Second Chance Ranch Chapter 5

Chapter FIVE:

Kelly enjoyed watching the cowhands bustle through the line, filling their plates with Heidi’s delicious casserole and bread. They each thanked her with a tip of his hat and a “Thank you, ma’am.” They continued out the sliding doors to the deck, where they ate in the shade.

She watched for Squire to return, but he didn’t come. She loaded a plate at Heidi’s insistence and sat down with her and Frank in the kitchen. They told her stories about Chelsea, her job in Dallas, and the man she was dating.

Kelly listened and asked questions to keep the spotlight away from her. Surely the Ackerman’s knew why she’d returned to Three Rivers.

Sure enough, Heidi finally put down her fork. “Tell us about your son, Kelly.”

She swallowed the last bite of her garlic bread, which suddenly turned to sand in both taste and texture. She coughed to clear the crumbs. “Finn will turn five just before the Fourth,” she said, her Texan drawl returning no matter how she tried to stop it. Something about the ranch brought out the cowgirl in her. “Right now my daddy is indoctrinating him to love football and wield a hammer.” She grinned and took a sip of water, which only turned the bread to lead in her stomach.

“Does your mother watch him while you’re at work?”

“Most of the time,” she said. “My cousin helps too. We live with my parents right now, but with this job, I’m hoping to get a place of my own.”

“In Three Rivers?” Heidi had a way of asking questions without seeming pushy. Kelly remembered this from high school, when she and Chelsea would try to get off the ranch for a party. In the end, Heidi always knew what was happening, even if she’d been lied to.

“Probably,” Kelly hedged, though she was fairly confident she’d stay in town. “I’m still working on the details.”

“Let us know,” she said. “We’ll have the cowhands come help y’all move.”

“Mother,” Squire said, entering the kitchen. “We can’t just make them do anything we want.” He washed his hands before he picked up a piece of bread and buttered it. “They have work on the ranch, not playing moving company.” He shot his mother a tense look that Kelly suspected should’ve landed on her.

“We pay them to work for us,” his mother said, seemingly unfazed by Squire’s admonition. “We can have them do anything we want.”

“No, we can’t,” he argued as he settled next to her at the table. “They have work to do. Our fences don’t fix themselves, and those cows are dumber than posts. They’d starve if we didn’t put the hay right in front of them.” He glanced at Kelly. “No offense.”

She held up her hands in surrender, marveling at the change in him. One second, he was kind and teasing and fun, the Squire she remembered from high school—with some grown up benefits. The next, he was moody and dark, throwing death glares left and right like horseshoes.

“I don’t have much to move anyway,” she said. “I managed just fine getting here from San Diego by myself. I’m sure I can move out of my mother’s basement.” She stood abruptly, needing to get away from Squire’s heady scent and negative attitude.

“Thank you for lunch, Heidi. I should be getting back to work.” She strode out of the kitchen. She heard Heidi say something to Squire in a tone of disapproval, but she didn’t care what.

She couldn’t read him, and she couldn’t keep up with what made him go from flirty and fun, to apathetic, to downright rude. As she squished through the dust back to her office, she determined that the best course of action would be to stay as far from him as possible.

Though Squire was dashing, she couldn’t jeopardize her career by allowing herself even a taste of him. She’d only end up with a stomachache.

She hadn’t noticed Squire much in high school—he’d always been Chelsea’s little brother—but now she couldn’t help taking note of his presence. His personality filled the room, his flirtations awakened something dormant inside her, and she found she wanted to learn more about him.

She squashed the flickering flame of attraction she’d felt, telling herself that she simply wouldn’t enter his once-bedroom again, wouldn’t think about the picture he’d kept for so long—whether he lived there or not—wouldn’t try to reason through why out of only two pictures on his bookshelf, one was of her.

A jolt of realization struck her like lightning cleaving a tree. She felt frozen solid though the sun beat down with intense heat.

Like how you said I should ask someone to prom.

Squire had sounded so cynical, worn a look of anger and disapproval. She hadn’t understood and had chosen to deflect his attention to the photos.

She understood now.

All those balloons…. She’d never been able to find a name on any of the confetti strips, so she hadn’t known who had asked her, hadn’t known who to answer.

“Squire.” She spun back toward the house, her body made of hot, liquid lava.

No wonder he hadn’t helped her out of the steps. No wonder he was so hot-cold, hot-cold.

She forced her steps toward the admin building, needing time to formulate an apology for never responding to his prom invitation.

As she settled behind her desk, she sent a prayer of thanks for the opportunity to be employed at Three Rivers. With a calm breath, she opened another file and pushed back thoughts of Squire and how safe she’d felt standing in his arms.

* * *

By five o’clock, Kelly had a dozen pages of notes and the first stack of files read. Her head pounded like nothing she’d felt before, and her feet were freezing because the air conditioning was quite efficient at warding off summer as it tried to sneak inside.

