Foolin'

by Allyson Young

  She thought Lisa muttered something about having hot pants and being brainwashed but didn’t ask for clarification.

  “You only just met this guy and—”

  “We’ve been over this. Two times.” She dug for more patience. “I’m doing it. If you want to move in here with Nola, that’s an option. Otherwise, I’ll rent it out.”

  “Holy.” Lisa threw up her hands. “Mallory’s looking for a place too. The master bedroom is big enough for twin beds.”

  Kathleen blinked. Okay then. Moving on. “We’ll sort out a fair rent.”

  “I want to meet him,” Lisa announced.

  She’d spoken—thought—too soon. Lisa would peck this to death, as usual. “And he wants to meet you, Lisa. In fact, he’d have stayed to do so, but I thought you and I should talk first.”

  “Of course, we did. I deserved a chance to talk you out of it without him influencing you in person. I’ll come with you when you move, then, and check him out.”

  She sighed. But her kid loved her. “That’s a good idea. I want you to see the ranch too.”

  Lisa abruptly deflated. “You really want to do this.”

  “I do.”

  “Are you … in love with him?”

  She hesitated, choosing her words, searching inside. Love, at first sight, was for fairytales. “I’m something. It’s like with your dad, but different. They’re different men but equally good men.”

  “Wow. Okay.” Lisa didn’t jump to defend the comparison, but then she didn’t remember Samuel. “What’ll Grandma and Grandpa Walker say?”

  “Whatever they like. They’ll think whatever they will, regardless. And I don’t plan to be as blunt with them.”

  “Because it’s none of their business,” Lisa said, well used to that side of the family trying to pry and direct.

  Kathleen had never discouraged contact, but her daughter figured out fairly quickly that only compliance and aspiration to their way of life was rewarded by the Walkers senior. An uneasy truce had been established, but Lisa’s loyalty was to her mom. Thank God.

  At one point, she feared a custody battle, given that Samuel was so special to them, but fortunately, his brother’s wife turned up pregnant and took her in-laws’ focus. She’d have fought them with everything she had, but her father-in-law was a lawyer with friends in high places and money to burn.

  “You get hold of your friends. See what they’d pay for rent. Just remember, nothing in life is free. I have to start sorting and packing.” Excitement unfurled in her belly, and she couldn’t wait to start.

  Lisa shook her head, as though she still believed her mom had lost her mind, but what was the worst that could happen? The job wouldn’t work out. She and Carter would fizzle. So, she’d start over.

  The thought of them not working out didn’t dampen her enthusiasm, probably because she’d suddenly become a subscriber to instant karma or something. Leaving her kid madly texting, she headed to her bedroom. She had a number of old cases and soft-sided bags that would hold her relatively paltry wardrobe, and a trip to the grocery store would find some boxes to pack the objects that held too much sentimental value to leave behind.

  As she packed her jewelry, she hesitated before tucking her wedding band into the tiny box beside her engagement ring. Lisa might want the diamond but now wasn’t the time to give it to her. But Kathleen chose not to wear the band. “I love you, Samuel. I always will. You’d like Carter, and I know you’re happy for me.”

  By Wednesday morning, the house held nothing that could identify her as an occupant, aside from some pictures. She and Lisa manhandled her mattress and frame into the second bedroom, swapping out the much smaller bed.

  “Nola has her own bed she can bring,” Lisa said. “Your dresser and nightstands will be perfect for the twin beds.”

  “This one is more three-quarter size, but everything should ft. Are you sure you don’t want to share a room with your friend? Three can be an awkward number, and you’ll be in the second room while they’re connecting.”

  “I’m good.” Her daughter avoided her gaze, shoving one nightstand a bit closer to the wall. “I’ll clean, Mom, you can leave it.”

  “I did most of the house while I was packing, and underneath where the bed was. Is there a reason you’re taking the second bedroom?” Maybe she’d taught her kid how to peck things to death.

  Cheeks pink, Lisa fussed with her hair. “I might want to have an overnight guest.”

