A long minute hung between them, the only sound the wind that had eased off whispering through the trees behind the corral. A cow bellowed and a horse whinnied. Abby’s ears pricked up, and she whinnied back.
“Like I said before, we used to do everything together. Best friends. Even had the two-piece heart necklace. I doubt you would know about it. The ones with the heart broken in two. I wore one half, she wore the other.”
“Actually I do know about those,” he said, slanting her a wry smile. “My sisters wore them. But for each other.”
“You have sisters?”
“Yep. Two of them. One married, one still single.” His smile deepened. “I grew up with lace, tulle, and Barbie dolls and, so far, it looks like not much will change for a while. My nieces are as girly as their mothers.”
He let the information slip out of him. A way to make a connection with the hope that she would, in turn, tell him a bit more.
“I always wanted a sister,” Tricia said with a light sigh. “Instead my parents brought home brothers. Rough, tough, and complicated brothers.”
“I understand they were fostered by your parents?”
“Yes. Kane got adopted, but Elliot was shunted between his dad and our home. It was hard on him. Lucas was an orphan. He had a grandmother he would visit now and again, but she couldn’t take care of him. So he ended up at our place.” She was quiet a moment. “Lots of drama for many years.”
A bitter tone had entered her voice and again, he held his tongue. Waiting.
“Of course, if you talk to the boys, they would tell you that I was the one who caused all the drama.”
“Really? How so?” This time he looked her way, holding her gaze.
Again a beat of silence but Mason sensed she would eventually say something more. So, again, he waited.
“I hated school. Just hated it. So every morning my poor mom would battle to get me out the door and down the road to catch the school bus. When the boys came, I guess I acted up even more. Or so I was told.” Her gaze drifted away from him again. “I’d run away in the morning and they would have to go after me. It was a hard time. Then Abby’s father started working for my dad and suddenly I had a friend around. Another girl. Someone who liked pink and dresses and wouldn’t tease me for wearing them. We connected right away and did everything together. I taught her to ride and how to barrel race. She didn’t have as much experience as me, but she caught on so quickly. We always cheered for each other when we competed. So much fun.” She looked thoughtful, as if going back to that time. Mason kept quiet, surprised by this part of her. A tiny glimpse into her life. “Her dad got another job in town, but we still hung out. We used to barrel race together but then she started working. I kept racing, trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I moved away, but nothing connected with me. I came back shortly after Drew moved into Rockyview. And when I started dating Drew, Abby and I fought about him and we stopped hanging out.”
Mason’s heart did another flip at the name but said nothing.
Then Tricia shook her head as if settling her thoughts. “Sorry. I don’t know why I’m telling you all this. You don’t really need to know the mess of my life.”
Actually, he did.
Tricia couldn’t believe she had just unloaded what she did on this guy. Mason was practically a stranger.
She blamed it on the loneliness and confusion that had swirled around her the past six months.
It didn’t help having the guy she thought would give her the settled life you hoped for, put her in the hospital.
“So you named your horse after a friend who didn’t like your boyfriend?” Mason asked.
Tricia looked back at Abby, her mind sifting through old memories. “A better way to think of it is, I named my horse after a good friend who died of cancer a month after our fight.” The words slipped out, coming from the pain that clung to her whenever she thought of Abby. Whenever she thought of how Abby had warned her against Drew. Had told her she had to be careful. That Drew wasn’t good enough for her.
A faint sob crawled up her throat. Sorrow over the tangle that was her life. Sorrow over the losses.
She caught it, swallowed it down.
To her surprise, she felt Mason’s hand on her shoulder, tightening in a gesture of sympathy.
Thankfully, he said nothing. Just stood there, his hand warm through the fabric of her shirt. His fingers strong, his thumb making small, gentle movements on her back.
“That must have been difficult. Did you have a chance to talk to her?”
Tricia swallowed down the regret that could still dog her and shook her head. “No. She died right after the car accident that killed Drew. I was dealing with too much at the time and found out too late. I…I didn’t have a chance to say goodbye. She was a good friend and, unfortunately, she was right about Drew.”
“What do you mean?”
Mason’s deep voice was quiet, compelling, and almost hypnotic. It made her want to tell him everything. All her secrets. All her hidden worries and concerns.
Plus his gentle touch created a hunger in her that she knew she couldn’t give in to. She wanted to lift her hand to cover his, to allow herself a moment of being supported. Helped.
You’ve been down this road before. You can’t trust your feelings. You can’t trust him.
Thankfully, just then, her phone buzzed.
Shaking off her feelings and his hand, she stepped aside, pulling her phone out of the back pocket of her blue jeans. “It’s Dad,” she said, glancing at the screen. “The kids are awake. I have to go.” She couldn’t stop a faint sigh.
“You don’t sound too enthused.” The teasing tone in his voice was a relief. “Not that I can blame you. If the kids are like they were yesterday…”
He let the sentence hang as if waiting for her to finish it. How dare he talk that way about her kids?
But even as her mother hackles went up, the practical part of her had to agree.
