Reuniting With the Rancher (12 page)

“You’re right. I’m jumping the gun. There’s so much else I need to take care of first. It might take a few years to get to the point of worrying about horses.”

“I don’t think you’re jumping the gun,” he said quietly. “I think you’re getting excited about the possibilities. You need that excitement, Holly, and you sure didn’t have any of it when you got here.”

No, she hadn’t, and it wasn’t just because she’d lost her aunt. Once she’d had excitement for her job. Then it had slowly seeped away. As difficult as it was to face, she had to be honest with herself. She no longer felt fulfilled by what she was doing. She no longer woke to each day raring to go. Far from it.

All of a sudden, Cliff stirred and looked at his watch. “Damn, we’ve got to go back. The vet’s coming out today to vaccinate the lambs and kids. I need to be there.”

She helped him pack up, then watched him go get the horses and bring them out to the rock. Taking care that she didn’t have to get her toes wet. How many men did she know who were that solicitous?

As they were riding back, he asked, “Wanna take in a movie tonight with me? Given that we don’t get the new releases here, it might be something you’ve already seen.”

“I see so few movies that’s highly unlikely. I’d love to go.” Dating a man she had kissed off ten years ago. How likely was that?

“Great. I wonder how angry Lisa is at being locked out.”

Holly couldn’t restrain a laugh. “I guess I’ll find out.”

“I could come to the house with you. I don’t have to leave you at the fence.”

“Why borrow trouble? I’ll deal with her.”

At that moment she felt she could deal with anything. A great weight had seemed to lift from her as she faced her job dissatisfaction, almost as if she had made up her mind about what she was going to do. And she had a movie date with Cliff.

Lisa seemed like a small blip on a very big radar.

Chapter Eight

A
t the fence, she dismounted and passed the reins to Cliff. “It’s been wonderful.”

“Yes, it has. Thanks.” His smile was warm. A smile she had never thought to see from him again. “Call me if Lisa turns into a handful. I’ll pick you up around five and we can have a bite at Maude’s before the movie.”

“I’d like that.”

He tipped his hat and began to ride away with her mount in tow. Now all she had to do was head back and face the Lisa music. The woman’s sports car was sitting in the drive, somehow managing to look ominous.

When she rounded the house, she found Lisa sitting on the porch swing looking majorly annoyed.

“Have fun?” Lisa asked acidly.

“Yes, thanks,” Holly replied pleasantly. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the key and unlocked the front door.

“I told you to leave the house unlocked,” Lisa said. “I’ve been sitting out here forever.”

Holly let that pass. Even if Lisa had returned just after Cliff and Holly rode off, their entire trip hadn’t quite taken three hours. “Sorry,” Holly said. “I’m a city girl. I don’t leave anything unlocked.”

“Then you’ll have to make me a key to use, if you’re going to do this often.”

“No, I won’t make you a key. Sorry, but you’ll only be here until I go back to Chicago. I guess we need to plan better.”

Lisa followed her into the house and into the kitchen, where Holly started a pot of coffee. “You’re not very nice.”

For some reason those words clicked with Holly. She finished preparing the coffeepot, turned it on, then faced Lisa.

“You’re right, I’m not being very nice. Have a seat and join me for some coffee.” There was a gleam in Lisa’s eyes, a smugness in her expression that Holly could read too well. She’d seen it countless times when a child tried to guilt-trip her or someone else. It occurred to her that Lisa was acting more like a child, and showing very little real skill at manipulation.

When the coffee was ready, she brought two mugs to the table, along with a growing curiosity. She sat facing Lisa. “So what’s really going on, Lisa?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“I think you do. You came to your ex looking for a place to stay. Most women wouldn’t do that. Then you came here hoping my aunt would put you up for a while because a few days with Cliff wasn’t enough. Why not? Do you really have a job in Glenwood Springs?”

Lisa scowled. “Yes, I do. But it doesn’t start until the end of the month. And I really can’t afford to rent a place yet.”

“I believe you. But that’s not the whole picture.”

“What do you mean?”

“You come here looking for help but you’re nasty to everyone. I’m sure you’ve heard that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. I know you can be nice enough, because Cliff wouldn’t have married you otherwise. So what’s eating you right now? Why are you treating me this way when I gave you a place to stay?”

Lisa glared at her. “What is this? Five-cent therapy? I don’t need that stuff.”

“Maybe not. I’m not a therapist anyway. I’m just wondering why you can’t even be nice to someone who is helping you. What are you afraid of?”

“What the hell makes you think I’m afraid of anything?”

“You,” Holly answered simply. “You remind me of barbed wire. That amount of fencing is designed to keep something in or keep something out.”

