Second Chance Ranch (23 page)

The day surgery lobby was spacious and light. Plants of all leafy varieties broke up the sitting areas for privacy. At least as much privacy as one expected in a lobby area. She circled around one group of chairs and headed toward a back sitting area. She didn’t want anyone to see her cry.

No one was supposed to find out about Carli. Then the letter came…she wasn’t a match…Zac was. She’d wanted Carli to remain a secret forever, but secrets like this had a mind of their own. Okay, so Zac knew. She could live with that. But then Grace and Martin showed up. She’d never been good at lying. She had to tell them or have them worried sick over Zac and the procedure. But that wasn’t the worst. The worst was…

She skirted a side table and headed toward the back of the waiting area. A man stood from his seat and held out his hands…

…Her father had found out. “Daddy.”

Tears slipped down her face faster than she could swipe them away. He met her half way and wrapped her in a hug she didn’t remember ever receiving from her dad. Sobs shook her, the force of her frustration knocking her off balance. But her dad held on tightly until every last tear squeezed out.

“Feel better now, baby? You’ve been holding that in a long time.” He patted her back with one loving hand as they stood there behind the potted palm. “I think you’ve held in those tears since your mother died.”

“Daddy,” she sniffed. “It hurts.”

Sunshine poured in through the slated blinds. From the angle, Jen figured it was early afternoon. Seemed like forever ago they’d left Hawk Ridge, went through prep, the surgery and then recovery. Had it all happened in one day? Jen sagged against her dad, his strong arms supporting her leading her to the couch. She sat down and pushed her hair from eyes as her dad sat beside her. She’d been a nurse for years…some of those years spent working shifts in this very hospital. Why did everything feel so unreal?

“Jennifer, I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you or your brother.” Dad rested his wrist on his knee, flexing the muscles in his hand. “I’m the worst father ever put on this earth for not thinking about how your mother’s death must have affected you. I won’t make excuses or minimize it. Until this morning, I never even thought anything was wrong in your life.”

You weren’t supposed to know. I had everything under control.
“I’m okay, Dad. Parents can’t shield their kids from all the hurts in the world. You did your best.”

“I didn’t do anything except feel sorry for myself. What you’ve gone through…what you and Zac have gone through,” his voice caught and he cleared his throat. “…is exactly what I’d hoped to protect you from. No matter which road you took, it wasn’t easy.”

Confused by his sentiment, Jen tucked her chin and frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Life. Life tends to repeat itself.”

“Dad, I got pregnant and gave away my child. How does that compare to anything?”

A call for a Dr. Wilton came over for the intercom. Her dad glanced up and studied the ceiling. “Your mother was just a little older than you were when she got pregnant, only we got married. I was in my first year of practice and loved every moment of it. I loved your mother, too so I didn’t think getting married would be much of change. After all, we spent every moment I wasn’t at the hospital together. Money was so very tight, but we made it work.”

“Dad, I never even gave Zac a chance.”

His gaze roamed everywhere but at her. “When Kade was born, he was the most beautiful baby ever. Your mother spent every minute with him and caring for the house while I worked wicked hours at the hospital. I was trying to establish myself and provide for my family.” His voice went low as if trying to figure out some question he’d contemplated a long time. “When she got pregnant again, I began to panic. Supporting a wife and baby, paying off school loans, and trying to help her as much as I could began to take its toll…we started to bicker. I passed it off as pregnancy instability for all of us.”

“Hormones change a person, Dad. I wasn’t very rational when I was pregnant.” Rational was the last thing she was. She’d cried over cakes that burned, hot water in the shower…cold water in the shower, the lead in her pencil breaking. Anything that didn’t follow her planned course had thrown her for a loop. She never showed her instability in class, but at home? Thankfully, Lisa had been a very patient person.

