Love's Deception (3 page)

Three

Ty revved the old engine before shifting into drive and following the loaded trailer. His dad expected him to work the thirty acres behind the house this morning. Hopefully he wouldn’t notice Ty’s absence when he got home from his doctor appointment, or there would be questions. Ty had planned to meet Cat Lewis and then leave Ricardo to load her hay. But he had no idea she would turn out to be the woman who had visited his dreams in the last week.

More than once, he’d caught himself daydreaming about her luminous brown eyes. She undoubtedly worked too hard, which was why she had a perfectly thin figure—the kind of figure some of his female clients paid money for. But he’d never seen a beautiful woman look more haggard than she had the night he found her with the flat tire. For reasons he didn’t quite understand it bothered him—made him angry, actually. He had no intention of letting that happen today. He’d get her alfalfa moved and stacked. The combine tractors could sit in the barn for a day, and the thirty acres would have to wait. He’d combine in the dark if he had to.

Cat pulled into the driveway of what Ty guessed to be a twenty-acre horse property, and he couldn’t help but wonder where she’d been going after he changed her tire. It sure wasn’t anywhere near here. He grabbed the leather gloves off the seat and opened the truck door.

“You sure we got time for this?” Ricardo asked.

“We’ve got time.” Ty pulled on his gloves.

Ricardo shook his head, suppressing a smile. “Whatever you say. You’re the boss.”

Ty stood behind Cat’s rig, waving his hands to guide her back into the barn. Once she cut the truck’s engine, he and Ricardo each loosened a tie-down strap and then stepped onto the side of the trailer. They pulled on the orange baling twine, toppling the bales onto the wooden platform. Cat brushed past Ty and picked up a bale of hay. She walked it to the back wall of the barn before kicking it into place next to some grass hay. He pulled a bale off the trailer and followed her lead.

Fascinated, he kept her in his sights while he worked. She labored alongside him and Ricardo, never once complaining, making Ty wonder how such a skinny body lifted the heavy bales. Her complete absorption in the task amused him. Her son must have tired of playing in the cab because he soon climbed on top of the hay to watch.

“Your name’s Danny, right?” Ty asked.

“Yeah,” the kid answered.

“Why does your mom need so much hay?”

“She boards horses.”

“How many does she have?”

“I dunno. A lot.”

“We have sixteen right now,” Cat said, flashing him a smile.

“My older sisters had horses, when we were kids,” Ty explained. “Do you live here or just manage the barn?”

“We live here, with my mom.”

He stepped across the tongue of the trailer and pulled a bale off the truck bed. With three of them working they were nearly done. “What about your dad?”

“He divorced my mom about the time Danny was born.”

Ty hoped to get Cat talking about herself, but all he had gotten so far were clipped responses. Maybe this question would do the trick. “How did you feel about that?”

She stopped walking and bent to rest her bale on the side of the trailer for a moment. “What . . . are you a psychiatrist or something, now?” Ty smiled and chuckled, leaving the question open while she added her bale to the growing stack. Finally, she continued. “I don’t know. He left my mom for another woman he met at work. So, to put it lightly, you could say I was mad. Actually, I try not to think about him. Or see him, for that matter. Frankly, Mom and I were working so hard at the time to come up with the money to buy out his share of the property that I didn’t have the luxury or the time to think about how I
felt
.”

“I take it your mom likes horses.”

He followed Cat as she picked up another bale and walked it to the stack. “For my mother, life revolves around the horses.”

Ty lifted the bale over his head and tossed it up to Ricardo. “Any brothers or sisters?”

“No, it’s just me,” Cat replied. “My parents got a late start, and there were complications after I was born, so my mom wasn’t able to have any more children. How about you?”

“I’m the youngest of four. I have three older sisters.”

She smiled again and his stomach did one of those flip-flops that reminded him of the crazy high school days. “I’ll bet they spoiled you rotten,” she said.

He couldn’t help but grin back at her. “Maybe, but I always wished I had a brother to share the work with.”

Cat lifted the last bale, balancing it against her thigh. “I suppose growing up on a farm would be a lot of work.”

