Second Chance Ranch Chapter 13

Chapter THIRTEEN:

The next morning, Kelly woke to Finn’s crying. He gagged, and she flew from her bed right when he threw up. She helped him, shivering, into the tub, then went upstairs to retrieve cleaning supplies.

Half an hour later, her alarm went off. She called Frank, and by his groggy tone, she’d woken him. She explained about Finn, and he said, “Don’t worry about it. Hope he feels better soon. See you tomorrow.”

She hated calling in sick on her ninth day, but also appreciated that she worked for a family that understood.

After cleaning everything up, including Finn, she helped him get dressed in a clean pair of pajamas and they snuggled together on the couch.

At precisely nine o’clock, she got a text from Squire. You’re sick?

Finn is, she messaged back. She grinned as she imagined Squire standing in her office, waiting for her. You’re welcome to go through things in my office. Make a stack for anything interesting you find.

Her mom brought a bottle of soda downstairs, stroked Finn’s hair, and gave Kelly a kiss on the forehead before going back upstairs. Half an hour later, she called down that she and Kelly’s dad were going into Amarillo for the day.

Kelly woke to the peal of the doorbell sometime after lunch. Finn continued to sleep, so she slid away from him and hurried upstairs. She whipped the door open, absolutely no idea who would be standing on the other side. She certainly didn’t expect to see Squire standing there, holding a couple of grocery sacks.

“My mother sent soup.” He lifted the bags and stepped past her, Benson bounding behind him. “Oh, can he come in the house?”

“Yes, yes.” She frantically tried to flatten her hair as she followed Squire and his dog into the kitchen. She wished she wore a cowboy hat every waking moment the way he did. She grabbed a sweatshirt off the back of the couch and pulled it on to hide the fact that she wasn’t completely dressed.

When she arrived in the kitchen, he’d placed a pan on the stove and was removing the lid from a container of chicken soup. Benson sat at attention in front of the aquarium, his paw flinching toward the glass every time a fish swam near.

“You know my mother.” Squire poured the soup into the pan and began opening drawers. “She’s got twice as many cowboys out at the ranch this week, getting her garden in. She makes enough food to feed an army.”

An army of anxious ants marched along Kelly’s skin at having him in her parents’ house. At his large presence filling the tiny kitchen. At the way her fingers itched to hold his.

“Spoon, spoon,” Squire muttered, and Kelly stepped next to him to the drawer where all the big cooking utensils were. She handed it to him, and he grinned. “Thanks.”

He hummed as he stirred the soup, and she had a flash of what a life with him could be like. Then she reminded herself that if Squire went back to school, he wouldn’t be home in the middle of the day. He wouldn’t be able to zip over with chicken soup when she or Finn was sick. He wouldn’t even be within a reasonable driving distance to see him on the weekends.

She put her hands in the pockets of the hoodie. “Did you talk to your mom and dad about college?” She couldn’t help asking. Friends asked each other questions about their lives.

“Yes.”

She heard the warning in his voice, and he kept his back to her, a clear indication that he didn’t want her mothering him.

“And?” she asked anyway.

“You’re so nosy.” He turned and she found a sparkle in his eyes.

“Interested,” she corrected. Very interested, she added mentally.

He took a micro-step closer to her, but in the small kitchen, it felt like a leap. “They agreed that I should finish. Dad’s talking to Clark about being the foreman while I’m gone.” His eyes bored right to the center of her being. “Thank you for pushing me to talk to my parents.”

A flash of pride stole through her. “I didn’t do anything.”

“You did.” His entire body blazed with energy. It practically leapt from his body to hers. “I wouldn’t have said anything if you hadn’t insisted that I could do both.”

“So you’re calling me pushy and insistent?” She hugged herself. “Thought you didn’t want me to lecture you.”

He laughed, a much happier sound than she’d heard from him before. “If the boot fits.”

The sound of coughing floated up the stairs, and Kelly took the opportunity to leave the kitchen. It was getting hot, hot, hot in there.

“Hey, baby.” She cupped Finn’s face in her hands and searched his eyes. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m hungry.”