Then she rose with her coffee and went to sit on the porch. It was a beautiful afternoon, a great time to laze here and envision the life she would really like to have. Plus, she had a date tonight with Cliff. Only time would tell if that might be a mistake, but right now she didn’t care. Pieces inside her were shifting around, forming a new picture, and she was liking what she was seeing.

At some point she dozed off, into vague but happy dreams. She was wakened by the sound of steps on the porch. With effort, she opened her eyes, realized it was getting later, and then saw Lisa sitting on a nearby chair.

“I’m sorry,” Lisa said. “You’re right. I’m pretty angry.”

“About what?” Holly stifled a yawn and tried to sit up straighter. Her coffee had long since grown cold, but she drank it anyway.

“A lot of stuff. Most recently it’s the jerk I was married to until the divorce became final last month. He cheated on me, then blamed me for it.”

Holly nodded. “Did he knock you around?”

“Some.” Lisa fisted her hands. “Thing is, I hit back. So when I left you know what happened? I didn’t get to take anything. Nothing at all. Didn’t matter that I worked, too. No. A woman doesn’t hit back, I guess.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m glad to be out of there. But that doesn’t mean I have to be happy. So all I have is a little bit of my own money that he didn’t spend because I made it on my own after I left, and a job waiting for me, and nothing in between.”

“What about family?”

“There was just my dad. He’s been gone for three years now. Funny, he told me not to marry the jerk in Gillette. One of the last things he said to me. I should have listened, because the creep spent my inheritance money, too.” She shrugged. “Well, I spent some of it. I’m not good with money. Cliff probably told you that.”

Holly kept mum. “We don’t talk about you.”
Much,
she amended silently.

“Anyway, I guess I was spoiled growing up. Jean sure seemed to think so. I caused Cliff problems, and I admit it. I was stupid enough not to get what he was trying to tell me. I’d never had to worry about money before, and sometimes I thought he was just being mean. Maybe he was, but he was no kind of mean like the guy I just divorced.”

“You’ve had a rough time.”

“My dad also used to say that we make our own beds.” She sighed. “Anyway, don’t get the idea I’m going to change or anything. I’m angry most of the time, and I don’t see any reason to stop being angry until things get better, okay? But I’ll try to be politer. I think I can do that.”

“It would help,” Holly agreed cautiously. She wondered how much of this was true, and how much of it was an excuse. In a way it sounded too damn pat. There was something missing here.

Two thoughts occurred to her, and neither of them was something she could ask Lisa: that her father had abused her in some way, and that he had used money as a means of control and punishment.

It would sure explain a lot, but she figured she would never know. It seemed like a good time to change the subject.

“I’m going out tonight for dinner and a movie,” she announced, wondering what kind of trouble that might bring. “With Cliff.”

“So you’re the next victim?”

Victim?
The word astonished Holly. “Why would I be a victim?”

“You know I was married to him. Big mistake.”

“Why?”

“He was a whole lot of fun at first, when we were dating, and even for a while after we got married. Then it got so he was working all the time, and he claimed money was tight, so we couldn’t go anywhere anymore. I started to feel like a prisoner, so I took off on my own. Then he said I was spending more than he could afford. He put me on an allowance and got upset when I overdrafted. It turned into hell.”

Holly considered a cautious answer. “Ranchers have to work hard. And most are just scraping by.”

“And Jean hated me. You know who Jean is? She nagged me about doing stuff. But she’s the housekeeper, right? It’s
her
job. I was hoping she’d get mad enough to quit, then we could get someone who’d do the job right. That was stupid, too, I guess. Cliff cared more about her than me.”

This was certainly an interesting rendering, Holly thought. She’d have expected this kind of viewpoint from someone much younger and less experienced. Like maybe twelve or even fourteen. Certainly not a grown woman.

She looked out over the prairie, watching grasses blow in the warm afternoon breeze, and thought about it. “How old were you when you married Cliff?”

“Nineteen.”

“What was the rush?”

“My dad was a control freak. I wanted to get away. I didn’t know I was marrying another one.”

“You’ve had a rough time,” Holly remarked. The picture she was forming wasn’t a happy one for Lisa. She felt the first inklings of real sympathy for the woman. And while she didn’t know the exact pieces in play here, she was developing the definite impression that this woman-child had been arrested in her development in some ways. How or why she could only speculate. “So good things are waiting for you in Glenwood?”

“I hope so. I’ve got a job at a salon there. I’ll be doing hair and teaching courses in makeup. I’m good at it.”

Holly nodded. Looking at Lisa, she could well believe it. “But they can’t take you on right away?”

“Someone is leaving. I’ll be taking over. But not until the end of the month.”

“That really puts you in a bind.”

“It sure does. Actually, I’m glad you said I could stay here. I don’t know if I could have handled even a few days in the same house with Jean. She
really
doesn’t like me. How well do you know Cliff?”

