LOVING ELLIE

by Brookes, Lindsey

  “You’ve got my interest, mi amigo. So how long are you back for?”

  “A week at the most. A lot less if I can help it. Ellie is determined to burn the candle at both ends, so I need to get back to her as soon as possible. I’m telling you, Alex, that woman is as stubborn as the day is long.”

  Alex chuckled. “Sounds like the pot is calling the kettle black.”

  “But I’m not pregnant,” Lucas argued. “She’s at the end of her pregnancy and is putting in just as many hours at her coffee shop as she did when she wasn’t pregnant. Not to mention the things she tries to do around the ranch.”

  “I admire her dedication, but I do understand your concern.”

  Lucas nodded, knowing Alexandre was well aware his painful past.

  “Have you convinced her to keep the baby?”

  Lucas frowned. “No, but she hasn’t chosen adoptive parents yet either.”

  “So your plan is working then, eh?”

  “Not as well as I’d hoped,” he admitted with a sigh. “Ellie still refuses to marry me, but I’m not giving up hope.” Not when there was so much at stake – his heart included.

  “All I can say is better you than me,” Alex said, meaning every word of it.

  Committing himself to one woman wasn’t something Alexandre would ever contemplate. Not again. He’d gone that route once and had been fortunate enough to find out before it was too late that his fiancée was more interested in what Alex could offer her monetarily than emotionally. There was no doubt in Lucas’s mind that his friend would remain a bachelor for life.

  Then again, Lucas thought with a smile, he’d felt that same way, too. And now look at him – willing to risk it all and go home for good with only the hope of winning Ellie’s heart driving him. And win it he would because he couldn’t even imagine his life now without her in it.

  *

  Ellie hurried to zip up her coat and then stepped out onto the porch to greet Blaine as he pulled up in front of the house.

  “Morning,” she called out as he stepped out of the patrol car. Wisps of steam followed her words, curling up into the frigid morning air.

  “Morning,” he replied with a glance up at the sky. “Looks like more we’ve got more snow on the way.”

  She looked up at the thick grey clouds hovering overhead. “I don’t know. I think it’s too cold to snow.”

  “We could only be so lucky.”

  “You know, I love living here in Eagle Ridge, but on days like this I find myself missing California.” Its climate, not the life she’d had there.

  He looked around with a shrug. “I don’t know. I’d have to say I’d take the beauty of a mountain backdrop and freshly fallen snow over earthquakes and smog any day.”

  She laughed. “You’ve got a point. Thanks for reminding me of what I’m not missing.”

  “My pleasure. You’d best get back in the house where it’s warm while I go see to the horses and Flo.”

  “And I’ve already milked Flo.”

  He raised a tawny brow.

  “Lucas knows I’ve been milking her. It’s one of the few things he doesn’t have a fit about my doing around here. So you don’t have to tattle on me for doing it.”

  That brought a grin to his face. “Okay, I suppose I’ll let that one slide. But I am keeping my eye on you.”

  “I know. Lucas called.”

  “I was worried about you.”

  “Well, you can stop worrying,” she told him firmly, even though she truly did appreciate his concern.

  “As if that’s going to happen,” he said with a chuckle. “Do you need a ride in to work today?”

  She shook her head. “No. It’s cold out, but the roads aren’t bad. I can drive myself to town.” Besides, it would save him from having to run her back out to the ranch after the coffee shop closed.

  “It’s freezing out. What if your car breaks down on the way?” he asked, subtly reminding her of the risk she’d be taking.

  “Fine,” she relented with a groan. “You can drive me into town today, but tomorrow’s weather forecast is warmer temperatures. I will be driving myself. And you can tell that to Lucas when he calls you to see if I’ve been behaving myself.”

  Blaine chuckled again. “I’ll be sure to do that.” Tipping his hat, he headed off toward the barn.

  Ellie headed back to the house to finish getting ready for work. Even though Lucas was miles and miles away, he still managed to care for her and the baby through Blaine. He had made her a promise and he was doing everything he could to keep it. That was the kind of man he was.

