Love at Rosecrown Ranch

by Ruth Pendleton

  Cold ice trailed down Jenny’s back. She shivered. “What is that supposed to mean? What happened?”

  Hank looked at Jenny from the far side of the pen. “Ask her.” He turned back to his work, effectively ending the conversation.

  Jenny watched Hank as he maneuvered the shovel past the pigs that ran in front of his feet. She waited for him to turn around, but he didn’t meet her eyes again. Shivers passed through her body as her wet jeans clung to her legs. Turning away, she left the barn, unsatisfied with her interaction. She had imagined a warm greeting from Hank. Instead, he was treating her like a stranger. Jenny rubbed the goosebumps along her arms, trying to ward off the chill. Then she went inside to change.

  When she came downstairs, Jo Jo was sitting up on the couch. “Good morning, sweetheart.”

  “Hi, Grandma. Where did Louis go?”

  Jo Jo wrapped her hands in the blanket that was on her lap. “He’s out doing his chores. He has to catch up on some things because of my fall.”

  “Your fall?”

  “Yeah. I had a little scare this morning. Everything is fine now, though.”

  Anger pulsed through Jenny’s veins. Hank obviously knew about the fall, but he didn’t tell her. The jerk. “What happened?”

  Jo Jo shrugged. “I’m not sure, exactly. One minute, I was climbing out of bed to make breakfast. The next, I was lying flat on the ground. I’m lucky Hank found me.”

  “Why didn’t you wake me up?” Jenny’s stomach sank. She was just down the hall, and she had heard nothing. She grabbed her grandma’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

  “I didn’t want to worry you. It was over so quickly. Besides, you came to the ranch to heal. You don’t need me adding to your plate.”

  It took all of Jenny’s willpower to keep her voice calm. “Um, yes. Actually, I do. You’re my family. I should know what is going on, especially if you aren’t feeling well.”

  “But it isn’t your job to take care of me. I’m your grandma. I’m supposed to be taking care of you. Besides, how can you heal a broken heart if you’re worried all the time about a broken grandma?”

  Jenny laughed. “I didn’t come here expecting you to fix everything for me. I needed a break from California, and you gave me a safe place to land.” She turned so she could look directly into Jo Jo’s eyes. “I’m young, and I have a strong body. Let me help.” Jenny held her grandma’s gaze until Jo Jo’s face fell.

  “I don’t want to worry you.”

  Jenny smiled. “How about this? I’ll take care of you, and you can take care of me. Between the two of us, we might be able to handle your health and my broken heart. Deal?”

  Jo Jo’s laughter filled the room. “You really are your mother’s daughter.”

  Warmth wrapped around Jenny’s shoulders. “I’ll take that as a compliment. I miss her.”

  “I do, too, sweetie. Every day.”

  When Hank came into the house to wash up and prepare lunch, the girls were sitting on the couch, their eyes puffy and red. He’d missed some sort of female bonding. Thank goodness. He nodded at the women and went to the kitchen to pull out food. A few slices of bread and a pile of meat later, his mind was in turmoil. Between the jobs on the ranch and Jo Jo’s uncertain health, Hank needed to focus. Jenny was making it hard to do that. He didn’t appreciate the distraction.

  His thoughts were interrupted by the loud clearing of a throat. Jenny. Hank looked up to see her standing in the doorway, her hands on her hips. She walked up to Hank, planting her feet in front of him.

  “Why didn’t you tell me she fell this morning?” Jenny spoke in a hushed whisper, her anger obvious.

  “Why would I? It isn’t my job to tell you things you should already know. You said you saw her this morning.” The words coming out of Hank’s mouth were mean, but he didn’t care. He didn’t have time to argue with Jenny. “Besides, Louis and I took care of her. We had it handled.”

  “It isn’t your job to take care of her. It’s mine.” Jenny’s flushed face was inches from his own. He had clearly struck a nerve.

  “Then maybe you should have been here the first time she fell. In fact, maybe you should have been part of her life long before her fainting spells began.” The head of lettuce on the counter was the recipient of Hank’s anger. He pulled off leaf after leaf, throwing them to the platter. It was a good thing he wasn’t holding a knife, or the food would be chopped into inedible bits by now.

