“I hope that’s the case. Right now I need to go check on Maggie and Andy.”
Jack sighed. “Carson, I am sorry. I’m going to give you some advice. Forgive. And maybe pray for peace. You’ve been through a lot, but there is still good in the world. You have two beautiful kids that are proof of that fact.”
“Thank you for the advice. And as for my children, I know what I have. Andy and Maggie are everything to me.” With that, he left.
“That went better than I expected,” Jack stated simply.
Kylie turned her attention back to him, studying his expression to make sure she wasn’t missing anything. He was putting on a good act, but she could see the exhaustion in his face, the way he sank into the recliner. Isaac noticed as well, and he moved a little closer to the chair as if he intended to do or say something.
“Go on, take care of the horses.” Jack waved Isaac on.
Isaac paused, unsure. He might act like he hated the world, but she knew he loved Jack. Jack had dragged him home from a VA hospital in Tulsa and put him back together with horses, sunshine and a mission: to make the ranch a haven for other wounded warriors.
“I know you can make your own decisions,” Isaac said, his voice a little gruffer than normal. “But I don’t want you to...”
“Oh go on, now. I’m going to be just fine.”
“I know you are.” Isaac looked away. “But I want you to know...”
“That you’re going to make a champion cutting horse out of that gelding you just bought,” Jack went on, in typical Jack fashion that Kylie both loved and hated.
Isaac cleared his throat. “That isn’t what I was going to say.”
“It’s all I want to hear you say. Get out of here before I get up out of this chair and give you what for,” Jack growled. Isaac grinned, tugged the brim of his hat and left, the back door banging on his exit.
“You do everything in your power to push them away,” Kylie accused, knowing she had the right of it.
“Oh, I’m not trying to run them off. I just want to sleep.” Jack pushed the control button on his recliner and the headrest went back as the footstool went up. “Ah, that’s one hundred percent better than the hospital bed. And the food is a mite better.”
“A mite?” she asked.
“Okay, quite a bit better. Although they did have good chocolate cake. Now, back to business. Is the dog helping Andy?”
“I think so. I’ve been doing research and it’s going to do more for him than just keep him from wandering.”
Jack nodded, his eyes closing. “You go on and do whatever you need. I’ll be fine right here. I need to catch up on sleep. You know it’s hard to sleep in the hospital with all that poking and prodding.”
“I know.”
He fell asleep almost immediately, so after a few minutes Kylie left him alone. As she crossed the lawn, she heard adult voices and children laughing. She rounded the corner of the women’s apartment and saw Carson, Eve, Andy and Maggie playing with Rambo. Andy had hold of the short leash on the dog’s harness. It was difficult to tell who led whom. To Kylie, it seemed as if Rambo might be in charge.
Eve pushed forward in her chair several feet. “Andy, can you walk with Rambo toward the road.”
From the corner of her eye, as she kept her attention on Andy, she saw Carson tense up. She didn’t interfere. It was important that Rambo know his job and Andy know that his dog would protect him. It was also important that Carson trust the dog.
Trust was so important with a service dog.
Andy looked reluctant. His gaze shot to his dad and his lower lip might have trembled. Carson nodded.
Permission granted, Andy headed for the road some five hundred feet away. He wouldn’t get there, of course, and they all knew it. Not only the dog, but the gate would keep him from leaving the property.
Kylie moved closer to Carson. He saw her and for a moment he seemed relieved, his features relaxed. Then he focused his attention back to Andy and Rambo. Kylie watched as Eve continued to move forward, with Maggie on her lap. The little girl held the sleeping puppy Skip in her lap.
As Andy wandered away from them, Rambo appeared to grow distressed. Without warning the dog sat, his whimper loud and clear even from a distance of one hundred feet. Andy tugged on the lead but Rambo wouldn’t budge.
“Bring him back,” Eve called out. “But pet him first.”
Andy leaned to hug and pet his dog. He had no idea what the animal had done for him but the adults all knew.
“Thank you for this,” Carson said softly, his voice gruff.
“For?”
He nodded toward Andy. “For Rambo. For changing my son’s life.”
“You’re the one making decisions for him. And your dad—sorry, I mean Jack—suggested a dog.”
“If you’re reminding me of my manners, I do plan on thanking him before we go.”
“Carson, you can’t leave just yet. Andy needs time to learn how to work with Rambo. We’re still working on new tasks for Rambo. He’s a smart dog, but this is new territory for him.” She paused, unsure of how to bring up the next subject. “And Jack. He needs you. He isn’t going to tell you so, but he does.”
“I’m not going to fall apart if you call him my father...”
“You call him Jack,” she reminded. “I’m trying to respect that.”
“I call him Jack because that’s who he’s been for most of my life. I haven’t called anyone Dad or Father in twenty years.”
She understood. She’d never met her father, and her mom’s boyfriends, men who moved in and out of the trailer they’d called home, hadn’t been father figures for her at all. She’d learned early on to study hard and to stay quiet and out of sight. She’d been the silent observer in her mother’s life, determined to not turn into her mother.
