Second Chance Ranch (The Circle D series)

by Harders, Audra

  “I never assessed the property.” Heat tinged the edges of his ears. “I was over there to see Jess.”

  Shaking his head, Martin chuckled. “You and Jess Eklund and Kade O’Reilly. What a sorry bunch.”

  “Hey.” The conversation was veering off the intended path. Zac tried to steer it back on course. “Dad, Kade and I worked hard. We practiced roping almost every night. We were top ranked on the high school circuit. But that has nothing to do with the Trails’ End.”

  Scratching his grizzled chin, he elbowed his wife. “They’re claiming work, Gracie? Is that what it looked like? All that fancy riding and trick roping in the corral with pretty little Jennifer sitting on the top rail cheering you on. I know she clung to Kade like a newborn calf to a heifer after her mom died. But I think she laid claim on more than just her brother’s attention.”

  Zac sat up in his chair and re-crossed his booted feet at the ankles. “She had no choice. Doc O’Reilly worked late. She hung around with us because she had to stay with Kade.”

  “Uh-huh,” Martin agreed. “Until Jess Eklund ripped up the drive on his motorcycle. That boy showed up and all of a sudden you and Kade couldn’t cool down horses fast enough.” Martin squinted at him. “If memory serves right, you and Kade took off with Jess every time and never took Jen.”

  Zac looked at his mom, her attention flitting from him to his dad. He didn’t really want to discuss this right now. He looked back at his dad and found no quarter. “Jess’s plans weren’t always…well, they didn’t really fit….” Zac ground his teeth over exactly how much to say. Jess had a wild streak a mile long back in the day. “The plans Jess came up with didn’t include us taking a girl.”

  “So, if Jen didn’t really need Kade, I wonder why she hung around here?”

  Zac stopped in mid-memory. He’d never thought of it that way. Jen never put up a fuss or demanded to come with them. Kade would give her a hug, and then the three of them went to whatever party Jess had caught wind of. Zac never gave a thought to what Jen did after they left. Maybe he should’ve.

  He focused on his folks staring at him and knew he needed out of this conversation. “Dad, the ranch isn’t mine.”

  “If Frannie Pollard says it’s still in the hands of the Davidsons, you can take that as truth,” Grace proclaimed. “That woman takes pride in what she does and wouldn’t have brought it up to you if she wasn’t certain. Especially with Jen wanting it so badly for that camp of hers. She and Arthur were awfully close.”

  Wide-eyed, Zac couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Desperate to take the focus off himself, he expanded the accountability arc. “What about Gabe? Or Nick? Don’t they have a say in what happens to the Circle D?”

  “The Circle D, yes. The Trails’ End, no. If that ranch is still in the Davidson name, and the taxes are current, the bank doesn’t care who paid them. Now, Jess might care, but that’s between you and your best friend.”

  Zac started to rub the back of his neck and stopped.

  He’d torn across the Trails’ End on motorcycles with Jess…but it was Jen’s soft laugh tickling his ear as she molded against his back with her arms wrapped around his middle that gave him a full body slam at the moment. They’d ridden a motorcycle together across every hidden path on the Trails’ End. Sometimes, they’d be gone all day, her tender nibbling kisses teasing his neck until he’d nearly crashed. Stopping the bike, he’d swept her off the seat to a grassy patch where warm sun and lazy afternoons gave way to him wanting to spend the rest of his life with her.

  His eyes grew wide, shocked by the memory. Zac hustled to stuff it back where it belonged. How had such fascinating information gone so far south? Zac had expected an intelligent conversation with his folks over the incorporation of the Trails’ End back into the Circle D, not a hot potato toss with a legend that no one wanted to claim.

  Clearing his throat, he faced his parents. “If all this is true, what am I supposed to tell Jess? He’s planning on using the proceeds to fund an investment he’s had his eye on. If that opportunity hadn’t come up, he wouldn’t be selling the ranch.” Zac relaxed as he returned to his original train of thought. “That’s all he could talk about when we met and I agreed to cut his hay. He’s looking at a deal of a lifetime.”