He didn’t feel feverish. He didn’t seem flushed. “You think you can eat?” She smoothed his hair back. “Maybe something like toast?”

“Maybe something like soup?” Squire’s voice sounded behind her, and she turned to find him on the bottom step.

“You’re the guy from the park.” Finn spotted Benson, who came with Squire like his shadow. “Is that your dog?”

Squire joined them near the couch and knelt down. “Do you like chicken noodle?”

Kelly noted the kindness in his voice, and how he’d gotten on Finn’s level. Benson licked Finn’s hand, and he giggled. He stroked the dog’s head, and if dogs could purr, Kelly felt sure Benson would have.

“Can I eat soup, Mom?” Finn’s stomach roared.

“I guess so,” she said. He stood up slowly, a speed her son didn’t usually operate on, and headed upstairs. “If he throws up again, you’re cleaning it up,” Kelly said to Squire before she went to help Finn get some homemade chicken noodle soup.

She ladled herself a bowl too, unable to resist the tantalizing scent of chicken broth and pasta. Behind her, Finn and Squire sat at the bar, and she served up another bowl so the three of them could eat.

When she turned, she found a freshly baked loaf of bread on the counter too. “Your mom is a saint,” she said, almost ready to cry that she didn’t have to cook today.

“Hey, I’m the one that brought it.” Squire smirked, but Kelly looked away. She wasn’t sure what emotion rode in her eyes, but she didn’t want Squire to see it.

Finn made a full recovery after that, soon wanting to go outside and play with Benson. “I’ll take him out,” Squire said. “Benson loves a Frisbee.”

“Yes!” Finn jumped up and down. “Please, Mom, can I?”

She appraised her son, as if she could tell the status of his health just by looking. “You sure you’re feeling okay?”

“Yes.”

Squire put his hand on her shoulder. “He’s fine. Benson’s practically a nurse. He’ll let me know if something’s wrong.”

“All right,” she said. Finn whooped and ran around the corner and through the mudroom. Squire started to follow when Kelly said, “Maybe I’ll jump in the shower.”

Squire nodded and proceeded out to the back yard. Kelly moved to the window in the kitchen where she could watch them. Benson ran around, barking, while Finn found a football and tossed it to Squire.

He launched it back. Finn jumped for the ball and caught it. He came down with a smile on his face, and Squire scooped him up with a triumphant yell. Her heart melted into her stomach, which churned with a strange mix of joy and trepidation. She’d never seen Taylor play with Finn before. The most he’d done was bring his computer to the beach so he could work from a camp chair while Finn splashed in the ocean.

Watching Squire play with her son, she again glimpsed what life could be like with a family. With Squire.

If only he was available to settle down, to run the ranch, now. Four years seemed impossibly long, and College Station impossibly far away.

Frustration solidified her heart and her resolve. Finn alone was her family, and a handsome, kind man with a dog didn’t change anything. She fed herself these lies as she headed downstairs to shower.

* * *

“He can’t stay,” Kelly said for the third time. “He’s been here all day.”

Her parents had returned from Amarillo with Chinese takeout. Enough to feed half the county, in Kelly’s estimation. They’d invited Squire, who was still at the house, to stay for dinner.

“He can stay,” her mother said, bustling around the kitchen and getting out plates. Five plates.

Squire looked at Kelly, his eyebrows raised. He moved into the living room, and she followed.

“I can stay, darlin’,” he said. “Really. I’m twenty-six years old.” He half-smirked, half-smiled. “It’s not like I need to check with my parents first.”

“You don’t need to waste any more time here,” she said, unsure as to why she was pushing him away. The hug in her office had something to do with it. The way he’d played with Finn had something to do with it. The battering her ribs were taking from her pulse definitely had something to do with it.

“It’s not a waste of time,” he said, his eyes flashing with dangerous fire. “I’ve been invited. I’m going to stay.” He removed his cowboy hat and ran his hands through his hair. Somehow, it fell into place, despite being under a hat for hours. He stepped past her and re-entered the kitchen.

Kelly heard his low voice mix with her father’s. She felt off-balance with Squire here. Not because he didn’t belong, didn’t fit. But because he did.

