Lone Heart Pass (18 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Charley
March 29

C
HARLEY
TRIED
TO
act as if he'd slept when he entered the ranch kitchen. In truth, he didn't think he'd closed his eyes for more than an hour since he and Jubilee had gone to Lone Heart Pass. He must have relived the kiss in the darkness of the passage a hundred times. The memory haunted him, possessed him. The way she'd touched his chest, as if her light contact could hold him back. Then, how they hadn't even hugged, making the touch of their lips electric.

They'd simply kissed. And now he couldn't even tell her how one kiss had changed him. She'd said they'd never talk about it.
Never
. Holding it inside made the memory too real to allow sleep, made seeing her and not touching her almost painful. The only cure he could think of was work.

Yesterday they'd been too busy, so neither of them talked much. He had little hope that today would be better.

“Morning,” Jubilee said, without turning around from the stove to look at him.

She sounded as tired as he felt. “The coffee's ready.” Her hair was in a ponytail now and she already had her boots on. She looked as if she should be catching the school bus, as if she wasn't old enough to run a ranch. But if he'd learned one thing about Jubilee Hamilton, it was that she could do anything she set her mind to.

He poured a cup and sat down, wondering if he could focus enough to carry on a conversation. Something had to give between them. At this rate they'd either die of overwork or kill each other making love.

She set down his plate of bacon and eggs.

He managed to thank her before he ate.

“Sorry I burned the eggs,” she said when she refilled his cup.

“I hadn't noticed.” The food could have been made of mud and he would have simply salted it before shoving it into his mouth. “I thought I'd plow the wheat field today. Weatherman said high humidity but no wind.”

“Do you need any help? Just tell me what to do.” Unlike him, she simply stared at her plate of food.

“No, I'll be finished by...”

They both turned as a van came roaring up the dirt drive.

Charley stood and reached for the rifle above the door, but he didn't pull it down. Unwelcome strangers didn't always mean trouble. But being alone out in the country did mean caution.

They both waited in the doorway as the van pulled near, then swung sideways.

Almost before the huge vehicle stopped, a stout woman dressed in white jumped out of the passenger seat and stretched as if she'd been trapped inside for hours. Then both side doors slid open. A thin girl in skin-tight stretch pants and an oversize sweater that hung off one shoulder, crawled out of the back. Only unlike the first woman, she moved fluidly, as if someone had told her to pretend to be a willow.

“These people look like they work for my sister,” Jubilee whispered. “I think I've seen the one in white at her house before.”

“The first one's a nurse, I'm guessing,” Charley said. “But what does the other one think she is?”

“Maybe she's the cook. Or the yoga instructor. If we're lucky, they've come after Destiny. I heard her say she keeps a yoga instructor on speed dial and yesterday she swore to me that things were about to change around here.”

Charley turned his head sideways, still looking at the thin girl. “Her pants look painted on and someone forgot to finish knitting her top. I don't know much about yoga, but if she keeps doing that ‘willow in the wind' imitation, someone around here will probably plant her.”

“Stop acting like you've never seen clothes like that. I know what you're doing, practicing for laying on the hick act.”

“It usually works.” He frowned. Jubilee was finding it far too easy to read him lately.

The driver came around to the side of the van that faced them. He looked as if he played walk-on parts in
The Sopranos
. Beefy. Probably armed. A wanted-poster smile. He marched to the back of the van and began unloading boxes and cases. The two women made no effort to help him; they just stared at Charley and Jubilee.

“You have any idea what to do, boss?” Charley's voice was low as if he might frighten them off with any noise.

“No. Since they probably work for Destiny, maybe we should wake her. Who knows, if they're her staff maybe they missed her so badly they tracked her down.”

“Well, if they are,” Charley said, “I think they may be moving in. From the look of them, that's more likely than they made a wrong turn and think we're the dude ranch north of Crossroads.”

