The Rancher Next Door

by Darlene Mindrup

  * * *

  One corner of Mitch’s mouth curved upward slightly when he saw David rapidly disappear through his bedroom door. It should have occurred to him that Jenny hadn’t made the offer David had suggested, but just now he didn’t seem to be thinking too straight. He couldn’t blame her. He hadn’t been exactly friendly lately, trying to distance himself from a relationship that was fast getting out of hand. At least on his part.

  He smiled at Renee, who smiled warmly back. No problem there, he decided. This whole thing had probably been David’s doing.

  “Hi, Renee.”

  “Hi.” She uncurled herself from her cramped position, stretching widely. She smiled down at Fudge, who was whimpering softly.

  “Okay, okay,” she told him. “I’ll take you out for a while.”

  The pup seemed to know exactly what she said, because he flew to the door, his tail wagging in his excitement. Mitch grinned.

  “Don’t you let him out by himself?”

  “Not yet. He’s still too little. I’m afraid he might get hurt by a coyote or something.”

  “I see.” Mitch watched her pull on her coat while the dog patiently waited at her feet.

  Jenny motioned to a chair and sat across from him, her glance straying to Renee, as well. They both waited until she disappeared out the door before turning their eyes toward each other. A second later they heard the kitchen door slam shut. Laughter danced in Mitch’s eyes.

  “I take it that was David.”

  Jenny grimaced. “Probably. The little monster.”

  The smile reached all the way to his mouth. “I assume you knew nothing about the suggestion to be my housekeeper for a while.”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t.”

  He leaned back against the chair, raking both hands through his hair. He slowly released a breath. “I suppose I should have figured that. I seem to be a little slow in the brain department these days.”

  * * *

  He looked utterly confused, and Jenny’s heart reached out to him.

  “I’m sorry—”

  “It’s just that I’m a little desperate right now,” he interrupted. “It’s a bad time for my housekeeper to be leaving, but her daughter is having a baby and she wants to be there. My mother has suddenly appeared and she was hoping to camp out at the ranch. From what I can remember, she wouldn’t be much good in the homemaking department.”

  Jenny could hear the bitterness in his voice, but there was an air of excited expectancy, as well.

  “Have you seen her yet?”

  “No.” The answer was short and clipped, precluding further discussion on the subject.

  “I’d like to help, Mitch, but I’m really busy.” She gestured to the wall hanging she had just finished that day. “I have more than I can handle right now.”

  “I understand. I guess I was just a little desperate. I should have realized. Hattie told me how busy you were.”

  Jenny studied her fingernails silently. Mitch sounded lost, unsure of what to do. It was so unlike him, it truly concerned her. He was uncomfortable asking for her help, she could tell that. But that’s not what made him so hesitant. He really didn’t know what to do with his own mother, who had suddenly showed up on his doorstep after twenty-three years. Impulsively, Jenny made a totally illogical decision. She looked at him sitting there with his hands pulled back through his hair, his eyes closed.

  “Actually, I’m pretty much finished with my Christmas baking and I’m somewhat caught up on my crafting. I think I could help you a few hours a week, if that would work?”

  His eyes flew open and he stared at her silently for several long seconds.

  “I couldn’t ask you to do that. As you said, you have enough to do.”

  His lips said one thing but his eyes pleaded in a way she hadn’t the heart to refuse.

  “Let’s see,” she said, ignoring his rebuttal. “I could come tomorrow at about nine o’clock and stay till about two. That would still give me time to fix something for the twins and be here when they get home.”

  Mitch protested again, but there was very little heart to it.

  “How long do you think she’ll stay?” Jenny asked, and could have immediately bitten off her tongue at the look on his face.

  “I doubt if she’ll stay long. Probably just long enough to tell me what she wants,” he answered darkly.

  Jenny merely nodded. “If you have all the supplies, I can fix a meal for you and your mother before I leave. That way she would be able to stay with you as of tomorrow.”

  He looked relieved and hopeful at the same time. “Will you stay long enough to meet her?”

  She could see in his eyes the answer he wanted her to give.

  “Sure. As long as you have her there by two o’clock.”

  “Great! I’ll make the arrangements.” He got quickly to his feet, probably anxious to leave before she could change her mind.

  He went to the door and opened it. Leaning out, he searched the area around him. “You guys can come out of hiding now. I’m leaving.”

  David popped around the corner, grinning sheepishly. Renee followed, with Fudge bringing up the rear.

  Jenny joined the twins on the porch and watched while Mitch buckled his seat belt. He winked at David before turning to her.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow, then. Nine o’clock.”

  Jenny nodded, refusing to look at either of her siblings.

  It was only as she was preparing for bed that night that she began to have doubts. Large, nagging ones.

  Chapter 11

  Standing back to survey the table she had just set, Jenny gave a satisfied nod. Everything was as it should be. Reaching her hands behind her neck, she started massaging out the kinks. She was tired already, but she still had a long day ahead of her.

  She went swiftly from room to room to assure herself that everything was in apple-pie order. Since Mitch’s housekeeper had only been gone a week, the house hadn’t had time to fall into rack and ruin. She had whizzed through the house with a feather duster and the vacuum cleaner that she had found in the large pantry next to the kitchen.

