Believe in Me: A Rosewood Novel (2 page)

“How magnanimous of them.” He drummed his fingers on the arm of the sofa. “I love that my morals are being judged by a fashion model, her redneck husband, and a surly, delinquent teenager.”

“Richard, I don’t think that’s a productive attitude. Surely you can—”

Jordan cut off Abby’s gentle admonition. “My sisters are pretty damned fantastic,” she snapped. “Margot has almost single-handedly gotten my family’s home and farm out of debt with her modeling and Jade has had to deal with the tragedy of losing both her parents in a horrific accident. I would hope you’d understand how a scared and confused teenager can behave stupidly. And Travis is one of the most talented horsemen in Virginia.”

“He acts like he’d enjoy castrating me,” he said defensively. Though he would die before admitting it, Jordan knew her brother-in-law intimidated him.

But she wasn’t going to let him attack her family after all they’d done for her. “You know, Richard, you might find your own family a bit judgmental if you ever told them about your affair with Cynthia. Instead you’ve kept them in the dark. You don’t even want me to talk to our friends about what’s going on, so how can you blame me that I turn to my sisters for support when I’m about to explode from all this stuff churning inside me? Or do you want me to have no one?”

“Easy there, settle down,” he said, holding his hands up as if to halt her outburst. “You know I like your sisters, babe. I’m just sick of dealing with their negativity. And the
reason I haven’t told my family about what we’ve been going through is simple. I don’t want to worry my folks when I know that you and I are going to work this thing out and that our marriage will be stronger than ever for it. In the same vein, what possible advantage could there be in airing our dirty laundry to our friends? Why would I want you hurt more by the inevitable speculation?”

It was hard to stay angry when he sounded so reasonable. His hand, which only seconds ago had warded her off, dropped to the middle cushion of the sofa and slid across the leather to cover her clenched one. “I was a stupid idiot last year. I don’t ever want to hurt you again. I love you.” His warm hand squeezed hers.

Jordan looked at him, searching for any hint of insincerity. But Richard’s hazel gaze was level, and when he smiled, his expression was warm and open. In that moment Jordan glimpsed the man she’d promised to love and cherish, for better or for worse. Hope flickered and caught.
God, please let us find a way back to loving each other
.

“Well, I think it’s easy enough to understand Richard’s point of view here,” Abby said approvingly. “I can’t stress how important it is during this period of rebuilding your relationship that you be aware of each other’s needs.”

“Yes, I guess it is,” Jordan agreed softly.

Richard’s mouth twitched and then spread into an inviting grin. For a moment it was as if they were newly wed again. She gave a small answering smile.

Abby spoke. “Our time’s nearly up for today. As I said before, I think you two are making some real progress. Now, let’s go back to your weekend plans. It’s great you’re getting away. Your family home, Rosewood, is in Warburg, Virginia, isn’t that right, Jordan?”

She nodded. “Yes, near Upperville.”

“Are you driving there tomorrow or on Saturday?”

“Jordan and the kids are going this afternoon. I’ll drive
up tomorrow after work. I wish I could take the day off but I’m swamped with projects.”

“Well, you’ll be there for the weekend,” Abby said easily. “So here’s what I’d like the two of you to concentrate on while you’re at Rosewood. Jordan, as you’ll be arriving first, it’s going to be your job to lay the groundwork. I’d like you to take shameless advantage of your sisters and ask them to watch the kids so that you and Richard can steal away and spend some time together. Go out and take a walk, shop, have a candlelit dinner at a nice restaurant—whatever strikes your fancy. And when you’re alone together, don’t talk about the children or what you’ve been going through these past months. I want you instead to pretend that you’re two people on a first date, just learning about each other. Use this time to
relearn
what attracts and excites you about this person you’re with.” She smiled. “I think you’re both going to be surprised at what you find. We’ll talk about it next week.”

Jordan loved Rosewood. In the spring the stately Greek Revival mansion and its three-hundred-acre horse farm, set in the rolling hills of Loudon County, Virginia, were especially glorious. The fields were colored bright green, the towering chestnut trees of the allée that led up to the house were in full bloom, the heady scent of lilacs and viburnum sweetened the air. In the nearby pastures the newborn foals with their spindly legs frolicked while their mothers nibbled on the tender grass.