  Tears blurred her vision. She missed Lucas. And if she missed him this much after only a few days, how would she handle it when he left for good? Which he would, she knew, once the baby was born. If only she could make her heart accept what she knew was inevitable.

  *

  Ellie flipped the CLOSED sign in the coffee shop window to OPEN. Then, after hanging her coat on the coat rack by the door, she headed back to the kitchen to turn on the ovens.

  Once the coffee was brewing and the day’s muffins and croissants were in the ovens baking, she made her way back out to the still empty dining area.

  She walked over to the window to look out. The streets were as empty as they had been when Blaine had driven her into town. The chilly temperature had no doubt made people rethink leaving the warmth of their homes.

  It wasn’t until nearly an hour after she’d opened that the coffee shop door finally swung open. The jingling of the overhead bell drew her gaze that direction.

  Ellie looked up with a welcoming smile. “Victoria!”

  “Hello,” her friend said with an exaggerated shiver. “Brrr…it’s freezing out there.”

  Her friend. Ellie had never had a close female friend. They were too catty. Too ready to judge you. But Victoria was different.

  “Get used to it,” she warned with a smile. “Winters here have three settings – cold, colder and freezing.”

  Laughing softly, Victoria walked over to the counter where she settled onto a stool. “So how are you doing with Lucas away?”

  “I’m surviving.” Just as she would once the baby was born and he left for good. “How’s J.B.?”

  “He’s started school here and really seems to like it.”

  “And things with you and Blaine?”

  “Getting better every day.”

  Ellie reached for a clean cup. “Coffee?”

  Victoria shook her head. “Tea please.”

  She grabbed a basket of flavored teas and set it on the counter in front of Victoria. Then she filled the cup with steaming water. “He’s been a big help out at the ranch, but then that’s Blaine’s specialty. Helping others.”

  “I’ve notice that.”

  The two sat and talked for a little over a half hour before Victoria stood to leave. “We’ll have to get together when Lucas returns.”

  Ellie walked her to the door. “I’d like that.”

  The door opened and Mrs. Mulrooney stepped in from the cold, surprising them both. “Good morning, girls.”

  “Mrs. Mulrooney,” Victoria greeted as she stepped out past the older woman. “Talk to you soon, Ellie.”

  Ellie waved.

  “I hope I didn’t chase her off,” the older woman said as her pale green eyes took in the empty room.

  Ellie smiled. “No, she was on her way out when you arrived.”

  Mrs. Mulrooney pulled the door shut behind her. “I understand she and the sheriff have rekindled things.”

  “Now Mrs. Mulrooney,” she chided. “You know how I feel about gossip.”

  “Gossip is one thing, dear,” she said as she removed the knit wrap that her covered head. “The truth is another.”

  Ellie moved around to stand behind the counter. “Blaine is happy. That’s all I’m going to say. Now what can I get for you? A nice hot cup of tea perhaps?”

  “You can get me Lucas.”

  “Excuse me?”

  She sett
led onto one of the stools that lined the counter. “I know he’s been busy at the ranch, but I haven’t seen hide nor hair of that boy for weeks.” The hurt was evident in her voice.

  Ellie nodded. “I know. I’m sure it wasn’t intentional. He’s had a lot on his mind lately.”

  The older woman sighed. “I worry about that boy.”

  “You and me both.”

  “Could you please tell him that I’d like to see him whenever he gets some free time? I’d have driven out to the ranch myself to talk to him, but I hate to impose.”

  “It wouldn’t be an imposition at all. But Lucas isn’t at the ranch. He’s back in South America.”

  The old woman’s shoulders sagged instantly. “He’s gone?”

  “Not for good,” Ellie quickly assured her. “He’ll be home in a few days. He had some things he needed to take care of down there. That’s another reason you haven’t seen him around.”

  “Oh, my heart was breaking for a moment there. I thought he’d left without even saying goodbye.” She eyed Ellie with a smile. “Of course, he has a reason to come home now.”

