Second Chance Ranch Chapter 14

Chapter FOURTEEN:

Squire drove away from Kelly’s knowing that he’d just experienced one of the best days of his life. For a few hours, he felt like he had a family he’d like to come home to after a long day on the ranch. Or a long day of studying veterinary medicine.

As he left the lights of town behind, a cloud of loneliness descended again. He reached over and ruffled Benson’s mane. At least he had his dog.

And a future, he thought. One I actually want.

When he reached the ranch and pulled into the dirt driveway that led to the two-car garage, he found the end of his mother’s dinner party still on the deck. Cowboys lingered with blue plastic cups, probably full of sweet tea or lemonade or both.

As he got out of his truck, he heard a couple of them laughing, and he realized he had no right to feel so lonely. He lived on the best ranch in Texas. It was so good here—with great accommodations and one of the most competitive wages in town—that their part-time and temporary cowboys all wanted to be hired on full-time.

“You’ll have no problem getting a foreman,” he muttered to himself. “And replacing him with a full-time cowboy.” As he rounded the house, he also had the very distinct thought that he was very replaceable.

“There you are,” Tom said as Squire reached the top of the steps and emerged onto the deck.

“Here I am.” He joined Tom and Beau, who made room for Beckett as he returned with a tower of rice crispy squares.

“Oh, hey, Boss,” Beckett said, offering Squire a dessert. “Did you hear that your dad hired a cowgirl for that cabin down here on the end?” He wore such a bright look of interest in his dark eyes that Squire almost started laughing.

He took a bite of his treat so he wouldn’t and shook his head.

“Her name is Stephanie,” Beau said. “I met ‘er.”

Beckett’s head nearly twisted off his neck he whipped it toward Beau so fast. “You did? When?”

“When she came with her momma to check out the cabin.” Beau clearly enjoyed that he knew more than his cabin-mate, and Squire had just finished swallowing when Beckett made a noise of impatience.

“And?” he prompted.

“And I think she’s probably way too pretty for you,” Beau said. “That’s why I offered to show her around when she starts tomorrow. She. Said. Yes.”

Beckett lunged for Beau, causing Tom to burst out laughing even as he stepped back to avoid getting knocked to the ground. Squire joined in the laughter, because it was just too funny not to. 

“They’re somethin’, aren’t they?” Tom asked, moving further out of the way. 

Squire went with him, leaving the two best friends to bicker back and forth.

“I can’t even imagine flirting with a woman the way they do.” Tom shook his head. “I also can’t even remember the last woman I went out with.” His last sentence came out as a grumble, and he turned and said in much louder and clearer voice. “I”m gonna get more sweet tea. You want some?”

“Yes, please,” Squire said, watching him go. He hadn’t dated much in his life either. A few girls he took to dances in high school after Kelly had graduated, and one woman in college while he got his undergrad. Then Tabby between his deployments and military service, and now....

“No,” he mumbled to himself. You’re not dating Kelly. She’d said she wasn’t ready.

He wanted to wait for her to be ready, but his guts seethed at him to move faster. If he really could go to veterinary school in just a few short months, he wouldn’t want to break-up with her then.

Or leave her behind here just when they’d been reunited.

Squire took the plastic cup of tea when Tom returned, but neither of them said anything. Dusk became twilight, and the cowboys started to head back to their cabins, as there wasn’t much light to go by once darkness fell.

He entered his alone, because he didn’t share with anyone. That sense of loneliness pressed down on him again, but Squire flicked it aside this time. He had friends in the military still. He had Kelly and Finn to continue to get to know.

He had his parents here, ready and willing to listen to him and help him. He had all the cowboys—and apparently cowgirls—here at Three Rivers Ranch.

He wasn’t alone, even if he felt like it for a few seconds. As he kicked off his boots, he sighed and said, “Lord, it would be nice if maybe Kelly would be ready to start datin’ just a little bit faster.”

* * *

The next morning found him in Kelly’s office with a cup of black coffee and a single slice of toast. He didn’t want her to know he hadn’t slept well for thinking about her, though he was sure his face bore the weight of his exhaustion.

When she arrived, she looked as fresh and lovely as ever. She’d paired black jeans with a long, flowery top that make her eyes look more like the color of grass than the color of sea glass. A silver bracelet dangled from her wrist, complementing the hoops in her ears. He half-expected to see heels on her feet, but she’d opted for a smart pair of running shoes.

“Earth to Squire.”

He startled as he realized she stood right in front of him, waving her hand. “Sorry,” he said. “I don’t know what happened there.”

Oh, he did. He’d gotten lost in his fantasies with this woman. Clearing his throat, he told himself not to go into stare-mode again. He wasn’t fourteen years old, and he could be in her presence without acting like a fool.

She turned on her computer, and he opened a file. A dance he was growing accustomed to, but one that wouldn’t yield him the results he wanted.

When he couldn’t stand looking at another piece of paper, he sighed and stood. “I’m going to go see what my mom made for lunch.”

She glanced up, her eyes glazed. “Lunch?”

