Second Chance Ranch

by Jenna Hendricks

  Logan sat up straight and looked to Jonathan. “What do you mean? What’s gotten between them?”

  “Like you have to ask. Please, they didn’t start to have any problems until you came to town.”

  “That’s not exactly what I heard. Rumor has it they began arguing after her first trip to Bozeman.” Logan raised a brow.

  Before they could continue their conversation, the crowd went wild, and everyone jumped up on their feet.

  Logan and Jonathan did the same, and looked out into the mess that was the race track.

  Demolition derbies were always done on a dirt track. It kept the cars from going too fast, but it also made everything so dirty and muddy when water made its way onto the track, as it always did.

  Currently, eight out of the ten cars in this heat were smashed into each other. Logan didn’t see how it happened, but when he looked up at the screen, a reply was showing.

  The number sixty-two car seemed to have started it. He ran up into the rear of the nineteen car and hit it so hard from the rear-left side that it slid sideways and ran into the twenty-nine, and then that car rammed into the seventy-one which did a one-eighty and crashed straight into the ninety car. From there, the other cars behind them had no way to stop in time, and the other three cars rammed hard into the mess of crashed vehicles.

  Logan looked for number eighty-eight and saw that he had stopped just before the throng of crashed cars. Max hadn’t been involved in the crash; he actually looked like his car hadn’t hit much. Logan wondered if that would be good or bad for his points that night.

  Max backed up a bit and went slowly around the group of mangled cars. He took the lead in the race, and Logan knew he would have to crash into the remaining car for more points. Unless some of those in the pile could make it out. Then maybe he could crash into one of them.

  The other car that was still running came upon Max’s backside and tapped his rear. They didn’t have bumpers, since those fell off so easily. The bump caused Max to slide a little, but the muddy track kept him going forward.

  Elizabeth was chewing on her nails again, or what was left of them. She was worried. Of course she was. But she was also excited. Max had a real shot at winning his heat. If he could get enough points, he would move forward to the finals.

  No matter what was going on with their relationship, she still wanted him to succeed. He really was a nice guy, but lately… No, she wouldn’t think about that. She needed to keep her eyes on the track and on Max.

  Tonight was about his victory, not their issues.

  “Dearie, please don’t worry so. You’re going to start eating off the tips of your fingers if you don’t relax just a bit. And then how will you help all those poor animals?” The pink pouf of hair that was next to her had stepped in front of her and made it difficult to see the track. Cindy looked worried for Elizabeth.

  She pulled her hand away from her mouth.

  “Do I need to put tobasco sauce on your fingers?” Cindy put her hands on her hips and stared Elizabeth down.

  Her brows furrowed and she cocked her head to the side. “Tobasco sauce?”

  “Of course, dear. I did that to my little Charlie when he continued to suck his thumb after the age of three. It’s really not good for your mouth. But after a few times with tobasco sauce, he stopped.” Cindy beamed at her method.

  “Um, I don’t think that’s really a good idea, Cindy. Experts are now saying that it’s fine until their permanent teeth begin to come in. Plus, tobasco sauce could hurt a child’s stomach.” While Elizabeth enjoyed the spicy concoction on her omelets, she didn’t think it would taste very good to a three-year-old.

  Cindy waved her hand in front of her face. “Pish, Charlie’s just fine, and he had perfect teeth. He never even needed braces.”

  Elizabeth knew better than to argue with Cindy, so she let it go and then realized what the woman had done. She lightly chuckled and nodded her head. Cindy had helped her to get her mind off her worries and even helped her to relax her shoulders just a bit.

  She looked out onto the track and saw that the mess that was the crash was much smaller than before. Half the cars had moved away and were back in the race. The other half were still there, stuck.

  As the audience began to take their seats once again, so did Elizabeth and Cindy.

  “See, everything is just fine.” The pink pouf nodded, and for some strange reason it stayed in place, even after all the excitement and moving around.

  Elizabeth had no clue how Cindy kept her pouf in place at all times. The thing must have been a foot tall. It was dense as a forest, and she had never seen a single hair out of place, not even once. Cindy must have used a can of Aqua Net every day to keep it in place so well.

  With her attention once again back on the race, Elizabeth looked for Max. On the other side of the track, she saw him hitting a car. Max’s car came up from behind and hit the other car’s rear quarter panel. The car veered to the side and did a forty-five-degree turn. Max got out in front again and was leading the pack.

  Those who had been in the accident were three laps behind Max, but it wasn’t so much about the laps and time as it was the crashing and the points they had accumulated.

  “Hey there. Mind if I sit?” Logan was standing next to Elizabeth, and she wondered how he’d gotten there without her even noticing he had moved.

  “Uh, sure. Be my guest.” She wasn’t too happy about him sitting with her, but she couldn’t exactly tell him no. Especially not with everyone around them. If Cindy heard her being rude, the entire town would know about it.

  “How are you doing with this race? Even my heart skipped a few beats when that crash happened. Thankfully Max wasn’t in it, but he lost out on a lot of points by not being in it.” He emphasized the not, knowing it was the points that mattered.

