He leaned his head back against the tree, closed his eyes and tried to think about anything other than how every day brought him closer to losing his mother, at least the woman she’d always been. He couldn’t think of a crueler fate than to lose one’s mind.
The sounds of vehicle engines mixed with the rattle of a horse trailer passing by. In the distance, he heard the laughter of children. Must be coming from the elementary school, which wasn’t far away.
Thoughts of school led his mind back to Angel. He remembered the first day he’d seen her his senior year. She was a freshman then and wore that wide-eyed and apprehensive look so many freshmen did every year. He knew he’d seen her before, likely in town with her family, but she’d looked different that day in the hallway as she worked the combination on her locker. She was becoming more of a woman, leaving the kid she’d been behind. Still, she’d seemed so young, and he was sort of dating a girl from nearby Poppy then. That had lasted all of three weeks, and he suspected it had just as much to do with his attraction to Angel as it had Sarah’s decision that she just wasn’t that into him.
For a while, he’d convinced himself Angel was too young to date, especially since she had four older siblings who’d no doubt have had his hide if he hurt her in any way, real or imagined. When he finally realized his attraction wasn’t going away, word was she had the hots for Chris Ross. And in what seemed like the next moment, though it had in fact been the following year, she began dating him.
Chris’s dad was the district attorney, and his mom had one of those home-based businesses where she sold stupidly expensive makeup. She must have done well, judging by the way she traded for a new, shinier, higher-priced car each year. How was he, the only son of ranchers who barely scraped by, supposed to compete with that? Not to mention that after she and Chris broke up, Hunter was still grieving the recent death of his father.
“Hon, you can come inside and enjoy your lunch in the air-conditioning.”
Hunter jerked out of the past as if he’d been physically yanked by the sound of Merline’s voice. He opened his eyes to see her standing a few feet away.
“I’m okay, thanks. Easier to go back up on the roof after sitting here than inside.”
“Don’t you get too hot up there. Can’t have you suffering a heatstroke and tumbling off.”
“I won’t.”
Though when the time came to climb back up the ladder, he could think of no less than five hundred things he’d rather be doing.
He looked inside the brown paper bag that had held his lunch, eyeing the second brownie that remained. As he stood, he folded the top of the bag over, then headed toward the entrance to the gallery. When he stepped inside, he heard Merline’s voice coming from her office. Good, she was on the phone. He grabbed a black marker sitting atop the front counter and wrote Angel’s name on the bag before leaving his chocolate peace offering for her.
As he turned to leave, he caught sight of a large framed photograph on a freestanding wall facing the entrance. It was a close-up of a steer wrestler with his arms wrapped around a steer’s horns and his face set in determination. The informational tab below the print revealed Angel as the photographer, which would explain why she’d been in the gallery earlier. He was far from an art critic, but the photo was really good, capturing a moment so fast and so far removed from the normal human eye that no one could ever really see it. And yet Angel had caught it with a snap of her camera. Not only was she beautiful, she was also really talented.
“She does great work, doesn’t she?”
Hunter had been so absorbed in admiring the photo that he hadn’t heard Merline’s approach for a second time. He better not allow himself to get that distracted while up on the roof.
“Yeah. I do well if I don’t cut off people’s heads in photos.”
Merline laughed. “You should come to the exhibit opening.”
“I stay pretty busy.” Not to mention he’d stick out at an art exhibit opening like a hipster at a rodeo.
“How is your mom doing?” Merline asked, seeming to guess the real reason he couldn’t just go out and do whatever he wanted whenever the urge struck him.
“Good days and bad.”
“It’s a tough thing to deal with, but she’s a strong woman. And you’re a good son.”
“Thank you.”
“You should bring your mom. I bet she’d like it.”
But what if she had one of her bigger lapses in memory? She’d hate for that to happen in public where everyone might stare at her. But maybe he’d ask her about it anyway. He honestly didn’t think it was good for her to hide herself away on the ranch for fear of looking feeble of mind. He worried that it might actually cause the disease to progress faster. If he worded the idea in such a way that it seemed she was doing him a favor, maybe she’d agree.
Hunter left the building when Merline’s phone rang again. He resisted the urge to grab the paper bag on the way out, fearing his gift was too cheesy.
After being inside, the exposure to the cooler air made it feel as if he was stepping through the gates of Hades when he climbed back up on the roof. But he couldn’t put it off any longer. He needed to finish this job as quickly as he could so he could get paid and not have to depend on others to check up on his mom. He appreciated their kindness, but it didn’t sit well with him not being the one there if she needed anything. After all, she’d been there for him every day of his life, not a series of babysitters.
Yes, logically, he knew he had to work. The bills, including those for his mom’s doctor visits, wouldn’t get paid if he didn’t. And yet he still felt as if he should be the one there if his mom’s memory abandoned her, if she forgot something crucial and endangered herself. He closed his eyes and tried to push away all the things he could worry about because it didn’t do anyone any good to borrow trouble. Not his mom, not him, no one.