A flash of affection stole through him. Her beauty continued to amaze him at the most random times, and her hardworking spirit only added to her allure.

“Yeah,” he said. “It’s almost one.” He extended his hand to her. “Come on. I don’t care if you brought something. Ma is making lunch every day this week for the boys. It’ll be better than whatever you brought.”

She stood, but didn’t take his hand. Not that he expected her to. “I doubt it. I brought her soup.”

They went down the hall and around the corner together, but still neither of them spoke. Squire wondered when the tension had seeped into the air between them again. 

The front desk where Clark usually sat was empty, and Squire had the brief thought of his father talking to him about being the foreman. Surely not, as his dad had been called out to the bull pen that morning, and they hadn’t talked about other candidates yet.

Squire reminded himself his father didn’t have to run things by him. He never had, and he wouldn’t start now.

Benson perked up from his spot in the shade under the stairs when the door opened. Squire whistled, and the dog came to his side. “Let’s go eat, boy.”

Benson licked his hand, the roughness of his tongue sending a vein of happiness up Squire’s arm. He chuckled as he swatted the dog away. “No licking,” he told his beloved dog. He let the canine sleep on his bed, but apparently licking crossed a line.

“Finn loved him,” Kelly said as they went down the gravel path between the cowboy cabins and the other outbuildings. “I should get him a dog, but it’s like another child to take care of.”

“He can come play with Benson any time. The poor guy needs someone to run around with.” He glanced down at his dog, who had gained a bit of weight since he’d started sitting in the shade. “I don’t get much time to run him the way he needs to be run.”

“Don’t the boys take him out on the ranch?”

“They used to,” he said. “But ol’ Benson is getting up in years. He can’t keep up with them anymore.”

“Well, he was gentle with Finn. It’s all he talked about last night after you left. ‘Did he take that dog? When can he come back?’” She spoke in a high-pitched voice, imitating her son.

Squire couldn’t help the satisfaction settling over him. He’d wanted to help Kelly with Finn, and he was glad he had. Spending the day with her hadn’t been bad either. More like perfect. He followed Kelly up the steps to the patio and through the sliding glass doors.

The smell of bacon hit him as soon as he stepped inside. His stomach growled and his mouth watered simultaneously.

“Ma,” he called. She wasn’t anywhere to be found, but he didn’t have to look far to find the food. “BLT’s.” He took two halves and put them on a paper plate. He opened the fridge and found macaroni salad and peach punch. He pulled them out and put them on the counter. 

Last night, he’d enjoyed hanging around with the boys while they ate and drank, but today, he was sort of glad he’d missed the bulk of the festivities. His mother always made too much food, something she’d been doing for the past thirty years since she’d come to live on this ranch after marrying his father.

She’d built a family out of the men and women living and working here, and Squire had never been able to feel it more than he did now, when he stood in the kitchen with the woman he seriously thought might be able to replace his mother someday.

Fantasies for now, but Squire believed that dreams came true. He had to, or he wasn’t sure why he’d survived the attack on his tank.

“Oh, you found the food,” his mother said, entering the kitchen. “Hello, Kelly. How’s Finn feeling?”

Kelly hastily put down the sandwich she’d been about to bite into. “He’s much better, Heidi. Thank you so much for the soup.”

“Squire insisted,” she said. “He even helped chop the vegetables.”

Squire steadfastly refused to look up from his plate, though he felt Kelly’s gaze land on him. He couldn’t believe his mom was selling him out. Maybe he had pushed his mom to make the soup. Maybe he had been a little enthusiastic about taking it to Kelly.

“I’ve learned there’s nothing he can’t do,” Kelly said, and Squire’s head snapped up.

“That’s not true,” he said at the same his mom said, “That’s the truth.”

“Has Daddy talked to Clark yet?” he asked, shifting the conversation away from his apparent perfection. He knew he wasn’t perfect. All Kelly had to do was ask his last girlfriend—Tabby would tell her all about his trust issues, the way he put his work before his relationships. Heck, he’d had to double-check Kelly’s story about prom before he truly believed her.

Plus, those vegetables he’d helped chop hadn’t even been close to the same size. His momma had even said so. Definitely not perfect.

“Yes, he did” his mom said. “He said he’d be honored to be the foreman. He needs to be replaced as general controller, so he and your father are working on that. As soon as those people are in place, you’ll be free to work with the animals until you figure out what you’re doing with college.”

“Work with the animals right now?”

“Yes,” Momma said, peering at him. “Do you mean to tell me you’re enjoying yourself behind that desk?”

“No,” he said quickly. “Working with the animals right now sounds great.” Sourness socked him in the mouth even as he spoke. “ But, Momma, I haven’t even been accepted to the program yet.”

He hadn’t even finished the application, for crying out loud. He’d gotten all the pieces put together, and all he had to do was hit submit. He would tonight, once he got back to his cabin and his laptop—and found all of his bravery.

“You will be,” Kelly murmured. She looked at him with a hint of sadness in her green eyes, though she tried to smile. He really wanted to know what she was thinking. 

Would she miss him if he got in and had to leave Three Rivers? Would she want to go out with him then? What about before then?

