A County Girl's Heart

by Dena Blake

  Rebecca poked her head out of the conference room. “I’m sorry, Dani. We need you in here.” DJ hesitated. “Now, Dani,” Rebecca snapped, apparently seeing the tension between them.

  “All right,” DJ said, her frustration coming through loud and clear. “I’ll be back in a minute.” She gently pressed her lips to Kat’s ear. “Please don’t leave before we have a chance to talk more.” She gave Kat one last squeeze and left her feeling cold and alone.

  Rebecca started toward Kat as she shot to the elevator. “It looked like things were a bit tense between you two.”

  Kat jabbed the elevator button with her finger. “Nothing more than usual. Thanks for the interruption.”

  Rebecca followed her into the elevator. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine.” Kat forced herself to hold the tears until she reached Rebecca’s office. She pushed through the door, picked up her bag, and went into the bathroom. She stared into the mirror at her red eyes, begging for the incessant pain in her heart to stop. The only thing keeping her going was telling herself everything would be fine as soon as she got to the ranch.

  After wiping the streams of moisture from her face, she took her clothes from her bag and removed her suit. She put on a pair of blue jeans and a pale-blue T-shirt. Then she checked her reflection in the mirror one more time before going into the office.

  Rebecca was waiting just outside the door. “What are you doing, Kat?”

  Kat kept herself remarkably composed as she walked across the office to the couch. “Changing my clothes.”

  “Stop. You know what I mean.” Rebecca’s voice was firm yet gentle.

  “This isn’t me, Bec.” She shrugged and held her palms upward as she looked around the room. “This is DJ’s world. My life is at the ranch.”

  “Damn it, Kat. Haven’t you ever heard of compromise?”

  “Any compromise would only end up being a sacrifice on my part.” She laid her suit bag across the top of the couch. “I’m too old for that.”

  “Too old or too stubborn?” Rebecca shot back.

  She tossed Rebecca’s bag at her. “I’m leaving in about fifteen minutes. You’d better change if you’re still going with me.”

  “Bullheaded…” Rebecca mumbled as she went into the bathroom.

  Kat was well inside her head when she heard DJ’s voice in the distance, coming down the hallway. She moved from the window to the bookshelf in the corner of Rebecca’s office, where she found Rebecca had placed several pictures of the two of them as children.

  The door flew open and DJ rushed through it. “Rebecca.”

  “She’s in the bathroom,” Kat said softly, without turning. She plucked a picture from the shelf in front of her and stared at it. No, she stared through it, trying to rebuild her faltering resistance.

  DJ’s demeanor seemed to change instantly. “I thought maybe you’d already left.”

  Kat set the picture in its place on the shelf. “We had to change before heading to the ranch. Somebody’s draggin’ her tail.” She tipped her head toward the bathroom.

  “Don’t go,” DJ said as she came closer.

  Kat took in a slow, even breath, swung around to face her, and was startled to find herself in DJ’s arms. Her eyes were soft and gentle, nothing at all like the angry, dark hollows she’d seen when DJ was beating the life out of Victoria Maxwell. Kat had never seen such rage in anyone, a frightening rage prompted by DJ’s need to protect her. She remembered how they immediately softened when she’d picked her up and carried her from the barn.

  “Have dinner with me tonight?” DJ stroked Kat’s cheek, and she inched up against the bookshelf.

  “I can’t,” Kat said, trying desperately to contain her jumbled feelings. “We’re finished here. I have to get to the ranch.”

  DJ’s lips closed in on hers, and Kat felt the heat in light-seconds. The soft, gentle kiss morphed into the erotic dance of tongues Kat had been aching to replay since the last time DJ kissed her. The familiar combustion was too much for Kat to ignore. DJ’s hands slowly roamed the curves of Kat’s waist, and as the kiss deepened, every one of her nerve endings fired. Kat responded out of utter need for this woman who fit her in every way. She slid her arms up around DJ’s neck and pressed her body hard against her. All seemed right in her world again. How could she let her go?

