by Arlene James
First and foremost, even without a ring, Kendra could very well be engaged—or even married—to another man. Even if she wasn’t, however, some man somewhere was bound to be waiting for her return. That irked Jack more than he wanted to admit, but it only stood to reason. A woman like her attracted men like honey attracted flies. If his own life wasn’t so complicated at the moment...
He shook his head. Complicated barely covered the mess that was his life, which brought him to the second unfortunate reason why he had no business getting personally involved with Kendra or any other woman. He still had no idea how this family stuff would eventually shake out. He didn’t even know what last name he could claim in the end. The timing couldn’t have been worse.
Besides, once his mother woke up, he’d have everything he needed, and he’d do well to remember that fact. If he’d taken that attitude earlier, his mother wouldn’t be lying comatose in a hospital bed, but instead he’d badgered her for information.
With shock piled on top of shock and mystery on top of mystery, he really didn’t need Kendra pushing him to accept Maddie, Grayson and Carter into his life. So why, he wondered as he polished off his lunch, did the memory of her impassioned words on the subject foster the tiniest bit of guilt in him? He frowned, pondering that, but then she appeared with her pants legs stuffed into the tops of James’s old boots and one of Violet’s shirts tied at her waist, her wavy, pale gold hair brushed to a lustrous sheen, and he forgot the question.
Had he thought her lovely? No. She was beautiful, breathtakingly beautiful. And he was in trouble. He gulped and shot to his feet, obeying the urge to run.
“Ready to go?” she asked brightly.
“Uh.” Seeking to justify the abruptness of his actions, he nodded. “Best get moving. Lots to do.”
“Okay,” she said, blinking as he stepped out from behind the table and strode off at a near run. She followed along behind him, her footsteps tapping rapidly across the floor.
He grabbed his hat on the way out the door and crammed it onto his head. Why on earth, he asked himself, had he offered to take her to town?
But he knew why, and his impulse to help her, take care of her, please her, scared him. After all, he did not have room in his life for any woman, especially one with her kind of trouble.
On the way to town, she chattered happily about being able to buy some new things and how much she enjoyed taking care of the animals, but when he didn’t comment, she eventually fell silent. As they pulled into the parking lot of the ranch supply store, she nervously asked where he was going to be while she shopped. Realizing that she needed to purchase some personal items, he told her that he’d be in the back picking up building supplies that he’d ordered previously. Promising not to be long, she bailed out of the truck and went inside.
A little over thirty minutes later, she showed up with two large shopping bags in tow and a mile-wide smile.
“That was fast,” Jack declared. He’d expected to be waiting for an hour at least.
“They’re having a sale,” she announced happily. “I’m practically broke again, but at least I have more than one set of clothes now.”
“Good deal,” Jack said, finding her smile infectious. He took the bags and stowed them in the backseat while two men loaded the last of several prehung doors.
“Where do these go?” she asked, running a hand over the bare wood.
Jack found himself reluctant to tell Kendra what he intended to do with these doors. He didn’t want to remind her of the disappointment she’d suffered at Mrs. Lindley’s hands after church on Sunday. However, Kendra put it together without him having to say a thing.
“Oh, these must be for the house you’re remodeling,” she surmised, her hazel eyes sparkling. “Bessie Lindley’s old place.”
“That’s right.”
“I got the impression that Mrs. Lindley is glad to see the house restored,” Kendra remarked.
Jack had to smile. “She seems to be.”
“I know the house is on the ranch,” Kendra mused, “but I’m sure it’s not part of the main compound.”
“No, it’s out off Franken Road,” he told her carefully.
She didn’t seem to recognize the name. Smiling, she said, “I’d love to see it.”
On impulse, he decided, “I’ll show you where it is. I need to drop off this load, anyway.”
Kendra beamed at him. “Great!”
He signed the receipt while she climbed into the truck. She was buckled in by the time he slid behind the wheel. On the drive out of town, she asked what had induced him to start remodeling the old house.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I just always liked the place. Plus, I admired Bessie’s late husband, Al. He was a real fine cattleman and a good friend of James’s. It always seemed sad to me that the Lindleys never had any children so they didn’t have anyone to pass the place on to. Al’s father built the house over seventy years ago. Doesn’t seem right to just let it sit and rot away.”
“It’s a great thing you’re doing. I like the idea of an old house being brought back to life,” Kendra said.
“You haven’t seen it yet,” Jack reminded her, but he couldn’t help being pleased with her attitude.
He intentionally chose a route that took them up Blackberry Hill. As they drew near the curve at the bottom of the steep incline where she’d wrecked her car, Jack waited for her to recognize the area, but she seemed oblivious. They were coming from the opposite direction than she had that day, though. He said nothing, just drove the truck around the curve and up the hill. Another mile or so farther on, he turned into the rocky drive.
“How far now?” Kendra asked.
“Just over this rise,” he told her. They bounced over the rutted drive and down into the yard.
The two-story house sat in a little valley between two enormous pecan trees. Wrapped on three sides by a deep porch and flanked by lilac bushes, the old stone structure made a homey picture.