It felt like they were both thinking the same things, because she ducked her head, her smile disappearing quickly, and took a bite of her sandwich.

Squire continue to eat too, his own thoughts suddenly somewhere further away from this kitchen than he’d like. College Station. 

Even his mother didn’t seem to have much to say as she boxed up a couple of sandwiches and added macaroni salad to them. A drape of silence settled in the kitchen, but he didn’t know how to lighten the mood, and so he kept his mouth full of food instead of words.

* * *

Saturday morning, Squire loaded up his truck with fertilizer, tools, and seeds, put Benson in the cab, and headed to Kelly’s. She hadn’t said anything more about helping her parents plant their garden. They hadn’t either, but they’d agreed to have him come this morning. And he was going.

Nerves assaulted him as he drove, but he continued on. After he pulled into the driveway and got out, he heard laughter from the backyard. At least someone was home. He grabbed a shovel and a rake before heading around the house.

Benson bounded ahead of him, barking when he rounded the corner. Squire heard Finn’s delighted squeal, and a smile sprang to his face. The sight in the backyard brought a pang of longing to his heart.

Finn rolled around on the grass with Benson, a baseball bat abandoned nearby; Kelly stood near her mother as they both hung clothes on the outside line. And her dad watched everything from the deck.

Squire felt like perhaps he’d just run to the store to get more clothespins or bring back lunch. Like he could integrate himself into this family with a quick kiss to Kelly’s cheek and a ruffle in Finn’s hair.

As quickly as his comfort and happiness had come, it bled away. He wasn’t part of this family, and his time in the Texas panhandle was rapidly ending. He’d sent in his application on Wednesday, and though he couldn’t have been accepted yet, he checked the status online every day.

“Hey,” he said to Kelly and her mom. “Do you guys still want help putting in your garden?” He balanced the tools he’d brought next to him.

Ivory blinked a couple of times, a gesture he now realized that Kelly had gotten from her mother.

He hooked his thumb back toward the driveway. “I brought seeds and everything. Whatever you want.”

“What have you got?” Will sauntered over.

Squire shook his hand. “Corn and peas, I think you said you liked.”

He glanced at his wife before heading toward the front. “Let’s do it.”

Squire didn’t have any grand illusions about having Kelly work by his side. So he was surprised when she wielded a rake as he returned to the backyard with a load of seeds.

“Got ‘er tilled last night,” Will said. “I was just gettin’ up the gumption to go to the hardware store.”

“Now you don’t have to.” Squire set the stake for the first row of peas. Kelly walked the length of the garden and secured the other end of the string with her stake. He dragged the end of his hoe along the string, making a shallow trench for the seeds.

Will helped Finn get a handful of seeds and taught him how to space them. Then he took his rake and covered them. “Then we’ll water,” he told his grandson.

“What are they?” he asked.

“Those’re peas.”

“Grandpa likes to eat those right out of the garden,” Kelly said, taking Finn’s hand as they walked back to the shed to get another set of stakes for the next row. “You’ll be lucky if you get any.” She threw her dad a playful smile, and he shrugged.

“She’s right,” he said to Squire.

With all of them working, the small garden space was finished in less than an hour. Squire didn’t want to leave yet, but he had no reason to stay.

He loaded his tools in the truck and shuffled back to get Benson. “Well, I guess I’ll be off. My mother needs a couple of things from the grocer.”

“Oh, so do I,” Ivory said. She turned to Kelly. “Maybe you could go with him. Get what’s on the list on the fridge so we don’t have to go out on the Sabbath.”

Kelly raised her right eyebrow, but her mom said, “I’ll go get the list, and then I’ll need to help your dad dig through the shed to find the sprinklers.”

“Mom—” Kelly started, but the woman could move fast for someone getting up there in years. Squire watched her go, feeling like he was somehow being set up.

“I can get it all,” he said. “Bring back what she needs.”

“I want to go,” she said without moving her lips. “They’re driving me crazy, asking all kinds of questions.” She took the hand rakes and buckets Finn had been playing with into the shed.

Squire watched Finn chase Benson, never quite able to catch him. Will came out of the shed and thanked him, and Squire shook his hand again. The gesture felt formal, but also casual.

“Questions?” he asked when Kelly reappeared. “What kind of questions?”

“About my job, about the ranch, about where I’m going to live. On and on.”

“Your mother is from the same generation as mine,” he said.

“The nosy one?”

He put his hand on her elbow to guide her out of the way of an oncoming Benson. She stiffened at his touch, and he dropped his hand. “Maybe just interested.”

Kelly shoved him away from her, danger in the set of her mouth, but playfulness riding in her eyes.

Ivory came bustling out of the kitchen, a paper flapping from her fingers. “Here you go,” she said, handing the list to Kelly. “Thank you, Squire.”

“Ma’am.” He tipped his hat to her and waved for Kelly to go first. She shot him an apprehensive look as she stepped past, but he kept his smile hitched in place. He sensed her nerves—he had the same lightning bolting through him. But he wasn’t backing down from this, from her, from his second chance.