  The timer on the kitchen stove dinged, yet Grace stayed seated, the tip of her finger pressed to her lip.

  “I don’t know what to tell you, Son.” Martin eyed him for a long moment, a lifetime of wisdom milling within his brown eyes. “God is faithful. He answered your prayers.”

  Zac set his elbows on the table as he buried his face in his palms. For as long as he could remember, he’d wanted the Trails’ End. Now it was his. He drove his fingers through his hair and focused on one of the many scars in the hard oak surface from years of family service. He and Jess had spent lots of time at the table…joking around, studying for tests, talking about girls.

  Watching each other’s backs.

  Zac jerked up straight so quickly, his chair tipped and then settled back with a thud. “I’ve got to make it right for Jess.”

  * * *

  The activity room of the recreation center was full as Jennifer stepped through the doors. Mentally exhausted after a week of trying to outguess every move Zac made and his motive for making it, Jen looked forward to an evening playing - just her and her kids. She’d spent the final camp session of the season in complete distraction. Digging through buckets of paperwork for the sale of the ranch; Zac Davidson wreaking havoc with her senses; and the biggest weight of all, the little girl she’d borne so many years ago facing life or death…and there was so very little Jen could do about it. She hadn’t slept; she hadn’t eaten; she felt like a zombie. Thankfully, she didn’t scare the children when she smiled at them.

  Camp volunteers wove through the crowd, stopping here and there to comment on some accomplishment or newly learned skill. Kids mingled in small groups, girls with girls; boys with boys, all grinning at the attention. Jen smiled. She knew the self-consciousness that went along with cancer recovery. Like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, the kids had gone through so many transformations during the various phases of chemo and radiation, just grappling with recovery was hard enough. Throw in adolescent hormones, and the world took on a wilder ride than necessary.

  Her heart hurt at the thought of Carli undergoing the same traumatic experience.

  “Everyone ready for some fun?” She pasted on a smile and waved her hands. Enough detours off her purpose right now. The kids in the room with her right now deserved her full attention - at least for one night. Getting a thumbs up from Patrick, she glanced toward the kitchen. A small group of girls cheered, but mainly groans from the boys met her enthusiasm.

  “Really? Square dancing?” Steven, a lanky boy sporting a new growth of curly, ash blond hair gave her a drawn look. “Are we going to dress in overalls and chew straw shoots, too?”

  “I think it sounds like fun,” Kelsey piped in, her glasses firmly in place on her nose and sporting the new cowboy boots her parents had bought her right before she came to camp. “Better than video games.”

  “No way,” Brett pointed at the gaming console. “We could play baseball on the Wii. Pick teams. Do all nine innings.”

  Music started up in the background and a few grown-ups clapped. Patrick came out of the kitchen. “Tonight is our Sunday Night Dance. We’ve got 22 campers which makes us one pair short.”

  The remodeled old barn gleamed with new woodwork and lacquered beams. Though she’d had a contractor do the heavy building, she and Tina had worked on some of the finishing touches like painting the window and floor trim, sanding the counter area and polishing the kitchen cabinets. She’d even held the ladder as Tina strung white lights along the rafters. The twinkling lights gave a holiday feel to the barn, no matter the season.

  She wanted to turn them on now, but first they needed to calm the chaos.

  Patrick began arranging groups, letting the pairs form
on their own and only helping the most timid find a partner. Jennifer grinned at the red faces and lop-sided squares. Patrick better have lively music and a quick caller if they were going to keep this group’s interest. As she glanced around the room, her attention snagged on the figure at the door leaning against the jamb, his thumbs hooked in the loops of his jeans, a lazy grin on his face. A tingle raced through her as she rubbed her palm down her thigh. The sensation of Zac holding her hand through church still wreaked havoc with her nerves. Would she ever outgrow her embarrassing response to him?

  He pushed off from the jamb and walked toward her, the heel of his boots clicking in time to her heartbeat.