  “I forgot that you know everything about my life.” Jenny’s lips pressed into a fine line. “Did you even bother to ask where I was?”

  “I already know where you were. You were off in the fancy city making lots of money while your grandma could barely keep the ranch afloat. Did you even think about her while you were living there?”

  Jenny stepped away from Hank, her fists clenched. “I’ve thought about my grandma often. If I had known what kind of person was taking care of her, I would have come sooner.”

  “Maybe you should have.” Hank pressed his hands onto the counter top. He was crossing into boundaries that he had no right to cross, but Jenny clearly felt like she had no responsibility for being connected to Jo Jo. Someone needed to talk some sense into her.

  “If you know so much, tell me about how well you took care of her twenty years ago. You weren’t here when my life fell apart. You weren’t here, holding her hand when she buried her only child. For your information, I wanted to stay in touch. My dad wouldn’t let me. His world ended the day my mom died. Grandma Jo Jo was a reminder of my mom, so he took me to the city and never let me visit. If you’re going to blame someone, why don’t you call my dad and have a go at him?”

  As Hank watched the girl in front of him, pieces began to fall into place. Trina Stratton. The gravestone in the middle of the Rosecrown field. He had passed by it hundreds of times while fixing fence line but never given it a second thought. He figured it had come with the property. He’d never thought to ask who it belonged to. His stomach sank. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

  “It doesn’t matter. You made up your mind about me long before I ever stepped foot on this ranch, and I’ve made up my mind about you.” Jenny reached for the platter of sandwich fixings. “You need to leave this kitchen right now if you know what’s good for you.”

  Hank looked down at the food, and then back up at Jenny’s icy stare. He backed up a step and grabbed an apple from the basket. Then he walked past her.

  Her final words to him came out as a quiet hiss. “I suggest you stay far away from me today.”

  Hank left the kitchen and stormed out to the porch. It had been a while since anyone had put him in his place so thoroughly. Speaking his mind was usually what got the job done, but not today. Today, he had dug himself into a giant hole. It was going to take a lot more than a tractor and some topsoil to fix the mess he had made.

  Chapter 10

  Jenny took Jo Jo to the doctor that afternoon. He ran a few blood tests and did an EKG, but he couldn’t find anything wrong other than a mild concussion. After confirming that Jo Jo was still taking her heart medications, he sent her home with strict orders to rest for a couple of days. She wasn’t going to be easy to keep down. Jenny did her best to order Jo Jo out of the kitchen so she could make dinner, but that was pretty much an impossible task. Jo Jo wouldn’t budge.

  In an attempt to keep Jo Jo sitting, Jenny asked her to teach her how to make chili. “How am I going to be able to make this back at home if you don’t show me all your tricks?” It was an obvious attempt to keep Jo Jo down, but after a few minutes of her grandma’s instructions, Jenny began to pay attention. Jo Jo had secret ingredients and tips that weren’t typed up in the recipe book. It was no wonder her food tasted incredible.

  The following morning, Jenny asked Jo Jo to show her how to make homemade strawberry syrup.

  “I know what you’re trying to do.” Jo Jo sat on a chair that Jenny had pulled into the kitchen, working on her needlepoint project.

  “Make
my food yummier?” Jenny opened her eyes wide, going for the innocent look.

  Jo Jo shook her head. “The doctor said I had to take it easy. He didn’t kick me out of my kitchen.” She crossed her arms over her chest, folding them tight.

  Jenny picked up a strawberry, chopping off the leaves. “Just humor me, okay? Besides, I really don’t know how to make this stuff. I left with my dad before you passed on all your secrets to me.” Jenny grabbed a pot from the cupboard. “Are you sure I need to boil these berries?”

  Jo Jo’s laughter rang through the kitchen. “You are a goose.”

  Later that afternoon, the cooking lesson was for stew. Jenny knew the basics. She cut the carrots and potatoes, piling them high in a bowl while Jo Jo told her stories. The task of cooking had taken her mind off of Hank and his awful words. Sure, he was easy on the eyes, and he made her stomach bubble with nerves, but he was arrogant and quick to judge. She didn’t need someone like that in her life. The kitchen provided the perfect chore to keep his handsome blue eyes off her mind. She was dicing the final bits of onion when Hank came barging into the kitchen. “Where’s Louis?” he asked, his face flushed.