  For a lone bachelor, Mitch’s house was rather large. The living room alone was larger than most of her cabin. A huge fireplace across one entire wall was the center of attention. The cathedral ceiling lent an air of spatial elegance.

  As she had thought, the furniture was mostly geared to a man’s taste and Jenny wondered if it had always been so.

  There were nine other rooms besides the formal living room, all of them immense in size. Deep terra-cotta-colored carpeting wandered throughout the house, with the color scheme of every room blending with a complementary, harmonious mixture of rustic furniture and Native American. Definitely a man’s home.

  When she had arrived she’d decided to start with the kitchen so that she could have a meal cooking while she cleaned the rest of the house. Mitch’s pantry afforded her a much larger choice than what she presently had in her own cupboards.

  Now, reentering the kitchen, Jenny went to the pantry and put the cleaning supplies away. Pouring herself a glass of iced tea, she plopped down into a chair. A glance at her watch told her she still had twenty minutes.

  She nervously tapped her fingers on the tabletop. After a few minutes she got up to check on the roast simmering in the oven. The meat was nestled in a bed of carrots, potatoes and onions. Its broth was rich and brown and gave off a mouthwatering aroma.

  Closing the oven door, she thought she heard the sound of a vehicle in the driveway. Looking at her watch again, she realized it could only be Mitch. Her stomach seemed to squeeze within her. Her hands started to shake. Taking a deep breath steadied her enough to allow her to go to the front door and open it.

  Mitch descended from the Jeep, walke
d to the back and pulled out a small suitcase. Moving around to the passenger side, he helped his mother from the car. After she alighted, she stood staring transfixed at the landscape in front of her eyes.

  “It’s so different.”

  Jenny could barely catch the whispered words.

  Mitch motioned with his hands.

  “Come inside out of the cold,” he told her, his voice more chilling than the air surrounding them. “I want you to meet someone.”

  Without touching her, he led her over to where Jenny waited patiently. The two women stared at one another, each trying to assess the other.

  Jenny for her part was surprised. From the things she had heard, she had expected his mother to be stylishly dressed and with faultless makeup. What she saw was a small, middle-aged woman wearing a conservative skirt and jacket and low-heeled pumps. Although she held her age well, she had done nothing to hold back Father Time, and her eyes had delicate laugh lines at the corners. The eyes arrested her attention more than anything else. A perpetual sadness seemed to lurk in their emerald-green depths.

  From a picture Mitch had sitting on his mantel, she knew that Mitch was the spitting image of his father. One look, though, and it was apparent from where he’d inherited his eyes.

  “This is Jenny Gordon, our neighbor. Jenny, Delores Anderson.”

  Neither woman missed the conspicuous neglect of title where his mother was concerned.

  “How do you do?” Jenny extended her hand.

  “Hello. Mitch has told me about you. It was kind of you to offer to look after things while his housekeeper had to be away.”

  “I was glad to do it.” She frowned at Mitch. He was doing nothing to make his mother feel at home.

  Mitch’s eyes darkened with suppressed emotion. He strode up the veranda stairs and through the front door. Delores followed him, still looking around her.

  “I can’t believe how much things have changed.”

  Jenny followed Delores into the house, walked past her and headed for the kitchen. She had never felt so uncomfortable in her life.

  Mitch emerged from a bedroom down the hallway where he had taken his mother’s suitcase. His face seemed carved in stone.

  “I put your things in your bedroom. I had the house redecorated years ago so feel free to explore in case you don’t remember where things are.”

  Although nothing was said about her years of absence, the implication was clear. Jenny could see the hurt that flashed momentarily through Delores’s eyes. Nodding, she passed Mitch, her shoulders slumped in dejection, and went to the end of the hallway.

  Jenny and Mitch stood uncomfortably, waiting in silence. Mitch finally turned to her.

  “Thanks for cleaning the house. Everything looks great. Something smells good, too.”

  The tension in the air was stifling. Jenny wanted to protest his treatment of his mother, but she knew she hadn’t the right. This was something they were going to have to work out together.

  Before she could think of anything to say, she heard muffled crying coming from Delores’s bedroom. Jenny watched the color drain from Mitch’s face. He quickly schooled his features into a rigid mask of self-control before turning and walking out the front door. She heard the Jeep start up before it peeled out of the driveway.

  Now where on earth was Mitch going? She couldn’t believe that he had just left her here alone with his mother. Standing helplessly in the middle of the room, Jenny was uncertain what to do. She should be leaving. Renee and David would be home soon and she needed to be there. Hesitating, she finally made a decision and strode purposefully down the hall. There was something pitiful and touching about the way Delores was trying to control her sobbing.

  Pausing a moment at the door, it occurred to Jenny that perhaps Delores wouldn’t appreciate being intruded upon. Her sad weeping came plaintively, though muffled, through the partially closed door.

  Taking a deep breath, Jenny pushed the door open hesitantly and stopped on the threshold. The sight of Delores Anderson kneeling beside her bed with her head buried in the covers brought a lump to Jenny’s throat. Gone was the poised, elegant woman of yesteryear. These were not pretend tears. They were the soul-cleansing tears of a woman leaving the past behind.