“Probably no different than this.” Ty stepped in front of her and slid his hands over the twine, next to hers. “I can get that for you.”

She tipped her head up to look at him and relinquished her hold. “Thank you.”

He paused, holding her gaze. He couldn’t get enough of those big brown eyes. “You’re welcome.”

During the second load, she turned the questioning on him. “So, you must farm with your dad, huh?”

Ty debated what answer to give. He’d learned the hard way that some women’s affections were directly related to a guy’s paycheck. Three years ago, he’d dated a girl who seemed perfect. She was everything he ever hinted at liking, but it was all an act. When he broke it off, her true personality came out. She showed up on his doorstep less than a month later and tried to convince him she was pregnant with his child. Thankfully, Ty had always been careful, so he held his ground. The woman finally backed down, admitting he wasn’t the baby’s father.

Cat had already hinted that her finances were tight, and it was clear their property could benefit from a financial investment into repairs and maintenance. She didn’t seem like the type to take advantage of a guy, but with women you could never be too careful. Ty threw another bale onto the ever-growing stack and glanced at her. Then again, he shouldn’t flatter himself; last week she’d threatened to call 9-1-1 on him. She was good-looking, but with him leaving at the end of the summer, nothing would come of this. Better to just keep it simple. “For now, I’m farming,” he said.

They each picked up another bale. Cat chuckled and stopped working to look at him. “Then what was that Larry the Mechanic Guy outfit you were wearing?”

Ty couldn’t help but laugh. “Larry the Mechanic Guy is my best friend. We’ve been friends for as long as I can remember. He owns an auto shop and helped me get my old bike running again. I was test-driving it when I found you with your flat tire.”

“Oh, I see.”

It was mid-afternoon by the time they had the ten tons of alfalfa stacked in the barn. The summer sun had transformed Oregon into a sauna. Sweat ran down Ty’s forehead and back, trapping him in a mask of dust and alfalfa leaves. “Danny, where’s the hose?” he asked.

“I’ll show you,” the kid said. Cat’s son had followed him like a shadow for the past few hours.

The boy led him outside to a water spigot. Ty lifted the handle to the pump and waited expectantly for the rush of cold water. “Will you watch my hat for me?” he said, setting his cowboy hat on Danny’s head. Ty held the hose high, and soon water cascaded over the back of his neck. Gasping from the cold, he ran his fingers through his sweaty hair and over his face. He shook like a wet dog and sent a spray of water in the kid’s direction. Danny giggled. Water dripped from the tip of Ty’s nose while he drank his fill. Then he offered Danny the hose. “Would you like a drink, little man?”

“Yeah.” He handed Ty his hat.

Cat walked toward him with her checkbook and pen in hand. “How much do I owe you?”

One look in those brown eyes and he shocked himself by thinking,
Nothing, it’s on me.
As a bachelor, his paycheck was more than he needed. He didn’t have any expensive hobbies. After the cost of his surfboard, his weekend trips to the beach were free. Weeknights he went to the gym—minimal expense. If he didn’t work out every day, he nearly went crazy sitting behind his desk. He had two money-market accounts, each with a generous balance. It would be nothing to call the bank and have them cut a check. But that would spark a round of questions from his father that Ty didn’t know the answers to. Maybe the heat was getting to him. He probably wasn’t drinking enough fluids. “Whatever my dad quoted you,” he replied.

“My mom said it was two hundred dollars a ton, but then you stacked it for me.”

“That doesn’t change the price.”

Cat lowered her gaze and began writing the check. “Okay, two thousand then. Thank you. How can I ever repay you? I’m really grateful for your help, you know.”

He knew she meant it as a statement of appreciation, but the impulse to answer her question couldn’t be denied. “You can go out to dinner with me.”

Startled, she looked up at him. “What?”

“Actually, you can repay me—by going out to dinner with me.”

She glanced toward the horses grazing on the hill and subtly shook her head. “That’s nice of you, but I’ll have to pass. I don’t know if I can get away. There’s so much to do around here, and with my mom’s condition I hate to leave her with Danny for very long.”

