Redemption on Rivers Ranch

by Kathy Douglass

  “Thanks, Mom,” Justin called over his shoulder. They raced out of the house as if they expected her to change her mind.

  She nodded and headed for the screened-in back porch. The washer and dryer were in the far corner, hidden behind gray bifold doors. Last night she’d washed and dried the sheets that had been covering the furniture, but she’d been too tired to get the last load out of the dryer, so she did that now.

  As Gabriella folded the laundry, she gazed out the window. The old willow tree that she used to climb was still there, looking as tempting as ever. Of course, her days of tree climbing had come and gone, but sitting in a chair in the shade of the tree, sipping on a cool glass of lemonade, was just her speed.

  She put the stack of folded sheets into the linen closet and returned to the kitchen. She’d already cleaned the front room and the dining room. They’d eaten off paper plates last night and this morning, but she didn’t intend to do that every day. Gabriella had brought pots, pans and dishes with her, so she unpacked the boxes and quickly washed everything. Aunt Mildred had left some dishes behind, taking only what she’d needed to her smaller place, so Gabriella washed them, too.

  Smiling, Gabriella put away the last of the silverware. She hadn’t accomplished everything on her extensive to-do list, but she’d done enough to make their stay comfortable. And really, what was the rush? They’d be here all summer. Brushing a hand over her hair, she went out the back door. As was the case at the front of the house, the flower beds were barren here, too. It was sad to see them standing empty.

  As a child, she’d helped her aunt and uncle plant countless flats of annuals early each summer. Gabriella wondered if the nursery on the outskirts of town was still in business. If so, she’d stop there and buy some flowers, and she and the kids would plant them together. She’d always enjoyed digging in the dirt and then watching as the plants grew bigger and more beautiful with each passing day.

  They employed a gardener back home, so Justin and Sophia hadn’t had that opportunity. Not that Gabriella was complaining. Her children had had advantages that she’d never imagined she’d be able to give them. Her ex-husband was one of two children born to a successful television station owner. The Tucker family owned three hundred television stations in ninety markets across the country. Additionally, Reggie, his brother and parents owned a minority share of a professional football team. Her children had been born into a life of extreme privilege, and it had taken effort to keep them grounded and not let their paternal grandparents spoil them. Luckily Reggie had felt the same way, although his idea of what constituted a necessity and what was an extravagance differed from hers.

  He’d been more than generous in the divorce settlement and she didn’t have to worry about money. Their futures were financially secure. Yet no amount of money would alter the fact that he’d abandoned his kids and betrayed her.

  She felt herself going down a dark path and ordered herself to snap out of it. The past was over and done. Nothing could change that or make Reggie love her.

  Her children’s laughter floated to her on the breeze and she paused. They were fine. Although she knew they were still hurt and confused by their father’s rejection, they were happy in the moment. If she joined them now, she’d only make them sad, too. She had always kept her misery from them, but she didn’t have the energy to put on a happy face now. So she’d sit on the back stairs until her mood improved. After all, the grocery store would be there twenty minutes from now.

  She needed a moment to gather herself and regain control of her thoughts. She needed to stop thinking about her ex-husband. Reggie was living his best life with his new wife and baby. It was time for her to do the same. If only she knew what that life looked like.

  * * *

  “Hey!”

  Carson looked up. Justin and Sophia were sitting on the top rail of the white fence surrounding his corral. He’d been hired to train a mare, something he enjoyed immensely. He’d been so involved in his task that he hadn’t realized he had an audience. He had no idea how long they’d been watching him, but clearly it was long enough for them to make themselves at home.

  He removed the hat from his head and wiped his damp forehead with the back of his arm. “Hey yourselves.”

  “What are you doing?” Justin asked.

  “I’m training this horse. The owner wants her to be able to work with cattle. Right now I’m trying to get her used to having a saddle on her back. Then I’ll get her used to having a rider. After that, I’ll teach her how to follow commands.”