Before Charley could ask any questions, the thin woman leaned back into the van and pulled out a screaming toddler she must have woken up. A few seconds later the stout woman lifted out another one, who looked just like the first, only if possible, he was screaming louder than his brother.

Charley debated stepping out, rifle in hand, and demanding whoever they were that they get off the property at once. “You're running out of bedrooms, boss, and I don't think one bathroom is going to be enough.”

“It's the twins.” Jubilee's face went white just as a scream, coming from upstairs, drowned out both the babies' cries.

Charley tugged Jubilee out of the way as Destiny bolted through the kitchen and onto the porch.

“No, you don't,” she shouted. “You take them right back. I told Mason not to even think of sending them to me.”

“We can't take them back. He told us to drop them off.” The thin girl shoved her charge toward Destiny. “He says if you don't come back home, the twins are staying right here with you.”

Destiny set the baby down immediately and stormed off the porch, ruining her perfect pedicure. “You two are not leaving. I'll need a cook and a nurse with me. You wouldn't believe how rough it's been for me here with no help. I've had to do everything myself.”

The stout lady skirted Destiny and plopped the second baby boy on the porch. As she walked backward, she let out a cry. “Sorry, we were told we'd be fired if we stayed.” All three ran for the van like bandits and drove away with the back doors flapping.

Destiny turned toward Charley. “Well, don't just stand there. Help me get all of this inside. Jubilee, pick up your nephews and follow me in.”

Charley shook his head. “I don't work for you, Destiny, but I'll be happy to help out for a few minutes. After that, you're on your own.”

Jubilee took the hint. “Me, too. As soon as I get them inside, I have to find my hat and get to work.”

“You two are not leaving me alone with these babies.”

Her words came out like a general's, but unfortunately, Destiny no longer had any troops.

Charley got all the baby stuff inside, including high chairs and what looked like hundreds of diapers. Then, just to help out, he dragged a line of chicken wire to the porch and nailed it in place outside the slats. It didn't look very good, but the porch would now serve as a big playpen.

He saw Jubilee put both boys in their chairs and give them a handful of Cheerios to play with. Then, like lightning, they both disappeared, with Destiny's voice rolling like thunder behind them.

When they reached the barn, both folded over laughing.

Jubilee gained control first. “Do you think she'll be all right alone with the boys?”

“If she survives, she'll be a different woman by afternoon. I'll call Ike at the Two Step and see if his daughter can bring a few friends and come babysit after school. By then Destiny will probably need a few hours to have a nervous breakdown.”

“She says she came out to help me get rid of this ranch. She seems to think I'm trapped here.”

“Are you?” Charley was surprised how much it mattered.

“No, of course not, but I can't get through to her. She's determined to do what she thinks is best for me.” Jubilee smiled. “That and I think she wanted a break from being a wife and mother.”

“How long a break?”

“Maybe forever. She said once I came to my senses and sold this place she'd move to DC and help me find a place.”

He began loading supplies into the pickup. “You never did say what upset you so a few nights ago. Something she said, I'm guessing.”

Jubilee nodded. “She wants half the ranch. Told me she wouldn't leave until I signed it over to her.” Jubilee glanced back toward her house. “I'll never sign anything, no matter how long she stays.”

“Sounds like her husband wants her back. Maybe if we stay out of sight, she'll make up her mind to go back to him.”

“I think she loves him and the babies. It's just too much right now for her.”

Charley shrugged. “She's about to find out how much harder it's going to be alone.”

“My sister usually gets everything she wants, but she won't get this ranch.”

“She's got her hands full now. I have a feeling if we stay around the house, I'll be wearing a white apron and you'll be doing yoga to stay sane. If Mason wants her back, he's picked the perfect weapon to make her crawl back. Hope someone in that van heading to Dallas has a cell phone. I have a feeling they'll be turning around before dark and coming back to pick her and those babies up.”

Jubilee giggled as she climbed into the truck. “We've got farming to do.”

“Right.” He jumped behind the wheel. “With your help, we'll have the field plowed by noon and can make the lunch special at Dorothy's in town.”