  “The baby.”

  “The baby’s mother,” she corrected, her smile growing. “I saw how he looked at you at my house. There was a light in his eyes that hadn’t been there when he’d left town all those years ago.”

  “He’s Jarrett’s brother,” Ellie reminded her.

  “Jarrett would want both you and Lucas to find happiness again. You were the two people he cared most about in his life.”

  “But he−”

  “Knew your heart wasn’t his.”

  Ellie gasped. “How did you know?”

  Alice smiled warmly. “He and I had some long talks after he found out about the baby.”

  Shame heated Ellie’s face. “I really wanted to love him.”

  “You did, honey, only in a different way. Jarrett understood that. Just as he would understand your heart opening up to another.”

  Feeling suddenly overwhelmed by her life, Ellie burst into tears. “I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “The past few months have been so hard.”

  Mrs. Mulrooney stepped around the counter to embrace her in a comforting hug. “I know, dear, but it will get better.”

  “Not likely anytime soon,” she said with a sniffle.

  “Now why ever would you think that?”

  Ellie braced herself for the reaction she knew would follow. “Because I’m giving the baby up for adoption.”

  Shock moved across Mrs. Mulrooney’s weathered features. “I had no idea.”

  “No one knows other than Lucas, Blaine and Victoria. Oh, and the lawyer who will be handling it. I know I should have told you sooner, your being so close to the family and all, but I didn’t know how to tell you.” She turned away. “I can only imagine what you must think of me.”

  “I’m not sure you do,” the older woman replied.

  Ellie looked back at her questioningly.

  “I see no reason for you to be the only one to bare their soul here today.”

  Mrs. Mulrooney had a secret she’d kept guarded? This warm, loving, grandmother-like woman? Ellie couldn’t even begin to imagine what she might have to reveal.

  “Lucas doesn’t even know this,” Mrs. Mulrooney began, “but when I was seventeen I gave up a child myself. I was young, so I had no say so in the matter. After the baby was born, my parents packed us up and moved here to Eagle Ridge where no one would know of my past transgression. Later on, I married, but never could conceive again. It was helping to care for Lucas and Jarrett that got me through those childless years.”

  She never would have guessed. No wonder she loved those boys like they were her own. “That had to be so hard,” she said in commiseration. At least she had a choice where her son was concerned. Or did she?

  “Not as hard as wondering every day of my life what happened to that baby. I don’t even know if I gave birth to a son or a daughter. Everything was so hush-hush back then.”

  Ellie envied her in a way. There were times she wondered if it might not have been easier not to know what she was having. But at the time, Jarrett and she had wanted to find out.

  “It’s going to be a private adoption,” Ellie explained softly. “I’ll be choosing my son’s adoptive parents.”

  “You’re having a boy?” Mrs. Mulrooney acknowledged her voice thick with emotion. “Another little Tanner imp.”

  “Yes. And with private adoption I can stipulate that the adoptive parents send me a picture each birthday.”

  “But will a picture be enough?”

  “It’ll have to be,” she said with a sigh. “I’m not in a place to raise a child on my own.”

  Mrs. Mulrooney reached out to smooth a hand over the swell of Ellie’s stomach with a wistful smile. “Honey, just promise me you’ll think long and hard before you give that child up.”

  Thinking about it was all she had done since Jarrett died. But she felt the need to acknowledge the older woman’s request. “I will.”

  The baby gave a hard kick just then, making Mrs. Mulrooney gasp. “Oh, my.”

  Ellie managed a smile. “He’s a rambunctious one.”

  “He gets that from his uncle. I remember when Lucas’s mother was pregnant with him she used to swear he was going to kick a hole right through her side. Now Jarrett, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. You had to look real close for a very long time to even see that little one move. He was always the settled one. That’s why I was so surprised when Lucas up and married first.”

  “What was she like?” Ellie asked.

  “Anna?”

  She nodded.