She pressed her hand over her heart and willed it to beat slower before she rejoined her family—and Squire—in the dining room. Chinese food containers littered the center of the table, and her dad was helping Finn get the sweet and sour chicken he loved.

Her world righted itself, with Squire in it. She saw with clarity how easily he could fit in with her family, her son, her life. Her fingertips tingled and her eyes misted and her stomach squeezed squeezed squeezed.

“Come on, Mom.” At the sound of Finn’s voice, Kelly stuffed everything behind a wall in her mind to deal with later and took her place with the people she loved most. It surprised her to think of Squire like that, but while she might not love him, she certainly felt comfortable around him.

She filled her plate with her favorites, removed from the conversation as her father asked Squire about his military service. She had nothing to contribute, but she listened as he gave details about his deployments.

“How’s your family?” her mother asked next.

“They’re fine, ma’am.” He leaned away from his plate, apparently satisfied. “My mother had the boys put in her garden these past few days.”

Kelly’s mom smiled. “If only we all had cowhands to get our gardens in.”

“I could send them out,” Squire offered, which made Kelly’s eyebrows rise. When his mom had offered the services of the boys to help her move, Squire had vetoed it in two seconds flat.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Kelly said. “Mom hasn’t gardened in well, ever.”

“Hey,” her mom said. “Daddy always puts in some peas and corn.”

“It takes them half of a Saturday,” Kelly told Squire.

“Have you done it yet?” he asked her father.

“No.” He leaned over and picked up the fork Finn had just dropped.

“Well, I can come help you get it done this weekend, then,” Squire said.

Kelly wanted to object, but both her mother and father accepted so quickly, she couldn’t. She watched them exchange a glance and she suspected that their impromptu trip to Amarillo had actually been planned.

She narrowed her eyes at her mother, who suddenly had somewhere else to look. Suspicion, confirmed. Heidi must have called to say she was sending over chicken noodle soup with a side of male goodness. Kelly abandoned her food too, finding it hard to swallow.

Finn finished eating before everyone else, as usual. Kelly started to stand to help him clean up and get ready for bed.

“I’ll do it,” her mother said. “Will, come help me run a bath for him.”

Like it took two people to turn on the tub. Kelly watched them go, feeling very much like she was on a date in her parents’ kitchen. Ridiculous.

“It’s been a great day,” she said to Squire. “Thanks for bringing the soup and playing with Finn.” Her voice caught on her son’s name. “It means a lot to him.”

Squire’s eyes sparkled like sapphires when he looked at her. “It was a great day, wasn’t it?” He reached for his hat and put it on.

“Better than digging through cobwebbed files,” Kelly said.

“I don’t know,” he said. “It might be a tie.”

With him, everything would be like twirling through a meadow. “Well, I’ll be back tomorrow, and as you massage the aches from your shoulders, I’m sure you’ll change your mind.” She stood and began clearing the dishes. Squire joined her, rinsing the plates and putting them in the dishwasher.

He returned to the dining room and brought in the leftovers. She pulled out plastic containers and they started putting everything in the fridge. With the kitchen clean, and Finn in the tub, Kelly didn’t know what to do next. Her parents hadn’t made a reappearance, which only increased the buzzing beneath her skin.

Squire went into the living room, Benson following on his heels. “Well, it’s been a fine evening, ma’am. But I best be goin’.”

His fake cowboy accent sent a shiver over her shoulders, and she tucked her hands in her pockets to stop herself from reaching for him. “Tell your mother thanks for the soup. And the bread.” She bent down to stroke Benson. “Thanks for playing with Finn, buddy.”

She straightened. The heaviness of Squire’s gaze weighed against her resolve. She stepped toward him and embraced him in a two-second hug that felt every inch as awkward as Kelly did. “Thank you for coming.”

“Sure thing, darlin’.” Squire’s whisper made Kelly want to hold onto him a bit longer, but one false step could lead her down the wrong path, just as it had before.

Her heart hurt in two separate parts. One, because she knew she wasn’t ready to take their friendship to the next level. And two, because she feared that if she didn’t figure things out before he left, she’d lose him forever.