Turning on his best charm, Ty squared up his shoulders, hooked his thumbs in his pockets, and sent her a winning smile. He couldn’t remember the last time a girl had turned him down. Was she going to make him beg for a date? “We can take Danny with us. Cat, it’s only dinner. You have to eat anyway. If I pick you up Friday at seven, will you go? I promise not to have you out too late.”

Biting her lower lip, she looked up at him and held out the check. It disappointed him he hadn’t been able to entice even a smile out of her. “I wouldn’t want Danny exposed to secondhand smoke.”

Ty furrowed his brow. “That won’t be a problem, since I don’t smoke. Now my buddy Larry—he’s a different story. I’ve been telling him to stop since senior year, but he’s still a pack-a-day guy.”

“In that case, maybe. I’ll just have to see.”

Ty inserted the check in his wallet. He was getting closer, but he’d have to go to plan B to close the deal. He had no intention of leaving without committing Cat to a date. Dropping down on his haunches, he turned his attention to her son. “Hey, little man, do you want to go to dinner with me?”

A big smile spread across the boy’s face. “Yeah!”

“Good, I’ll pick you up on Friday at seven o’clock. Will you make sure you bring your mom?”

Danny’s expression went from excited to thoughtful. “Okay, but how many days away is that?”

Ty straightened up and tousled the boy’s blond hair. “Three days. I’ll be here in three days.” Tipping his hat, he winked at Cat. “See you Friday.”

Seconds later, he turned the key in the ignition of the old Dodge and pumped the gas pedal to keep the engine from dying.

“Boss, you like that señorita, no?” said Ricardo from the passenger side.

Fighting to keep a straight face, Ty shrugged his shoulders and drove away. They swung by a fast-food drive-thru on the way back. He hoped to avoid going up to the house until he finished the thirty acres, or there’d be explaining to do.

Ty and Ricardo combined until after dark. Afterward, as he walked across the porch, Ty could hear a basketball game on the TV in the family room. He pulled open the screen door to the kitchen and let it slam closed. He grabbed the nearly empty gallon of milk from the fridge. Glancing behind to ensure his mom hadn’t walked in, he held the jug to his open mouth and guzzled what was left. He stood with the fridge door open, reveling in the cool air. He missed the air conditioning in his apartment. He missed his car. And he missed the ocean. A cold shower would have to suffice. He’d clean up and then watch the last quarter of the game with his dad.

Walking through the family room he said, “Hey, Dad, what’s the score?”

“Lakers are up 56 to 48. Why you workin’ so late, Son? I thought you’d have that field done well before supper.”

Ty paused. “We got a late start. The alfalfa took longer than I expected this morning.”

“Was there a problem?”

“Nope. How did your doctor appointment go?”

“It went good. Doc said I’m healing up fine.”

“That’s great. I’ll shower and come watch the game with you.”

One cold shower later, Ty sat on the couch in his gym shorts. It was too hot for anything more. Half listening to the television, he checked emails from work on his smartphone. After he’d responded to the most urgent messages, he searched for restaurants in the area. He wanted something nice for Cat and her son, but not too nice. He wouldn’t want her feeling uncomfortable, especially with Danny there. It had to be a place that catered to kids.

He shook his head in dismay. She was all he could think about. He hadn’t been this infatuated with a girl since high school. The monotony of combining all afternoon provided hours of Cat Lewis daydreaming time. And Ty had used every minute for just that. His list of curiosities regarding her had to be a mile long. He doubted one dinner date would be enough time to get them all answered, but it was a good place to start. Three more days—Danny wouldn’t be the only one counting down.

Ty’s phone vibrated with the ringtone from one of his favorite songs. “Hello,” he said.

“Hi, Ty.” He recognized Ashley’s voice. They had dated for the past eight months. “Do you miss me? I miss you like crazy, Ty. I fed your fish, watered your plants, and checked on your car. Everything’s fine here at your apartment. How’s your dad?” Thankfully she hadn’t paused for an answer to the “do you miss me” question. He would’ve had to lie. He had missed her last week, but this week, well, that was a different story.