  “I’m all set,” Rebecca said as she came out of the bathroom. “Whoops…Sorry.” She whirled around and headed back in.

  Kat ripped her lips away. “It’s okay, Bec.” Debating whether to stay or go, she leaned against the shelves to steady herself. She was grasping at something she knew would end if she stayed here. She slid along the wall, avoiding DJ’s gaze, afraid she might fling herself into her arms.

  “I was just trying to convince your sister to have dinner with me tonight.”

  “Oh.” Rebecca looked at Kat and nodded. “If you want, we can wait until morning.”

  “No. I don’t want to stay.” The words flew out abruptly, and Kat could see the sadness in DJ’s eyes. “I really have to go,” she said, softening her tone as she picked up her suit bag from the couch and slung it over her shoulder. “I’ve already been away too much this summer. I really don’t like leaving Virgil alone.”

  “Some other time, then.” DJ’s voice rolled with disappointment.

  Or you could come to the ranch. She thought it but couldn’t say it. She wouldn’t beg. Kat headed to the door. “You ready?”

  “You go ahead. I’ll be just a minute,” Rebecca said.

  “Meet you at the truck. I’m parked right out front.” Kat felt DJ watching her as she left the office. Her heart tightened as she turned and gave her one last look before the elevator doors closed.

  Kat slid into the driver’s seat, took the wedding ring off her finger, and tossed it into the console. She pressed her forehead to the steering wheel as she waited for Rebecca. Her resolve had weakened, and she was on the verge of crumbling. She wanted to run back upstairs to DJ, if only to spend one more night with her. But making love to DJ now would only be an impossible reminder of what she was giving up. She needed DJ to love her enough to come with her to the ranch.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  The doors to DJ’s future had just snapped shut right in front of her. She’d known when this whole thing started that it would end this way. But knowing it didn’t make it any easier. DJ would never take Kat away from the life she’d built at the ranch, a life that she, herself, had cherished at one time. Giving it up had been the hardest thing DJ had ever done, until now.

  When DJ had sat next to Elizabeth at the rear of the boardroom, she hadn’t expected Elizabeth to tell her she’d paid off the mortgage to her family farm. Nor had she expected to hear that Kat had signed over half her stock to Rebecca, as well as giving Rebecca her proxy. Kat had outsmarted Elizabeth after all. The board would have someone to guide them, and Kat would return to the ranch. Kat’s performance impressed her. She’d learned more about this company in the past month than most of the board members had in years. She and Rebecca could run the company together with ease.

  Rebecca’s voice jarred DJ out of her thoughts. “My mother’s still upstairs.” She touched DJ’s shoulder lightly. “Will you see that she makes it home?”

  DJ punched the elevator button with the side of her fist. “I’ll take her.”

  “You don’t mind?”

  “What else do I have to do?”

  “I tried.” Rebecca shrugged as she stepped into the elevator. “I’ll talk to Kat again this weekend.”

  “Thanks,” DJ said as she sank into the corner of the elevator, knowing full well Kat wouldn’t change her mind.

  Rebecca grabbed the elevator door, and it shot open as she stepped inside. “What the hell’s the matter with you, Dani?”

  DJ snapped her head up. “What do you expect me to do? I can’t force her to love me.”

  “She already loves you.” Rebecca’s eyes were wide. “I’ve never known you to walk
away from anything you really wanted.”

  “This is different.” She plowed her fingers through her hair. “I can’t buy her. This has to be her choice.”

  “Do you love her, Dani?”

  “I love her too much to make this any harder for her than it already is.”

  “Then you should know there’s no choice for her. Don’t make her choose. Follow her, damn it!” Rebecca narrowed her eyes. “Your father’s dead. You can’t do anything about that.” She let out a heavy breath, and her voice softened. “It wasn’t your fault. Stop punishing yourself for something you had no control over. You’ve more than fulfilled your promise to him. Now follow the woman you love and live the life you deserve.” The elevator doors opened, and Rebecca started out, but she turned and made the doors bolt open again. “If you don’t, maybe you deserve to be alone.”

