Second Chance Ranch Chapter 17
Chapter SEVENTEEN:
Peter Marshall couldn’t believe he was currently tying a tie around his neck. It didn’t even belong to him, and yet, his fingers knew exactly how to loop the ends, pull it tight into a knot.
Squire whistled from down the hall, a tune Pete had heard him vocalize while they’d served together. He’d been nervous for the past couple of days as he’d approached Three Rivers, Texas, but after only one day here, all of that had fled.
Turned out, everything Major Ackerman had told him about the town and the ranch had been right. Deadly accurate, in fact, from the quaint banners attached to the old Fifties light posts in town, to the calm atmosphere of his family ranch.
Squire had told him it was one of the biggest in the state of Texas, and Pete itched to explore every square foot of it. His heart longed to have something like this, and while Squire hadn’t exactly complained about his duty to come back here and take over the ranch for his father, Pete knew he didn’t want exactly that.
What Pete had wanted had gone up in a fiery car accident while he’d been deployed, and his eyes caught on the raised pink skin on his fingers and hand.
“Church,” he scoffed. He couldn’t believe he was going to go to church.
He’d start as a cowhand here on the ranch tomorrow, but apparently, they did skeleton chores on Sundays so anyone who wanted to attend services could. Squire had said the church was right on the northern edge of town, so it was “easy in and easy out” for the hour-long sermon.
He never went in for Sunday School, and the parishioners had a big picnic afterward. Pete could admit he was looking forward to some small-town cooking, as he knew the best food came from the men and women in towns like Three Rivers.
A wash of homesickness flooded over him, but Pete ignored it as he left the bathroom. He couldn’t go back to Tennessee. There was nothing—and no one—there for him anymore.
In the kitchen, Squire stood at the stove, scrambling eggs. “I put a bit of ham in them,” he said, glancing at Pete over his shoulder. “And my sister is flying in tonight. Want to go to Amarillo and get her with me?”
“Sure,” Pete said easily. “I’ve heard all about the darling Chelsea Ackerman.” He gave a light chuckle, but Squire only smiled and went back to the eggs.
He hadn’t seen his best friend in several months, and something felt a little off. “You okay, Major?”
“Yeah,” Squire said. “Yep.”
“Two affirmatives,” Pete joked. “This is seriously…not okay.”
Squire took the pan off the stove and turned to a non-permanent island in the middle of the room. It had wheels and could be moved anywhere. Two plates waited there, and Squire divvied up the eggs before putting the pan back on the stovetop.
“I’m…. Well, I’ve sort off started to see someone here in town, and we’re sittin’ together at church today for the first time.” He ducked his head, but he wasn’t wearing his cowboy hat or his helmet. “I’m maybe a little nervous.”
Pete grinned and grinned. “I’m sitting by Tammy,” he said. “It’ll be fine. Everyone will be staring at me, wondering who the new, ultra-handsome cowboy is.” He picked up one of the plates. “Don’t worry so much.”
Squire nodded once, quite tightly, and telling him not to worry was like trying to turn the sun off in the South during summertime.
They sat down together at the small table, which only had two chairs available, and Pete took a couple of bites of eggs to give the Major time to say something else.
When he didn’t, Pete said, “Who is it? This new woman in your life.”
“Her name is Kelly Armstrong.” Squire looked up and met Pete’s eyes with unflinching honesty. “The girl I had a crush on in high school. She’s back in town with her son.”
“Wow, a son.” Pete’s eyebrows went up, but Squire only nodded. Before Pete could press him for more details, especially the kind that drew out how Squire felt about being an insta-dad should he and Kelly’s relationship work out, someone knocked on the cabin door.
It opened in the next moment, and Squire’s father entered. Squire didn’t immediately scramble to his feet, but he did stand up and face his daddy.
“Dad,” he said. “What’s up?” He strode forward in his new, stilted way, but Pete thought he still possessed plenty of power in his gait. Squire hated the limp, but Pete thought he’d gotten off lucky. At least it wasn’t puckered, white skin that would never hold a hue that covered almost half of his body.
Maybe more.
He tried not to listen as Frank said, “Your mom and I have been talking, son,” but it was impossible. The common area of the cabin was maybe four hundred square feet, and Frank wasn’t exactly talking in a quiet voice.
“We’re going to ask your sister to come back to the ranch while you go to school.”
Squire’s sigh could’ve fueled hot air balloons. “Dad, I don’t even know if I got it.”