  Considering her current situation and behavior, Kathleen swallowed her immediate reaction. Lisa was well over the age of majority and had been dating for years. Going for a touch of humor, she replied, “I’ve already given you the safe sex lecture.”

  “More than once. I should probably be giving you one.”

  “I think we’ve done enough sharing.” She headed for the bathroom off the master to double-check if she’d left anything personal behind.

  Lisa chuckled behind her, and when Kathleen returned, her daughter was gone. Clattering from the kitchen announced her whereabouts.

  “I’m pretty much ready,” she said, watching Lisa wash carrots.

  “And you don’t want any of the furniture? Other stuff?”

  “Carter has most everything there, and I don’t want to have to store it when you and your roommates can use it.” Truth to be told, most everything had seen better days, purchased when she and Samuel married, with precious few things replaced since then. “I took a few of my favorite kitchen tools.”

  Leaning against the counter, Lisa took a bite of carrot, crunching noisily. “You’re happiest when you’re in the kitchen, Mom. Maybe this isn’t such a bad idea.”

  I’m even happier in Carter’s bed. Or any bed. Against the wall…

  “What’s that face for?” Lisa frowned. “You looked weird.”

  “Nothing. Just thinking about all the new dishes I can try out and having six men to experiment on.”

  “Anything you’ve made tastes great,” her daughter scoffed. “They’re damn lucky.”

  She felt lucky. And encouraged. This was going to work out well. “It’ll be interesting.”

  She and Carter had been in regular contact via text. Phone calls tended to get dropped in the great beyond, and she missed hearing his voice, but there was no mistaking his level of interest right there in writing on her phone. She reread them constantly, trying not to let Lisa notice.

  Hazel was moving things along, and there hadn’t been a peep from the office, although her friend had made her agree to lunch with a few colleagues she liked spending time with. There were only a few, what with the turnover at the firm, but she’d been there a long time. Hazel said there was no gossip about Kathleen quitting, likely because her friend had put it around she’d found a better job—and Mr. Johnson probably muzzled Susan for his own sake. Grown a pair.

  “When are we leaving?” A forlorn note colored Lisa’s voice.

  “Late tomorrow afternoon, as you very well know.”

  They’d coordinated the time with Lisa’s class schedule and a rare time off secured from her part-time job as a hostess at a local restaurant. Lisa would drive Kathleen’s Jeep back, seeing as that second truck would be her transportation on the ranch. It worked well, with Lisa dependent upon rides with friends or public transportation, for her to be able to access the old Jeep.

  Her daughter nodded and sighed. “It feels weird, you moving away.”

  “I’m only a relatively short drive away, honey. You’ll be busy with school and work—and apparently, a young man. We’ll text like we always do, and you can come visit.”

  She lifted a shoulder. “I know. And it might be fun to visit. Meet the horses. I wouldn’t want to live way out there, though.”

  It hadn’t been on Kathleen’s radar. Lisa couldn’t possibly attend classes and work with that kind of a commute, and she had another year after this one. Adult kids sometimes moved home with their parents because of straitened circumstances, but Lisa was in her family home, an
d they weren’t borrowing trouble.

  The rest of the time passed in a blur, with Kathleen forced to search through her cases to find items she required during that time and a disorienting sleep in the second bedroom. The lunch with four of her colleagues, including Hazel, was a riotous hour of camaraderie with no reference to the firm, other than a snide comment about Susan showing up with a doctor’s note requiring stress leave.

  All the other women professed to be envious that Kathleen had kicked over her staid traces and was embarking on a very different type of work. They knew of her interest in culinary school and agreed this might be a similar opportunity.

  They teased her about finding a handsome cowboy, and her flush nearly gave her away, Hazel having kept Carter’s involvement quiet. A couple looked askance at her leaving the city, but they accepted her reasoning—a complete change was as good as a rest.

  And then it was time to hit the road. Carter offered to come and get her, but she refused, explaining that Lisa wanted to see her mom’s new home and meet him in his environment.