  She sighed and gave him a small smile. “Yeah, part of me is glad he wasn’t in that crash, but another wishes he could have been at the back of the pack and at least got some points.” She shrugged.

  “Well, he’s most likely going to come in first for time, and with the few hits he’s taken, along with those he’s dished out, he should place nicely.” Logan kept his hands in his lap and looked between the track and Elizabeth.

  “Fingers crossed.” Elizabeth crossed her fingers on both hands and put them out in front of her for everyone to see. She also sent up a prayer for Max and for her to be courteous to Logan.

  He was trying.

  She knew that.

  But something inside her knew she had to protect herself from Logan. If she didn’t, he would be in a place to hurt her again. She was finally healing enough to go out with someone again and didn’t want to ruin the progress she had made.

  They sat there in silence watching the last of the race. There were only five laps left to go, and with half of the contestants out, Elizabeth figured it should go fairly quickly and easily.

  “How’s Ana doing?” Logan took his eyes off the track and settled them on Elizabeth.

  She saw out of the corner of her that Chloe and Cindy were both watching them. Most likely everyone was. “She’s doing great. I think she’s going to fit in at the ranch just fine once she heals up.”

  “That’s great to hear. I was worried about her and wanted to stop by and check in on her. So did Drake. Do you think your mom would mind if we came out one afternoon?”

  Elizabeth shook her head. “I think she’d like to see you both. And I know Ana would appreciate some company. She’s still stuck on the couch and only moves when one of the boys carries her somewhere. My mom is being a stickler about her staying off her feet until the doctor says otherwise.”

  Logan chuckled. “I can imagine that’s going over real well.”

  His dry humor was always something Elizabeth appreciated about him. She chuckled.

  “Yup. She wasn’t too happy at first. But when Mom gave her a fairy wand and said she was a princess and princesses never go anywhere without their servants, Ana laughed a
nd took the wand. They’ve been making a game out of it, and my brothers are even playing along.” She laughed.

  “Really? Your brothers, allowing a princess to order them about?”

  She nodded. “They get points for being the one to carry her around. Pa said the one with the most points gets an entire weekend off. Zero chores, no feeding any animals, no dishes, they don’t even have to take out the trash.”

  Logan laughed out loud, and everyone looked their way, even those they didn’t know. “I’ll bet Mark is jumping at the chance to win that contest. Does he still hate to muck the stalls just as much as he did when we were in high school?”

  She chuckled and felt a bit lighter. It was almost as though the past ten years hadn’t happened at all. Almost.

  “Yes. He’s always jumping at the chance to help Ana. At first, I was worried he might be trying to flirt with her, but when Ma told me about the contest, I knew exactly what he was up to. It’s also a chance for him to skip out on chores during the day. He finds ways to come in and check on her and see if she needs anything or if she wants to be moved anywhere.”

  “I can totally see him doing that. Your mom was smart to make it a contest, and your dad was genius to give the winner a full weekend off. I’d enjoy that too. I’d forgotten how much work went into a ranch and running the general store these past ten years.” He shook his head.

  “When I was gone, I worked hard,” he went on. “But it was a different kind of work. Sitting in an office all day is very different from even running the store. I didn’t move anything heavier than a book, and even that was rare.”

  Elizabeth looked him over and noticed he was in very good shape. Better than she remembered. “But you’re in great shape. How’d you do that?”

  “Proper diet and lots of hours at the gym each week.” His eyes sparkled when he smiled at her.

  Elizabeth felt the heat moving through her cheeks and turned her face back to the track.

  Max was still in first place for time and laps according to the leader board. The points for the crashing wouldn’t be displayed until the final lap.

  “Look, there’s only two laps left, and Max is currently in first place.” She put her entire focus back on the race and Max. If she didn’t, she’d start thinking and feeling things she ought not to about the handsome man next to her.

  Her heart didn’t seem to get the memo, because it was still fluttering at Logan’s nearness. She attempted to think harder about Max, but it wasn’t working.

  When the breeze blew her way, she picked up Logan’s unique scent and her heart began to flutter anew. The creamy and slightly sweet aroma of sandalwood mixed with pine and Logan’s pure scent always calmed her. It was the smell of home. He was the scent of home.

  She needed to get away from him to help clear her head. So she stood up and began clapping and calling out Max’s name. If she focused on Max, she felt that she would be able to clear her head of Logan, and maybe even her heart, too. She was still dating Max, technically. Wasn’t she?

  Although, they hadn’t spent any time together in a few weeks. They had barely spoken, and when they did it was short and not sweet. She was beginning to wonder if they really were still a couple. Maybe the gossip hounds had it right after all, and she just didn’t realize it.

  The thought of not really being Max’s girlfriend didn’t hurt like it once would have. Did her heart know the truth?

  If so, her head needed to get the memo…and soon.

  Chapter 19

  “Yes!” Elizabeth practically jumped with joy and excitement as she watched Max cross the finish line.

  He didn’t have the most points, but when his points were combined with finishing first and his time, he ended up in first place.