“I met him ten years ago,” Holly said cautiously. “But this is the first time I’ve seen him since.”

“Well, take it from me, all work and no play makes Cliff a very dull boy. Being stuck on that ranch was like being in prison. The only fun thing was riding. I miss riding.”

But not Cliff, evidently. “Well, I’ll only be here a little longer,” Holly said briskly.

“Yeah, I guess you’re safe. You have a life to go back to.”

Which indicated that Lisa had not. She’d been fleeing her father and fell into exactly the wrong arms, at least for her.

Holly glanced at her watch. “I need to get ready. Cliff will be here soon. There’s food in the fridge.”

For once Lisa contented herself with a simple, “Thanks.”

* * *

Cliff picked her up a few minutes after five. He’d spiffed up a bit, wearing new jeans and a carefully pressed white shirt. She almost felt grungy in comparison. Her jeans were well-worn and her lightweight sweater had come from the rack at a Goodwill store. It showed some wear.

But his smile was warm, and his eyes passed over her appreciatively, making her feel as if he’d drizzled hot honey over her. Her insides clenched in response.

“You look great,” he said as he helped her into the truck.

Holly half expected Lisa to poke her head out and say something, but the woman kept out of sight. Interesting. Maybe they’d found a bit of peaceful ground on which to meet.

As they were driving away, Cliff asked, “How much hell did Lisa give you?”

“Not much, actually. I think we came to at least a minor meeting of minds.”

“Congratulations. What happened?”

“Did she ever mention her father to you?”

“Not much. I gathered she had a tense relationship with him. She didn’t like to talk to him.”

“Well, from what she said, she married you to get away from him.”

After a few seconds, he gave a low whistle. “That might explain a lot.”

“It might. Anyway, she announced she’s angry and doesn’t intend to stop being angry until things get better, but she’ll make an effort to be polite with me.”

“I can applaud that.” He flashed her a smile that quickly faded.

“What’s wrong?” she finally asked when he remained silent.

“I was just thinking. I spent a whole lot of time wondering where I went wrong with Lisa. It takes two to make a mess.”

“It’s easier to make one when one person is in the relationship for all the wrong reasons. She picked you for an escape hatch. The problem was, it wasn’t really the kind of escape she wanted. Anyway, I wasn’t there, I’m not going to judge or even comment, except to say she still has some growing up to do. And you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself. I think it was doomed from the start.”

“Maybe so. The hole just kept getting deeper.”

She looked out the window at the passing countryside. The days were getting longer as the solstice approached, and she liked the fact that the late afternoon was still bright. She supposed that her return, and now Lisa’s, had given Cliff a lot to think about, and she suspected not all of it was good.

After all, he’d ultimately been rejected by two women, and basically for the same reason, whether he realized it or not. She’d had bigger things to do than be a ranch wife, and Lisa had seen the ranch as a prison. If he put that together, he was apt to give up all hope of marriage and family.

Yet here he was, only a few days after he’d initially greeted her with such dislike, taking her out for dinner and a movie. By any measure, that made him a truly big man.

“How’d it go with the vet today?” she asked. High time she showed some interest in his life.

“Pretty good. They all seem healthy. We have to do some eyedrops on some of the lambs and kids. We started vaccinations and should finish tomorrow, but all’s good.”

“Okay, how do you get eyedrops in those animals?”

He laughed. “With great difficulty. The mamas don’t like us handling the babies, and the babies don’t like the eyedrops. We get a whole lot of caterwauling, I can tell you. And sometimes it takes three of us to get it done.”

“Do the moms attack you?”

“They would if they could, but we separate them out. That’s when the trouble begins. But overall, it’s not too hard. Just sweaty. We get them into a holding pen one at a time and get it done as fast as we can.”

“How do you tell who you’ve done?”

“That’s why they invented washable spray paint. We just put a big X on them.”

“Do you brand?”

“Ear tags.”

“Oh, that must be fun, too.”

He laughed. “Oh, yeah. Before you leave, you need to come over and meet my kids.”

She joined his laughter. “That’s a cute way to put it.”

Holly had been to Maude’s diner only a few times that long-ago summer, with Cliff. Aunt Martha had preferred to do her own cooking and viewed dining out as frivolous. After meeting Maude, as crusty a curmudgeon as ever walked the planet, Holly had privately wondered if the two women just couldn’t get along, or if her aunt really was dead set against going to restaurants.

Maude was still there, hardly changed by a decade, and joined by one of her daughters, Mavis, who could have been a younger clone in both appearance and demeanor. Menus got slapped down like a dueling challenge, glares accompanied the taking of orders and it was a wonder coffee mugs didn’t crack the way they got slammed down.