Four

Cat rushed into her bedroom, pulled her blouse over her head, and tossed it on the bed. Another outfit rejected. She didn’t imagine Ty would dress up for dinner, so the blouse and slacks were too much.Hands on her hips, she surveyed her closet. White capris and a pink, fitted T-shirt should work. She put them on, then slid her painted toenails through the straps of her sandals and left her room.
This is it,
she vowed.
No more wardrobe changes.

Stepping into the bathroom, she said, “Danny, it’s almost seven. Time to get out of the tub.” He climbed out, and she pulled a towel off the rack and wrapped it around his shoulders.

“Is Ty coming now?” her son asked.

“I think so.” Cat rubbed the towel across his head. “Go get dressed while I check on Grandma.” She smiled as Danny darted into his room, his towel fluttering behind him like Superman’s cape.

The round of chemo this week had been particularly rough, and her mother felt ill all day. The biopsy had revealed a malignant tumor in her liver. Despite the doctors’ best efforts, the cancer had spread. Cat felt sick herself just thinking about it. She stepped into  her mother’s dim room. The blinds were closed against the taunting of cheerful sunshine. Cat heard her mother straining to throw up and raced to her bedside. “Mom, are you okay?”

Unable to answer, her mother bent over the plastic bowl, clutching it with trembling hands. Cat wrapped her arm around her shoulders and steadied the bowl. “I’m so sorry, Mom,” she said, struggling to hold her tears at bay. The care with which she’d applied her eye makeup would be for nothing if she failed. And crying wouldn’t help her mother anyway.

The doorbell rang and Danny’s feet thumped across the floor as he raced toward the door. Cat looked at the clock: 6:50 pm. “He’s early,” she muttered. “I don’t think I can leave you like this.”

Her mother straightened up and tried to take back the bowl. “Nonsense. You haven’t done anything for yourself in weeks. You’re going, and that’s final. I’ll call Judy if I need help.”

Cat kept the bowl and stood. “I’ll clean this out for you before I go.” She returned to her mother’s bedside a moment later and surveyed the nightstand. “The phone’s here, the ward directory, your water, some saltines, and the TV remote. Is there anything else I can get you?”

Her mother waved her away. “No, now go. Don’t keep him waiting. Promise me you’ll have a good time. All you’ve done is work. You deserve to have a little fun. And don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” Her mother’s voice sounded stronger than Cat had heard all day. There was no arguing with Sally Benson once she made up her mind.

“But if you need me, Mom, call. I’ll have my cell phone.”

Her mother shooed her toward the door. “Cat, go! I’m fine.”

 She turned back at the doorway. “I love you, Mom.”

Her mother eased herself onto her side, drawing her knees toward her stomach. “I love you too, honey.”

Cat left her mother’s room, hoping Danny was ready and wondering what she was doing anyway, going out with a guy who wasn’t a member of the LDS Church. Hopefully he hadn’t lied when he said he didn’t smoke. Doubts swirled through her mind. Her mother seemed more excited about the date than Cat was, though her mother hadn’t spoken to him and had only watched from the window the day he helped with the hay. Cat was surprised, because in high school her mother had strongly encouraged her to only date boys that shared their faith. “You marry whom you date,” she would always say.
The chemo must be going to her brain,
Cat thought sadly.
She’s practically pushing me out the door with a guy we barely know anything about.

Cat darted toward her bathroom, intent on a peek in the mirror before going downstairs. Turning the corner, she nearly barreled into Ty’s back. “What’re you doing up here?”

His presence completely filled the small space. He turned and looked her over, his eyes twinkling in amusement. One side of his mouth quirked up in a sexy half-grin that looked like it belonged on a movie star. “Helping Danny,” he said, stepping aside.

Her son rested his elbows on the counter. “Ty’s gonna brush my hair.” Ty raised the brush and went to work on Danny’s turkey tails.

“I can take over if you want,” Cat offered.

Ty shifted his body, blocking her path, and continued brushing. “No, I got it.”