With the birth of her own baby girl, Jordan had missed the foaling season, a magical time. On the drive to Warburg, their first trip since Olivia’s birth, Kate and Max were unable to contain their excitement at the prospect of seeing the new crop of Rosewood Farm’s babies.

When Jordan pulled up in the minivan, her sisters, Margot and Jade, and Travis came out of the main barn to greet
them. For several minutes a happy confusion reigned, punctuated by hugs and exclamations. They were a horse family; no one was the least surprised to hear Kate and Max clamoring for the top two items on their wish list: a visit to the pasture to see the newborn foals, and a riding lesson on Doc Holliday, their aunt Jade’s old pony.

Ned Connolly, who had begun working with Rosewood’s horses back when Jordan’s grandfather was alive, came out of the broodmares’ barn to say hi. Hearing their excited pleas, he offered to take them and Jordan down to the pasture to see the foals with their dams and then afterward to “help” Kate and Max groom and tack Doc. By the time they’d finished brushing and saddling him, Jade would have finished riding Mistral and would be ready to give them a lesson.

Ned had been wonderful about introducing Kate and Max to the foals that afternoon. When they’d gone to bed that evening, they’d wanted to forgo reading a story in order to talk about the new additions to Rosewood Farm.

And now he’d made their morning as special as Christmas by coming to the house at breakfast and inviting Kate and Max to walk the broodmares and their foals out to their pasture with him. The old man’s generosity, and his willingness to slow his day’s schedule so they could watch the fuzzy-coated foals as they and their dams were led from the broodmares’ barn to the pasture’s gate, moved Jordan beyond words.

“You are very kind to us, Ned. Thank you.” The grateful kiss she gave his weathered cheek left him blushing.

“I remember doing the same for you, Miss Jordan, when you were no bigger than little Kate here,” he said, his voice gruff. Then, as if afraid she might thank him again, he’d hustled them all down to the broodmares’ barn.

“Ned, what’s this mommy’s name again?” Kate asked, tugging on his sleeve as he walked the jet black mare and her foal out into the morning sunshine.

“This here’s Night Wing and her colt’s name is Night Watch,” he answered. “He’s a fine-looking one, don’t you think, Max?”

Max nodded enthusiastically. “I like the white on his nose.”

“That’s what we call a blaze. I’ve seen a picture of his sire, his daddy. He had the same one …” Endlessly patient, Ned talked to them about each mare and foal they led down to the pasture, explaining about the colors of the foals’ coats and how they’d change as the horses matured. By the time they’d made the final trip down to the pasture, Kate and Max were chattering like magpies about how Ventura’s colt, Turner, would turn into a gray whereas Night Wing’s colt, Night Watch, would end up the same shiny black as his mother. And Sava’s filly, Valentine, would remain chestnut.

While Olivia napped in the Snugli Jordan had strapped on, Jordan and the kids spent the morning watching the foals cavort, racing over the fields on their tiny hooves and long, matchstick legs, bucking and squealing while their dams grazed. Now and then one of the mares would wander over to the fence to have her head and neck scratched, prompting her curious foal to come over, too. Kate and Max held their breath in delight to see it poke its nose through the wooden rails and sniff at their tummies.

Though Jordan was careful to remind them of Ned’s instruction to remain quiet around the foals so as not to spook them, the warning was unnecessary. Even three-year-old Max had taken the lessons to heart.

Tearing the children away from their prime spot by the pasture was no easy feat. Only the reminder that they needed to eat a good lunch if they wanted another lesson aboard Doc Holliday could get them to loosen their hold of the fence’s bottom rail. Still, their feet remained rooted. Seeing their obvious reluctance to leave, Jordan didn’t hesitate to play her trump card. If they were extra well behaved and went back up to the house with Mommy and Olivia now,
she’d ask Ned if they could help him bring the foals in from the pasture later in the afternoon. Like magic, their short legs began moving in the direction of the house.

Back inside, she nursed Olivia, changed her diaper, and then hustled the kids downstairs to help Ellie Banner, the housekeeper, prepare a lunch of sandwiches and soup, and a green salad for Margot, who was still modeling. Margot and Travis, and Jade, who had the day off from high school, would be coming in from working with the horses.

