Читать книгу Her Man On Three Rivers Ranch - Stella Bagwell - Страница 11
ОглавлениеFriday afternoon Blake called Katherine to confirm their date, and before their brief conversation ended, she asked if he’d mind dropping off Nick at the sitter’s on their way out of town. Blake had readily agreed and had even felt a bit flattered that she wanted him to meet her son.
But now as Blake walked to the front door of Katherine’s brick house, he wondered how Nick was going to react to his mother going on an outing with a strange man. Blake loved children, but that didn’t mean Katherine’s son would like him. It would make for an awkward start with Katherine if the boy took an instant dislike to him.
Trying not to dwell on that possibility, Blake punched the doorbell and after a moment he could hear footsteps racing through the house. When the door partially opened, he found himself staring at a tall, thin boy with dark hair and clear gray eyes. There was no doubt he was Katherine’s child. Her features were stamped all over his face.
“Hello,” he said as he warily eyed Blake. “Are you Mr. Hollister?”
“Hello,” Blake said, returning the greeting. “And I am Mr. Hollister.”
Continuing to study Blake with open curiosity, he opened the door wide and thrust out his hand.
“I’m Nick,” he said, introducing himself. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
Blake gave the boy’s hand a firm shake. “It’s nice to meet you, Nick. And it’s fine with me if you call me Blake.”
“Mom says I have to be respectful of my elders. But you don’t look all that old to me,” he said. “You want to come in, Blake?”
Blake smiled to himself. At least the boy wasn’t sulking. “That would be nice.”
Nick stepped to one side and Blake entered a short foyer.
“Mom is still getting dressed,” Nick announced as he closed the front door behind them. “She’s always slow.”
“That’s okay. I don’t mind waiting.”
The boy motioned for Blake to follow him out of the foyer. “Come into the living room. I’ll go tell Mom you’re here.”
With Nick leading the way, Blake entered a cozy room furnished with a dark red couch and matching stuffed armchair. A glass coffee table was covered with books and DVDs, while a television spanned a far corner of the room. Beyond a picture window framed with cream-colored drapes, a view of the desert almost made him forget the house was situated on the edge of a residential area.
“You can sit anywhere you want,” Nick instructed before he disappeared through an open doorway.
After taking a seat in the armchair, Blake settled back and allowed his gaze to wander around the room. Almost immediately his attention was caught by several framed photos resting on a wall table off to his left. With only a span of a few feet between him and the photos, Blake could see the majority of the images were of Nick captured at different stages of his young life. There was also an enlarged snapshot of Paulette Anderson with another woman, most likely her sister. He also recognized one small photo of Katherine’s brother, Aaron. The fact that there were no images of her late father or husband stood out like a weed in a rose garden.
Considering what Joseph had told him about Avery Anderson, Blake could understand why she might not want to be reminded of her father. But what about her husband? Was losing him still so painful she didn’t want to look at his image?
The sound of footsteps had him glancing around to see Nick entering the room.
“Mom says she’ll be ready in five minutes,” he announced. “But if I was you, I’d be ready to wait another ten. She’s just now doing something to her hair.”
The boy walked over to the couch and plopped onto the end cushion. Blake noticed he was wearing a black T-shirt with his school’s name printed across the front, along with blue jeans and high-top basketball shoes made of black canvas. In a few short years, he was going to be a very good-looking teenager, Blake decided. No doubt Katherine would have her hands full trying to keep him on the right path. Unless she married in the near future and then Nick would have a stepfather to help guide him into manhood.
Shoving away that uncomfortable thought, he asked, “What grade are you in, Nick? The fifth?”
He nodded. “I’m ten. I’ll be eleven in three months, though.”
“Hmm. I liked being eleven,” Blake commented. “It’s a fun age.”
“I wouldn’t know about that. I’m not eleven yet.”
Before he could stop it, Blake was laughing and the sound must have eased something in Nick, because he suddenly laughed along with him.
“Are you really a cowboy? Mom says you run a big ranch that has lots of cows and horses.”
“That’s right. It’s called Three Rivers Ranch.”
His interest piqued, Nick squared around on the cushion so that he was directly facing Blake. “I guess you know how to ride a horse and all that kind of stuff. Can you rope a bull?”
“I can. But it’s not something I do very often. It’s pretty dangerous. Especially when they have long horns.”
