Pennyroyal Christmas (A Ruthorford Holiday Story Book 1) (2 page)

Tramp’s bark was not the fun I’m-gonna-get-me-a-critter bark. This bark was different. Someone was there. Tramp raced ahead.

She walked faster but as she rounded the side of the cabin, her step faltered and she stopped.

Rowe Davis knelt on the ground, wrestling with Tramp, who was having the time of his life, tossing his head, jumping back and barking, only to rush back in for more. Rowe’s laugh was rich and deep, much more so than the sixteen-year-old she remembered. As if sensing her, he stopped and looked up.

Kat’s breath hitched. The gorgeous male in front of her had long replaced the young boy. His body had the lean muscular grace of a cougar. His gold skin almost shimmered in the late rays of the sun. As he stood, he took off the hat and turned his attention to her. He stood well over six feet. Strong features filled out his face. Piercing brown eyes met hers. A smile played across his lips, lips she suddenly remembered on hers.

“Kat,” he said and nodded.

“Rowe.” She stepped forward, her heart pounding.

“Brenda asked me to bring out your mail.” He reached behind him and picked up the packet of letters that was lying on the hood of his truck. Tramp, thinking it was a game, leapt up.

“Down, Tramp,” Kat commended. “Come.”

The dog stopped and ran to her side.

“Sorry about that,” she said and headed for the porch. Thirteen years was a long time. She’d dreamed of running into him. However, this wasn’t some fantasy. This was real. And so was he. She suddenly realized she was standing in front of him, not moving.

“Want to come in?” She turned, walked to the porch and set the walking stick by the door.

“Maybe for a minute. I don’t want to interrupt.” His voice faltered.

She turned and looked at him as she opened the door. A smile formed on her lips and worked its way up to her eyes. “Not like I’m on much of a schedule out here.” Walking ahead, she put the basket on the table. “Want something to drink?”

“No, thank you. I just had tea with Teresa.”

“I hope you don’t mind if I do. I’m parched.” She didn’t wait for an answer as she took a pitcher out of the small refrigerator and poured some tea in a glass, dropping in a few ice cubes.

She took a sip and rolled the cold glass across her forehead. “It’s been awhile since I traipsed through the woods.” Without letting a silence lapse, she asked, “How’s Teresa?” She still remembered the sound of Teresa’s voice when she’d shooed them from under the weeping willow. Her throaty voice held mirth, not anger.

“Feisty as ever,” he said. The silence lapsed anyway.

“Well, I better get on home.” He walked back to toward the door, stopped and looked at the fireplace. He looked as though he was going to say something, didn’t, and turned back toward the door.

Kat followed a few steps behind him. “Thanks for the mail.”

“Sure.” He opened the door and stopped when he stepped out onto the porch. He looked at her a long time. “If you need anything…”

“Yeah…thanks.” She closed the door, leaned back against it and slid down to the floor. Tramp whimpered and stuck his black face next to hers, offering the comfort only a dog could do. She wrapped her shaking hands around her knees and refused to cry.

The years fell away. She stood in this very room, cowering before her father’s anger.

“I told you to stay away from him. He’s not for you.” Her father raised his hand and let it come down across her face. The pain wasn’t as bad as the fact that her father had slapped her. He’d never raised his hand against her before.

“But Dad…”

The look in his eyes stopped her. She had never seen such hatred. “Get out of my sight,” he snarled.

She fled to her room. The next morning Kat had found herself on a plane to Virginia—to her aunt’s. It had taken weeks before she could sneak a call to Rowe. His father answered the phone. She still remembered the sadness in his father’s voice as he told her it was her family’s wishes that she and Rowe not communicate.

That was so long ago and so much more had happened in her life. She hoped Rowe was well and happily married with children waiting at home. She hadn’t even asked. The sight of him had coursed through her like a surge of electricity, tingling nerve endings and making her raw with need.

She’d come to terms with her life years ago and, by God, she was going to live it her way—and be happy. With the reserve of strength she knew she possessed, she stood. “Come on, Tramp, let’s eat dinner.”

****

Rowe looked back at the cabin as he started the truck. That was the most exasperating meeting…not all her fault…but, God, he could have cut the tension with a knife. He’d thought of her over the years. How could he not? She’d been the most beautiful thing to ever happen to him. Then she’d just up and disappeared. And never a word. Her parents had followed quickly behind her, abandoning the cabin in the night. His parents had told him to let it go. Now she was back. And not a hint of “I’m sorry” came from her lips. Well, he didn’t need her drama. He slammed his hand into the steering wheel and spun gravel as he left.

That’s real mature.
He slowed down and headed back to his ranch.

She was taller and now had more curves. She was muscular, in a feminine way, and just as pretty as he remembered. Her blond hair hung in a single braid down her back. And her eyes—he took a deep breath—they’d always held him spellbound—like polished amber stones. Her mouth looked soft and her skin glowed, having been kissed by the sun. And the way those jeans had hugged her rear when she stepped up those steps. He felt a stirring in his groin. He hit the steering wheel again.

They’d probably run into each other, if not in town, then here. His property butted up against hers. That’s how they’d met. Down at the stream. He’d been on horseback, looking for a horse and her foal that had wandered off. Kat had been there, by the water, gently stroking the foal. He couldn’t believe Lady was letting her. He’d never seen a more protective mare than Lady. Yet, there they were, both holding court with a skinny blonde goddess. He’d ridden up and slipped off his paint’s back.

She’d turned and stared at him. “You’re an Indian,” she’d said, and studied him as if he landed in a spaceship.