  “Are we a square of two?” Zac stopped beside her. Warmth emanated through his shirt despite the chilly evening. “I do believe square dancing in gym class was our first hand-holding event.”

  Jen pushed her hair out of the way and admired how his denim shirt fit his shoulders perfectly. All six-foot of solid Zac Davidson--tall, tanned and toned. What a rush. “I think you have me confused with Laurie Beaumont. I don’t think I ever made it to your square.”

  “Why do I remember it differently? In fourth grade you were my hero,” his voice barely above a whisper tickled her ear.

  “Because I kept you from flunking out of arithmetic.” She matched his whisper and then cleared her throat. “We climbed trees, built forts and had snowball fights. I’m not the one you held hands with.”

  “Were, too.” He reached for her, his hand cupping her shoulder. A shiver followed the path of his touch as he traced down her arm. “In fourth grade, I loved climbing trees and snowball fights. In high school, I developed a fondness for dancing.” His finger tip ran along her wrist. “With you.”

  He took her hand, their palms sliding together perfectly. Her heart pounded as Zac led her across the room to the square with room for two more. He kept holding her hand and stood close to her side. If Jen hadn’t held on to her good senses, she could almost believe they were back in school, waiting for the music to start. But her memory painted a wilder picture than the one Zac described. She remembered heated skin and heavenly kisses, with little control between the two of them.

  Now that was a memory better off forgotten.

  “All right everyone, let’s go through the basic steps.” Patrick stood in the middle of the three squares, his arms curled at his sides. “To Do-Si-Do, loop your arm through your partner’s arm,” – he pulled one of the older girls from her partner as he joined Jen’s group – “like this, go around each other, then weave your way around the square.” The kids stood still as Patrick wove around them. When he got to Jen, he spun her around with a flourish. Caught off-guard, she almost fell over her own big feet. One of the boys snickered. Zac put his hand on her small of her back and steadied her. Heat rushed her face as she reclaimed her place in the square.

  Patrick clicked on the music through his remote. “Now try it.”

  The kids jostled for position. Patrick attempted to be in more than one place at once while other staff members who tried to help just got in the way. Jen angled Zac toward the middle of their square to keep in time with the music, but the kids were so goosey, she stopped and laughed.

  Zac snaked his arm through hers and swiveled her and then looped her arm over her head and spun her around as his hand grazed her back. They grabbed hands and pushed back and pulled forward and Zac led her off in a perfect two-step.

  “Show off,” she chuckled into his neck. “This isn’t the dance the kids want to learn either.”

  “Too bad.”

  “Eewww. Is that what we have to do?”

  Sets of horrified eyes bore into her. The noise level grew and Jen sensed mutiny was on its way. Where was saving grace when you needed it most?

  “Don’t let any handsome sixth grader steal my spot.” Zac squeezed her hand before catching Patrick and pulling him aside.

  “Jen, do we have to do this?” A girl pulled her arm from her partner’s grip. “Camp is supposed to be fun.”

  “And well rounded. You keep forgetting that part,” she said as she tried to figure out what Zac was up to.

  “Can’t we save that for school?”

  “Attention everyone, we’ve got a change in plans.” Patrick walked over to the kitchen counter and thumbed through the stack of CDs. He pulled one out, showed it to Zac who nodded.

  “How about if we forget the Square Dance--”

  Cheers filled the room. The boys raced to the flat screen hooked to the video games and flopped down on the furniture. Patrick shook his head and waved them back into place.

  “We’re going to learn to line dance instead.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  He’d initially come to talk to Jennifer, to explain about the mix up in ranch ownership. How he’d do his best to help her find the perfect place to move her camp. But when he stepped in the door and saw her laughing with the kids and trying to reassure them they were going to enjoy themselves, he couldn’t bring himself to wipe the smile from her face. There’d be plenty of time for her to hate him later. Since church service that morning, he felt his heart shift and it had shifted in the direction of Jennifer O’Reilly. He wasn’t sure what exactly he was supposed to do with his rediscovered feelings, but he knew one thing for certain. She needed help and he was the one to give it to her.