The kitchen was buzzing with activity when the others joined them. The children were putting napkins on the long kitchen table, Ellie was settling Olivia into her Kangarockaroo baby seat, and Jordan was at the kitchen’s granite island, chopping onions and celery to make a stuffing for the turkey she was roasting for that night’s dinner.

“Hey, guys,” Margot said, peeling off a sweater she’d been wearing and draping it over the back of her chair. “That soup smells delicious. And you smell pretty great, too,” she said to Olivia as she kneeled down to kiss her.

“Would you mind watching her, Margot? I just heard the timer go off. I need to go and put the wash in the dryer,” Ellie said.

“Of course. Here, let’s put Olivia up on the table so we can all enjoy her.”

“She is kind of cute when she gets those legs and arms going,” Jade said. “I’m starved. Wow, that is a major turkey,” she added as she eyed the bird resting on the kitchen island. “You going to eat all that, Max?”

He shook his head violently. “No, it’s for Daddy.”

“Daddy loves turkey,” Kate pronounced, saving the grown-ups from having to comment on Richard’s arrival. “And Mommy’s going to bake brownies and peanut butter cookies ’cause everybody likes them.”

“We sure do, don’t we, Travis?”

“Yeah, pretty much, though I really like Margot’s frozen
yogurt and granola desserts, too.” He grinned at Jade’s instant exclamation of disgust.

“Thank you, Travis.” Smiling, Margot walked around to his chair to kiss him lightly. “Can I get you a cup of coffee with your sandwich and soup?”

“Yes, please,” he said, looping an arm about her waist and snagging another, longer kiss before letting her move off to the counter.

It was great to see Margot and Travis’s love for each other. Maybe the day would come when she and Richard would be that close again, Jordan thought, as she turned around to the sink to wash her hands. The memory of the warm, teasing light in Richard’s eyes when he’d held her hand during their session at Abby Walsh’s office filled her with optimism. Maybe she and Richard
had
turned a corner. And while a part of her might never understand how Richard could have cheated, she loved him. Lord knows she was tired of being angry at him. She was ready to forgive him and put the past ten months behind them.

It was spring, the season of rebirth. Maybe being here in the beautiful house that had been in her family for generations would serve as the spark to rekindle their relationship.

“So where are you planning on going with Richard tomorrow night?” Margot asked as she filled the coffee cups and carried them to the table. “No, you stay with Olivia, Jade. I’ll bring your food over,” she said when Jade made to rise.

“I was thinking of the Coach House.”

“Mmm, good choice. Travis took me there a couple of weeks ago. It was delicious. And the dining room is lovely.” Margot ladled soup into three mugs and then carried them over to the table. After setting down a plate of sandwiches for Jade and Travis, she went to the fridge and retrieved a salad to eat with her soup.

Having finished chopping the chestnuts and vegetables, Jordan mixed them into a bowlful of breadcrumbs and
added a small amount of boiling water and melted butter. Setting the stuffing aside, she lifted the turkey onto the cutting board and patted it dry. “So you’re sure you don’t mind watching the kids tomorrow night?”

“Of course we don’t. And you don’t have to bribe Travis and Jade with brownies, either.”

“Yeah, you do,” Jade said, her cheeks bulging with her ham and cheese sandwich. “You’ve got Ellie trained never to make brownies, which is grossly unfair. Besides, Jordan’s are the best in the world. Aren’t they, kids?”

From her workstation at the granite island, Jordan listened to her children enthusiastically second and third the excellence of her brownies and cookies. After this hellish year, which began with the deaths of their father, RJ, and Jade’s mother, Nicole, it was wonderful to see her sisters and her children gathered around the table. While Margot and Travis simultaneously confirmed Max and Kate’s judgment that yes, their mom could bake yummy treats like nobody else, Jade, who was munching on her second ham and cheese sandwich with one hand, rocked Olivia in the Kangarockeroo with the other. Olivia liked it, kicking and squirming with the contented serenity of a third child.

This was good. And somehow she just knew the entire weekend would be good, too. Smiling, she looked down at the large turkey before her. Richard would be tired and hungry when he arrived that evening. She really had to get this sucker in the oven or it wouldn’t be ready in time.

She pulled the bowl of stuffing closer to the turkey and gave it one last toss to make sure the chestnuts were evenly distributed.