She folded her arms and watched. Ty lowered the brush and picked up her gel from the counter. He glanced sideways at her and said, “Danny, you think your mom will care if we use some of this?”

“No, that’s fine,” Cat answered for him.

Ty finished taming her son’s wayward hair, then declared, “Okay, little man, you’ll have all the girls after you now.”

“I don’t like girls.” Danny stuck out his tongue.

Both adults laughed. Ty returned the gel to the counter. “Are you ready?” he asked Cat. “Or should Danny and I wait downstairs.” She stole a glance in the mirror. “Don’t worry. You’re beautiful,” he said in the same matter-of-fact tone she’d heard from him before. Startled by the compliment, she stood gaping at him. He flashed that smiled again—the one that made her forget what she doing.

He touched her shoulder as he squeezed through the doorway. “Excuse me. Danny and I will be downstairs.” Her son ran after him and grabbed his hand.

Taking a deep breath, Cat bent to get a drink from the faucet. She dried her mouth and applied a layer of pink lipgloss, then ran her eyes up and down her reflection in the mirror. Finally she flipped off the light and went downstairs. She caught the tail end of the tour Danny was giving Ty.

Seeing her, Danny ran across the room. “Mom, can we go now? Ty said we’re going to Red Robin!”

Her son’s exuberance was contagious. She smiled at him. “Yup, we can go now.”

Ty walked to the front door and opened it. Cat picked up the booster seat and followed him to his old black Dodge. He held the passenger door open. She had planned to put Danny between her and Ty, but the booster seat required both a shoulder and a lap belt, which the middle seat did not have. Cat set the booster next to the window and helped Danny into the truck. She climbed over Danny and settled into the middle. Ty grinned as he closed the door and walked to the driver’s side.

He turned the key in the ignition. After revving the engine, he put it in reverse and leaned back. Uninvited butterflies filled Cat’s stomach when his shoulder pressed against hers. She folded her hands in her lap while he buckled his seat belt. He seemed oblivious to the tight quarters.

Cat felt as if she was sixteen again, going on her first date. She stared straight ahead, trying to stop the drum roll of her heart, then chanced a look at him. He had shaved except for a neatly trimmed goatee. He wore a T-shirt and khaki shorts, so she had ended up with the right outfit.

He caught her looking when he turned to ask, “Cat—is that a nickname?”

“It’s short for Catherine.”

“Catherine Lewis,” he said to himself, reaching to turn on the radio. “Are you a country music kind of girl?”

“I suppose. How about you?”

He tuned the radio to the local country music station. “I’m more of a surfer. I like a little bit of everything. Danny said your mother is sick . . .” Ty trailed off the sentence, clearly fishing for details.

“She has breast cancer, but today they found a spot in her liver.” Still trying to digest the news herself, Cat left it at that. She definitely didn’t want to cry in front of him.

“I’m sorry,” Ty said quietly.

When they turned onto the highway, he leaned forward slightly. “Hey, Danny, what grade will you be in when school starts?”

“Second,” the boy said with pride.

“That’s great. So you must be really grown up.”

“Yup,” Danny said with a toothy grin. Cat frowned. He’d never warmed up to anyone she’d gone out with like he had with Ty. This would definitely have to be their only date.

“Cat, you must have graduated from Hilhi,” Ty said.

“That’s right. I noticed your Glencoe football T-shirt the other day. But after the Larry outfit I’d better ask—you did go to Glencoe, right?”

Ty laughed. “Yes, and I was a running back on the football team.”

She nodded. Between playing football and the physical labor of farming, it was no wonder he had such an impressive physique.

“And you, what did you do in high school?”

“OHSET,” Cat said, pronouncing it “o-set.”

He gave her a questioning look. “Sounds vaguely familiar, but will you remind me what that is?”

“It’s the acronym O-H-S-E-T. It stands for Oregon High School Equestrian Team.”

“That figures, with your liking horses and all.”

At Red Robin, Danny walked between Cat and Ty across the parking lot. He grabbed both their hands, lifting his legs off the ground to dangle between them. “One, two, three—jump!” Ty said, swinging him forward.

