Hidden Trails

by Bonnie R. Paulson

  “How do I know you’re not going to take me out and kill me?” Stefanie buckled her seatbelt and glanced at him, she had to do something to defuse the tension between them. It wasn’t that she didn’t like him. It was that she liked him too much. Why couldn’t a girl grow out of her crush?

  “Where’s the best grocery store?” Drake pulled out of the drive, but paused at the road. They had to go one way or the other, they couldn’t just go straight. One way led to Colby and the other to Taylor Falls.

  Stefanie twisted to face him, her shoulders angled as she held onto the dash for support. “This time of night? Colby’s going to be the best one, that’s forty-five minutes down.”

  Drake shrugged, his long graceful hands looking anything but soft in the glow from the dash. “I don’t care, we need to get some food. Is that where you want to go?”

  “We could try Taylor Falls. Their minimart might be open. It’s summer so the owner might have different hours now. I’m not sure.” She hadn’t been into town in so long that late at night. Usually her bed time was when the sun faded into the sky. Early to bed and early to rise and all that...

  “Alright, Taylor Falls it is.” He turned the steering wheel and Stefanie settled back into her seat.

  The short car ride passed fairly fast.

  Stefanie didn’t know what to say to him. Was he being nice by driving her to the store?

  Did he realize she didn’t have any money? Maybe twenty bucks she could spend on food, but every cent counted right then as she tried saving up to buy Bella Acres. How could she save up her money when she was spending it on stupid things like food?

  Nate would not be happy if they brought home food and found out Stefanie had spent money on it when there were things they needed more. He had a very strict budget.

  Working at the skin to the side of her thumb, Stefanie watched out the window for a sign of something in the dark. The two street lights in town didn’t light up much.

  Everything was going to be okay. Stefanie could deal with it. He just wanted a loaf of bread and some sandwich stuff anyway. It wasn’t a big deal. She was hungry, too. Maybe when they got home, she’d wake Hannah up to have a sandwich, too. Heaven knew Nate needed food as well.

  Drake hummed under his breath. The sound was comforting, as the dashboard lights created an ambience that matched the intimacy of the pond earlier that day. She hadn’t wanted to address it internally and quite honestly would probably never talk about it out loud. Her plan involved continuing to act like it never happened.

  Drake pulled up in front of the minimart in Taylor Falls. Lights burned bright and the Open sign flashed green over the door. They climbed out of the SUV and Drake turned to the right of the doors, grabbing a cart. He nodded towards another one. “Grab another cart. I’m not going to leave this place with any food in it if I can help it.”

  He was after more than just sandwich makings. Stefanie could not afford that. How did she tell him? Her gut lurched as she realized not only did she not have the funds for a shopping spree, but she was going to have to admit to Drake just how bad off they were.

  The realization that she really didn’t have any money nagged at her. How was she going to change her situation to buy Bella Acres?

  He started in the canned foods section, just grabbing things at random.

  Stefanie had never seen such careless shopping before. He grabbed three or four of everything he could find. After he filled one cart, he pushed it to the front of the store, asking the lady at the register if she could start ringing it up.

  Then he grabbed another cart, glancing at Stefanie and smiling. “You’re not getting anything. The cereal aisle hasn’t even been touched yet. Get going. Two or three of everything.”

  He laughed, standing on one end of the cart and pushing off. So he could ride it, coasting down the aisle.

  Stefanie followed him, chewing on the side of her cheek. Heat coursed through her in sharp bursts. “Um, Drake? I don’t have the money to pay for this.” Her face reddened. She could feel more heat as it radiated off her cheeks. She’d never forgive him for forcing her to admit that.

  Drake jumped off the cart and pulled it to a stop. He turned back, stopping the cart she half-heartedly pushed by placing his hands on the front of the basket. He lowered his voice and glanced over her shoulder. “I’m not asking you to pay for anything Stefanie.”

  “Well I don’t believe in stealing.” Stefanie crossed her arms and leaned on the cart, glaring at him. “We’re not stealing anything.”