  “He’s out checking the sprinklers,” Jo Jo said.

  “Do you know which field?”

  Jo Jo lowered her cross-stitch. “What’s going on, Hank?”

  “It’s nothing. I’ll find Louis.”

  When he turned to leave, Jo Jo pointed at his back. “He’s not telling us something. Let’s go see what’s up.”

  Jenny had managed to avoid talking to Hank all day. She wasn’t eager to start up a conversation now. This wasn’t about her though. Jo Jo wanted answers. Hank was clearly hiding something and Jenny was going to find out what it was. She helped Jo Jo up and together they walked to the family room.

  Hank’s hand was on the doorknob before Jenny called his name. When he turned to look at her, the sharp words on her lips died. Worry lines creased Hank’s face, his eyes heavy with dark circles. “Hank, what’s really going on?”

  Shuffling his boots, Hank looked back and forth between Jo Jo and Jenny. He was clearly having some sort of internal battle, but Jenny didn’t have the patience for it. “Why do you need Louis?”

  Hank took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair, the movement sending a tingle through Jenny’s fingers as she wondered how soft his hair would feel. She shook the thought away.

  “Bree isn’t doing so well.” Hank said. “I think she may have an infection.”

  The air whooshed out of Jenny’s lungs. Her eyes widened as she glanced at Jo Jo and then back to Hank. “How can you tell?”

  Hank took a step towards Jenny, holding the brim of his hat between his hands. “I’ve worked on this ranch long enough to recognize the signs. Her breathing is off this morning. I wanted Louis to be a second set of eyes.”

  A swish of fabric pushed past Jenny. “Come on, Hank. I’ll help.” Jo Jo was untying her apron when Jenny grabbed her arm.

  “I’m pretty sure the doctor’s orders don’t include helping with a sick horse. If you make the dumplings, I can go.” Jenny held her breath until the tension in Jo Jo’s shoulder relaxed.

  “Fine. But if there is a batch of cookies waiting when you come back, I have no idea where they came from.” Jo Jo headed back to the kitchen; her apron already tied around her waist before she rounded the corner.

  Hank was holding the door open when Jenny turned back to face him. “Let’s go,” he said.

  Chills ran down Jenny’s spine when Hank opened the door to the stable, his face an unreadable mask. She ducked under his arm and walked to the farthest stall, her muscles tense. She didn’t have any idea what she was going to find. When she reached the pen and saw Bree, her breath caught in her throat.

  Bree lay on the ground, her ribs straining with every breath she took. Her body shook from a cold that only she could feel. The foal pranced around the stable, his body full of energy. Bree licked him if he came close enough to brush against her face, but even the simple task of grooming him seemed to be too difficult for her to handle. She closed her eyes and lay in the hay, her breathing audible as she gasped to get more air.

  Cement filled Jenny’s shoes. She couldn’t move even if she wanted to. She was frozen in place, unable to think or move or even breathe. Memories slammed into her mind of her mom, stuck in a hospital bed, struggling for air. She had passed quickly once her breathing was compromised. Tears poured down Jenny’s face, pooling on her shirt, but she didn’t register that they were there. She was stuck in a loop watching her mom die over and over again.

  A warm hand clamped down on her shoulder. Hank was standing close enough that she could smell his intoxicating cologne mixing with the smell of the hay. He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Jenny, are you okay?”

  The words didn’t make sense coming from Hank’s mouth. Of course, she wasn’t okay. He had taken her to the stables and shown her a very sick horse. She slid down until she was sitting on the floor, her hands clasped tightly across her stomach. “Bree’s dying, isn’t she?”

  Silence filled the air, punctuated only by the sound of Bree’s gasping breaths. Hank slid to the floor, sitting close enough to Jenny that he could touch her, but he kept his hands folded in his lap. “Sometimes after horses give birth, they catch an infection that we can’t see. This one seems to be moving pretty fast.”