A slow shake of his head acknowledged her encouragement. “By the time you were born, I didn’t have a compassionate bone left in me. There were too many things demanding my attention, so I evaluated them one at a time and decide the best thing for my family was to work and support your needs. I dove into work leaving your mother with all the other problems. God had mercy on her and gifted her with two great children. She never had a problem with you…it was me she didn’t know how to deal with. My schedule was erratic, she could never count on my being home. When I was home, I was either sleeping or playing with you two. I never made time for my wife. After a while, she just gave up, she said she couldn’t compete with a mistress that wasn’t flesh and blood.”

“I never heard her complain.” Jen continued to grip her hands together, the entire revelation very unsettling to her. Her mother smiled all the time and always had time for her. She remembered her mom tucking her in bed and then sitting in the front room with a book waiting for dad to come home. “She adored you.”

“She adored
you
.” Her father was quick to correct. “Jennifer, your mother was a saint. You and Kade never wanted for love. She poured her life out on you. Me? You two accepted me and my absences because you never knew differently. We looked like a happy family to everyone except Barb and myself.” He drew a ragged breath. “She developed cancer when you were nine. That was the fight that drew every last ounce of life from both of us. Thankfully, the Lord didn’t let her suffer. She died in her sleep.”

The house had become empty. Cold and dark. Nothing she or Kade could do sparked any interest in her dad. “Dad, you grieved so hard. I was worried about you.”

“Honey, I grieved over a relationship that never had a chance. When Grace Davidson scooped you and Kade up and told me not to worry about you and to go about making arrangements, it was like a weighty burden of dread had fallen off my shoulders. I didn’t know what to do with you and Kade. All I knew was work.” His laugh held no humor. “You stayed at the Circle D for so long I was worried that Grace and Martin would petition for custody. We all got back together at home and fell into a routine. Both you and your brother had found a second home at the Circle D and I wasn’t going to rock the boat. I didn’t want to.”

She reached out and ran her palm over his forearm, the hairs soft over smooth skin. Nothing compared to the rugged strength of a rancher. Of Zac.

He placed his hand over hers and patted it. “It surprised the heck out of me that you wanted to go into nursing. I never thought you saw anything in your old man worth emulating.”

I went into nursing to learn about cancer. I missed mom. I wanted to understand. I understand now.
“You’re a good father, Dad. I never asked for anything more.”
From you...

* * *

Jen stood in the parking lot as parents arrived to pick up the tired campers. The late session of camp worked, but she’d have to gear it toward the heartier children since the nights had definitely gotten colder and the mornings were slow to warm. Hawk Ridge was beautiful in the fall, the fields golden as they surrounded the thousand pound bales of hay ready to be picked up. She grinned. Zac had done a great job as a hired hand. Maybe if he was tired of dollar signs and bank balances, he’d consider working for her.

The thought made her warm inside even as her joy dimmed. Zac wanted the Trails’ End, too. He wasn’t going to stoop to working for her if she was awarded the ranch. She fingered the cell phone in the back pocket of her jeans. Trevor Hockett had called and left a couple of messages while she’d been dealing with Zac and the transplant. She had to remember to call him back.

If Trevor had good news for her, it probably meant bad news for Zac and he’d probably never speak to her again. Stealing his dream was not going to endear her to him. Still, she’d never backed down from a fight. All her life, if she wanted something bad enough, she’d found a way to get it.

And despite all his cockiness and bravado, she wanted Zac… she’d always wanted Zac. Talk about a lose-lose situation.

“Jennifer.” A little girl with thin pigtails called as she ran up to her. “Can I come back to camp next year?”

“You can come back anytime you want, Carrie Ann.” Jen smiled at the parents following their daughter, then focused back on the girl. “The Trails’ End will always welcome you here, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you were strong enough to take a vacation anywhere you wanted by next summer. Did you tell your parents about the soccer game? You played the whole time.”

“I did, Mom.” She grabbed her mother’s hand. “I played back field and even stopped the ball so the other team wouldn’t get the goals. It was so much fun.”