He’d been back to work about half an hour when the sound of a vehicle pulling into the lot drew his attention. A glance revealed it was Angel returning from her errands. Part of him wanted to tell her he liked her photograph, but common sense stepped up to the plate and reminded him that engaging with Angel any further would just make him wish for something he couldn’t have. If he didn’t have time to come out to a gallery opening, he sure didn’t have time to go on a date. And chances were, after he’d almost knocked her on the head, she wouldn’t be receptive to the idea of going out with him anyway.
That was probably for the best considering the demands on his time right now. But even knowing that, he couldn’t shed the feeling of disappointment that came with the realization. Once he was fairly certain Angel had made it inside, he paused to wipe the sweat off his forehead and looked at the sparkling expanse of the lake in the distance. Several boats dotted the surface, people enjoying a day of freedom and relaxation. Sometimes when he thought about the sudden loss of his dad and the cruel diagnosis for his mom, it was enough to make him ponder the possibility of past lives, that maybe he hadn’t been a good person in one of them and now was being punished as a result. The only problem was he wasn’t the only one paying the price.
Chapter 2
Angel had done her best to not look up at Hunter as she’d walked toward the gallery, but it proved as impossible as resisting the last slice of her mom’s scrumptious chocolate cake. She’d half expected to find him watching her when she lifted her gaze, but she was greeted by his back. Though that should have been a relief, she instead found herself disappointed. Honestly, it was as if she were the one up on that roof having her brain baked. Hunter wasn’t interested in her. He’d just been concerned that he’d almost hit her. He would have reacted the same way if it had been Merline who’d nearly caught a two-by-four to the head.
And why in the world was she wondering if Hunter Millbrook found her attractive? Yes, he was a fine-looking man, but it wasn’t as if she’d just realized that. That piece of
information would fall under the heading of Common Knowledge. It was sort of surprising that he wasn’t married yet. Maybe he was dating someone. After all, she wasn’t like town matchmaker Verona Charles and in the know about everyone’s love life.
She was overthinking the whole situation. After all, he hadn’t even noticed her return. Maybe her mind was looking to obsess about something else so she wouldn’t freak out over the possibility that her gallery opening might be a colossal failure like the one her sister, Sloane, had held. Granted, Sloane’s exhibit had been paintings made by the ranch’s horses and cows. But it had also been an attempt to make money for a good cause, Sloane’s ranch camps for underprivileged kids. By contrast, Angel’s was simply a career move.
Sure, she’d had some interest in her work and a few of her photos published in national publications, but it wasn’t as if her work was Met-worthy. Still, it seemed to be where her heart and her talent had led her when she needed to help provide for her daughter. She knew her family would always be there to lend a hand, but Julia was her responsibility. And her daughter was never going to suffer because her father had abandoned her. If Angel had anything to say about it, Julia would know that everyone in her life loved and cherished her despite Dave’s absence. Angel couldn’t stand the idea that her daughter would ever be abandoned like Angel herself had been—twice.
Angel did her best to shake off the negative thoughts. She hated when she allowed herself to dwell on them too much, especially in light of the fact that she truly had a good life with a wonderful family who had chosen her. Who’d taken in a baby of a different race and never once acted as if it was anything other than completely awesome. There were a ton of people in the world who could learn basic human decency from her parents.
Realizing she’d been standing just inside the entrance to the gallery while her mind had gone spinning off in what seemed like every direction, she let out a breath and started forward. That was when she happened to look over at the front counter and saw a paper bag with her name written on it. Curious, she retrieved the bag and opened it to find a brownie inside along with a note that said simply, “Sorry again.”
She looked upward, as if she could see Hunter through the ceiling. It was a nice gesture, and coming as it did right when she was craving chocolate, it made her smile.
“Well, you look to be in a better mood than you were earlier,” Merline said as she came out of her office with a stack of brochures about the gallery to refill the holder on the front counter.
Angel wiggled the brownie. “Amazing how chocolate in hand can do that.”
“From the bakery?”
“Nope.” Angel pointed at the roof. “Hunter almost hit me in the head with lumber when I was leaving. I think this is a peace offering.”
“Oh, I’m so glad you didn’t get hurt. For your sake and his. That boy has too much to worry about already.”
Angel kept quiet about how Hunter had ceased being a boy a long time ago and was definitely 100 percent man. Maybe he did seem like a kid to Merline considering she was a grandmother.
“Is the roof that bad?”
Merline shook her head. “Should be fine in a few days, but that wasn’t what I was talking about. He’s got that ranch to run by himself, too, and now his mom to care for.”
“His mom? Is she sick?” Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen Mrs. Millbrook around town in a while.
“Poor woman has early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Hunter says she has good days and bad.”
“That’s terrible.”
It just proved what she already knew—life wasn’t fair and bad things happened to people who didn’t deserve it. Didn’t she and her adopted siblings provide enough evidence for that? Granted, the tough times they’d been through had been weathered and her sister and three brothers had all found love with some truly wonderful people. But there was no chance for a happy ending with Alzheimer’s disease, and she found herself wishing she could do something for Hunter to ease that pain in his life despite the fact she didn’t really know him that well. But she didn’t have to be best friends with someone to empathize with him, to wish he had an easier path to travel.