The decision had been made the year she turned nine. She’d been upset with her mother and she’d said something about the way they lived. Her mom had laughed at her. “You think you’re so high and mighty? Someday you’ll be just like me.”
“Earth to Kylie.” It was Carson’s voice, more recognizable because of the thread of laughter in his tone. “I remember that you used to always zone out like that.”
Back then she’d been dreaming of him, of their adult life. And look at them now, standing side by side, not at all who she’d thought they’d be. Today they were just two people living different lives and going in different directions.
Chapter Nine
Carson hadn’t forgotten the potluck Kylie mentioned that morning, but he’d tried. Unfortunately it appeared to be a ranch activity. They all loaded up in vehicles and headed to town. Carson drove his truck with Kylie sitting next to him. Jack had planned on going but changed his mind at the last second.
As they drove through town, Kylie asked him to make a brief stop at the lakeside resort and boat dock Jack planned to have up and running before the fishing tournament.
“Does Jack really think he’s going to bring back the tourists?” Carson asked as they pulled into the resort parking lot. The dock was a short distance away.
“It isn’t about bringing them back,” Kylie informed him. “Grand Lake hasn’t stopped drawing tourists. People come here to enjoy the lake, nature and other attractions. But Hope lost something. It got rundown, people stopped coming. It isn’t so much about bringing back tourists as it is in rebuilding lives and families in the community. People need—” she grinned “—hope.”
“That was cheesy,” he said.
“Yeah, I know. But this place has been good for so many people. Look at the men and women at the ranch. The people in town are also inspired. The buildings on Shoreline Drive will be available to people who are looking to start out with no rent or overhead.”
“It is a great plan.”
“And you don’t believe it will work.
Maybe you should stay and be a part of it,” she said. A small grin tipped her mouth and her eyes were warm, just a shade past honey in the dusky light of sunset.
Stay. No, he wouldn’t go down that path. If he thought about staying, he thought about Kylie. And then he felt guilty. He felt unfaithful. He had a feeling Kylie had the same thought processes.
“I have to check and see if Matt brought the supplies they needed.” Kylie opened the truck door. He saw a grimace as she moved to get out.
“Let me do this,” Carson said as he moved to get out. “You stay with the kids.”
She nodded and closed her door. “Thank you.”
He got out and headed for the cabins that made up the Lakeside Retreat. A group of men were storing materials in a shed. One of them turned to wave as he approached.
“Hey, Doc.” Lucas was the man’s name. Carson had met him the previous day. “What brings you by here?”
“Kylie wanted to make sure the materials were delivered.”
Lucas pointed inside the shed. “Matt brought them by today. I was going to tell Jack that someone has been messing around at the dock. The other day it was fishing poles. Today batteries from the new rental boats.”
“Do we need to file a police report?” Carson asked.
“We think we know who did it.” Lucas motioned him away from the other men. They walked down the hill toward the dock. “Donnie. He’s been at the house but he’s also been staying in town. I guess Kylie got him all riled up last week. I don’t want to think he would hurt her, but just thought you ought to know.”
Carson glanced back at his truck. The idea of someone hurting her. He didn’t want to think about it.
“I’ll keep an eye out,” he told the other man. “If this continues, we need to report it.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s just...” Lucas shrugged. “We all look out for each other. We wouldn’t want anything to happen to Kylie.”
“I won’t let anything happen to Kylie.” He avoided meeting Lucas’s eyes. “We’re on our way to church. Let me know if you all need anything.”
“Will do, Doc. Thanks.”
With that, Carson headed back to his truck. He got in without saying anything and headed for the church on the outskirts of town. The church they’d sporadically visited as kids.
“Well?” Kylie asked after a few minutes.
“Matt delivered the stuff.” He relaxed his grip on the steering wheel. “Donnie threatened you?”
She scrunched her face at that. “No, he was just angry. And that has nothing to do with the supplies Matt left.”
“No, but it is important.”
More important than he wanted to admit to himself. Admitting it would mean admitting she was still important to him.
“Donnie isn’t going to hurt me. He’s angry with life in general and that has nothing to do with anything I’ve done to him.”
“If he shows up, if he threatens you, you need to file a report. And you can’t hide this because we can’t keep you safe if you don’t tell us.”
“Calm down.”
He was calm. Calm as a man could be when he thought about letting someone down, not being there, making wrong choices. “I’m calm.”
“Good thing. I’d hate to see you upset, though.”
The tension fizzled. “Yeah, that wouldn’t be too pretty.”
He pulled into the church parking lot. Church. When he thought of church he thought about unanswered prayers. About the nightmare of losing Anna, of walking out of the hospital with a tiny baby girl. Alone.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m good.”
“Hmm, yeah, I don’t think so. What happened?”
“My wife died.” He let the words, harsh and difficult, land between them. “And every prayer I prayed that night must have bounced off His deaf ears.”
“Life is so hard.” Her hand reached out and he let his fingers slide through hers. “God is real and pain is real. Heartache is real. Horrible, unfair things happen. But there is beauty from the ashes, Carson. Look in the seat behind you and tell me that little girl isn’t beautiful.”