Cat stared across the top of Danny’s bobbing head, imagining for a moment that Eric had never died. That she had a perfect little family. That Danny had a loving father to do this sort of thing. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. A happy family was a fantasy—one that most definitely would not come true with this man.

“One, two, three, jump!” Ty said again.

Three more times Cat swung Danny forward in unison with Ty, who couldn’t stop smiling. “We’re going to wear your mom out. You’d better keep your feet on the ground now, buddy,” he warned.

How perceptive. Her arm was getting tired. This guy was a natural with Danny. Could he have children from a previous marriage? Cat drew in a deep breath and asked, “Ty, how did you get to be so good with kids?”

He held the restaurant door open. Still holding hands, she and Danny ducked under his arm and into the building. “I have eight nephews and one niece,” Ty replied.

“How fun,” she said, but he hadn’t answered her real question. She’d have to just spit it out—and quickly, before the subject changed. They were next in line to be seated. “Do you have any kids of your own?”

His intent gaze caused her to briefly look down at Danny. “No. I don’t have any kids. Never been married, either.”

“Two adults, one child?” the hostess said.

“Yes, thank you,” Ty said. They followed her, walking beneath an array of helium balloons hanging from the ceiling. “Do you want a balloon, Danny?” his new friend asked.

Cat’s son jumped with excitement. “Yeah!” Ty plucked one from the bunch, and when they reached their table, he tied it to the back of Danny’s chair.

It was late when they left the restaurant, and Danny’s head drooped onto Cat’s shoulder as they drove home. He had fallen asleep by the time Ty parked his truck in their driveway. Cat unbuckled her son’s seat belt, careful not to wake him. Bedtime could be an exhausting routine. If she got him into bed without waking him, he could skip brushing teeth and saying prayers just this once. She relished the thought of a quiet night to herself.

Ty opened his door and hopped down, then lifted Danny out of the truck. “I can carry him into bed for you,” he whispered. Since Danny was already in his arms, still fast asleep, Cat nodded and grabbed his booster seat and balloon.

At the sight of Danny’s little arms around Ty’s neck, Cat couldn’t help but smile at the man holding her son. “Thank you,” she said softly.

Ty walked into her house and up the stairs with the confidence of someone who lived there. In fact, everything about him exuded confidence, and Cat was definitely attracted to that quality.

He entered the dimly lit hall, passed Cat’s room, and turned into Danny’s. She flipped on the hall light. Ty laid Danny on his bed and took off the boy’s shoes. She stopped in the doorway and watched him set the shoes on the floor and cover Danny with the sheet. He gave Danny’s head an affectionate pat before he turned and followed Cat downstairs.

“Thank you, Ty. I had a really good time,” she said, stopping to face him in the entryway.

He put his hands in his pockets and smiled at her. “I did too. Danny’s a great kid.”

“Yeah, he is.”

Cat’s mother turned off the light in the kitchen and walked through the entryway. She looked pale, but at least she was up and moving around. “Hey, you two, how was dinner?”

“It was great, Mom. This is Ty Bradford. He helped us with the alfalfa. Ty, this is my mom, Sally Benson.”

He stepped forward and offered his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Benson.”

Cat’s mom smiled and shook his hand. “Sally. Please, just call me Sally.”

Ty nodded, smiling. “Okay, Sally it is.”

“Are you feeling any better, Mom?” Cat asked.

“A bit. I ate something. Hopefully it stays down. I’ll be upstairs.”

“I’ll be up in a minute.”

Sally started up the stairs and looked over her shoulder. “It was nice to meet you, Ty.”

He waved. “It was nice meeting you too, Mrs.—I mean Sally.”

A faint smile lit her mom’s face. “Good night.”

“Good night, Mom,” Cat said.

When her mother’s bedroom door closed, Ty asked, “Can I see you again?”

Cat had an “only one date for nonmembers” policy, but his pleading gaze had her mind warring with itself. The gentle tick-tock of the grandfather clock seemed to say, “Yes, no, yes, no . . .”