Читать книгу Lone Star Father - Marin Thomas - Страница 13

Chapter Three

“We’ve been waiting for you, Reid,” Jessie said after he pulled up to the house at Paradise Ranch Saturday afternoon. “Scarlett’s gonna give us a tour of the petting zoo.”

In the six months that they’d known each other, Jessie hadn’t called him Dad, even though she referred to him as her dad when she spoke with other people. Maybe she just needed a little more time.

He studied his childhood home. His grandmother’s rosebushes looked healthy and lush—a big change from his last glimpse of the sickly shrubs as he’d left for the military. Fresh gravel covered the road leading to the highway and the swing hung on the porch again. The window trim had recently been painted and the white rockers were new. He attributed the homey feel to Logan’s wife, Sadie.

“What’s the matter?” Jessie asked.

“Nothing.” He cracked a smile. “I haven’t been here in a while and the place looks different.” The barn sported a new coat of red paint and the white corral rails gleamed in the sun. Across from the old storage shed was an enclosed barnyard where a handful of animals congregated. A sign reading Paradise Petting Zoo hung above the entrance.

“You’re here.” Scarlett joined Jessie on the porch. Her smile reached her eyes, and the sparkle warmed his insides. He’d desired his share of women through the years and he felt plenty of below-the-belt temptation for Scarlett, but when their gazes locked all that heat traveled upward into his chest, making his heart pound faster.

Jessie descended the steps. “Uncle Logan said he had to take care of the horses.”

A bitter lump lodged in Reid’s throat when Jessie referred to his brother as Uncle Logan. Returning to Stampede was supposed to help him and Jessie grow closer, not Jessie and his brothers.

Tommy flung the front door open and he and his brother raced past Scarlett. “I want to show Jessie my chicken.”

“Me, too,” Tyler said.

Taking a look at the hunting cabin would have to wait until after they toured the barnyard. “Lead the way,” he said.

The twins grabbed Jessie’s hands, then Tommy said, “C’mon, JJ. I’ll show you Captain America.”

“And Superman,” Tyler said. The boys and Jessie cut across the yard.

Scarlett descended the steps and they followed the kids. “JJ?” he said.

“Tommy kept complaining that Jessie was a girl, so she told the boys to call her JJ for short because it sounded like a boy’s nickname.” Scarlett peeked up at him. “What’s the second J stand for?”

“Jones.” He lowered his voice. “We haven’t talked about changing her last name to Hardell.” He figured his daughter needed time to get used to the idea of him being her father.

“Maybe she’s waiting for a signal from you that you want her to take your surname.” Was Scarlett speaking as a friend or a social worker?

“Jessie said the two of you didn’t meet until after her mother died.”

He didn’t want to talk about Stacy—mostly because he felt bad that he couldn’t remember much about her.

Scarlett pulled on his shirtsleeve and they stopped walking. “I’m prying because I care.” She glanced ahead at the kids. “I’ve helped hundreds of girls like Jessie. I’m here if you have any questions or just want to talk.”

Coming from anyone other than a social worker, Reid would have ignored the person, but Scarlett’s offer was sincere and empathy shone in her brown eyes. “Thanks.”

A wrinkle appeared across her brow. “It can be challenging bonding with a child you don’t know well.”

He almost asked if she had any tips on setting boundaries for a twelve-year-old but changed his mind, not wanting to appear totally inept as a parent. They strolled through the empty barn, then walked out the rear door into the petting corral.

“Watch this, JJ.” Tommy chased a rooster whose comb looked as if it weighed more than the bird.

“Superman’s hungry.” Tyler pushed the button on the feeding machine attached to the corral rail and pellets spilled into his hands and onto the ground. He offered the treats to the goat and giggled when the animal licked his palm. “He likes his magic food.”

“That’s a weird-looking chicken.” Jessie pointed to a bird with a feather duster attached to its back end. “The tail is longer than its body.”

“That’s an Onagadori chicken. It was first bred in Japan,” Scarlett said. “I didn’t know a thing about chickens before I came to visit, but thanks to Tyler’s chicken-and-rooster books I’m an expert.” She patted a miniature horse. “This is Ruby.”

“We got Ruby from a newspaper,” Tyler said.

Jessie rubbed the mare’s nose. “What do you mean, you got her from a newspaper?”

“Ruby’s owner couldn’t take care of her,” Sadie said. “He put an ad in the newspaper, hoping someone would adopt her.”

“Our grandpa lets us ride her.” Tommy took Jessie’s hand. “Wanna see Wilbur?” They zigzagged between chickens and stopped in front of a doghouse. “Come out, Wilbur.” A pink snout appeared in opening.