  Drake’s laugh filled the aisles, echoing into the empty store. “I don’t steal, love. I have the money. Don’t worry about it. Now go to the cereal aisle and get two or three of everything. Except Wheaties. I hate Wheaties.” His playful glare brought out goosebumps on her arms.

  Stefanie turned around, half in a daze, but not so shocked she couldn’t answer. “Well, Nate loves Wheaties.”

  Drake grinned before continuing down his aisle. Over his shoulder he tossed, “I know.”

  Stefanie smiled, shaking her head. The man was incorrigible.

  Hopefully, he really did have the money that he said he did. Because two of everything was going to ring up real fast. She went down the cereal aisle, starting out slow at first.

  He had said two of everything. The prices made her wince. Four dollars for a box of Frosted Flakes, three-fifty for a box of Rice Krispies, two dollars for a box of oatmeal, and finally she had to stop looking.

  She grabbed two of everything just like Drake instructed. Her cart quickly filled. She went up to the front, placing it next to the overflowing two he’d already placed there, and retrieved another one for the next aisle.

  “Stefanie, how’s it going? We’ll go up the frozen section last.” Drake’s voice reached her as she passed his aisle.

  Stefanie paused and smiled shyly at him. “I’m good. I can’t believe you’re doing this.” And she couldn’t. She couldn’t comprehend the amount of money he was sacrificing. She continued on, reaching her next aisle. She paused in her reach for the first item at the sound of Drake’s cart rolling toward the closest end of the aisle she was in.

  Drake stuck his head around the corner, his eyes soft as he, too, grinned, “I can’t let my sister starve. I can’t let you either.”

  Tears welled in Stefanie’s eyes. Nate was trying so hard, but he had taken on too much. She was grateful Drake was there to help, too, and truly willing to do what was needed. A little bit of food would go a long way with all of them. Maybe it would even raise Emma’s spirits.

  Seven cartfuls later, Stefanie glanced at Drake as they stood beside the register. “Is your Escalade going to be able to hold all of this?”

  “Sure.” Drake brushed his hands through his hair, winking at her. “My rig is bigger than you think. It may not be a truck, but it can sure do the work.”

  Stefanie giggled, half-rolling her eyes. “Okay, I hope you’re sure. Or we’re going to have to push all these carts back to the house.” She warmed at his answering chuckle.

  The cashier’s eyes widened as she stared out over all the carts. “Are you buying the whole store?”

  Drake shrugged and glanced at Stefanie. “I was thinking about it. But I need to leave some food for the rest of the town.” His nonchalance drew another soft giggle from Stefanie. He was so relaxed about what they were doing. She’d actually had fun with him.

  The woman needed over an hour to ring up the food. They had to keep the two carts of frozen items in the walk-in cooler while they worked.

  Drake finally paid the bill of over four-thousand dollars. He didn’t even wince. Didn’t even react to the exorbitant amount.

  Stefanie swallowed, she couldn’t believe the number. How could he have that kind of money? How could anyone spend that kind of money on food? She rubbed her suddenly damp palms on the waist of her shirt.

  Was Drake seriously rich? How could she not know that? And why wasn’t Nate letting Drake help? Did Nate know something Stefanie
didn’t?

  As they loaded up the food into the back of his rig with the seats folded down, Stefanie couldn’t help seeing Drake differently. Maybe he really wasn’t the selfish little brat she’d always taken comfort in believing him to be. Sure, she’d always been attracted to him. Heck, who wouldn’t be attracted to the bad boy look of Drake Benson?

  He’d always been the popular boy growing up.

  He didn’t have money but he always acted like it.

  Now that he had money he didn’t act like it.

  The juxtaposition of how she thought of him and how he really was confused Stefanie enough to have her drop her guard against him.

  After everything was loaded, they climbed into the stuffed Escalade. Stefanie closed the door and turned to him. “Do you mind me asking how you got all that money? I thought you guys didn’t have anything. I’m sorry, that’s so rude.” She leaned back and gave her head a hard shake.