  Jenny’s head shot up, her puffy eyes staring through Hank to the horse on the other side of the door. “Why aren’t you doing anything for her? What about antibiotics? Or a doctor?” She pushed Hank’s shoulder, raising her voice to a yell. “Why are you just sitting there? Do something.”

  Jenny jumped to her feet and reached for the latch to the pen, but Hank was right behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her back. “Jenny. You can’t go in there.”

  “She shouldn’t be alone.” She swiped angrily at the tears, which were blurring her vision, trying to clear her eyes. The pressure of Hank’s arms barely registered.

  Hank tried to move her away from the door but she planted her feet. “Let me go.”

  “Jenny, I’ve got her. Trust me.”

  Jenny lowered her hands to her side, her body slumping over. She let Hank lead her past the tackle box to the wall. His arms were a shield, protecting her from Bree’s pain. With her back against the wall, she closed her eyes focusing on her breathing until her pulse began to slow. The overwhelming grief inside of her began to ebb, allowing her to register that Hank’s strong hands were on her shoulders holding her steady.

  For the briefest of moments, she had forgotten why she was so angry with him. As control of her emotions returned, she remembered where she was. She was no longer the little girl standing by her mom’s bedside, watching her fight to live. She was a capable, independent woman. Jenny pushed his hands away, heat filling her cheeks.

  “Sorry. I don’t know what came over me,” she said.

  Hank stood close; his eyes concerned. He lifted a hand towards Jenny, and then lowered it. “If you don’t mind getting Louis for me, I’d really appreciate it,” he said. “He’s better at treating sick animals than I am. I’ll stay here and watch Bree and the baby.”

  Jenny nodded. Heavy feet led her out of the stable, legs shaking as if she had just run a marathon. The bright sun overhead was a stark contrast to her dark mood. It didn’t seem right that it could be shining when the world was falling apart. She stood in the sunlight, willing the rays to warm her face while she locked the memory of her mom back in her heart. Then she found an ATV and went off to find Louis. She wasn’t going to let Bree down.

  Chapter 11

  Bree died the next morning. Although Louis and Hank tried to slow the infection, she was too far gone to make it. With a heavy heart, Hank went to the main house to share the bad news with Jo Jo. Between her fainting spell and Bree’s difficult delivery, it had been a rough week. Hank was ready for a break. Instead, caring for the young foal was going to add one more burden to his alr
eady heavy load.

  Hank was deep in thought as he walked toward the house. Mentally shifting his schedule to add in time for bottle feedings was proving to be tricky, but not impossible. He didn’t register the fact that Jenny was sitting on the porch swing until he was halfway up the stairs. A large book sat in her hands; the title obscured by the large throw pillow that rested on her lap. She turned the page, and then looked up, meeting Hank’s gaze with a small smile.

  “How is Bree today?” The cheerfulness in her voice sent a dagger to his heart. She clearly believed that Louis and Hank were able to make things better. How was he supposed to break the news to her that the horse didn’t make it? He thought he was going to be spreading the bad news to Jo Jo first. Not to the city girl who made him crazy with conflicting emotions. He pulled the hat off of his head and sat down on the swing.

  “She didn’t make it.” The words hung heavy in the air. Hank wanted to grab them back and tell Jenny a different story, but she would see through his lie. She closed the book, letting it drop to the side of her lap. Hank braced himself for the waterworks that were sure to come, but Jenny’s eyes remained dry.

  “Was it something I did?” She looked into his eyes, searching for the truth.

  The words punched Hank in the gut. He put his hand down by his side, wanting to grab Jenny’s hand in his own but knowing it wasn’t his place to do so. Instead, he turned his knees so they were inches from hers, leaning forward to look into her face.

  “You didn’t do anything wrong. How could you even think that?”

  “Because nothing else makes sense. Maybe I pulled too hard on the baby. Or maybe my gloves were dirty. I don’t know.”

  “Jenny, you helped save the foal. If you hadn’t helped me, they both would have died.” He watched her face to see if she agreed, but she was shaking her head back and forth.

  “Sometimes, animals die,” he continued. “We do everything we can to help them, but in the end, nature has the final say. You can’t blame yourself for this.”