  “That girl was more like Jarrett – quiet. And very pretty. Her mother died when Anna was just a baby and Dusty never remarried. That girl was his life.”

  “Anna’s death wasn’t Lucas’s fault,” Ellie said, feeling the need to defend him. The memory of what she’d learned from Anna’s journal was still raw in her mind.

  “Of course, it wasn’t. They both knew the risk that came with their decision to have a baby with her heart condition.”

  Ellie shook her head. “That’s not true. Lucas didn’t know.”

  “Honey, what are you saying?”

  “Anna’s doctor told her not to get pregnant, but she did so anyhow, wanting to give Lucas a child of his own. It wasn’t until her health began to fail that she told Lucas the truth.”

  Mrs. Mulrooney gasped softly. “He told you that?”

  “No,” she admitted. “I read it in her journal.”

  “You what?”

  Here she was doing what she’d spent her life condemning others for – spreading gossip. No, what was that Mrs. Mulrooney has said? It wasn’t gossip if it was true.

  “I found Anna’s journal in the barn the other day when I was cleaning. I didn’t realize what it was until I started reading it.”

  “Dear Lord,” the older woman groaned.

  “Please don’t say anything,” Ellie begged. “To anyone.”

  “You have my word. Hopefully you can talk some sense into that boy. He’s been shouldering the guilt for something he had no control over for long enough.”

  “Thank you. I’m going to try and make him see that.”

  “Lucas is lucky to have someone like you rooted so firmly in his corner,” she said as she made her way to the door. “Oh, and Ellie…”

  “Yes?”

  “Thank you for giving my little imp a reason to come home.”

  *

  Ellie was undressing for bed when she heard the distant crunching of gravel beneath tires. Someone was coming up the drive.

  She glanced at the clock on the wall, wondering who would be coming out to the ranch at that time of night. It was well after nine.

  She quickly slipped on her nightgown and then threw on her robe before hurrying out to the front window to peek out. The pale yellow glow of the porch light danced across the patrol car as it pulled up to the house.

  “Blaine?” Her h
eart pounded with dread. His being there at that time of night could only mean one thing – bad news. She stood there, unable to move, not wanting to hear whatever it was he had to tell her.

  She watched as the passenger door swung open and then gasped as Lucas stepped out of the car. Her heart skittered wildly at the sight of him. He grabbed his bag from the backseat of the car and then waved to Blaine as the sheriff pulled away.

  She dropped the curtain and hurried to the door, throwing it open. “Lucas!” she exclaimed. “You’re home!”

  “Now there’s that pretty smile I’ve waited six long days to see again.”

  “I’ve been saving it just for you,” she replied with a teasing grin when what she really wanted to do was throw herself into his arms.

  He started up the porch steps with a chuckle. “Then I consider myself a lucky man.”

  She wrapped her arms around her swollen abdomen, growing more and more self-conscious about her ever-expanding waistline. “How did your trip go?”

  “It went well. And if the Winters haven’t sold their place in a few months, Alex is going to fly here and take a look at it for a possible business venture.”

  “What sort of business?”

  “He owns several vacation ranches, more commonly known around here as dude ranches. And he’s always looking for new investment opportunities.”

  “I’m sure Myra and Jed will be relieved to know there’s a possible buyer out there for their place. And then there’s the business a vacation ranch would bring into Eagle Ridge.”

  “Sounds like an expensive venture.”

  “Can be.” He opened the door and waited for her to go in first. “But Alex can afford it.”

  “Big spender, huh?”

  “You wouldn’t know it to be around him,” he said, closing the door. He released his bag, letting it drop onto the floor beside his booted feet. “He looks like any other cowboy, but the truth is he’s a very wealthy, very shrewd businessman.”

  “Here, let me get that,” she said, reaching for his coat as he shrugged out of it.

  “Alex’s most recent purchase was a ranch outside of Salta in Argentina. I was running in a herd of horses for the new guest ranch when I received Greg Anderson’s letter.”