He glanced in the rearview mirror, knowing he would see blond curls, brown eyes and the sweetest smile. He wanted to ask how Kylie had overcome her loss with such faith and dignity. But he realized that it hadn’t been easy. She had her struggles. Most likely she had her own secrets, too.
“We should go in. I have the brownies. We won’t be forgiven if I don’t bring the brownies.” She reached for the pan next to her. “I wouldn’t have survived without faith. I still question. I still cry out at the unfairness of what I’ve lost. But I also know that life is beautiful.”
She was beautiful, he thought. But it was better to focus on what was safe, what was real than on what could never be.
* * *
Kylie walked next to Carson. They neared the church and she saw the town mayor, Edna Parker, heading their way. She looked like a woman on a mission. But then again, just short of eighty years, and still going strong, Edna always appeared to be on a mission. She had recently told Kylie that at her age, she didn’t have time to wait until tomorrow.
“Carson West, what a pleasure to see you here.” Edna smiled big, her eyes sparkling. “Or should I call you Dr. West.”
Carson released Maggie’s hand for a moment to accept Edna’s hand. “Carson is just fine.”
Edna laughed. “I guess Jack hasn’t convinced you to take on the clinic?”
“I’m not licensed in Oklahoma.”
She shooed him away with her hand. “Stop it. You know you could get licensed with no trouble at all. You either want to. Or you don’t. I don’t know why people find that so difficult to understand.”
“I’m a trauma surgeon, not a family practitioner.”
This time Edna rolled her eyes. “I just want you to know, I’m praying for you. Whatever you decide, it is sure good to see you here in Hope.”
“Thank you.”
Edna hurried away. Carson cleared his throat. “No pressure.”
Kylie laughed. “None at all. People are hopeful, you can’t blame them for that. We have to drive all the way to Grove for the basics. It would be nice to have someone local.”
“Then they should put an ad in the paper.” Carson extended his elbow for her to take hold of as they climbed the steps. Andy moved ahead of them and out of the blue he reached for Maggie’s hand. Carson hesitated just briefly. “That is a first.”
“There are going to be more firsts,” Kylie assured him. “I think having Rambo will open the world up for him.”
They entered the fellowship hall where the end of the month potluck was being held. People were working in the kitchen. Others had already filled their plates.
“I have to take the brownies to the dessert table. You should get plates for Maggie and Andy.” She stepped away from him.
There were people here that he remembered from his childhood. She knew that he would reconnect, find people to speak to and catch up with.
“We’ll wait for you,” he said, stopping her in her tracks, physically and emotionally.
She shook her head. “No, please go on.”
If she allowed this, it would only hurt more when he left. Or if he stayed. Fortunately she didn’t have to push him away. Isaac joined them, looking from one to the other, his eyes narrowed.
“Might as well get your food and sit with the rest of us,” Isaac said. He actually held a hand out to Maggie. Kylie knew he wasn’t much of a kid person. She thought he could be if he allowed himself.
“Who is us?” Carson asked.
“The crew from the ranch. A few locals. People you know that you’ve forgotten. Unless you’re too good for us.” Isaac left the insult hanging in the air.
“Why do you do that?” Carson asked.
Kylie k
new why and she wanted to stop Isaac from saying it. But he winked at her and she knew he couldn’t be stopped.
He shrugged and pretended like it didn’t matter. “I’m the replacement kid. But you’re all he ever talked about.”
Carson rubbed a hand across his jaw and studied Isaac for a long moment. “I’m sorry.”
“Water under the bridge,” Isaac said as he started to walk away. “Join us or not. Up to you.”
“Go,” Kylie urged. “I’ll catch up with you in a bit.”
He nodded, reached for Maggie and Andy, and followed the retreating back of his brother.
Kylie watched them go, then made a beeline for the safety of the kitchen. Today it didn’t feel safe. She felt like she was surrounded by quicksand and no matter what, she was going under.
She’d been attending this church for several years and today was the first time she questioned her future here. From the beginning she’d felt at peace with the decision to help Jack with Mercy Ranch. She’d felt at peace in Hope.
Today she wondered what would happen if Carson and his children stayed in town. Not that Carson gave any indication that he would. But if he did?
Would she be able to keep her distance? Would she leave because that would be easier than knowing he’d given his heart to someone else?
But if he left, would he take what remained of her heart?
Chapter Ten
Kylie woke up to the sound of a rooster crowing, and somewhere in the distance a horse whinnied. She eased out of bed, ashamed of how stiff she was. In the mornings, everything hurt. It didn’t last, but for her it meant a slow start until the pain eased with stretching and movement.
She had earned the extra stiffness because she’d stayed at church the previous evening, volunteering to help clean up after the potluck. It had given her an excuse to find an alternate ride home.
The apartment was silent as she shuffled down the hallway to the kitchen and living area that the women shared. There were only four of them living there for the time being. Kylie, Eve, Miriam and Jules. Kylie had the only apartment on the ground floor. Because she’d lived there even before the idea of Mercy Ranch really took a firm hold. As the vision for the ranch grew, the housing grew with it. The garage had been given a second floor, elevator and four rooms upstairs with a small sitting room.
Reunited with the Rancher Page 10