  DJ pushed the elevator button, prompting the doors to close. “Maybe I do.”

  * * *

  DJ sat behind her cherrywood desk staring blankly at the laptop monitor. She couldn’t think today. Hell, she hadn’t been able to think since Kat went back to the ranch. For the first time ever, DJ was uncertain about her future. She’d thought she had the life she needed. She was financially secure and successful. She could pretty much have any woman she wanted. But all that seemed unimportant now. She’d buried the only real part of her life long ago, and now she’d let any hope for it walk out the door. She slapped her laptop closed. DJ didn’t want just any woman. She wanted Kat.

  Marcia poked her head just inside the doorway. “What’s wrong?”

  “Can’t concentrate.”

  Marcia crossed her arms and leaned against the doorway. “Then go after her.”

  “Can’t do that. I have my own issues to resolve.”

  Marcia frowned and disappeared from the doorway for a minute, then returned with a small yellow sticky note. “Here’s the number. Why don’t you do us both a favor and call her?” She stuck the note to the closed laptop in front of DJ.

  “Why don’t you get to your desk and mind your business.” Marcia was only trying to help, but she had no idea what she was asking.

  Marcia put her hands on her hips. “Maybe I should take the rest of the afternoon off.”

  “I think that’s a fine idea.”

  “Alrighty.” Marcia headed out of the office. “Anything else you need before I go?”

  “Just shut the door, please.” DJ looked at the number on the note and picked up the phone. She looked again, crumpled the paper in her hand, and dropped the receiver into the cradle. She had no idea what to say. Had it been too long? There was only one way to find out. She took a breath, picked up the phone again, and punched in the number.

  When DJ heard the voice on the other end, she struggled to speak. “Mom. It’s Dani.”

  “It’s so good to hear your voice, honey.” The sweetness in her mother’s voice rang through, and DJ’s anxiety vanished.

  “It’s good to hear yours too,” DJ choked out.

  “How are you, baby?” The love in her mother’s voice overwhelmed her, stirring emotions in her she thought were long gone.

  “I’m all right. How are you?” DJ asked, but she was far from all right.

  “A little tired right now.” Her mother let out a sigh. “I just finished tendin’ the garden.”

  “You shouldn’t be outside in this heat.” The humidity was high this time of year, and it would be hard on her mother. She was probably in her mid-sixties now. She didn’t know exactly. She’d lost track.

  “I have to take care of my tomatoes.” She sounded weary.

  “The best tomatoes in Texas,” DJ said, remembering the way her mom used to slice a plateful for every meal.

  “You’re sweet, honey.”

  “I was wondering…” She cleared the lump in her throat. “Would it be all right if I came out to visit for a day or two?”

  “I’d love that, sweetheart.”

  “You sure you have room?” DJ asked, half-hoping her mother would say no.

  “I always have room for you, baby girl.”

  “I should be there by sundown.”

  “I’ll put a roast in the oven.”

  “I’d like that. Would you make some of your biscuits too?” DJ quickly wiped away the warm moisture running down her cheeks. All the feelings she’d kept locked inside engulfed her.

  “I’ll make two pans, so you and your brother won’t have to wrangle over them.”

  DJ cleared her throat, trying to hide the emotion spilling out. “I love you, Mom.”

  “I love you too, darlin’.”

  “See you this afternoon.” DJ dropped the receiver into the cradle and hopped up from her desk. “Marcia,” she said as she opened the door.

  Marcia looked up from her desk and seemed to notice DJ’s emotional state. “I’ll cancel them. Just give me a call when you’re ready to come back, and I’ll reschedule.”

  “Thanks, Marcia.” The woman was irreplaceable.

  “Not a problem.”