Jessie knelt down. “Come out and play, piggy.”

Tyler squatted by his brother and grunted like a pig. Wilbur left his house and nudged Jessie’s hand with his nose. Her laughter warmed Reid’s heart.

“The twins have a new best friend.” Scarlett nodded to Jessie. “I hope they don’t annoy her too much.”

Reid watched the trio play with Wilbur. His family had accepted Jessie into their fold. Time would tell if they rolled out the welcome mat for him.

“How long did you plan to stay in Stampede?” Scarlett asked.

Apparently no one expected him to stick around.

What else are they supposed to believe when you’ve kept your distance all these years?

“I don’t have any intention of leaving soon,” he said. “Jessie and I are moving into the cabin on the other side of the property.”

“You don’t sound excited about bunking down out there,” she said. “My offer to stay at the motel still stands.”

“The cabin will be fine.” He wasn’t pushing Scarlett out of the house. He needed an ally close by. He hoped he and his family could move forward because his daughter was making herself at home on the ranch and if they had to leave, she’d blame him for things not working out.

“Aunt Scarlett?” Tyler patted Scarlett’s leg. “Can we show Jessie our tree house?”

“Check with your mom first.” Scarlett glanced at Reid. “Logan built the boys a tree fort not too far from the garden alongside the house.”

“Jessie, keep an eye on the boys,” Reid said.

“I will.” She followed the twins out of the barnyard and across the lawn to the back door of the house.

“When did you plan to look at the cabin?” Scarlett asked.

“Right now. You want to come along?” He winced at the eager note in his voice. He was still bruised from the dressing-down his brothers had given him earlier and it was nice to be with someone he didn’t have to keep his guard up with.

“I don’t have Lydia’s eye for interior design or Sadie’s talents in the kitchen and garden, but I know what girls Jessie’s age like and don’t like.” They left the corral and Scarlett secured the latch on the gate. “I’ll tell Sadie where we’re going and meet you out front.”

Reid walked back to his truck and listened to the radio while he waited for Scarlett. He drummed his fingers against the steering wheel to the beat of the music and gazed out the windshield. As a kid he’d raced down the gravel road to the highway hundreds of times to catch the school bus. He thought he’d never return after he’d caught the bus that had taken him to boot camp. Life sure had a way of turning the best-laid plans upside down and inside out.

* * *

“WHERE’S EMMETT?” SCARLETT asked when she entered the kitchen.

“Upstairs changing clothes.” Sadie poured dish soap into the sink and ran the water. “Fang raced through the room a few minutes ago and tripped Emmett. When he caught himself on the counter, he tipped the bowl of cake batter onto his pants and shirt.” Sadie pointed to the mess on the floor.

“I’d help clean up, but Reid’s waiting for me in the driveway.” Scarlett stepped over the splatter. “We’re going to check out the cabin he and Jessie are staying in.”

“I don’t know why Gunner and Logan suggested the cabin.” Sadie shut off the water. “It’s silly to have them living on the other side of the ranch away from the rest of us.”

“I think you need to let the guys figure out the logistics.” Scarlett went into the laundry room and grabbed a small cooler from the shelf above the dryer.

Sadie followed her. “Are you telling me to mind my own business?”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

Sadie laughed. “Yes, you would.”

“You’re a mom and you like to fix everyone’s problems.”

“That’s the pot calling the kettle black,” Sadie said. “You’ve made a career out of fixing kids’ problems.”

“And my professional opinion is that it’s important for Jessie and Reid to have their privacy while they get to know each other better.” She returned to the kitchen and removed two bottles of water from the fridge, then put a handful of grapes into a plastic baggie.

“What are you doing?”

“Packing a picnic lunch.” Scarlett ignored Sadie’s arched eyebrow. She’d never told her cousins that Reid had kissed her the day of their great-uncle’s funeral or that he’d crossed her mind through the years and even more often after her cousins had married his brothers.

“Are you treating this trip to the cabin like one of your family welfare visits?” Sadie asked.

“If I said no, would you drop the subject?”

Sadie’s eyes twinkled. “Yes.”

“Then, no.”

Sadie went back to the sink and began wiping up the cake splatter. Scarlett knew her cousin had stopped her interrogation because she was glad Scarlett was showing interest in a man. After her horrible breakup with Dale, Scarlett had refused to get back into the dating game. Her cousins had suggested an online dating site, but she hadn’t been ready. Now she wondered if she’d been ready all along but just waiting for the right guy—a guy like Reid.

“There’s leftover chicken salad in the crisper,” Sadie said.