“Oh, how pretty!” Kendra exclaimed.
Pleased, Jack grinned as he brought the truck to a halt. “I like it. I’m thinking of putting on a metal roof.”
“Yes. Definitely.” Indicating a pile of stone nearby, she asked, “Did you do the masonry work?”
“Not on the outside. That’s original. I did the fireplace inside, though, and I’ve been gathering stone to build a garage. Thought I’d come off this end here with it.” He pointed toward the back corner of the house. “That door there leads right into the kitchen.”
“I like that idea,” Kendra told him, preparing to exit the truck.
He got out and met her at the front bumper, saying, “I’m planning on cutting a circular drive here.”
“That’s good,” she enthused. “Maybe you’ll have enough stone left over from the garage to line it.”
“Hadn’t thought of that,” he admitted. “That would look good.”
He led her up onto the porch and pulled out his house keys. He’d started locking up after he’d found the Bible and note here on the hearth.
She looked around, saying, “It would be nice to have a couple of rockers out here. Maybe a swing.”
“I want a swing in that tree there,” he said, pointing. “I mean, if I was a kid, I’d want a swing there.”
She laughed and preceded him into the large living room. The staircase stood just inside the door, and she ran a hand over a spindle that he’d spent an hour sanding.
“Stain or paint?” she asked.
“Haven’t decided yet.”
“Stain, definitely,” she said, nodding. She crossed the floor to take a closer look at the massive stone fireplace. “Just imagine sitting here on a cold winter night.”
“I have,” Jack admitted, “many a time.”
They went on to inspect the dining
room, kitchen, laundry room and the downstairs bedroom and bath, the latter of which he had added, along with a sizable closet. He was surprised that she advocated a wood floor even for the kitchen, but she agreed that tile would be best in the entry area.
They went upstairs even though it was basically an open shell with only the bathroom fixtures set and stacks of lumber everywhere.
“I figure two bedrooms up here,” Jack said, “in order to have ample closet space.”
“Are you going to finish the attic?” she asked, looking up.
“Guess I could,” he mused. “That’d give us another bedroom.”
Her gaze collided with his. “Us?”
“Me,” he corrected, glancing away.
She stared at the ceiling. “It could be a sewing room, or a playroom or just storage.”
“I don’t sew,” he said around a grin.
“I don’t think I do, either,” she admitted with a chuckle. “Still, it’s a great house.”
“You sound ready to move in,” he observed quietly.
“Oh, I would,” she replied dreamily, “if it were mine. And finished.”
He cleared his throat. “Well, it’s not ever going to be as fine as the big house....”
“That doesn’t matter,” Kendra said without missing a beat. “This will make a wonderful home, and it has history on its side. I see what you mean about the Lindleys. This is a house that just cries out for children.” Looking around her, she added wistfully, “I hope I have a place like this waiting for me somewhere.”
That made Jack frown. He didn’t like to think of anything waiting for her that wasn’t right here. “Maybe you do.”
She shook her head, looking stricken. “I can’t imagine it, really. When I try to, I feel...bleak.”
“What will you do if you find that you’re engaged to marry a man you can’t remember?” Jack heard himself ask.
“Don’t even say that,” she begged, reaching up to press her fingers against his lips. She dropped her hand again instantly. “I don’t believe it, but if it should turn out to be true, I can’t see how I could go through with the wedding. I couldn’t be in love with someone else and feel this way about—”
She didn’t complete that thought. She didn’t have to. Even as Jack told himself that she couldn’t really be falling for him, some part of him rejoiced. Before he knew what he was doing, he had lifted his hands to her upper arms and pulled her to him. What could he do then but kiss her?
As her lips yielded to his, she slid her arms around his neck. He angled his head, using the brim of his hat to shield them and create a little cocoon of intimacy, a world with just two people in it. He felt like Adam to her Eve, as if he had just received the gift of the one woman created just for him. For all he knew, Eve could be her name.
A more sober thought followed that whimsical one. She could be anyone––anyone but the woman for him. If such a person even existed, she couldn’t be this one. Not now, not given all the mysteries and problems plaguing both of them.
Lifting his head, he stepped back and let his hands fall.
“I’m sorry,” they both said in unison.
“That shouldn’t have happened,” he ground out.
At the same time, she said, “That wasn’t wise.”
“If my life was just less complicated,” he offered huskily.
“If I knew who I am...” she began, shaking her head.
They stared at each other, neither happy about the situation, until he muttered, “I need to unload the truck.”
She nodded and swept her hands over her arms as if suddenly chilled. He felt rather cold himself, and it had nothing to do with the temperature, which hovered at almost ninety degrees.
Without another word, he turned and went down the stairs. She finally came down while he was lugging the next-to-last door into the living room. Immediately taking hold of one end, she helped him stack the door and its frame atop the others then traipsed out to the truck behind him and helped him haul out the last one. Afterward, he locked up, while she settled into the truck cab.
The way back to the main house did not involve Blackberry Hill. Jack couldn’t help being glad about that. She needed to remember everything that she could, but he knew that she’d likely leave as soon as she did. Resuming her old life was probably for the best—even if it didn’t feel that way now.