“Sounds like a plan as long as we stay away from the house.”

He grinned. “We need to give her time to make her decision.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Thatcher
March 29

L
ILLIE
LEANED
OVER
the porch railing and stared at the two tiny toddlers now caged in by chicken wire.

“Walking babies,” she said as if identifying the species. “I've never seen two that look so much alike.”

Thatcher stared at them, not getting too close to the porch. “Maybe they're from the same litter.”

Kristi Norton giggled as she stepped out of the house with two bottles. “Lillie, would you go ask your father and Jubilee if they have thought about supper? Destiny says if she cooks it will be the same menu as lunch—Cheerios.”

“Sure.” Lillie bounced down from her viewing spot and ran toward the corral where she knew her father would be working with the horses.

Thatcher grinned at Kristi. “I've heard,” he said, trying to sound knowledgeable, “that twins happen when a woman hiccups during sex.”

Kristi laughed. “You're so funny, Thatcher. I love that you say crazy things just to make me laugh.”

He'd thought he was being serious, but now he realized he'd probably been given faulty information. “You want me to feed one of them?”

“Sure. Daniela's cleaning up the mess they made in the kitchen, and the twins' mother is taking her second nap since we got here. You know how to feed babies?”

Thatcher swung over the railing. “It couldn't be much different than feeding a calf.”

Kristi smiled. “Right.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Charley
March 29

A
LITTLE
AFTER
TEN
,
Charley took Daniela and Kristi home. The girls had babysat for six hours and were tired but happy. Destiny had paid each a hundred dollar bill and made them promise to come back as soon as they got out of school tomorrow.

Since he couldn't leave Lillie at the house alone, Charley had helped her into her pajamas and wrapped her in a blanket. With luck, she'd go to sleep on the way back.

Thatcher insisted on riding in the back of the pickup for the journey. He'd decided, sometime before dark, that he should stay the night at Charley's just in case there was trouble at the main house. “I got this picture of Destiny bolting out of the house screaming before dawn. I don't much care if she runs off, but I worry about them walking babies that Lillie seems to think are puppies.”

Charley laughed, but the scene might not be far from a foretelling of what was to come. Jubilee's sister's reaction to any cry of her offspring was to order someone else to take care of them, and tonight she'd be alone with her children for the first time.

On the way back from town, while Lillie slept between them, Thatcher told Charley what he'd heard at the Saturday night prayer meeting. Charley never questioned a word. In his teens, he'd worked with cowhands who'd lived out there, and knew they had their own kind of law along the Breaks. No county claimed them. No lawmen went in unless absolutely necessary.

Charley was silent for a minute, then said, “One of the cowhands who had a place in the Breaks said he knew a man by the name of Bent who beat his wife every weekend for years. She was so worn down she wouldn't even look at people.”

“I've seen men like that.” Thatcher shook his head. “It ain't right to hit women or kids.”

Charley nodded. “Did your mother tell you that?”

“No,” the boy answered. “I seen it firsthand.”

Charley didn't want to bring up bad times, so he continued his story.

“The cowhand I worked with one summer claimed Bent missed poker one Friday night so a few of his drinking buddies went out to check on him, guessing he'd gotten drunk without them and passed out.

“Bent was in bed so bruised he looked like he'd been dipped in black-and-blue dye. Both eyes were swollen shut and one of his ears had doubled in size. They said even his toes were bruised and broken at odd angles.

“His wife said she'd found him that way when she got home from her monthly trip to town. Bent never said a word about who beat him up, but they say he walked a wide circle around his wife's grandmother for the rest of his life.”

“An old woman beat him up?” Thatcher asked.

“That was the rumor. The sheriff never investigated.” Charley pulled up to his place. “Maybe I should go with the sheriff if he decides to start asking questions. I know a few of the men from the Breaks.”

“You might want to do that. I want to help the sheriff but I haven't figured out how.”