  “What’s her name?” Sophia asked.

  “Can I help?” Justin asked, before Carson could reply to Sophia’s question.

  “Her name is Summer Smoke,” Carson replied to the little girl, who smiled in return. “And no, thanks for the offer, but you can’t help, Justin.”

  The boy looked disappointed and the light faded from his eyes. The expression on his face reminded Carson of how Gabriella’s joy had slipped away last night, and Carson was filled with remorse. That didn’t make sense. He wasn’t responsible for the boy’s pleasure. And training horses could be risky. Although Summer Smoke was a good horse, she and Carson were still getting to know each other. The mare could react unexpectedly and injure Justin. That would be pain the kid didn’t need to endure and one more worry Gabriella didn’t need. She already had enough on her plate.

  Carson looked around. Where was she? He couldn’t imagine that she’d allow her kids to wander over to his ranch alone on their first day here.

  “Why not?” Justin asked.

  This was so not the way he’d planned for his day to go. He’d gotten up early as usual and watched the sunrise while eating a bowl of cereal and a couple of pieces of buttered toast. He would have preferred something more substantial, but he wasn’t a good cook. Probably because he hated cooking. In the good old days, before his father’s crime was revealed, the Rivers family employed a cook/housekeeper. After everything became public, Gladys had retired and moved away. At his lowest, Carson wondered if her retirement had had less to do with living closer to her daughter and more to do with no longer feeling safe alone with him in this house. Perhaps she’d thought he was a criminal like his father. Some people did.

  That was why he hadn’t advertised for another housekeeper. He didn’t want to have his suspicion confirmed.

  “I don’t want to take a chance on you getting hurt.”

  “I won’t.”

  Carson really didn’t want to have a long drawn out discussion with the kid, but it was too late for that. Justin wasn’t going to be easily deterred. “Have you been around horses before? Do you know how to ride?”

  Justin shook his head.

  “That’s why.” Instead of feeling victorious for proving his point, Carson felt small. Guilty, which was ridiculous. The kids weren’t his responsibility, and he was under no obligation to entertain them. “Where’s your mom?”

  “She’s in the house,” Sophia piped up. She swung her legs back and forth, hitting the fence rhythmically. “She was cleaning up, but we got tired of working and she said we could come outside and play for a while.”

  That sounded like a good plan. But how did they end up here?

  “Do you have a lot of horses?” Justin asked.

  “Yep.”

  “Are they already trained so people can ride them?”

  “Yep.”

  “Then maybe you can teach me to ride one of them so I can help you train Summer Smoke.”

  Carson huffed out a laugh. He should have seen that coming, but instead he’d walked right into the trap. Carson was about to tell Justin that he no longer taught kids to ride, but the beseeching expression on the boy’s face stopped him in his tracks. What had Gabriella said about their father? Their dad no longer spent time with them because he had a new baby with his new wife.

  Carson didn’t have to think h
ard to know how that kind of rejection felt. He and his father hadn’t had a lot in common, yet Carson had still believed that his father loved him in his own way. Even been proud of him. That is, until he’d read his father’s journals. Then he’d learned his father had considered him a loser. It had hurt to find out that he hadn’t been the kind of son his father wanted. He’d wanted a son who was athletic with a magnetic personality. A son with a gift for gab and the ability to persuade people to follow him. A kid who was popular with the girls.

  A son who was everything Carson wasn’t.

  Even so, it wasn’t his job to make the kid’s life right. He wasn’t the one who’d blown it to smithereens. He sighed. What would it hurt to teach Justin how to ride? He might not owe the kid anything, but he could do it as a favor to his old friend. Gabriella didn’t know it, but she’d been more than his summertime best friend. She’d been his best friend, period. He’d counted the days until she’d arrive in the summer and dreaded the day she’d leave.

  “You’d have to ask your mom to be sure it’s okay with her.”