“They weren’t on their best behavior,” she admitted. “And I would be lying if I said I wanted to rush to get back to the kids. I’ve enjoyed this so much.”
“You’re a real natural with this. I can see why you wanted to work with me.”
The compliment warmed her soul. “Thanks for that. It’s been a long time since I felt competent at anything. Since I’ve done anything right.”
She stopped there, shooting him a teasing glance. “And I can’t remember the last time I bared my soul to a complete stranger.”
“Well, not complete stranger,” he protested. “I have eaten with the family. That should count for something.”
“I guess. But I was thinking of stranger in terms of someone who isn’t friend or family.” She pushed herself away from the fence, shooting one last look at Abby. “So I guess you’ll be working with her some more?” Hard to keep the note of regret out of her voice. When she and Abby had connected, when the mare had come willingly to her without restraint or bridle or rope, Tricia had felt such a rush of accomplishment. She was loath to let Mason continue the training without her.
“I’ll work with one of the other horses this afternoon instead,” Mason said. “It would be good for you to work with at least one horse from start to finish. Just to make it easier for you to apply what we’re doing here. And you and Abby seem to have a connection.”
“Maybe it’s the spirit of my old friend.” She gave him an apologetic smile. “Not that I’m superstitious or anything like that. Just saying what maybe I wish was true.”
“I can understand that.” He chucked his chin toward the house. “You better go and rescue your father.”
Why did such a simple comment create such a surge of guilt?
“Of course.”
Then, with another glance toward Abby, Tricia opened the gate and stepped out.
The kids were sitting at the table, rubbing their eyes, a plate of cheese and crackers in front of each of them.
“Thought I’d give them something health
y,” her dad said, looking up when she came into the kitchen.
“Excellent. Thanks again,” she said, sending a quick smile his way.
“How did the session go?”
“So good. It was amazing. Mason got me to do what he calls a ‘joining’ with Abby. She walked right up to me without a halter or anything. On her own. It was such a thrill.” Tricia couldn’t contain her excitement as she sat between the kids, giving them each a kiss.
Hope pulled away, but Cash leaned in for a hug. Hope’s rejection stung but Tricia clung to the thought that someday her daughter would come around.
“You look excited,” her father said.
“Like I said, it was quite the rush.”
“So, Abby? Is that what you named the horse?”
Tricia nodded, stroking Cash’s hair, her arm around Hope, who was still leaning away from her.
Her father got up from the table. “Abby was a faithful friend who didn’t deserve what happened to her.”
Though his voice was quiet, Tricia easily heard the faint reprimand. Sensed he wasn’t just talking about the cancer that brought her down far too young.
Suddenly she was tired of it all. Just a few moments ago she had heard words of praise and encouragement. The fact that they came from someone she had just met, the fact that she had soaked them up like parched ground would soak up water, was kind of sad. And hurtful.
“What are you trying to say, Dad?” she asked, her voice quiet and weary.
“Nothing. Not really.”
She closed her eyes, praying to the God she had just come back to, for patience. “I think you are,” she said, forcing herself to challenge him. “What else didn’t Abby deserve?”
Her father held her angry gaze and then he nodded, sitting back down in his chair. “Your fight devastated her, you know.”
“I know.”
“What happened?”
Tricia pulled her arm away from her reluctant daughter and dragged her hand over her face.
“We fought about Drew. She told me he wasn’t good for me.”
“She was right, you know.”
Tricia bit her lip, closing her eyes against another wash of sorrow. “And so were you, if that’s what you want to hear.”
He was quiet a moment, the crunch of the kids eating their crackers the only sound.
“I wike cwackers,” Cash said, granting Tricia a crumb-filled smile.
“I’m glad you do. You should eat the cheese too.”
Cash shrugged, took a piece of cheese, and shoved it into his mouth.
“Not too fast—”
“Slow down, cowboy—”
She and her father spoke at once, and again Tricia felt as if she wasn’t doing enough.
“Sorry,” he said. “Bad habit.” She looked over at him and caught a weary look on his face. “And no, I don’t want to hear that I was right about Drew. I’m not that petty.”
“It’s just I feel like a kid again being back here. Like I’m back to being the girl that did nothing right.”
“Is that how you felt?”
“Sometimes,” Tricia admitted, slipping her arm around Cash’s shoulder. Hope was already finished and off her chair, playing with some blocks by the entrance to the family room. “And again, I know I messed up. I just…just want a second chance. ”
“I thought that was why you’re here. To get a start on that second chance.”
“We both know I came back to the ranch because I had no other place to go.” She fingered a strand of hair away from Cash’s face. But he was watching his sister and pulled away, jumping off his chair and toddling over to join Hope. “And because the kids were here.”
Her father eased out a heavy sigh, and Tricia knew it was time to stop. These heart-to-hearts weren’t in his wheelhouse. Her mother was the one she confided in. Who knew everything about her struggles and worries.
“But you’re back home now. Working with horses, which I know is something you love,” he continued. “Wouldn’t you call that a second chance?”
