that got under a person’s skin. Although he should have felt a connection to the boys ranch, he seemed more often to be in favor of shutting the place down. He found fault with the boys, tried to pin petty crimes on the kids and turn them into juvenile delinquents, and he had opposed several grants that Macy had gotten for improvements.

  It stood to reason that if Fletcher could find a way to keep them from getting a bigger property, he would. Or maybe he’d like to see them move after all. Tanner thought there might be a legal matter that would turn the Silver Star property over to Fletcher if the boys ranch closed or was no longer there.

  Before he could say anything, a waitress entered with glasses of ice water and a coffeepot. She smiled big as she surveyed the small group, but then she went to work, handing out water, filling cups and setting menus on the table.

  After she left, Gabriel pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. “I guess this isn’t a meeting of the LSCL, so we don’t have to call to order. Fletcher is here because he thought we might need his advice.”

  Gabriel shot the lawyer a look that said he didn’t buy it. But Fletcher ignored the glance. He was probably used to making enemies.

  Beatrice squeezed the lemon into her water and stirred, the spoon clanking against the edge of the glass. “I haven’t had a chance to start digging too much. But I do have some information on a few of our men. I’m sorry, Gabriel. I don’t know much about your grandfather.”

  Gabriel’s slim smile completely disappeared. “Yeah, neither do I. In the past we’ve looked, but we haven’t been able to locate him. And after a while we stopped trying.”

  “I’m sorry.” Bea stopped stirring. “Gabriel, it’s no shame that your grandfather was at the ranch. Tanner’s brother, Travis, was there, and look how he turned out. The ranch has a purpose. It turns lives around and gives young men an opportunity to make something of themselves.”

  “Not every life can be saved.” Fletcher said it quietly, smoothly. “And some just bring trouble to our town. I’d like for Haven to be more than the community that supports a ranch for troubled boys.”

  Flint practically growled. “Fletcher, I can show you to the door if your purpose here is to cause problems.”

  Fletcher held up hands of surrender. “I’m not. I’m just making a statement.”

  Flint picked up his menu. “Keep your statements to yourself.”

  “I’ve found several promising leads on Avery Culpepper,” Macy offered.

  The waitress returned, a notepad in hand. They ordered and she left again, closing the door behind her.

  Macy stopped twirling the silver bangle bracelet that circled her slim wrist. “I have an Avery in Dallas, one in Austin and two in Houston. Those are the most promising leads, although I’ve also found one or two out of state.”

  Beatrice went next. “I think Samuel Teller will be easy to find. I have a letter from about ten years ago. It seems he did turn his life around, and he wanted to contribute to the ranch.” She made a point to stare Fletcher down until he turned a little bit red. “I tried to call the number in the letter, and it’s been disconnected. But I think it won’t take long to locate him.”

  A phone rang. Katie pushed aside the notebook she’d been taking notes in and dug around in her purse. She gave them all an apologetic smile and hurried out of the room. When she returned, it was to gather up her things.

  “I have to leave. My cousin is in crisis. Macy, maybe Bea or someone can give you a ride home?”

  “Of course. For that matter, I can walk. It’s only a few blocks, and the weather is great.”

  “I’ll see you all Sunday at church.”

  She left, and the meeting continued until their steaks arrived. An hour later they were leaving. To Tanner it seemed as if they had a chance. And that meant the ranch had the chance to expand and bring in more boys.

  Bea had left early, but she’d parted letting them know she’d had a phone call that day asking her to take another boy. She’d put the child on the waiting list because she didn’t have a spare bed, and she already had close to twenty boys waiting.

  Tanner was climbing into his truck when he noticed Macy walking away from the restaurant. He started the engine and shifted into Reverse, pulling out and then slowing to idle next to her. He rolled the window down. She stopped walking and looked up at him.

  “It looks like rain.”

  “It’s a five-minute walk.”

  He could have shifted back into Drive and gone on, but he didn’t. “Where’s your car?”

  “It wouldn’t start this morning, so Katie picked me up.”

  “I can take a look at it.”

  She stood there at the side of the road, the wind coming up and whipping her blond hair across her face. She brushed it back and glanced up at the sky. A light mist had started to fall. He’d been guessing about the rain.

  “I guess I’ll take that ride.” She headed around the front of the truck.

  He leaned across the seat to open the door for her. “I don’t typically predict the weather with that kind of accuracy.”

  She smiled at that, brushing her hands down rain-dampened arms. It wasn’t cold, but in the air-conditioned truck, she probably felt chilled. He reached in the backseat for a jacket and handed it to her.

  “Thank you.” She wrapped it around her shoulders and pulled her hair free. “Are you as good with cars as you are with the weather?”

  “Almost.” He glanced her way and saw her hand wipe at her cheeks.

  Weather and cars he could handle. Tears were another thing altogether. Especially when those tears were the quiet, stoic kind that made him want to charge
to the rescue.

  He reminded himself that she’d accepted his offer for a ride, and she was willing to let him look at her car. She hadn’t asked to be rescued, and he didn’t need to get tangled up in something that would hit a big dead end as soon as she realized she wasn’t a small-town girl.

  He glanced her way as another tear slid down her cheek. The last thing he wanted to do was get tangled up in something that was temporary. He didn’t want to push his way into her life only to find out she wasn’t going to stay in Haven.

  Those tears were a pretty good—or maybe a pretty bad—sign.

  Chapter Five

  Macy blamed the rain for the tears slipping unbidden down her cheeks. Just a few drops, easily brushed away. If it hadn’t rained, she wouldn’t have cried. She would have taken the five-minute walk home, maybe a little melancholy, but she wouldn’t have let the tears slip loose.

  It wouldn’t have been so bad if she hadn’t been in Tanner’s truck, knowing he had glanced her way and seen her brush the tears away. At least he didn’t comment. She was glad for his silence.

  What would she have said if he’d asked why she was crying?

  It seemed as if, lately, every time it rained, something bad happened. She shook off the thought because it didn’t allow for faith. And she had faith. But it had been raining the night the hospital called asking if she was related to Grant Swanson. It had been raining the night Bill broke their engagement. And it had rained the night she’d come to terms with the reality that she couldn’t help Colby.

  All coincidence, of course. It had been a rainy year in Texas. The news had covered the stories of downpours and floods. So her small story of heartbreak and rainstorms would mean nothing to the outside world.

  The truck slowed and drove into the driveway of the craftsman-style home that had belonged to Grant and Cynthia. Tanner pulled next to her car and parked. For a long moment they sat there in silence, neither of them looking at the other. Finally she shrugged out of his jacket and reached for the door handle. Belatedly she grabbed the dessert she’d brought home from the restaurant.

  “Thank you for the ride home. I guess it did rain.”