Aidan: Loyal Cowboy: Aidan: Loyal CowboyThe Family Plan

by Cathy McDavid

  “Why do you keep asking me the same question over and over?”

  “Because I can’t help thinking that something’s wrong.” Jolyn softened her voice. “Please, Mom. I want to help.”

  Their eyes met, and for a fraction of a second Jolyn thought her mother might finally reveal what was upsetting her. Instead, she dismissed Jolyn with a flippant, “I’m fine. Perfect, in fact.”

  Jolyn knew better but until her mother chose to confide in her, there wasn’t much she could do.

  Heaving a sigh, she said, “I really wish you’d quit making trouble for Chase. He doesn’t deserve it.”

  “You’re siding with him because you’ve always liked him.”

  “I’m siding with Mandy. And of course I like Chase. We’re friends.”

  “There was a time back in high school you wanted to be more than his friend.”

  “That’s ridiculous. There was never anything between me and Chase.”

  Even as she protested her mother’s assertion, Jolyn remembered the kiss she and Chase had shared that night on her parents’ front porch. It had meant nothing to him, but for a few days Jolyn had foolishly hoped he’d leave SherryAnne for her.

  “All I’m asking is that you not let your feelings for Chase cloud your judgment when it comes to the possibility of Mandy being my granddaughter.”

  Between her upcoming meeting with Chase and the conversation with her mother, Jolyn’s nerves were stretched to their limit. “Let me ask you this, Mom,” she snapped. “Are you willing to confront that little girl and tell her the man who raised her, the man she adores and calls Daddy, isn’t her father?”

  “That’s not a fair question.”

  “Yes, it is. And until you’re ready to live with the guilt of breaking two innocent people’s hearts, you have no right to demand Chase have the DNA testing done.”

  Her mother gave her a look that was both woeful and unyielding. “If it comes to that, and I truly hope it doesn’t, I’ll be ready.”

  * * *

  JOLYN PUSHED OPEN the door to the community center and entered a packed house. At least a hundred family members and friends had shown up to watch the semiannual dance recital.

  Since there were no vacant seats in the front rows, she sat near the back. Catching sight of several familiar faces, she smiled and nodded in response to waves of greeting. She noted more than one whispered conversation taking place behind the shield of a raised hand. Was it her recent return that had tongues wagging? Her accident? Her brother’s affair with the local vet’s ex-wife? Or was her imagination working overtime?

  Probably a little of each.

  Thankfully, the lights dimmed and a parade of costumed girls entered the small stage from behind a curtain. Video cameras by the dozen were turned on and aimed at the stage.

  The recital lasted almost an hour, ending with a thunderous round of applause. As people milled about, Jolyn remained seated, watching her mother from a distance.

  Dottie was in her element. Surrounded by parents and students, she radiated pride while graciously accepting congratulations. Without missing a beat, she complimented each child, praising their talent and hard work. Heads were patted, pigtails tugged and chins pinched.

  Jolyn found herself smiling. People did like her mother, and she probably would make a decent, if not darn good, secretary.

  “They’re talking Tony nominations backstage,” a low and unmistakably male voice said from behind her. A pair of strong, tanned hands gripped the back of her chair on either side of her shoulders.

  Chase.

  A tiny shiver of awareness swept through Jolyn.

  “Mandy did a fantastic job for someone who’s only taken lessons a short time.” She swiveled in her seat to find him looking down at her, his face mere inches away, his dark brown eyes studying her intently.

  Chase didn’t appear to be affected by their proximity. And neither was she. Not in the least. She was pulling at the collar of her blouse only because the material itched.

  “Mandy wants to hang out with her friends for a few minutes,” he said. “I thought maybe we could sit at one of the picnic tables outside and go over your bid. Unless you’d rather meet someplace less casual.”

  “The picnic tables are fine.”

  Jolyn and Chase walked down their individual rows and met up in the center aisle.

  “Give me a minute to let Mandy know where we’ll be.”

  “Sure thing.”

  Chase touched Jolyn’s arm. No more than a brush of his fingers, really. So why did it feel like so much more? She watched him slowly weave his way toward the stage.

  With his six-foot-two frame, black hair and shoulders rivaling those of a professional athlete, he was easy to track even in a large crowd. If that weren’t enough, his long-sleeved blue denim work shirt stood out in a sea of T-shirts and tank tops. He must have come straight from a call to the recital.

  “Hello, Jolyn.”

  She turned and came face-to-face with Susan and Joseph Raintree, Chase’s aunt and uncle. “Hi. How are you?” Collecting her scattered wits, she shook hands with both of them.

  “Welcome home,” Susan said kindly. She could have snubbed Jolyn as easily. Perhaps the Raintrees weren’t aware of her mother’s latest campaign. Chase had mentioned Dottie being closemouthed. “How long are you staying?”

  “I’m not sure.” Everyone Jolyn ran into asked her the same question. She gave her stock answer. “Depends on how business goes.” If she didn’t get some decent jobs soon, she might be gone before the end of summer. “How’s your family?” she inquired instead.