Nick thought about that for a moment. “Yeah, guess it would be. Those long horns are pretty scary. When Gold Rush Days was going on, Mom took me to the rodeo. It was exciting. I liked the bucking horses best.”
“Then you’d like my brother Holt. He rides bucking horses practically every day.”
Nick was clearly impressed. “Really? Wow, he must be a tough guy.”
“As tough as they come,” Blake agreed.
“You have brothers and sisters?” he asked.
“Three brothers and two sisters.”
“Gosh, that must be great. I don’t have a brother. Or a sister. I wish I had some. But I don’t think I ever will.”
Blake had expected Katherine’s boy to utter a few stilted words, then disappear into another part of the house. The fact that Nick seemed to want to talk, especially about such personal things, touched a soft spot in him.
Doing his best to sound casual, Blake asked, “Why do you think that?”
Exasperation twisted Nick’s young features. “Because Mom don’t like men much. She don’t even like to talk about my dad.”
Blake wasn’t sure what Nick meant by that statement and he was hardly going to pump the boy about Katherine’s private life.
“Well, she must like some men,” Blake reasoned. “She agreed to go on a date with me.”
Nick scooted up on the edge of his seat and leaned closer to Blake. “Yeah. And that’s got me stumped. I’ve been thinking she’s gotten sick or something. When Mom walks in here, you take a real close look and see if anything looks funny to you.”
Struggling to keep a straight face, Blake said, “Don’t worry. I’ll study her close.”
Nick started to make some sort of reply when his mother suddenly appeared in the open doorway to the living room.
As Blake slowly rose to his feet, he realized his promise to Nick was going to be mighty easy to keep. Dressed casually in a red-and-white-flowered sundress with skinny straps and her long hair pinned behind one ear, she looked like an exotic flower in the middle of a jungle.
“Good evening, Blake. Sorry for keeping you waiting.”
“No problem,” he assured her. “Nick and I have been using the time to get acquainted.”
Her skeptical gaze traveled back and forth between him and her son. “Really? Nick isn’t much of a talker around strangers.”
“We’re not strangers now, though, are we, Nick?” Blake looked over at the boy and winked.
Grinning, Nick immediately jumped to his feet. “Gosh, no!” He turned his attention to his mother. “Blake’s been telling me about his ranch. And he has lots of brothers and sisters. Did you know that, Mom? And one of his brothers rides bucking broncos! Isn’t that something?”
Katherine’s brows inched upward as she darted a look of surprise toward Blake. “It’s something, all right,” she told him, then gestured over her shoulder. “Go get your backpack. And be sure you have your toothbrush and pajamas.”
After Nick disappeared from the room, Blake said, “I hope you’re not making Nick stay overnight at the sitter’s on my account. We can be back early if you need to pick him up before bedtime.”
Katherine shook her head. “Don’t worry. It’s no problem. Nick is staying with his best friend, Shawn. His dad, Lash, loves for Nick to stay overnight. And Shawn stays with us quite often. Lash is a single parent like me, so it helps both of us to switch off with the babysitting duties. The Ralstons live just down the street, so it’s not out of the way.”
A single dad with a son the age of Nick? Blake wondered if he should be jealous of Katherine’s neighbor, then promptly scolded himself for being such an idiot. Just because she’d agreed to have one date with him, didn’t mean he had exclusive tabs on the woman. She had the right to go out with whomever she pleased.
Shoving away that disturbing thought, Blake said, “It’s good you have someone so trustworthy to watch Nick. And by the way, your son is quite a boy. You must be incredibly proud of him.”
A faint smile touched her face. “He’s everything to me. Without him...well, these past years would’ve been even harder to get through.”
Blake expected her to make a comment about Nick taking after his father in certain ways, or how she hoped he’d grow up to be like the man she’d married, but she didn’t. And suddenly Blake was wondering if Nick had been right about his mother not wanting to talk about her late husband.
Before Blake could think of a suitable reply to her remark, Nick bounced into the room with a backpack hooked around both shoulders.
“I got everything, Mom. And don’t worry. Lash will make sure we brush our teeth. He doesn’t let us get by with anything.”
Chuckling, Katherine picked up a clutch bag from a nearby end table. “That’s why he’s the best babysitter you’ve ever had.”