Chapter Nine
Kendra curled up in the window seat and looked out over the softly lit courtyard, feeling glum. It couldn’t be denied—Jack was avoiding her. He hadn’t been at breakfast, lunch or dinner for two days in a row, and tonight he hadn’t even come to the midweek prayer service. Maddie had seemed as stricken by that as Kendra felt. She’d overheard the twins whispering about it, with Violet insisting that Maddie was not the reason for Jack’s absence. Kendra had resisted the impulse to blurt that Jack was avoiding her, not Maddie, but then she’d have to explain about that kiss, which she couldn’t explain even to herself. Besides, she suspected that Jack did use every excuse to avoid Maddie. So far as Kendra could tell, she’d actually had more interaction with Jack than Maddie had. No doubt, he would be the same way with his twin, Grayson.
Kendra couldn’t help feeling that would be a mistake. She didn’t understand the whole situation, of course, and it was obviously very complicated, but not to embrace family, whatever the circumstances, seemed tragic to her. What she wouldn’t give to discover that she had a twin—or family of any sort.
She couldn’t help feeling a bit sorry for herself. Drawing up her legs, she bowed her head until her brow rested atop her knees. She hardly felt the wound on her forehead and had only reapplied the flesh-colored bandage earlier this evening so the people at church tonight wouldn’t be troubled by her injury, but that didn’t make her feel any better. If only her memory would heal as quickly as this minor laceration. Closing her eyes, she went straight to God.
I know I should be thanking You, Lord, and I do. I could have been out on the street with nowhere to go and nothing, not even a name. But You brought me here to the Colby Ranch and these kind people. I know I belong somewhere else. Help me regain my memory so I can figure out where that is....
Pausing, she bit her lip. Truthfully, she hated to think about leaving the Colby Ranch and Grasslands. Tonight at church, she’d felt almost as if she’d belonged here. Everyone had been so concerned for her. Even Bessie Lindley had been there. Having realized Kendra’s predicament, the old dear had wanted to come, she’d said, to apologize for making so much of finding Kendra’s face familiar. Kendra had urged her to think nothing of it and then had tried to put Mrs. Lindley at ease by talking about the improvements that Jack was making to the former Lindley house. When she’d been there on Monday with Jack, Kendra had felt as if she’d come home, especially when they’d kissed.
No matter how ill-advised that kiss had been, it had felt like balm to her soul and made her feel wanted and treasured, as she so desperately needed just now. But once she remembered her past, she would have to go. Anticipating the pain of that, she almost wished that God had spared her this time at the Colby Ranch. Surely, He had a reason for it all, though, and she felt that she had an inkling as to what that might be.
A knock at her bedroom door startled her. To her surprise, she found Jack there when she opened the door.
Without preamble, he said, “Doc Garth’s office called.”
“Oh?”
He nodded. “They suggested we come in first thing in the morning to get those stitches out. That work for you?”
“Of course. I’ll get the barn stock fed early.”
“No hurry,” Jack told her lightly, one corner of his lips crooking up. “First thing in the morning for Doc is nine o’clock.”
Kendra smiled. “He should spend a few days on the ranch.”
Jack
chuckled. “Naw. We need Doc doing what he does.”
“True.”
He started to turn away, and Kendra found herself stepping forward to stop him. He lifted a brow in obvious question.
“Speaking of doing, you must’ve been busy the past couple days.”
He looked away, nodding, and shifted halfway around as if eager to be gone.
“I suppose you have a lot to do,” she went on lamely.
He paused but said nothing. She wished he would open up to her. Instead, he seemed determined to push her away. Well, she wasn’t going to make it easy for him.
Thinking quickly, she stepped through the door and pulled it closed behind her, saying, “I think I’ll just head down and find a cool drink. Care to join me?”
Jack slid a look at the stairs. Then, as if he’d reached a decision, he visibly relaxed. “There’s some lemonade in the fridge.”
“That sounds good,” Kendra told him, smiling.
He gave his head a little jerk as if to say, “Follow me.” So she did.
“I guess you got those doors hung,” she ventured carefully as they descended the stairs.
He nodded. “Yep.”
“That’s good.”
They walked on in silence until they entered the kitchen. Kendra looked through the breakfast room window at the softly glowing courtyard beyond. “It looks like a nice night outside. Think I’ll have my lemonade on the patio,” she said, hoping he’d join her.
He shot her a quick glance before going to the cabinet to take down a pair of tall glass tumblers. At the same time, she went to the refrigerator for the lemonade. They came together again a moment later over the island. She picked up the tumblers and turned to the refrigerator, filling them with ice via a dispenser in the door.
When she placed the glasses on the island again, Jack poured the lemonade then handed one of the drinks to her. Sipping carefully, she went to the door of the breakfast nook, pleased when he followed. Choosing a pair of chairs with a small table between them, she sat down in one. Jack took the other chair, and for several minutes, they drank in silence. If he wasn’t quite engaging with her, Kendra thought, letting the cool liquid slide down her throat, at least he wasn’t avoiding her any longer.