  Susan glowed. “Great. Gage and Aubrey got married this spring. They’re both working and couldn’t be here.”

  “Tell them congratulations for me, please.”

  Jolyn remembered Chase’s cousin Gage well, though he’d been less interested in rodeoing than Chase and more into sports during their high-school days. She knew Aubrey only slightly but liked her.

  “Hannah’s going to Pineville College, studying ranch management.” Susan crossed her fingers. “She should graduate at the end of fall semester if she can pass all her classes.”

  “You ready to leave?” Joseph grumbled.

  He’d obviously reached his tolerance of squealing little girls and effusive, chatty parents.

  Susan rolled her eyes. “It was nice seeing you again.” She linked her arm through Joseph’s and smiled up at him softly.

  “Same here.”

  Jolyn was immediately joined by a former classmate. The woman had a five-year-old daughter in the recital and was quick to mention she also had a son. Jolyn wondered how many of her old friends were now married with families. Could this be why her mother had become obsessed with having a grandchild?

  “Sorry to take so long.” Chase returned just as her old friend was leaving. He stood close to Jolyn, not that he had to. The crowd was thinning with each passing second. “Shall we?” He motioned toward the door.

  Jolyn nodded, her throat suddenly dry. Here, at last, was the moment of truth. Her first official bid presentation to a prospective client. How well it went could affect many things, including the duration of her stay in Blue Ridge and if she could make a go of Sutherland Construction Company.

  She might feel more confident about the outcome if her mother weren’t trying to wreck Chase’s life.

  Chapter Three

  Chase opened the back door to his aunt and uncle’s hous
e and hollered, “Anybody home?”

  “Come in,” his cousin Hannah called.

  Mandy squeezed in ahead of him, making a sweeping entrance into the kitchen. She was still wearing her recital costume and riding high from all the excitement.

  “Did you see the show, Aunt Hannah?” she asked, executing an awkward but charming pirouette.

  “No, sweetie, I didn’t.” Hannah applauded when Mandy was done, then scooped her up for a hug. “I just got home from school. But your Aunt Susan videotaped it. We’re all going to watch it after supper.”

  “You have to go to school?”

  “’Fraid so.”

  “But it’s summer.”

  “College is different. I’m trying to graduate early so I have to go during the summer. Nights and weekends, too.”

  Mandy made a face. “That sucks.”

  “Watch your language,” Chase warned.

  His cousin gave him a bemused glance as she released a squirming Mandy. “She’s right, it does.”

  “Been there, done that. It’s hard, but you’ll get through it.”

  Chase had pushed himself to finish veterinary school in record time. In his case, because he had a wife and baby daughter at home. A wife he barely talked to in those days.

  Eventually, he and SherryAnne managed to tolerate each other. Even to get along at times. When SherryAnne announced she was divorcing him and leaving Blue Ridge to pursue a career as a professional barrel racer, Chase was disappointed, but not surprised. They’d agreed when Mandy was born to stick it out so that their daughter would have the benefit of being raised by two parents. That commitment had lasted seven years.

  They’d never fought for custody. SherryAnne wanted her freedom and Chase wanted his daughter. His daughter. No one else’s.

  Chase had learned about SherryAnne’s infidelity by accident early in her pregnancy. He’d stayed with her until Mandy was born, planning to have DNA testing done soon after. It proved unnecessary. Chase didn’t need a test to tell him what he knew in his heart to be true.

  “Hey there, you two.” Chase’s Aunt Susan came into the kitchen and ooh’d and aah’d appropriately when Mandy spontaneously performed part of her dance routine. “Aubrey just got off work,” she said after Mandy curtsied. “She and Gage are picking up pizza from Sage’s Bar and Grill on their way back from town.”

  “Pizza, pizza,” Mandy singsonged, and went in search of Chase’s Uncle Joseph to give yet another miniperformance to an admiring fan.

  “She’s so cute.” Susan smiled dotingly. She and Joseph had become like substitute grandparents to Mandy after Chase’s parents had moved to Mesa. They still visited but only occasionally, usually around the holidays. Chase rarely had time off to visit them, something he hoped to change. As a result, Mandy spent a lot of time at the ranch. Chase, too, when he could get away. “You probably aren’t crazy about me saying this,” Susan went on, “but she’s the spitting image of SherryAnne.”

  “She is.” Chase couldn’t deny the obvious. Mandy, with her red hair and freckles, had always favored her mother, for which he was glad.

  His greatest concern was that Mandy might hear disturbing gossip about her mother or become the object of taunts and teasing. Protecting her 24/7 was beyond his abilities. Neither could he bring himself to tell her about her mother’s affair before someone else did. She was too young and too vulnerable.

  A year between visits from SherryAnne had been hard on Mandy. Seeing her dancing around the kitchen in her recital costume, grinning from ear to ear, gave Chase hope that she would eventually rebound from her mother’s abandonment.

  He hated to admit it, but he was thankful to Dottie Sutherland. She and her dance classes had restored some of the missing light in his daughter’s eyes. Dottie had also, as promised, not said one word to Mandy about her mother’s affair with Steven.