“He seemed to like your photo there.” Merline pointed toward the piece that caught the eye as soon as you stepped into the gallery. “I told him he should bring Evelyn to the opening.”
“That’s a good idea.” And it was, but it also made Angel unaccountably nervous. Merline had said he liked the photo of her brother-in-law, Jason, wrestling a steer, but what would he think of the rest of the collection? And why did it seem to matter so much? What was important was that it could provide an enjoyable evening for his mom.
“Maybe you could convince him,” Merline said. “I’m not sure I did a very good job.”
“I doubt I’d have any more luck than you.”
Merline smiled and nodded toward the brownie in Angel’s hand. “I’m not so sure about that.”
Before Angel could cobble together a response, Merline took her mischievous smile and headed back to her office. Angel looked at the brownie, wondering if Hunter left it for any other reason than the apology he’d attached to it. And wondering why she hoped he had.
* * *
By the time Hunter got home, he felt as if he’d sweated off ten pounds up on the gallery roof. He was glad to see Mildred was still visiting with his mom. In fact, when he stepped inside and heard them laughing, he could almost believe everything was as it should be. Especially since he noticed that not only had his mom remembered to dry the clothes but had also folded them. Or had that been Mildred’s doing?
He took a moment to listen to the two women sounding like teenagers. He prayed every day that a cure for Alzheimer’s disease would be found before it was too late for his mom.
“Hunter, is that you?” his mom called out from the living room.
“Yep.” He smiled as he left the laundry area and entered the living room. “What is so funny in here?”
His mom looked at Mildred, and they started laughing again.
“Girl talk,” Mildred managed to say as she held her side.
Hunter honestly didn’t care what they were talking about as long as it was bringing his mom so much happiness. Not only was her disease slowly chipping away at her, but the accompanying bouts of sadness made his heart ache for her.
When they finally got their laughter under control, his mom looked up at him. “How was your day, dear?”
“Hot, but I got a good amount of work done.” Even despite the fact his thoughts had kept drifting to the woman who’d been working in the building below his feet. Angel had still been inside the gallery when he’d called it a day.
“I haven’t been by the gallery since right after it opened,” Mildred said. “I need to swing by sometime.”
“Angel Hartley is having an exhibit opening soon, not sure when. Merline invited me and Mom.”
“Oh, I don’t think so,” his mom said, her smile fading.
“Of course you’re going,” Mildred said.
When his mom started to object, Mildred waved off the words before they’d even been spoken.
“Hon, yeah, you’ve got a lousy disease, but it hasn’t gotten the best of you yet. I expect more fight out of you than this.”
His mom looked surprised by her friend’s words, but then miraculously she seemed to accept them and nodded. “I guess it could be fun. What kind of art is it?”
Still stunned that she’d agreed so easily, it took Hunter a moment to remember to respond. “Photography. I saw one of her pieces today. She’s really talented.”
Not to mention beautiful, but he wasn’t going to voice that little fact. Heck, it was obvious to anyone who got within view of Angel.
“And I’ll bet her sister-in-law will have some delicious snacks on hand that night,” Mildred said.
“Who’s her si
ster-in-law?” his mom asked.
“Lauren Shayne, the Brazos Baker.”
“Oh, I like her. She was making the most beautiful cinnamon cupcakes on her show today.”
Mildred glanced over at Hunter, and he could tell by her expression that his mom had forgotten that Mildred had already been there when the show aired. Perhaps Mildred had even mentioned that Lauren and Adam Hartley were married now and his mom had forgotten that, as well.
“Though I guess she ought to be called the Blue Falls Baker now,” his mom said. “We’re a long way from the Brazos.”
“She’s already got a following with her Brazos moniker, though,” Mildred said. “Makes sense to keep it.”
“Plus you say baker and Blue Falls and everyone thinks of Keri Teague,” he said, referring to the owner of the Mehlerhaus Bakery on Main Street.
“True,” his mom said. “Darn it, now I want cupcakes.”
He laughed. “Tell you what, Mom. I’ll pick some up before I come home tomorrow. What do you say?”
“I say I raised you right.”
They all laughed before Mildred stood to leave.
“Well, I better get home before Henry sends out a search party. Hunter, you find out when Angel’s opening is, and we’ll all make plans to go.”
“Will do,” he said as he accompanied her to the door. Once there, he leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for convincing her to go. She never would have agreed if it was just me asking.”
Mildred patted his cheek as if he were a little boy, probably because she’d known him since he was born. “Because you’re too kindhearted and don’t give her the tough love she needs sometimes.”
Maybe that was true, but it just seemed wrong when she was still coming to grips with her fate. It wasn’t the same as when Mildred had given him some of her tough love when he was a twelve-year-old kid feeling sorry for himself because he’d broken his leg during summer vacation. He could hear what she’d said to him now as clearly as if she’d just uttered the words.
Home on the Ranch: Texas Cowboy, Be Mine Page 2