  “Should I clean up or let her see me in my working uniform?” he teased, calling her from his truck on the way home with what he advised was a complete fulfillment of her list.

  “Just be you, Carter.” The you who swept me off my feet. “She’ll be prickly, and it might take more than one visit, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

  He’d have to do something unforgivable to make her choose Lisa over him, so she put it out of her mind.

  “Drive safe. We’ll see you in a few, and there’ll be barbeque. Something I am capable of!”

  She’d found their time apart difficult, and he’d felt the same, and now the anticipation was nearing fever pitch. She made herself calm down so she would get there safely, her and her precious cargo. “See you soon.”

  Her belongings filled the back of the vehicle and overflowed into the back seat, probably because her daughter heaved them in willy nilly.

  “Was he ever married?” Lisa took advantage of the drive to pepper her with more questions. Or maybe she’d just had time to think of them.

  “A long time ago. He’s divorced.”

  “Things didn’t work out then.”

  She wasn’t going to share her speculation with Lisa. “I guess they didn’t.”

  “I guess you haven’t had enough time to talk about your … histories.” Her daughter put a foot on the dash.

  “Feet on the floor. You’ll have a facial bone piercing if we get in an accident. And we have talked about the past. Some details take more time to share.”

  “But she didn’t leave him for abuse or anything.”

  “Lisa. Have you been worrying about that?” She risked a glance over to the passenger seat.

  “Not really. I Googled him. Found out he’s single and wealthy. Big ranch. No criminal involvement.”

  “Wow.” She hadn’t thought to do that, but she’d heard it happened all the time. “So, you were cross-referencing information?”

  “Maybe.”

  “He’s divorced, many years ago. They had a little boy who died in a car crash. He is well off and has a big ranch that he works his ass off on. He’s kind, thoughtful, protective.” And great in bed.

  “You can’t blame me. You check up on the guys I date.”

  Was looking at their Facebook and Twitter accounts the same thing? “I might.”

  Lisa laughed, and then sobered. “I didn’t see anything about a little boy. I’m sorry.”

  “Maybe that information wasn’t online so long ago.”

  “Okay, Mom. I’ll give it up now. I’m looking forward to meeting him.”

  She drove until they hit the town and had Lisa take the driver’s seat.

  “I want you to know the road when you come to see me.” GPS wasn’t infallible around the area, apparently.

  Lisa complied, driving competently even on the gravel, despite it being her first time. The confidence of youth. But when the house came into view, her speed dropped exponentially, and she crawled up the rest of the drive.

  “It’s huge. And kind of grand. And there are horses.”

  “It makes me feel welcome.”

  With a startled look, Lisa turned off the ignition. “Great house and a great guy.”

  “Judge for yourself.” She gestured at Carter who finished stomping his boots on, right outside the front door.

  As he straightened to his full height, her belly tightened and heat flared lower. She held her breathing in check, aware of her daughter close by. And it was wrong to hope her child left right after supper.

  “He’s a real cowboy. Boots and a hat.” Lisa stared, her eyes wide.

  “We do live in a cowboy state, honey. There have to be cowboys on campus.”

  “Some, but this puts things into perspective.”

  They opened their respective doors, and Carter strode to hers, helping her out. Lisa gaped at her. Guess her dates weren’t as solicitous, not even the new young man Kathleen had yet to meet, which meant he might be special. If lacking Carter’s manners.

  With his hand at her back, her lips still burning after the kiss he’d pressed on them, Lisa or no Lisa, they rounded the front of the vehicle.

  “Lisa, this is Carter Rodgers. Carter, my daughter Lisa.”

  He took Lisa’s proffered hand and shook it. “I recognize you from the pictures. I’m glad you came along with your mom.”

  Her daughter appeared disarmed, though she studied him intently. “Mom said cowboy, and it’s true. Nice to meet you.”

  Wearing jeans, boots, and his canvas jacket over a blue-washed shirt, as well as his hat, it’d be hard to label him anything else.

  He laughed. “You go on in with your mom, and I’ll unload the Jeep.”