She intercepted the dad’s concerned look. “We have special rules about playing soccer here at the ranch. There were no injuries, not even a bandage-worthy scratch.”

Carrie Ann nodded. “Even the boys followed the rules. And Dad, Zac took us for a ride in his tractor. I got to stand behind him while he drove. The tractor was so big, I could see the whole world!”

“That sounds like quite an adventure, honey,” he grabbed his daughter’s hand. “We’ll see how next year works out. Thank you, Jennifer, for the happy experience.”

“My pleasure,” she said as the family turned to walk away. The little girl clung to her parents’ hands as she talked a mile a minute. Happiness welled up through Jennifer. This was her goal. Bring smiles to the faces of these brave children. She’d worked the pediatrics oncology floor at the hospital in Denver. She knew what these kids had survived. She wanted to offer them some small reward for the battles they’d endured, even if it was only spending a couple of weeks at her mountain camp.

“Ms. O’Reilly?”

Jennifer glanced over as an older man approached her. “Yes?”

“I want to thank you for putting the excitement back into my grandson.” He pointed to a little boy helping his brother pack up a Lincoln Navigator parked in front of the boys’ bunkhouse. “Mark didn’t want to come to camp and now we’re having a hard time convincing him to leave.”

“Thank you for your kind words.” Jen searched the aged face and saw true appreciation. “We try to show the kids they can do anything if they put their minds to it.”

“Even dancing.” The man laughed and shook his head. “Mark couldn’t stop talking about how a real cowboy liked to dance. He figured if a cowboy who could rope a calf danced, it couldn’t be that bad.”

“He said that? I remember quite a different attitude from our Mr. Mark that night.”

“C’mon, Ms. O’Reilly. Do you really think a twelve year old boy is going to admit to a room full of his peers that he actually liked doing something unmanly?”

Jen laughed. “I see your point.” She offered her hand. “Please call me Jennifer. It was a pleasure having Mark with us.”

He shook her hand. “Les Ralston. I’m always looking for ways to make this world a better place like the good Lord tells us to do. I’d like to sit down and talk to you about sponsoring scholarships for children to attend your camp. If you could put a smile like that on Mark’s face, I want as many children as possible to experience the joy.”

“I’d love to discuss the possibilities with you.” Jen looked down as he slipped his business card in her hand. Ralston Importers, Int’l. Lester Ralston, CEO. She managed to keep her eyes from growing wide. Trevor Hockett was always harping on her to find corporate sponsorships. How awesome to have one drop in her lap.

“I understand you’re in the process of purchasing this property at the moment. Smart move. You’ll have a fine income base off the fields and I know you’ll have little problem gathering sponsorships if I have anything to say about it. I’ll have my assistant contact you in a month. We can discuss your plans.” Les glanced over at the boys tossing a duffel bag into the back of the Navigator. “Right now, I’m just happy to be taking home a boy who thought he’d never see a reason to enjoy life again.”

“I look forward to it, Les. And thank you.”

Jen looked around the compound as kids hugged each other goodbye and parents climbed into cars ready for the drive home. She’d put in a long, hard summer, but she’d never been happier.

“That’s the last of them.” Patrick Marsh stepped up beside her and ran his hand through his hair. “Another fine summer at the Trails’ End Ranch. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I couldn’t have done it without you, Patrick.” She bumped him with her shoulder. “You’ve helped me so much over these two years, I wouldn’t know how to make it without you.”

“Sure you would. You were the one with all the orders. I just said, ‘yes, ma’am,’ and got out of your way.”

She turned the business card over in her hand, allowing herself to believe her plan would soon become reality. Now she had at least one viable sponsorship to add to her business plan. Ralston Importers was huge. At least she knew they contributed heavily to the Stock Show in Denver. “I’ve got to tell Zac about this. If it hadn’t been for his change of dance dynamics, I doubt Mr. Ralston would be as generous with his praise.”