She packed her notes and a few of the files and got up to leave. Two steps past his office, Squire called her name. She pressed her eyes closed and took a deep breath before turning. Would he see the guilt on her face?

She offered a silent plea for the same help now. “Yes?”

“Status report?” He leaned against the doorjamb and crossed his arms. His shirt pulled along his biceps, and Kelly had to consciously pull her eyes back to his.

“Excuse me?”

“You’ve been reading those files all day.” He took one step closer, his hands falling to his sides. “What have you learned?”

Kelly couldn’t make a plan of action in one day. The records Hector had kept were scattered and disorganized and many were simply missing.

Squire knew everything that was in those files, and she worked to tamp down her rising annoyance.

“You’re missing one million, six hundred and thirty-seven thousand dollars,” Kelly said, her voice low so as to not be overheard. “Hector had accounts for your parents for personal use, for the ranch, loans for land improvements, loans for acquiring more cattle. They all seem to be in order.”

His eyes seemed to glow from beneath the brim of his cowboy hat. “I know all of that.”

“I’ve had one day.” She shook her purse toward him. “I’m taking these files home. When I find something worthwhile, I’ll let you know.” She turned away, her temper in danger of erupting. She was tired, and hungry, and she could not have this conversation right now.

She made it outside with her dignity intact. The door didn’t bang closed, but she wasn’t going to go back and fix it. She unlocked her car and found only more stifling heat. As she reached to close the door, she heard someone chuckling. She glanced back to the trailer to find the reason she hadn’t heard the door close: Squire stood there, laughing.

“Good chat,” he called, lifting his hand in a friendly wave.

“Yeah, yeah,” she muttered as she slammed her door and put the car in reverse. The drive home gave her the time she needed to decompress.

She left her purse in the car and went inside to find Finn. Instead, she found her mother stirring something in the kitchen. “Where’s Finn?”

“Daddy took him over to the corner store,” she said, glancing up. “He earned a dollar by feeding the chickens, and he wanted some penny candy.”

A blade of disappointment sliced through Kelly. She was glad her son was safe and happy, but she missed him. For the past four years, she’d been the one to provide his safety and happiness. Turning that over to her mom and dad had been hard.

She reached into the fridge for a bottle of water, pulling her phone out as she went. She sent a text to her cousin, Crystal, asking if she could come over tonight. Kelly got an enthusiastic response before she even opened her drink.

Come by tonight after nine! We can chat.

And by chat, Kelly knew her cousin meant break out my stash of hidden Girl Scout cookies. Kelly’s whole body sighed in relief at the thought of Thin Mints and Crystal’s strategies for dealing with Squire’s moods. She still needed the words for a decade-too-late apology to fall into the correct order.

“Good first day?” Her mom pulled Kelly into a much-needed hug.

“Good enough,” she said, making her voice strong. She stepped back and didn’t meet her mom’s eyes.

“Mom!” Finn burst through the backdoor, wrenching the exhaustion from Kelly’s muscles. “Grampa let me drive the lawn mower today!” He jumped into her arms, one tiny fist clenching a brown paper sack. “And he paid me for feeding the chickens, and look, I got those red fish Daddy used to buy me.”

Her heart simultaneously leapt for joy and withered in pain. Finn seemed so happy, even when talking about Taylor, the man who had lied about where he’d been and painted over everything with candy and roses.

“The lawn mower?” she asked, looking at her father.

“I was on it with him,” he assured her. “But he did feed the chickens himself. My daddy used to give me a dollar for feedin’ the chickens. Finn’s a natural.”

“Dad, it’s throwing stuff. Anyone can do it.” She gave him an affectionate peck on the cheek for adoring her son. “Thanks, Daddy.”

“I can throw the football too, Mommy. Come watch!” Finn wiggled away from her, abandoned his sack of candy on the floor, and sprinted outside. She laughed and followed him, even though her sweats and the couch were calling her name.

“How was work?” her dad asked as they followed Finn into the backyard.

“Tiring.”

“You’ll get used to it,” he said, putting his arm around her shoulders.

“I hope so,” she said, though she knew she would. The job she could handle. But Squire…. She’d never get used to the sugary sight of him.

* * *

As Kelly crept through town on her way to her cousin’s, contentment washed over her. Three Rivers hadn’t changed much, with its long Main Street, where cheerful storefronts lined the sidewalks. The barber, the grocer, the various eateries and hot spots. She took comfort in knowing some things never changed.

She glanced to her left and saw the park where she’d grown up playing. A new jungle gym, updated swings, and a safer slide set had been installed, but the same tall oak trees stood sentinel. She heard herself laughing with her cousins while her mother and aunt chatted on the benches, and nostalgia twirled through her. She longed for easier, happier times.