  Square Dancing. How lame.

  But, it was a start.

  Zac stepped up and indicated the kids spread out. “This, my friends, is a skill you’ll use the rest of your lives.” Groans louder than before lifted to the timber rafters as the boys skulked back to their places and the girls inched their way around in one bunch. Zac urged a couple of the girls to the right, the others to the left and shifted the shy to grumpy ratio.

  “Lots of western dances start with these easy steps. And we don’t have to listen to corny music.” He clapped his hands and looked for Patrick. “Patrick? What did you find?”

  “Looks like we have just about everything country here.” He stood beside the granite counter outside the kitchen. Using both hands, he flipped through a stack of CDs. “What do you want?”

  “Brooks and Dunn? Boot Scootin’ Boogie?”

  Capable fingers snapped up a plastic case. “Got it.”

  Zac grinned. “All right, campers. Let’s have some fun. Form two lines. Go boy-girl-boy-girl.” He picked and sorted through the kids as they volleyed for position. Satisfied with his work, he looked around until he spotted Jen.

  “Jen, take the back, okay? You’ve done this as long as I have.” He met her bright gaze across the room, her sweet lips parted in a smile that made him want to hang up thoughts of dancing and take his girl out for a moonlight walk.

  His girl. Not yet. First he had to tell her he owned the Trails’ End.

  Shaking away the mood before it ruined his night, Zac looked over the expectant faces filled with a mix of excitement and dread. This was Jen’s world now. She had a soft heart, he’d always known that. He’d taken it for granted, too. The Lord had jolted him this morning when He’d grabbed Zac’s attention with a swift punch to the conscience, right there between the Gospel lesson and the Offering. He and Jennifer might have a chasm of differences yawning between them, but they also had a thread of common goals that kept them tethered together. Zac was tired of being the outsider in her life. He wanted smack in the middle of the stir.

  “See Jennifer O’Reilly, head nurse and chief bandage wrapper back there?” He nodded at her over the herd of adolescents. “Well, she’s been known to wear a path in the old wood floor when the right song is playing. And she’s partial to Brooks and Dunn, so you guys watch me and Jen will watch you. By the end of the night, you’ll be Boot Scootin’ all the way back to your cabins.”

  Girls giggled and boys groaned. Jen stepped back and forth behind the row lining up her crew, a soft rosy glow washing her face. She hugged a little boy who looked uncertain about the whole dance thing and pointed
to two of the girls in front of her. She said something to the small group and they all laughed with the boy grabbing the hands of the two girls.

  It all appeared so natural, so effortless. Why he hadn’t he seen it before? Jen didn’t just run a camp. She created a home. A safe place for the kids to be themselves.

  And in order for her to do her best at what she did, she didn’t need the millstone of a ranch around her neck dragging her down. He’d make her see that first and then spring his news on her.

  Standing front and center, he waited for the noise to die down. Tonight, he’d help her create an unforgettable night for the kids. He’d help her do what she loved.

  “Patrick, you gonna join us?” Jen yelled across the room as she waved to an empty spot beside her. “Zac’s one of the best teachers around.”

  Squaring his shoulders at her praise, he waved to Patrick. “C’mon, Pat. Grab a back seat and let Jen help you along.”

  Patrick held his hands up. “Someone’s gotta run the music. I’ll watch and catch up the next time.”

  “Let’s start simple. Watch my feet and follow me.” Zac turned his back on the kids. He started with a simple side step, half pivot, foot kick. Rustling and giggles erupted. Glancing over his shoulder, he caught sight of a bit more stepping and kicking going on than called for.

  “Whoa there, guys. I can see I need to be a little more hands on.” He parted the front line and inserted right in the middle. “All right let’s try this again. Side-step, half pivot, front kick. Got it?”

  A couple of them got it. They tried again. More got it. Finally Zac waved his arms and pointed to Patrick. “We need music and a demonstration. Jennifer, come up here and help me show our fine audience how it’s done.”