  Only two of the eight vehicles that crashed earlier had finished. The rest either didn’t make it out of the dog pile, or they petered along the way. Elizabeth knew that had some of them made it to finish line, even if in last place, Max wouldn’t have been able to finish in first. He only needed to be top three, but she knew he wanted a first-place finish in his heat to give him a better starting position for the finals that were only two weeks away.

  “Wow, that was exciting. It went down to the end to decide the second-place winner. I see what you mean about how much crashing counts. Even though car number nineteen finished last, he was in second place thanks to his crash points.” Chloe’s smile was a mile wide.

  “Does this mean you’re now a fan of the sport?” Elizabeth nudged her sister.

  “I think so.”

  It was only two days later when Elizabeth and Max found time to meet up and talk.

  She wanted to ask him outright of they were still a couple, but that was rude, and she wasn’t sure how he would take it. However, she wasn’t good at beating around the bush, either.

  “Congratulations, Max, on your win. That was a very exciting race,” Elizabeth gushed, not knowing how to start their conversation. It was her idea to meet up after all. If she had left it to him, they might never had spoken again.

  “Thanks.” His smile was warm, but nothing compared to what he normally gave her.

  She could tell he wasn’t really into this conversation. He wasn’t really looking at her. He only glanced at her and then turned either his head to look around or moved his eyes to look over her shoulder, or next to her. If he did look directly at her, it was only a passing moment.

  “Is something on your mind?” She hoped they wouldn’t argue, but they did need to clear the air. Whatever had happened over the past weeks needed to come out and be dealt with. She was tired of not knowing what was going on with him.

  He nodded, then sat there mute.

  Max only looked down at his hands, he refused to look even her way.

  She scratched the tip of her nose and wondered what was going on in his head. Then she fidgeted where she stood next to the wood fence separating the path they were on and the river that ran through town. Well, it was on the outskirts of town, really.

  The town had built a beautiful park with a softball field, soccer field, and a kiddie playground. Trees were everywhere, and picnic benches had been placed far enough away from the others that multiple families could enjoy the park without disturbing other families enjoying their outing. But they could also still hold the town annual picnic, and it was small enough that when everyone was there, it felt like one giant event instead of a bunch of smaller, more intimate picnics.

  “Let’s take a seat.” He directed her to a nearby bench overlooking the slow-moving river.

  Once they were both seated, he shifted himself to look at her and he took her hand in his, still not looking her in the eyes.

  She squeezed his hand in response, hoping to tell him that whatever it was, she was there for him. Elizabeth didn’t want to disturb the peace between them, but she did need to know what was going on. For a moment she considered asking him, but then thought better of it and waited for him.

  He probably needed a chance to gather his wits or figure out what he wanted to say to her. She could give him the time. It wasn’t like she had anywhere else to be that night. Milton was the one on call, so she doubted she would be getting any emergency calls for the business.

  After a few tense moments, he began. “Elizabeth, you know I care a great deal for you, right?”

  Even though he wasn’t looking at her, she nodded. She didn’t want to disturb the peace or open her mouth. If she began speaking, she wasn’t sure she wouldn’t stop. There was so much on her mind about what had been going on between them lately. She wanted answers, and believed that she deserved some.

  He sighed and finally he looked her in the eye. The pain and anguish she saw there gripped her heart. She had to clamp her mouth shut before she said something. He needed to speak, and she understood that.

  Elizabeth gave him an understanding smile and hoped that she was conveying how much she cared about him through her eyes, and that he could see it and understand.

  He
sighed again. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know if this is going to work.”

  She blinked, not understanding where that came from. Then she sighed and realized he was probably right.

  “Is it because I want to help the homeless?” She had wondered if that would be what broke them up.

  He nodded, then shook his head. “Not really. It might have been the catalyst, but I’m not really mad about that. I’m sad and worried for your safety. Eventually you’ll come to realize that I was right.”

  “I had hoped you would change your mind. Or at least tell me why you’re so adamant about your position. What happened, Max, to make you hate the homeless so much?” She let go of his hand and put hers back in her lap.

  “It doesn’t really matter anymore. It’s all in the past. What does matter is that you be careful. I don’t want to see you get hurt. That Bart guy is dangerous.”

  She nodded. “I know. We brought back a girl who had been abused by Bart. She hasn’t said much, but what she did say told us enough.”

  “What? I hadn’t heard this. Where is she? Please tell me she’s not staying at your house?” His voice was sharp, but not angry. It sounded more worried than anything else.

  She put her hand on his arm. “Don’t worry. She’s staying at the ranch with my entire family looking after her. She’s pretty injured and can’t even walk right now, let alone do anything to hurt anyone else.”

  “Well, that’s good.” His eyes widened when he realized how that sounded. “Not that she’s injured. Just that, well, that your family is taking care of her. I know she’ll be looked after and get a chance to heal up there.”

  “Yeah, my entire family has really taken to her. She’s sweet, and should never have been living on the streets. I’m hoping Mom will get her story from her and maybe we can help her get home and reunite with her family.” Elizabeth knew that even if that wasn’t possible, her family would adopt her. They had all already fallen in love with the girl.