Blake picked up his cowboy hat from where he’d left it by the armchair and levered it onto his head. “Are we ready to go?” he asked.
“Ready,” Katherine answered, then with a gentle scruff to the top of Nick’s head, she urged her son toward the door.
Blake followed them onto the front porch, and while she dealt with locking the door, he wondered what might have happened if he’d dated Katherine twelve years ago before she’d left Wickenburg. Perhaps she and Nick would be living on Three Rivers now as his family. But at eighteen, she might’ve been too immature for a serious relationship between them. Especially one that would last. Either way, he couldn’t change the past, he realized. But starting tonight, he was definitely going to try to change the course of his future.
* * *
“Since you said you wanted to keep things casual, I didn’t make dinner reservations,” Blake said as he braked for a stop sign. “Have you thought about where you’d like to eat? Or what you’d like to do?”
Katherine glanced over at him. For Blake, dressing casually meant a pale blue Western shirt that had most likely cost more than her monthly grocery bill, dark blue jeans and a pair of brown, square-toed alligator boots. With his black cowboy hat lying on the console between them, she had a full view of the dark tousled waves of hair edging over the tops of his ears and onto the collar of his shirt. He looked like a man who knew exactly what he wanted and, once he got it, wouldn’t hesitate to fight to keep it. To say the man was attractive would be like calling a hurricane a gentle breeze.
She clasped her hands together on her lap as though she needed to prevent herself from reaching across the seat and touching him. “This is probably going to sound silly to you, but I’d like to take a drive through the mountains toward Prescott and eat at some little spot on the side of the road. Is that okay with you?”
He looked over at her and she noticed one corner of his lips was curved faintly upward. The expression was hardly a smile, she decided, yet it was as sexy as heck.
He said, “That sounds absolutely okay with me.”
Relieved, she felt compelled to explain her choice. “I’m not much for fancy, Blake. That’s probably hard for a man like you to understand.”
His grunt was a mocking sound. “A man like me? I’m hardly black-tie-and-tails, Katherine.”
A blush stung her cheeks. “No. But, well, you know what I’m getting at. I wasn’t raised like you.”
With his gaze fixed firmly on the highway, he said, “Look, Katherine, I thought we’d hashed out all of that. Sure, I remember your parents’ little house, where you were raised as a kid. Nobody had to tell me that your family didn’t own much. But that has nothing to do with you as a person. Besides, you’ve grown above all of that. Seems to me, you’ve been doing very well for yourself and your son.”
She smoothed a hand over the hem of her dress. “Yes, things are much better now. Financially speaking, that is. But with Dad gone, my mother too bitter to really enjoy life and my brother keeping his distance, I can’t help but wish things had been different. For them and for me and Nick.”
“I’m sure you wish things had been different for your late husband, too.”
A chill settled over her. Clearly, he’d noticed she’d left Nick’s father off her list. “Talking about Cliff isn’t something I want to do tonight,” she said stiffly.
“Hmm. Nick says you never want to talk about his father.”
She stared at his profile. “Nick told you that?”
He glanced in her direction. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have mentioned it. But I’m curious as to why you want to avoid the subject of your late husband. Is it because you loved him so much that remembering hurts?”
Katherine groaned. This was supposed to be a date, not a question-and-answer session, she thought crossly. “It’s not that. And I’m not trying to keep Nick from learning about his father. Well, maybe I am in some ways,” she glumly admitted. “You see, I’d rather Nick only know about the good parts of his father. It would only hurt my son to learn how his father changed from a loving husband into a man driven by an obsessive need for money.”
She paused and waited for him to make some sort of reply. When he remained silent, it was obvious he was expecting her to explain further.
“I had hoped that having a child would help,” she went on in a strained voice, “but my getting pregnant actually made things worse. By the time Nick was born, Cliff hardly noticed he had a child. It’s no wonder Nick says he can’t remember his father. Cliff never spent enough time with his son to make any memories. He was too busy making money.”
Blake steered the truck onto Highway 93, and as they headed north, Katherine couldn’t help but wonder what he must be thinking about her and her marriage. No doubt he was probably telling himself this was the first and last date he’d have with Katherine O’Dell.
She was about to apologize for sounding so sharp, when he suddenly spoke.