He was right. But what he didn’t know yet was training the horses were a means to an end. Once she sold them, she would be gone. Starting her own, independent life.
But her father didn’t know that yet. He and Kane seemed to think she was back for good, more than happy to step into her old role. The ditzy daughter and sister who was happy to be taken care of.
She wasn’t that girl anymore. She wanted to make her own choices. To push herself and become responsible. Not live off her father’s reserved good will.
But that would have to wait until she was done with the horses.
“It is. And I’m very grateful. I hope you know that. And I enjoy it a lot."
“Well, that’s good then.” Her father glanced at the clock behind her, which told her more than anything he could say that the conversation was over. “I better get out there and get the equipment ready. Kane wants to cut hay next week if the forecast is for sun and dry weather. And I want to see how Mason is coming along with the horses.”
Tricia fought down a brief surge of envy. Then she looked back at her children, who were now playing happily, and smiled. Day by day things seemed to settle in for them all.
She just had to trust that God would help her when it came time for her to move on.
The rest of the week slipped by and she and Mason fell into an easy rhythm. The kids were happy enough to spend their time with their grandfather, which made working with Mason easier.
Saturday her dad told Mason to take the weekend off. Tricia was annoyed with the flicker of disappointment that his offer caused because she knew it had as much to do with spending time with Mason as it did with being on her own to work with the horses.
He left Friday night, not saying where he was going.
Saturday she came down with a cold and the day was spent managing the kids.
But the entire weekend she wondered where Mason had gone and what he was doing.
Chapter 5
“I don’t know if I should let them go with you overnight.” Tricia glanced from Faith to the twins playing on the swings. They couldn’t sit on them yet and hadn’t wanted Tricia’s help, so they were just lying with their bellies on the seats, pushing the ground with their feet.
They looked much happier today than they had the past couple of days.
Sunday Tricia had stayed home from church because she was tired and the cold she’d been fighting made her feel draggy.
So Faith and Kane had taken the kids to church to give her a break. Tricia had wanted to protest, but she was too tired. Then her dad, Faith, and Kane took the kids to Faith’s place for lunch to give her an even longer break.
The kids had come back to the ranch out of sorts and were pouty the rest of the day.
Monday she felt better, but the kids were still fractious and whiney. Though her dad had encouraged her to work with the horses, Tricia felt guilty leaving him alone with them. Especially when she couldn’t lay them down for their nap. So she hadn’t gotten a chance to work with Abby at all.
Now it was Tuesday, and Faith was offering to take the kids overnight for a sleepover. Tricia knew Faith and the kids had bonded while she took care of them both before Tricia came back to the ranch and afterward. She could hardly be annoyed. The bond existed because of her irresponsibility.
“I’m craving some aunty time with them,” Faith continued. “If I take the kids for a couple of days it would give you a chance to make up for the time with Abby you lost yesterday.”
Faith sounded so reasonable as she sat beside Tricia on the porch, cradling the glass of lemonade Tricia had given her. Her dark hair hung loose, framing her delicate features. She looked so fresh and pretty, Tricia couldn’t help a small niggle of jealousy.
This morning she had thrown on an old ratty T-shirt leftover from Elliot and the blue jeans she had worn yesterday with remnants of the kids’ supper still smeared on them. She was hoping to have a shower before the kids woke up, but they ha
d awakened at five-thirty and had been going strong since.
“You want to make sure you use all the time you have with the horses while Mason is here,” Faith pressed.
“That makes sense when you put it that way,” Tricia agreed. “And it would give me a chance to clean the house.”
She shuddered, thinking of the mess in the kitchen and bedroom. Kane and her dad had gotten up early and made their own breakfast and lunch, leaving everything for Tricia to clean up.
Thankfully Mason hadn’t eaten breakfast with them this morning. She didn’t want him to see her as the housemaid her father and brother seemed to see her as. Yes, she wanted to do her part and help out, but still…
“If you don’t want to, I understand,” Faith said. “But I know your ribs are still bothering you. You still seem stiff, and if you can have a couple of days of not having to pack kids around that might help you heal faster.”
“Stiff is hardly the word,” Tricia said with a grimace. “It’s frustrating how long it’s taking for these stupid ribs to heal.” The coughing fits she fought all weekend hadn’t helped either.
“Time is your friend, and if you have a break from the kids, that will speed things along.”
Tricia glanced over at the kids, smiling at how happy they were. For the first couple of years of their lives all they knew was concrete and streets and apartments with noisy neighbors. She’d hated how they were growing up compared to how she had.
But coming back here had never been an option for her. Too proud and too scared to face the mess her life had become.
That’s why when she met Perry he had been like a bright light in her life. He had a gorgeous house on five acres of land with room for the kids to play. He had money, and he didn’t mind spending it on her. He was a well-respected attorney—the kind of man her father would appreciate. Sometimes Tricia wondered if it had been his trees and expansive lawn she’d fallen in love with as much as him.
She plunged that memory down, suppressing it with a shudder.
The Cowboy's Family (Family Ties Book 2) Page 5