  That afternoon, DJ made it to Johnson City in close to forty-five minutes, though it was a little over an hour’s drive. She slowed as she turned onto the dirt road leading to her childhood home. Her stomach knotted. The last time she was here they’d just buried her father. DJ hadn’t stayed long then and had only spoken to her mother a few times since. As she passed the hundred-acre wheat field, she thought of the day the fire had claimed it years ago. She could still hear the disappointment in her father’s voice. She’d shirked her responsibility to her family, and because of her that year’s crop had been lost. After DJ left, it didn’t take long for her to realize that her father was right about the fire, but she intended to prove to him she wasn’t useless. She’d worked hard, graduated in the top of her class, and taken a job at a prominent law firm in Austin. She’d done it, she proved her father wrong, but it was a hollow victory, and she still couldn’t bring herself to face him again.

  As she neared the house she could see them all out on the porch waiting—her mother, Marilyn, Junior, and his wife Judy. She’d had second thoughts after she’d gone home to change her clothes and pack a bag, but she couldn’t turn around now.

  When she cut the engine and stepped out of the car, her family members came down off the concrete porch. Her mother was the first to grab her and give her a big hug. The rest followed, all except Junior. He circled around the BMW.

  “You’re just in time. Dinner’s about ready.” Her mother put her arm around DJ’s waist and gave her another squeeze. “Come on, girls. Let’s go set out the food while Dani and Junior visit a minute.”

  “Thanks, Mom. I’ll be right in.”

  DJ watched her mother go inside, leaving her and Junior alone to talk. She had a way of making people work out their problems whether they wanted to or not. When they were kids she used to lock them in the storm cellar until they reached some sort of truce. Their reunion wouldn’t be easy. She didn’t expect everyone to welcome her. Life on the farm had been tough after she’d left, and her brother had shouldered all the work.

  “That’s quite a fancy machine you have there,” Junior said, swiping his hand across the flop-top. “Not much good for farmin’.”

  “You could drive her into town later if you want,” DJ said, trying to make peace.

  Junior leaned down and peeked inside. “What for? Can’t fit no supplies in it.”

  “Well, then maybe you could just take her out on the highway. See how she handles.” DJ knew Junior wouldn’t make it easy.

  Junior took one more look at the car. “Maybe.”

  “How was the crop this year?”

  “Purdy good. Soil’s good. Should be good next year too.” Junior looked out at the newly planted field. “Thanks for sendin’ the money and all. It really helped out.” He didn’t look at her. “I had to buy a new tractor. The old one just up and quit on me.”

  “The old tractor finally gave out, huh.” DJ smiled. She remembered it well. “I learned t
o drive on that tractor.”

  “Me too.” Junior almost smiled. “I remember. You drove it right through the side of the barn.”

  “That I did.” Back then the tractor was shiny and new, but DJ’s father had put her up in the seat, fired it up, and said, “Go to it, girl.” She wished she could hear his voice just one more time.

  “The new one’s got air-conditioning. That sure helps on these hot summer days.” Junior offered his hand to shake.

  “I wish I could do more.” DJ took Junior’s hand and pulled him into an embrace. “You be sure and let me know if I can do anything else.”

  “Come on, you two. Supper’s waitin’,” her mother said through the screen door. She must have been watching them through the window.

  “You could do one thing for me,” Junior said, looking out at the yard.

  “Name it.”

  “Come around a little more.” Junior looked toward the door. “Mom’s not gettin’ any younger, you know.”

  “I’ll do my best, Junior.” DJ couldn’t tell her brother just how hard it had been for her to make it there today. She hoped it would be easier the next time.

  Junior raised his eyebrows. “Joey Meteer just got divorced. You could come home and settle down with him…or maybe his ex.” He winked. “They only have four kids.”

  “Don’t even think about it.” She shot Junior a playful look of warning. “I have enough trouble in that department as it is. I don’t need him tracking me down again.” Joey had chased DJ all through high school and had everyone in town convinced they were getting married. When DJ left for college, Joey had followed her and acted like she’d broken his heart. He’d finally left her alone when she introduced him to her girlfriend.

  “It ain’t easy living in a town where everybody knows you.”