“If my math is correct, Nick must have only been about three when his father died. That’s too young for a child to remember much of anything.”
Sighing, she looked at him. “Maybe that’s a good thing. I don’t know anymore. I expect when Nick gets a little older, he’s going to start asking more questions about his father. I dread that time, because I can’t lie to him. It wouldn’t be right.”
“No. Lying wouldn’t be good. But maybe by the time Nick does start asking those questions, he’ll already have another father,” Blake suggested. “And the truth won’t hurt so much.”
Katherine stared at her clasped hands. “I honestly doubt that’s going to happen. I can’t see myself marrying again.”
Another stretch of silence passed and then he said, “Nick wants brothers and sisters.”
Her gaze slid over his chiseled features. “I can’t believe he was telling you that sort of thing. He doesn’t talk about private matters to anyone but me—and sometimes his buddy Shawn.”
He shrugged one shoulder. “I guess Nick decided I was someone he could confide in. So what are you going to do about it?”
She frowned at him. “Do about what?”
“About giving him some siblings.”
His nerve astounded her. She’d been acquainted with the Hollister family for as long as she could remember. And yes, throughout her teenage years, she’d had a crush on Blake. But she didn’t know him in a personal way. Not even well enough to call herself a close friend. So what made him think he could talk to her about such things?
“Do you really think that’s any of your business?”
His grin was a bit suggestive and even more endearing.
He said, “Probably not. But I hope to make it my business before the evening is over.”
If Katherine had any sense at all, she’d tell him to turn the truck around and take her home. She didn’t need some man digging into the deepest part of her. She didn’t want him prying at the locked-away spot where she harbored her hopes and dreams. And she especially didn’t need a man like Blake, who’d been born into a loving family and a home where he’d never lacked for anything, telling her what she or her son needed in their lives. And yet, she didn’t want to go home. She didn’t want this evening with Blake to end. Even though he was making her think about uncomfortable things, he was also making her feel more alive than she’d felt in years.
“I suppose you have a right to hope,” she murmured.
He didn’t make any sort of reply and his silence made the cab of the truck feel even more crowded with his presence. In spite of the air-conditioner vents blowing in her direction, she could practically feel the heat emanating from his body and hear the soft in and out of his breathing.
Swallowing hard, she purposely stared out the passenger window and tried to concentrate on the open landscape. With each passing mile, the terrain appeared to be growing a bit greener. Here and there, huge rock formations towered into the sky, while on the lower slopes of the gentle hills, sage bloomed purple.
After a few moments, the rugged beauty of the land began to soothe her jumpy nerves and before long she was gasping with delight. “Look, Blake, at the water hole! There’s a big herd of antelope. Aww—and all those babies! They’re beautiful!”
He glanced at the wildlife. “Looks like this area has been blessed with a bit of rain. Grass has greened the slopes and given the antelope and deer plenty to eat.”
She stared at the herd of animals until they were completely out of view, then looked over at him. “I have to admit that living in San Diego was nice. But I missed Arizona,” she said wistfully. “The desert and the saguaros. The rock bluffs and pine-covered mountains. And all the deer and antelope.”
“You forgot to add the blistering heat and months without rain. Along with the rattlesnakes, horned lizards and javelina,” he added jokingly.
She smiled. “Strange, isn’t it? That a person can get attached to such a rugged place.”
“Hmm. It’s all I’ve ever known. So it doesn’t seem strange to me. I’d feel stifled if I had to live in a city.” He cast a curious glance in her direction. “Is that one of the reasons you decided to stay in Wickenburg after your father died? Because you missed this area?”
She took a moment to think about his question. “I’ll be honest, Blake, twelve years ago when I left with Mom and my brother, I never expected to see the place again. I thought I’d never want to return to Arizona. You see, when we left Wickenburg, I had high hopes that my life would change. I desperately wanted to better myself. But my life made turns I never expected. And along the way I think I forgot that better doesn’t always equal happiness.”
“No. Not always,” he quietly agreed.
Emotions filled her throat and she tried to clear away the lump before she spoke. “This is probably going to sound terrible to you, but I dreaded coming back to Wickenburg. I dreaded seeing the place and seeing Dad. There were plenty of things I didn’t want to be reminded of. But when I walked into our old house and my father reached for my hand... I can’t explain it, but for the first time in years I felt truly at home.”