  “I saw Jolyn at the dance recital.” Aunt Susan removed a stack of paper plates from the cupboard. “She looks good.”

  Pulling one of the chairs away from the table, Chase dropped down into it. “She does.”

  “Except for the limp, you’d never know what she’s been through the last year. I heard she had to learn to walk all over again.”

  “I heard she almost lost her leg,” Hannah said.

  “Imagine taking up a profession where you spend half your time outdoors and on your feet after something like that.” Susan shook her head in amazement. “She’s one strong gal.”

  Chase thought of Jolyn while his aunt and cousin set the table. He’d forgotten about her limp. He’d been too busy noticing other things about her, like the long, smooth line of her legs and the hands that looked too soft and delicate to bang a hammer or saw wood.

  Never one to hem and haw, Hannah asked, “Did she give you the bid for your clinic?”

  “Yeah. We went over it after the recital.”

  “And…”

  Both his cousin and aunt stopped what they were doing to stare at him expectantly.

  “And her price is almost fifteen percent under the next lowest bid.”

  Hannah whistled. “That’s a lot of money.”

  “It’s not just the money. She included several items in her bid the other two contractors missed.”

  Jolyn had impressed Chase with her attention to detail. Unlike the other two contractors he’d dealt with, she’d patiently explained all the components of the bid in everyday terms he could understand.

  “Money’s not everything,” Aunt Susan cautioned. “There’s experience and reputation to consider. She doesn’t have much of either, I’m guessing.”

  “You’re right. She did provide me with several references, though, including the Wild and Wooly West manager and her former boss at the commercial contractor in Dallas. I called both of them earlier. They gave her glowing recommendations.”

  “That’s to be expected.” Aunt Susan removed a pitcher of iced tea from the refrigerator. “A person doesn’t give out names of people who won’t talk them up.”

  “True. But I did ask a lot of questions, described exactly what I’m building. Both men expressed their confidence in her abilities.”

  Aunt Susan sat in the chair across from Chase. “I have no right interfering in your life, so feel free to tell me to butt out.” She lowered her voice and directed her gaze to the family room. Mandy continued to entertain her great uncle, who was trying his best to watch her and the six o’clock news at the same time. “I know Jolyn is your friend, but she’s also Dottie’s daughter. Working closely with her could lead to trouble. Big trouble.”

  “Believe me, I know.” Chase rubbed the back of his neck, massaging the kinks loose. “But Jolyn supports me where Mandy is concerned. She always has.”

  “Are you absolutely sure? Family ties are strong.”

  “Pretty sure,” Chase answered honestly.

  “Dottie could try and use Jolyn to get to you without Jolyn realizing it.”

  “Jolyn’s aware of her mother’s goals and I think she’s savvy enough to not let herself be manipulated.”

  “In my opinion,” Hannah said, “you’re safe using Jolyn. She needs this job if she wants her business to succeed, and she won’t do anything to screw it up. Neither will Dottie.”

  Hannah looked at her mother as if challenging her to disagree. Susan gave a noncommittal shrug.

  “I like that she’s here in town.” Chase leaned back and stretched out his cramped legs. He wasn’t used to sitting as much a
s he had this afternoon. “The other two contractors admitted that while workers may be on the job every day, they would only make the trip from Pineville two or three times a week. If something were to go wrong, Jolyn would be five minutes away.”

  “It’s cool you’re giving a woman a shot at this. And the money you’d save…” Hannah rubbed her thumb and first two fingers together. “You can do a lot with all that extra green stuff.”

  Chase quickly added some numbers in his head. “I can pay for the holding kennels, waiting room furniture and a three-year lease on an X-ray machine.”

  Susan rose from the table. “Sounds like you’ve decided.” The tiny hint of disapproval in her tone was unmistakable.

  “Not yet,” Chase said. “I’m going to sleep on it tonight. See how I feel tomorrow.”

  “I’m glad you’re taking your time deciding.”

  From outside came the sounds of tires on gravel and the Raintrees’ pet dog, Biscuit, barking. Gage and Aubrey had arrived with the pizza.

  Hannah grinned knowingly at Chase and said too softly for her mother to hear, “When are you going to tell Jolyn she has the job?”

  “In the morning.” He grinned back at her. “She’s bringing Sinbad by early to have his sutures removed.”

  She jumped up to give her mother a hand with dinner and patted Chase’s shoulder as she walked by. “You’ve made the right decision, cuz.”

  Chase thought so, too. There were any number of reasons why he shouldn’t award the job to Sutherland Construction Company and an equal number of reasons why he should. Granted, he might be taking a chance, but his gut told him to hire Jolyn.

  And besides, he rather liked the idea of working with her. It felt right, and nothing had felt right for Chase in a long, long time.

  * * *

  JOLYN PULLED BACK on Sinbad’s reins, squeezed gently with her legs and commanded him to walk in a firm voice. He obeyed and slowed from a fast trot, but not willingly. She didn’t blame him. Between the trip from Dallas and his latest injury, two weeks had passed since she’d last ridden him.