  Drake drove them toward home. He glanced at her, grinning. “You’re not rude. Ask me anything you want. As far as you’re concerned, I’m an open book. I’m really good with numbers. And my education turned out a lot better than I thought it would.”

  “I’ll say.” Stefanie folded her fingers in her lap, grateful the dark interior hid her blush at his words. “If you’re good with numbers and with business, maybe I could ask you a little bit about how to go about buying the house? I don’t want you to do it, I just have some questions. I can’t ask Nate anything. He’s adamantly against me buying. This isn’t like him, either. I can’t even tell you. He just wants Emma to get better.”

  Drake’s lips pressed into a thin hard line. “Your brother is married to my sister. That doesn’t make him my family. I’m sorry for that. I just can’t have any respect for a man who won’t take care of his wife. Or sisters.”

  Stefanie blinked back tears. “But he’s trying. That’s the problem.”

  She realized talking about buying the ranch with either Drake or Nate wouldn’t be a good idea. There was simply too much bad blood between the two men.

  She had to find a cosigner. The only people she had left to consider were Cyan’s parents.

  Chapter 8

  Drake

  No matter how many times Drake walked past the main phone, his job to call his parents didn’t get any easier.

  He glared at the offending electronic as he poured a glass of milk, putting the gallon back into the fridge. Seeing the shelves filled made his chest swell. He’d never had to provide for anybody. The fact he was able to do that for Emma and Stefanie, made it a big deal to him. Not to mention the pride stroking when Nate had seen all the food.

  Drake wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

  Alright, I can do this. He picked up the handset and dialed the number Emma had so conveniently left for him on a Post-it beside the phone. Over and over he repeated in his head don’t pick up, don’t pick up, don’t pick up.

  Ring. Ring.

  His mother picked up, her voice ecstatic and more lighthearted than Drake ever remembered. “Emma! We didn’t expect to hear from you so soon. How are you doing? I thought you were going on vacation.”

  “This is Drake.” He didn’t even want to say Mom to her. He couldn’t. He couldn’t call her that. He was still too angry and hurt. He hadn’t talked to his parents in a long time.

  “Drake?” Her shriek ripped through the phone. She pulled her mouth away from her end and yelled “Oh my gosh! Drake’s on the phone, he wants to talk to us.”

  Drake shook his head, she couldn’t see him, but he still had to shake his head. He raised his voice to be certain she heard. “No, I don’t want to talk to you. I’m calling because Emma is making me call you. She’s sick, and she’s not going to get help this time. I think you should come to her place. Do it soon, because Nate is trying to sell the house.” He hung up before they could say anything else.

  How else was he supposed to move on from this? He had too much invested in being away from them. He had no reason to be invested in his family anymore.

  There was too much pain there anyway. He had done what Emma asked him to do, now he could checkmark that off the list. What else was she going to ask of him?

  “Nice to see we’re not the only ones you treat horribly.” Nate leaned against the side of the kitchen wall, his eyebrow arched under the wide-brimmed hat he hadn’t bothered to remove indoors. “If I needed you to buy food for us, I would’ve asked you to.”

  Drake braced his arms on the counter and leaned against it. “Let’s be honest, Nate, you wouldn’t ask me for a damn thing. Emma’s dying and no one has asked me for anything.”

  “Because I don’t need anything from you, Benson. I can do this on my own. Emma is my wife. I can do this.” Desperation tinted the blue of Nate’s eyes almost black.

  Drake drew back. Nate really believed he could do it. Even as he was failing, he believed he could still succeed.

  Pity filled Drake. He nodded shortly. “Okay, I can see how you would believe that. But I’m watching our sisters starve under the weight of your pride. Nothing is holding them together except for the simple fact that they don’t want you to fall apart. That they don’t want you to think they’ve lost faith in you.”

  Drake, still sick from the conversation with his parents, didn’t have any nice words to say at that point. “Look, I’m not asking you to sell everything you have. I’m asking you to give them all a fighting chance. Use me. I’m here. I’m a solid resource. Stefanie wants to buy this place, did you know that?”