Frank put his arm around Squire, turning his back on Pete. He lowered his eyes, wishing he could mute his eardrums. Frank spoke in a very quiet voice, and Squire sucked in a breath.
He tried to give them as much privacy as possible, and Frank left only a few moments later. Squire stayed standing right where he was, staring at the now-closed front door.
Pete gave him a few minutes—actual minutes—and Squire didn’t move.
He finished breakfast and stood. “Major?”
Squire turned toward him, his face half blank and half full of every emotion under the sun.
“What’s goin’ on?” Pete asked. “Anything I can help you with?”
“We’re going to get Chelsea tonight,” he said. “Me and my parents. I don’t need you to come.”
“Okay,” Pete said like he didn’t care. And he didn’t. He’d been on the road for days and days, so he didn’t need to get back in the car, even if the trip was only an hour. “Everything okay?”
Squire returned to the table and looked at his half-eaten plate of eggs, the piece of remaining toast he hadn’t taken a bite of yet. “I don’t know,” he murmured. When he looked up, the ghosts had mostly vanished from his expression. “We better go, or we’ll be late to church.”
Pete had seen this tactic from Squire before. Avoidance. Topic changes. He wouldn’t come back to this, even if pressed, and Pete decided not to force him.
He gathered his cowboy hat from the rack by the door while Squire threw away his uneaten food. The conversation in the truck on the way into town was non-existent, and Pete saw Tammy waiting for him out front of the church.
“There she is.”
“Hmm?”
“Tammy,” Pete said.
“Oh, sure,” Squire said. “Kelly’s there too.” He nodded toward the little white building with a beautiful stained glass window filling the second level. “The blonde with the little boy.”
“Wow.” Pete whistled. “I see why you’re nervous, Major. She’s gorgeous.” He grinned over to his friend. “A bit out of your league, huh?”
Squire only smiled, but that was more than Pete had gotten in the last hour. Worry needled him, but he wouldn’t want anyone shoving their way into his family drama. Squire would tell him when he was ready—or when he needed to know.
“She’s probably out of my league,” Squire finally said as he pulled into a parking spot. “I should probably pretend like I don’t know you, since I’m sure you’re going to say something inappropriate.”
Pete was the one who grinned this time, no defense in place. He did tend to say whatever came to his mind. HIs momma had taught him to be truthful, after all.
“I’m going to introduce you anyway.” Squire killed the engine and got out of the truck, with Pete following him. He noticed the Major trying to even his steps as he approached Kelly, who fiddled with her son’s collar.
She stood back from Tammy, who smiled at Pete like he was all of her dreams come true wrapped into one package. “Howdy, handsome,” she said, and Pete inwardly cringed.
He did like her dark hair and her quick smile. She was handsy too, and Pete could admit he didn’t mind that. It had been so long since he’d been hugged, and he didn’t have a mother to fawn over him anymore.
Tammy’s attention felt…nice, as did her hand in his. The way she pressed closer to him, almost like she was starved for the human touch too.
Squire had gone on ahead, and Pete noticed he didn’t touch Kelly at all. So they were really new, though Pete couldn’t imagine Squire being overt in public. No, the man would keep everything under wraps, in private, a secret, until he was ready for the world to know.
“Ready?” Tammy asked.
“Yeah,” Pete said. “I think I just have to meet Squire’s girlfriend first.” He gave her a smile. “Do you know Kelly Armstrong?”
“They’re dating?” Tammy’s eyes got so round, they looked like moons. “Wow.”
Pete took a slow step toward Kelly and Squire. “What’s so surprising about that?”
“Nothing,” Tammy said airily, but Pete knew that tone of voice. It was definitely something.
They arrived where Kelly and Squire stood, and the Major stepped back so Pete could see her adorable little boy. His smile filled his face, because this child reminded him so much of himself.
A little unruly. A little wild. Unwilling to wear a tie so tightly around his neck, because he tugged at it even as Pete raised his hand to do the same thing.
“Key,” Squire said in that low, quiet voice he had that forced everyone to hand on every word he said. He’d been a powerful leader in the desert—the absolute best man Pete had ever served with. Instant gratitude filled him that he’d come here and been so readily accepted, though Squire had told him over and over he would be.
“I wanted to introduce you to someone,” Squire said, his smile finally touching his lips and tipping them up. Pete braced himself for what would come out of his best friend’s mouth next.
Maybe he should jump in with something irreverent, but for some reason, Pete’s mind backfired, and he had nothing to say. Nothing at all.