  Jenny went to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She tried to understand what Delores was saying through her moaning.

  “I gave it all up. I was so selfish.”

  Jenny stood quietly, offering silent sympathy.

  Delores lifted her head from the covers and Jenny saw a pain-ravaged face that seemed older than before. Mascara was smeared in all directions, giving her a grotesquely fiendish appearance.

  Jenny’s heart went out to her. She hated to see anything in pain. Although this woman had caused immense sorrow herself, her anguish was genuine and Jenny had no desire to see her suffer more.

  “You came to ask forgiveness, didn’t you?” she asked softly.

  Delores nodded her head slowly, her tears starting to subside.

  “Do you think he’ll ever forgive me? Do you think he can?”

  “I don’t know.” Gently, Jenny helped Delores to her feet and led her to the bathroom. She seated her on an antique chair in the corner. Pulling a washcloth from the stack on the counter, she turned on the faucet and soaked it with cold water. Handing it to Delores, she leaned against the edge of the counter.

  “Why did you wait all these years?” Jenny didn’t recognize the hoarse voice as her own.

  Delores smiled wryly, looking down at the floor.

  “I wanted to come back. I started to several times, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I’ve been so selfish. All my life I never cared about anyone but myself. I never wanted Mitch.” She looked up at Jenny. If she was looking for a horrified reaction, she received it.

  Jenny was astounded. “How could you not want your own baby?”

  Delores stared at the washcloth in her hand, twisting it slowly around.

  “I was selfish. I didn’t know any other way. I was an only child and my parents spoiled me horribly. Anything I wanted was given to me. Mitch was just someone who got in my way.” She looked up at Jenny, a half smile playing around her lips. “Whatever you do, don’t spoil your kids.”

  “But you came back. Why now? Why after all these years?”

  Getting up, Delores crossed to Jenny. She placed an urgent hand on Jenny’s arm.

  “I need to talk to someone. If I tell you something, will you promise not to tell anyone?” She squeezed Jenny’s hand lightly. “Not anyone.”

  This was something Jenny hadn’t counted on. She had never intended to get involved. Even now, the rational part of her brain was telling her not to get mixed up in something that didn’t concern her.

  But didn’t it? She loved Mitch. If there was any way to bring about reconciliation between Mitch and his mother, shouldn’t she try? She wanted to help him. For that matter, she wanted to help Delores Anderson, as well. Whatever she had been like in the beginning, Jenny could see that Delores was not the woman she had once been.

  Looking intently into Delores’s eyes she told her, “I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to.”

  Delores’s shoulders sagged with relief. She leaned heavily against the sink for support and Jenny became alarmed.

  “Are you all right?”

  A wry smile crooked Delores’s lips, making her look so much like her son, it caused Jenny a pang.

  “No,” she told her softly. “I’m not all right. I’m dying.”

  Jenny felt a cold chill rush through her. “Dying?”

  Delores nodded. “I have cancer. I waited too long for treatment, and now the doctors tell me I only have six weeks to live. Maybe a little more, maybe a little less.”

  Jenny stood uncertainly, hands clenchi
ng and unclenching at her sides as she tried to think of how to respond. “Are you going to tell Mitch?”

  “I haven’t decided yet.” Delores straightened away from the counter, laying the washcloth out to dry. “It depends on how things go between us.”

  Jenny was angry now. “But you have to tell him. Do you know what this could do to him?”

  “Jenny?” Mitch’s anxious voice came from the living room, interrupting their talk.

  Delores clenched Jenny’s hand with her own. “Remember. You promised not to tell.”

  Jenny studied her for a long moment before she reluctantly nodded her head. She left Delores in the bathroom and went to find Mitch. He was just coming from the kitchen.

  “There you are,” he said in relief.

  Jenny glared at him. “What was the big idea leaving me here like that? You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”

  Lips pressed into a tight line, Mitch shook his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to do.” His voice lowered to a husky whisper. “I can handle anything but tears.”

  Wetting her lips, Jenny reached for her coat without looking at him. He only thought he could handle anything. He had no idea what agony he was about to experience. She so wanted to warn him, but she had given her word.

  “I have to go now, Mitch. The twins will be home soon.”

  He watched her, his hands curled into fists at his sides.

  “Your supper is in the oven. It should be ready anytime you want to eat it,” she told him, buttoning her coat. She had to get out of here before she said something she shouldn’t.

  Mitch swallowed convulsively. “You could stay for supper. I could go get the twins.”

  Jenny shook her head, advancing to the door. “No. You and your mother have things you need to talk about.” Twisting the doorknob, she told him, “There’s a salad in the refrigerator and a coconut cake on the counter.” She caught his eye, her heart twisting at the pain she saw there. “Give her a chance, Mitch,” she whispered, quickly closing the door behind her.

  * * *

  For the next several days Jenny fell into a kind of routine. After she got the twins off to school, she went to Mitch’s to make sure everything was staying clean and to fix the evening meal. Of Mitch there was no sign. Jenny assumed he left early and returned late. She had no idea where he disappeared to each day.