  “Me, too?” Sophia asked. “You’ll teach me, too?”

  What had he gotten himself into? He liked being alone—or at least he’d gotten used to being on his own. Once he’d planned to be a stepfather. He and Elias, Raven’s son, had begun to bond. That relationship had ended when Raven got back together with Elias’s father. Of course, since Carson’s father had been the reason Raven and Donovan had been apart, he couldn’t blame them for reuniting and creating a new family. Sadly, his heart had been collateral damage. He wouldn’t set himself up for that kind of hurt and disappointment again. If Gabriella agreed to the lessons, Justin and Sophia would simply be his students. Nothing more. Nothing less.

  “Sure. But you need to ask your mom.”

  “I’ll do that now,” Justin said, scrambling down from the fence with ease and then racing across the lawn.

  Sophia twisted on the rail, struggling to get down on her own. Her sandaled foot slipped, and Carson watched in horror as she began tumbling to the ground. He jerked himself out of his stupor and grabbed her before she hit the dirt. He stood her on her feet and then checked her for scrapes or bruises.

  When his eyes reached her face, she gave him a snaggletoothed grin. “That was close.”

  No kidding. And wasn’t this what he’d been worried about? One of Gabriella’s kids getting hurt on his ranch? They were city kids who had no idea how to act around animals. Even though he had taught kids from Sweet Briar how to ride, they lived near ranches and had some exposure to horses. Justin and Sophia had been born and raised in the city. But since they lived so close to him and obviously had no qualms about coming on to his land, teaching them how to ride was important.

  “What’s going on?”

  Carson turned at the sound of Gabriella’s voice. Justin had her by the hand, pulling her toward the fence. Despite the confused expression on her face, she looked absolutely beautiful. Carson had convinced himself that he’d exaggerated just how gorgeous she’d become, but if anything, he’d undersold it. She took his breath away.

  “I told Mom you wanted to teach us how to ride horses, but she wanted to make sure you meant it. I guess she thinks I made it up.”

  Gabriella laughed, a sweet sound that warmed Carson’s chilled heart.

  He shook his head. “That’s not exactly how things happened, but yes. I told the kids that I would teach them how to ride.”

  “Are you sure? I remember how busy the ranch gets in the summer.”

  “Mom,” Justin said, unwilling to risk the possibility that Gabriella might talk Carson out of it. “He wants to teach us.”

  “That’s right, Mommy,” Sophia chimed in. She slipped her hand inside Carson’s as if proving how close they’d become, and some of the ice around his heart melted. Oh, no. He wasn’t going to allow this little girl to steal his heart.

  “Well,” Gabriella said, “we’ll see.”

  “I really don’t mind. In fact, if you’re going to be here all summer, they should know how to ride. It’ll give them something to do. And given the fact that my horses are nearby and can be a temptation to even the most well behaved kid, it would be good for them to have supervised access to the horses.”

  “Please, Mom,” Justin said.

  “Remember how much fun we used to have,” Carson cajoled. Wait a minute. Was he really trying to convince Gabriella to agree? Apparently so. But everything he said was true. The kids really did need to know how to ride. And they would enjoy it. There were a couple of riding schools in the area, but he wouldn’t trust anyone else with Gabriella’s kids.

  She seemed surprised by his argument, as if she’d expected him to try to wiggle out of his offer. “If you really don’t mind, I’m all for it.”

  “Yay,” Justin cheered, and started to climb over the fence. “What do we do first?”

  “Not so fast there,” Gabriella said. “We’re going to town. We have to get groceries.”

  “Aw. Do we have to go to go with you?”

  “Yes. Besides if you’re going to be riding horses, you each need a pair of boots.”

  “Can I get a cowboy hat, too?” Justin asked.

  “If we can find one.”

  “There’s a Western shop in Sweet Briar,” Carson volunteered. “They’ll have hats.”

  “Do they have cowboy hats for girls?” Sophia asked. “Because I really want a pink one.”