Thatcher ran inside when they stopped. He'd already made up his bed on the couch and was neatly folding his new clothes over the back of one of the kitchen chairs when Charley carried Lillie sleeping in his arms.

Charley walked past him, feeling dead on his feet. It had been three hard days and two sleepless nights since he'd closed his eyes. He mumbled good-night to Thatcher and carried Lillie to her room.

She opened her eyes when he laid her down; she wanted him to hold her until she drifted off again. By the time he crossed the living room, heading toward his bedroom, Thatcher was snoring and Charley felt as if he was sleepwalking.

He was so tired he felt like a drunk trying to prove he could still walk straight. When he closed the door and turned around to face his bed, the shock of what he saw rendered him wide awake.

Jubilee lay curled up on top of his grandmother's quilt that served as his bedspread. She still wore the clothes she'd worked in all day. She hadn't even removed her boots.

It registered in his tired brain that if she'd come to sleep with him, she would have at least undressed or put on something clean like a nightgown or even a T-shirt. He didn't know much about women, but he'd noticed they tended to spend time dressing just right for a romantic evening. Men only tended to be interested in undressing.

Her hat lay on the floor as if it had tumbled off when she'd collapsed. Her hair was tangled across her face. Her mouth was open as she snored lightly.

“Boss, if you're going for sexy, you missed the mark.” Leaning down, he brushed her hair off her forehead and kissed her cheek. “You gave it your all today. I have to admire that.” She'd worked right beside him, pulling her weight the entire day.

He had no idea what to do with her so he sat down on the corner of his bed and tugged off her boots, then his own.

She mumbled something about just wanting a little nap before she had to go back to the house.

Charley didn't answer. He knew she'd probably had the same amount of sleep he'd had in the past two days. He leaned back, almost touching her shoulder, and closed his eyes.

He was asleep before he let out a breath.

Sometime during the night he rolled over and managed to pull the quilt over her. She'd turned away from him, but her nicely rounded bottom pressed against his side, reminding him she was there.

At dawn, he opened one eye, trying to think of what to say to her. If she'd noticed how often he'd patted her last night, she'd be yelling before he could get a word in. Not that he had anything to say for himself. He had no defense.

He'd worried for no reason. She was gone. Boots, hat and nicely rounded bottom.

Charley got up as if it were an ordinary morning. He showered and shaved. Woke Thatcher up. While the kid showered, he dressed Lillie and started breakfast.

“How many eggs can you eat?” He yelled though the bathroom door at Thatcher.

“How many you got?” the kid answered.

Charley laughed and made six.

“Morning, That,” Lillie said when he appeared at the table. “Will you stay with us for a while?”

Thatcher looked at Charley. “I could help out around here. I could pay for what I eat.”

“You're welcome to stay as long as you want and you can help me build a chicken coop this weekend. I have a feeling this ranch is going to need eggs.”

“I saw lots of wood in the back of the barn. Levy must have never thrown a board away. We could use the wood and an old drawer for the nests in a coop.”

“You plan it, kid, and I'll help you build it. How about we surprise Jubilee?”

After he shoved the last bite in his mouth, Thatcher offered to walk Lillie down to the bus stop. Only when they got to the porch, he offered to carry her on his back so she wouldn't get her tennis shoes dirty.

Charley heard him ask Lillie what she thought a chicken house should look like and she said, “A castle.”

Charley was smiling when he turned and saw Jubilee walking around her almost-garden. She'd gotten so excited when the first plant broke ground. He couldn't wait to see how she'd act when she saw it ready to harvest.

If she saw it. If either one of them was still around by fall. Every day he watched her charts—money in, money out. It was going to be close. If they had to sell off the cattle early they'd lose thousands. If the crop didn't make it, there would be little cash left to buy feed. If the barn didn't stay full of borders. If one of them got sick.

There were too many ifs.

This wasn't just a job anymore. He cared about this place. He cared about her.

The realization hit him hard. He cared about her.