“Good idea.” Scarlett dished a scoop into two plastic bowls, then covered them and tossed in a pair of plastic forks. “I’ve got my cell,” she said. “Call if anything comes up with the kids.”

“We’ll be fine.”

Sadie followed Scarlett to the front door. “What about supper? Emmett’s making fried chicken and Aunt Amelia is joining us. Should I plan on Jessie and Reid, too?”

“I’ll let him know that everyone expects him for dinner.” Scarlett hugged Sadie. “After the kids go to bed tonight, I’ll help blow up the balloons.” She stepped outside and closed the door preventing Sadie from following her onto the porch.

“What’s that?” Reid asked when Scarlett set the cooler on the floor and climbed into the passenger seat.

“A snack if we get hungry.”

Reid shifted the pickup into Drive and took off. “We can get to the cabin faster using the highway,” he said.

“I didn’t know there was another way to get there.”

He nodded. “A couple of dirt roads intersect the ranch, but I don’t know what shape they’re in.”

Scarlett stared at the passing scenery. “Texas is so different from Wisconsin. I’m used to cornfields and bean fields. Down here all you see is hay or cattle.”

“Do you like the winters up north?” he asked.

“I enjoy the different seasons but the older I grow, the less I like the cold. We got a lot of snow this past winter and there were a few days I couldn’t drive in to work.”

A commercial came on the radio and when they both reached to turn the volume down at the same time, their fingers bumped. Scarlett looked away first because she didn’t want him to see her blush like a schoolgirl. “Sadie and Lydia mentioned you settled in Albuquerque. How’d you end up there?”

“I landed a job as a mechanic for a trucking company.” He slowed the pickup and moved over to the shoulder, then turned onto the property. “It looks like my grandfather had fresh gravel put down on this road, too.”

Scarlett sensed Reid didn’t want to talk about his life in New Mexico so she dropped the subject. “I can’t believe my cousins married your brothers after my great-aunt warned us girls to steer clear of you boys.”

“Amelia was right to be concerned about Gunner and Logan, but not me.”

She laughed. “Maybe I imagined it was you who kissed me at the church that day.”

He grinned. “That was pretty bold, huh?”

“You were my first kiss.”

He glanced at her. “No way.”

“Yes way.”

“The guys in Wisconsin must have been dumber than the dairy cows up there not to try to steal a kiss from a girl as pretty as you.”

She laughed. “Watch what you say about our cows.”

The next time Reid glanced across the seat, his eyes dropped to her mouth. “I’m a better kisser now.”

Scarlett’s pulse kicked into overdrive and the temperature inside the cab inched higher. “Just so you know, I’m a better kisser, too.”

“I’ll take that as a challenge.”

“You should.” She turned her face toward the window. She didn’t know if she was more shocked at herself for sparring with Reid or for enjoying it so much.

“Where’d you go to college?” he asked.

“University of Wisconsin at Madison. I wanted to go out of state but my parents said it was too expensive.”

“Are your folks still in Madison?”

“Yes, but they’re making plans to move to Florida. Sadie’s parents bought a home down there and Mom and Dad fell in the love with the retirement community. Dad’s a computer geek and he can work anywhere. Mom retired from teaching a few years ago, so they’re ready for a change.”

“Brothers or sisters?” he asked.

“Sadie, Lydia and I are only children.” Reid parked the truck in front of the cabin and she said, “It could use some paint.” They got out and walked closer.

Cedar trees surrounded the small structure made from shiplap. The corrugated metal roof was rusted but gave the place a charming country feel. Two wooden poles and a crossbeam held up the overhang. “A couple of chairs on the porch would welcome visitors.” Her eyes strayed to the dense foliage surrounding the cabin.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“I’m checking for serial killers lurking in the woods.”

He chuckled. “You think Jessie might object to sleeping this far away from the main house?”

“I don’t know. But it wouldn’t hurt to clear away some of the brush to allow more sunshine in.”

“Let’s take a look inside.” He opened the door. “You might want to wait a minute and let me check for any furry squatters.”

“Good idea.” She backed up a step.

Reid left the door open and she heard his boots clomp against the plank floor. A minute later he called out. “All clear.”

She entered the cabin expecting the worst, but was pleasantly surprised. Years of dust and dirt clung to the walls and floor—but nothing a good scrubbing wouldn’t take care of. “Is there a bathroom?”

He pointed down a short hallway and Scarlett poked her head inside. Sparse but functional. There were two small bedrooms, each with a window. “Electricity?”

Reid flipped a switch on the wall and the overhead light above the kitchen sink came on. That answered her question.