She passed the bank, the post office, the government square with its white brick exterior. It gleamed as it always had. Glenda’s salon sat with another group of restaurants, doctor’s offices, and the elementary school.

Kelly relaxed against the headrest in her car. Old as it was, she loved this town. With a peaceful sigh, she knew she’d been led to the decision to stay here and raise Finn. After driving through more shops, past another grocery store, and beyond the last gas station in town, she made it to her cousin’s. No sooner had she killed the engine and stepped from the car did Crystal call her name.

“Get back here!” Crystal waved over the fence, causing Kelly to smile.

She bumped through the gate and entered the backyard, where Crystal waited with a platter of cookies and a hug. “Hey, girl. You look good.”

“Thanks,” Kelly said as she took a seat in the deck chair, the soft sunset reminding her that there was no place on earth quite like Texas. Everything moved slower here, even the breeze meandering through the trees and the way the sun took its sweet time disappearing into the dusk.

She moaned as she took a bite of her cookie.

“So what’s new?” Crystal asked, taking a handful of chocolate-dipped sweets.

“Started my job today at Three Rivers Ranch.”

Crystal choked, a spray of crumbs flying from her mouth. “Did you see him?”

“See who?”

“Major Ackerman,” she said, raising her eyebrows like she couldn’t believe Kelly needed to ask.

Kelly laughed. “He’s my new boss.”

“You should take advantage of that.” Crystal waggled her eyebrows up and down. “If you know what I mean.”

Kelly shook her head and took another bite. “Not gonna happen, Crys. Been down that road. It’s rocky, and leads you back to your parent’s basement.”

Crystal took a few moments to put the pieces together. “You mean, you and Taylor…?”

“He was my boss.” Kelly picked up her bottle of water and swirled it, watching the liquid go round and round, her thoughts far away in a past boardroom in Dallas.

“Not going to do that again. Besides, I have Finn now, and he doesn’t deserve anything but the best.” Kelly appreciated the first stars as they began to wink in the darkening sky. She wondered if she’d ever marry again. Sure, it was her choice, but what choice did Finn have? She had to remember that she had more than herself to take care of now. She couldn’t afford to go off her strict, male-free diet, even for a pair of dimples and the knowledge that she’d missed her opportunity to dance with Squire.

“Maybe it’s like Scott said on Sunday,” Crystal said. “Maybe you just need to take that first step before God can guide your feet.”

Kelly studied her cousin, surprised that Crystal’s words practically mirrored her own thought that God had guided her to Three Rivers. “I don’t think he meant I needed to start anything with Squire.”

“Maybe Scott didn’t.” Crystal’s eyes rounded in innocence as she took a dainty sip of her milk.

“Why don’t you ask him?” Kelly laughed, her nerves jumping as the sugar did its job.

Crystal giggled with her, but their joy dissolved into silence as they both contemplated the sky. “You know, God led me to Scott,” Crystal finally said, her voice as serious as if she hadn’t had an ounce of sugar.

“I know.” Kelly remembered how perfect her cousin’s love story had been. Handsome man. Young bride. They’d known they were meant for each other from the first date. Scott had just finished his ministry training, and Crystal had just finished high school. But true love couldn’t be stopped, and they were married the January after her graduation.

They had a good life—the kind Kelly had experienced in San Diego. Well, until she discovered the cheating, lying husband bit.

She believed that if she took a step, God would direct her feet. The sweet peace she’d experienced over her decision to settle in Three Rivers proved it. But she worried that she’d already bypassed the path she was supposed to be on when it came to men. Maybe that road was miles away, on another plane. Maybe because she’d chosen the wrong man the first time, she didn’t deserve a second chance.

“Remember all those balloons I got?” Kelly asked. “For my senior prom?”

“Yeah,” Crystal said. “You never figured out who sent them. Went alone with me and Chelsea, hoping he’d be there and say something.”

Kelly suddenly had to sniff and fight back tears. She nodded to buy herself some time. Her dress had been plum, her shoes silver. She remembered seeing Squire there, but he’d never approached her, instead sticking to the sidelines and shadows before leaving early.

“It was Squire,” she said.

Even the crickets turned silent.

“No way,” Crystal finally breathed. “How do you know?”

Kelly swiped an errant tear away. “I don’t know for sure. But I’m pretty sure based on some things he’s said and how he’s acted.”

“It’s fate,” Crystal declared, exhaling as she threw herself back in her deck chair. “How romantic.”

“Crys,” Kelly said. “It’s not romantic.” She leaned forward and grabbed her cousin’s hand to pull her from her imagination.

“Help me come up with an apology.”

“Yes, apologize. Then you can start dating him.”

Kelly sighed in dramatic fashion, though her own mind now raced with fantasies, all of them featuring the striking Army cowboy.

She wasn’t sure if he’d hurt her, steal her heart, or simply give her a sugar rush. No matter what, she had to apologize.