  Nate shook his head, harrumphing as he stalked into the kitchen. “You don’t know anything about Stefanie. You’ve always panted after her like a mare in heat. Well, she likes to come up with stuff to do. She never follows through, she never does. Stefanie relies on me too much. She’s never been able to figure things out since Mom and Dad died.”

  “Maybe she’d follow through with things if she had the support or the resources to do so. Don’t discredit Stefanie. She’s got more going on than you know.” Drake did his best to hold back the rage building inside him. How dare Nate abandon Stefanie like an afterthought. He was so blinded by his own self-appointed purpose that he didn’t see the value in the rest of them.

  Nate approached the fridge, then stopped, not even reaching for the handle as if he remembered there was food in there because of the man he berated. He spun to face Drake with his arms crossed again, his head tilted back. “I don’t know why you came. If it’s because of Emma, she’s going to be around a long time so you can just go. Just leave. Come back for the holidays or something. I’ll find you and let you know her whereabouts.”

  Drake shook his head, laughing under his breath. “You still don’t get it, do you? Our parents didn’t know anything about this. You didn’t call them just like you didn’t call me, right?”

  A thunderous anger darkened Nate’s face. “I called you every day for two weeks. The old man at the number said he didn’t know who I was talking about. I called every day.” Nate stepped forward thrusting his finger into Drake’s chest. “I used the number your parents had. You didn’t want to be contacted. You. So that’s not my fault. I tried. My best.” Nate studied Drake from his head to his toes, disgust puffing out his lips. “It takes more than a random visit and food in the fridge to make you family. Don’t you think?”

  Drake struggled to get past his emotions so he could find some way to reply with a sense of wit. He had to reply. He could not let his emotions get the best of him and let Nate win the batter of wits.

  Nate chuckled dryly, and sauntered out of the kitchen, leaving Drake to stand there and fume.

  ~~~

  Three breakfasts, three lunches, and three dinners later, Drake had enjoyed every smug meal he’d provided.

  Hannah had been ecstatic about the food. Her gratitude warmed Drake’s heart and he felt just a little guilty since it felt so good to one-up Nate’s pride.

  Stefanie hadn’t been around.

  Hannah claimed th
at her sister had gone for a visit with Jareth’s wife, Cyan, and her family. Drake understood, he knew she had goals, even though Nate couldn’t care about her goals or even see her for the woman she’d become.

  Hannah and Nate had stepped outside to go to the barn, to visit the horses they were trying to sell. Nate had almost completely cleared out their livestock and Drake hated watching Stefanie say goodbye to everything. Thankfully she wasn’t been there. But Hannah’s grief was just as palpable.

  A knock at the door, and Emma’s weak voice called from the living room. “Drake, can you get that, please?”

  Drake dropped the dish towel to the counter. He’d been trying to help out around the house as much as he could. He obviously wasn’t welcome out in the barn. At least until Stefanie got back. When she got back he’d see if they could take the last two mares out for a ride. Together.

  The thought of them together brought out a smile.

  He made his way to the front door, winking at Emma as he turned the handle and then swung open the panel. He couldn’t figure out the bemused twist to her lips before he turned to face who was on the other side.

  His parents. Or the people that he called his parents at one time.

  He didn’t recognize these versions without their faded, worn jeans and pale clothing. Instead his mother had filled out and wore a brightly colored blouse with white slacks.

  His father looked nothing like the man Drake had grown used to when he was younger. The man before him had carefully combed hair, a suit, and a tie.

  Something Drake himself could not really fall in love with – well, the tie anyway.

  Drake didn’t say anything. He opened the door further and walked past them onto the deck. The bewilderment on their faces suggested that they hadn’t expected him to look the way that he did either.

  Even on the ranch he’d made himself dress in his tightly tailored suits, and his well-fitted boots. He couldn’t chance Stefanie showing up and not finding him dressed less than his best. For some reason her knowing he had money and knowing that he turned out better than he’d ever been was more important than how his parents felt about him. Even how Emma felt about him.