“What gave it away?” he’d mocked her.

She’d blushed.

“You have a way with animals,” he stated and walked toward Lady with a lead. The mare knickered and tossed her head.

“Shhhh,” Kat whispered. The horse calmed. “I love them,” she said and stroked the horse’s soft muzzle while he fastened the lead. “What about the baby?” she asked.

“Pharaoh? He’ll follow her anywhere. You know you’re on our land?”

She stepped back. “I’m sorry. I climbed over the fence. I just wanted to see them.”

He smiled at her. “That’s okay. Just don’t go any further than that tree.” He pointed to a large oak in the distance. “We’ve taken on some Mustangs. They’re wild. Don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Okay,” she smiled at him and his heart skipped a beat.

They’d met there almost every day over the summer. She’d taken him to her cabin once, when her parents weren’t home. Funny how he remembered the details now. Nothing in that cabin had changed. It was like stepping back in time.

They’d moved there from Virginia at her mother’s insistence. Kat said she didn’t know why, but her father hated it.

Rowe had learned all he could about Kateri Chance that summer. She was special. Her way with animals, he’d only seen among his people and, of course, those of Ruthorford. She really did fit in Ruthorford, though he’d never told her that. That was something that wasn’t discussed with outsiders.

Then she was gone.

****

Kat, standing on a chair, stretched to reach the nail. On tippy toe, she lunged slightly, felt the twine catch, let go and leapt off the chair rather than fall. She let out a breath and glanced at her handiwork. Twelve new bundles hung from the rafters—sprays of pennyroyal, mayweed, pipsissewa, staghorn sumac, bay, and yarrow—all neatly tied. The white, pink, lilac and red colors, with the green and grey-green leaves would make pretty wreaths. Not bad for a couple of days work.

She glanced down at the table and the stack of mail still bundled. She had no intention of going through it. There wouldn’t be good news. There couldn’t be good news. She’d cut her ties with everyone in Virginia when she’d tossed her clothes in the Jeep, handed the key to a real estate agent and pulled away. No looking back. She saw the lawyer’s package. She would deal with that later.

Tramp’s bark alerted her to the light tap on the front door. God, why hadn’t she heard it. Where had her mind wandered? She crossed the room and opened the door to a short, plump, white haired woman.

“Hi. I’m Brenda, your local postmistress. I met you when you came here that summer, long ago. You probably don’t remember me.” She spoke softly and held out her hand.

Kat took Brenda’s hand. The skin was soft but the grip firm. “Kat Chance. But I guess you know that.” Kat stepped back into Tramp who was peeking around her legs.
Some guard dog you are.
He looked up at her as if he’d heard and gave a slight woof. She shook her head. “Won’t you come in,” she smiled at the woman at the door.

“I don’t think I’m in fear for my life,” Brenda laughed, walked straight over to the black wolf-looking canine, knelt down, nuzzled his face, and was promptly rewarded with several licks.

“Can I offer you some tea?”

“That would be lovely,” she said and walked to the dining table. “You’ve been busy,” she said as she sat down, gesturing to the new bundles of herbs hanging from the rafters.

“I wanted to get them up before another rain hit.”

“You haven’t looked at your mail.”

It was an astonished comment, as though she’d broken some unwritten postal rule. Kat didn’t like nosey people and postmistress or not, Kat wasn’t going to be dictated to. Her voice hardened slightly. “Is there something I can do for you?” That even sounded harsh to her own ears. When Brenda’s smile faded, Kat took a deep breath. She set the glass down in front of Brenda and sat in the chair across from her.

“I guess you know I’ve been taking care of the cabin for your mother…,” Brenda began.

“That’s why your name sounded familiar. I vaguely remember my mother mentioning you in reference to the cabin.” Kat tried to remember something important. It slipped her mind.

“Well, I just wanted you to know I was here, if you needed me,” Brenda said.

Had this woman been close to her mother? Kat tried to remember more than a casual mention of her over the years and suddenly felt guilty that she didn’t know more about her mother’s friends. She studied the woman across from her.

Brenda’s color heightened under Kat’s scrutiny.

Kat felt like she was missing something. “You do know my mother and father are dead?”

“Yes,” Brenda said. Sadness touched her eyes. “She left the cabin to you.”

Kat hadn’t seen her parents in years and only spoke to her mother occasionally, when she could sneak a call. Abandonment tended to harden one’s heart. Kat had been surprised when, after her parents had died in a boating accident, a lawyer had contacted her. She’d told him to handle everything. She didn’t want any part of it. It wasn’t until she needed a place to go that she’d remembered the cabin. She’d contacted the attorney, picked up a key from the secretary and headed down for a fresh start.

Brenda fidgeted with the napkin under her glass. “I’ve been taking care of it. The attorney contacted me and said you were coming. I hoped one day you would come back...at least to visit.”

“My father hated this place. My mom inherited it from some distant relative. Dad only came because my mother begged him. He didn’t want to take the time away from his company. We weren’t here but a couple of weeks before he wanted to leave. He swore he’d never step foot in it again.” Kat shrugged before she added, “But, I didn’t see them much after I left here.”

Brenda looked up at her. “You didn’t?”

“No. They sent me to live with my aunt, then to college…then they were killed in the accident.”

Brenda seemed to be pondering the stack of mail on the table. She pushed back from the table and rose. “I just wanted to stop by and say hi. I remembered you from when you’d come into the post office with your mom. If there’s anything…”

“I’m good. Thank you.” Kat rose and followed the woman to the door.