  They climbed the broad steps and entered the foyer. Lisa looked around much as Kathleen had done—was it just under a week ago? She waited for even a hint of panic but felt nothing but contentment and a touch of exhilaration.

  She toed out of her sneakers, seeing that the place was relatively clean, trusting that Carter had ridden herd on the hands. Lisa put her flats to one side and kept staring.

  “I can see why you like it. I like it. It draws you in.”

  “I thought so.” She was delighted that Lisa felt it too. It seemed a shame the place housed only one man for so long.

  Carter came in with the bulk of her things, his strong frame mocking the extra trips she and Lisa had made. “I’ll put these upstairs?”

  He didn’t say where and she didn’t ask, knowing he meant his room but not wanting to call attention to it with Lisa present. “Sure. The boxes have a few things I’d like to be able to see, sentimental things. We’ll figure out where I can put them.”

  “This is your home, now, Kathleen.” He moved toward the stairs and came to a halt, looking down at his boots.

  She nearly laughed. “Why don’t you bring everything in and then take it all up?”

  His smile encompassed them both. “Your mom is amazing, but you know that. She still has some training to do around here, though.” Setting the cases down, he disappeared out the door.

  Lisa turned to her. “What?”

  “Removal of footwear was optional in here for a long time,” she said as she led the way to the kitchen. “That’s one thing that has to change.”

  Lisa giggled. “Men can be slobs.”

  Choosing not to reply, she gestured around the space. “My domain.”

  “It’s like those country magazine pics. Needs some work, though.”

  “It does. And I’m pretty sure it’ll get done.” Carter wasn’t without funds as she knew and her kid had pointed out. “The dishwasher comes soon.”

  “Nice. I wish we had one.”

  “We did. You.”

  “Mom.” Lisa sidled around the kitchen like a curious cat, poking her head into the mudroom. “It smells in there.”

  “Boots and coveralls. Animals. It’s a ranch,” she said with a knowing air. Probably her gir
l saw through it, but it felt like she was an expert.

  “Do you have to do all their clothes?” Horror laced Lisa’s tone.

  She froze for a moment. She hoped not, but—

  “They do their own, Lisa.” Carter moved quietly in his socked feet. “There’s a laundry pair in the bunkhouse where they live. Your mom might buy bedding as I do supply it, but that’s their domain and linens and clothing are their responsibility. I don’t go in there so can’t speak to its cleanliness.”

  “She just feeds them because they can’t work without fuel.”

  “I see Kathleen’s been filling you in.” He moved beside her and put an arm around her waist. Nothing too proprietary, but comfortable, and she saw Lisa notice.

  “I thought she was nuts, throwing everything she had over and moving out into the boondocks with a man she just met.”

  She’d raised a straight-shooter, even if that bordered on rude. It was honest.

  Before either she or Carter could respond, Lisa continued, “But I’ve never seen her like this—happy. I mean, she’s been happy around me and stuff, but she’s happy happy here. With you.”

  That was a pretty accurate observation, and Kathleen could only manage a tremulous smile.

  Carter nodded gravely. “I’m happy too.”

  “For now.” And Lisa voiced the unspoken fear and worry she and Hazel had doubtless harbored.

  “For now, honey,” she said as gently as she could. Because she didn’t feel any of that but could respect her child’s concern. “None of us know the future.”

  Silence reigned and swelled. Carter stiffened beside her and Lisa set her lips against a tremble, the way she did when she didn’t want to react.

  He was the first to break the quiet. “Know that I’ll try not to make your mom unhappy. And now I’d better get the grill going.”

  A whisper of disquiet threaded through her head as he stepped away and headed back toward the front door, presumably to retrieve his boots. She couldn’t identify it. Lisa blinked but didn’t say anything.

  The interrogation seemed to be over, at least for now. She wasn’t going to attach any more importance to it. She went to the fridge and pulled the door wide. “There’s a couple of huge containers of potato salad and one of beans. Same thing we’d have with steaks.”