  “Yep,” Carson said. Something about the little girl warmed his heart. Perhaps because she was the spitting image of her mother. Just looking at Sophia brought back memories of the fun he and Gabriella used to have when they were Sophia’s age.

  “Thanks,” Gabriella said. “Now let’s get going. And you, Sophia, need to get on this side of the fence.”

  Worried that the girl would slip while climbing, Carson picked her up and lowered her over the fence, then hopped over himself.

  “So can we ride a horse when we get back from the store?” Justin asked.

  Carson shook his head. He hated to disappoint the kid, but he did have work to do. There was a rancher in South Carolina who was paying him to train this horse. “How about Saturday?”

  “That’s two days away,” the boy complained.

  “The time will go fast,” Gabriella said. “We have some work to do to get the house in shape.”

  Justin groaned and Carson had mercy on him. No kid wanted to do housework, especially on a nice summer day. “I won’t have time for lessons until Saturday, but you can come over and get acquainted with the horses before then.”

  “Today?”

  “Or tomorrow. Let’s play it by ear.”

  Justin inhaled, and Carson had a feeling he was going to try to pin him down to a specific time when Gabriella interrupted. “We won’t be able to meet the horses until we get the shopping and other chores done. If you stand here talking for much longer, the stores will be closed.”

  Justin’s mouth slammed shut immediately.

  “I’m ready now. Bye, Carson,” Sophia said before turning and running across the grass. Justin waved before following her, leaving Carson alone with Gabriella.

  “Look before you cross the road,” Gabriella called to her children before she turned back and gave him a rueful smile. “Sorry about the intrusion. I didn’t know they’d come over here. And I certainly didn’t expect them to harass you into giving them riding lessons.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I like your kids and I really don’t mind.”

  “You aren’t just saying that to make me feel better, are you?”

  “Why would I do that?”

  She shrugged, leaving him with questions he wouldn’t ask now. They were still getting to know each other. Besides, he wasn’t sure how close he wanted to get to her. “No reason. So what time do you want them here Saturday?”

&nbs
p; He smiled. Justin and Sophia were so excited about riding they’d probably show up at the crack of dawn. He remembered being excited about something as a kid and how time seemed to crawl. “How about we say after breakfast? I get up early, so no matter when you show up I’ll have been up for hours.”

  “You always were an early riser,” she said slowly.

  “And you preferred sleeping in. You loved the nightlife,” he joked. There was nothing remotely resembling nightlife in Sweet Briar and even less on the ranch.

  “I still like to sleep late, although with two kids I don’t get to do that much these days.”

  He didn’t have anything to add so he simply stood there. The horse neighed, and Gabriella sighed and shook her head. “I’ll let you get back to work. See you later.”

  “See you.” Carson should have turned back to the horse, but instead he watched Gabriella cross the field to the road, her round hips swaying gently with each step. Once she was out of sight, he turned to get back to work.

  She was his friend and off-limits. Besides, she was only here for the summer. And if recent history was anything to go by, she might not return for another fifteen years. Not only that, once the town gossips filled her in on his father’s crimes, she might turn her back on him, too. Still, though his life was in shambles, he was glad his best friend had returned.

  Chapter Three

  Sweet Briar looked different than Gabriella remembered. The town had grown and appeared more prosperous than the last time she’d been here. When she was a kid, she, her aunt and uncle had come to town on the occasional Saturday afternoon to pick up items at the local five-and-dime. Afterward, they’d go to Mabel’s Diner for an early dinner of burgers, fries and vanilla shakes. There’d been one or two other stores back then, but they’d appeared to be on their last legs. Clearly Sweet Briar had enjoyed a renaissance.

  There were numerous shops lining the pristine streets, each of which appeared to be doing brisk business. Instead of deserted sidewalks, the town bustled with people. Baskets overflowing with colorful flowers and iron benches gave the small town a quaint appearance.