Under the Midnight Stars (19 page)

A soft glow shone from the narrow windows surrounding the oversized front door. She opened the door and stepped onto the front patio, amazed at what she saw. On the patio, on either side of the door, were vases and bouquets of flowers of all colors and varieties — roses, carnations, daisies, lilies, even orchids, her mother’s favorite. Stuffed between flowers here and there, poking their heads out, were teddy bears. Some were various shades of brown, some white. But even more spectacular, white candles lined both sides of the patio steps, the walkway leading away, and down the long drive to the road.

Brielle placed a shaky hand to her heart as it filled with awe.

Colt was sitting in the middle of the steps. He turned and smiled warmly at Brielle. “How’d you sleep?”

“Uhhhh…” She was at a loss for words, still taken aback by the heartfelt gesture the whole town had showered upon them. “Oh my…”

Tears filled her eyes. She carefully sat next to Colt and rested her head on his shoulder.

He wrapped his arm around her. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“It is.” She smiled.

They watched as headlights pulled over on the shoulder of the road and two people got out and walked to the mouth of the driveway. They each set a candle amongst the others, and got back into their car and drove away.

“They’ve been coming all night,” Colt said. “It’s late. That was probably the last of ’em.”

Reaching over, she grabbed the brown teddy bear sitting next to her and hugged it to her chest. “It’s so thoughtful of all of them. I didn’t realize there were so many people who loved us,” she said softly.

“Of course they do, Brielle. What’s not to love? You and Jack are two of the most selfless, kind, honest, hard-working people I know. And despite his drinking, your dad was a good man. They all care for you, and they’re gonna miss him too. You may feel all alone right now, but you’re not, baby.”

Though still empty and heartbroken, she felt a little less lost, and a lot more loved. “Yeah, I know,” she agreed, while using the back of her hand to wipe away the quiet tears that fell.

Colt kissed her on top of the head. “And I don’t think you have to worry about fixing your own meals for a while. I’ve been thanking people and filling your fridge and freezer with casseroles, and lasagnas, and enchiladas, and a whole mess of other dishes. You name it, it’s in there. But you ran out of room. Jack just left for my place a little while ago to fill my fridge and freezer. And your counters are loaded with desserts.”

“Wow.” She sighed heavily, wishing she could thank everyone herself. It seemed such a shame there was only the three of them to consume it. “All that trouble and most of it will go to waste.” She frowned.

“Naw, it won’t. Jack’s gonna call the homeless shelter in the morning to donate what you don’t want. Oh, and your bosses, Emmit and Mimi, came by. They said take as much time off as you need. Your job will be waiting for you.”

“I don’t know if I wanna go back. I’m not happy there. I was thinking about maybe trying to get an office job. Or maybe going back to school. I don’t know.” She shrugged her shoulders.

Colt smiled warmly. “I think that’s a good idea, Brielle. Take some time off to think and heal.”

She nodded and stared at the soft glow of light created by the candles. “How are we gonna blow all of these candles out?”

“They’re solar candles. Jack says the firehouse uses them for events and such. They handed them out so that people could pay their last respects. They’ll gather them back up in a few days.”

“That was awfully nice of them.” Tears burned her eyes and distorted the lights into streaks. “My heart hurts so much right now, Colt.” She bit her lower lip.

Colt carefully wrapped his arms around her. “I know, baby … I know … I wish I could take your pain away.”

Brielle nestled her head into the crook of his neck, finding comfort in Colt’s loving touch, and in the heavenly glow surrounding the ranch.

The days to follow seemed intensely surreal. There was a ghostly aura surrounding the ranch now — almost as if every time they pulled into the long drive to the lonely house in the horizon, they were stumbling upon a deserted town for the first time. As if all of its inhabitants had just disappeared one day, leaving behind an echo of whispers sounding with each whooshing of the wind. One day, after returning home from a visit with their parents at the cemetery, a tumbleweed even blew across their path.

“Stop,” Brielle ordered her brother as he rolled past the tumbleweed at the mouth of their driveway. She’d never seen a tumbleweed around their property before. She took it as a sign from her parents. Maybe she was on the right path with a new job or with school. Or maybe it meant that they should sell the lonely ranch. After all, it was too big for just the two of them. And besides, Jack had been saving for his own place and then she would be left all alone.

“Why?” Jack eyed the mailbox just outside of her door. “It’s Sunday. Remember?”

“Hold on.” Brielle hopped out of the truck and retrieved the tumbleweed. She tossed it into the bed. Since her car and her father’s truck had been totaled, rather than making Jack trade his car in for a truck to maintain the ranch, she’d bought a truck for herself. It was a brand-new full-size pickup, slate in color. She actually liked it better than the car. It gave her a sense of confidence and security. It fit her personality better too. She’d always felt out of her element driving a luxury car in the country.

She climbed back in and dusted her hands together.

“Have you lost your mind?” Jack gave her a look of disgust.

“No, why?”

He turned his head and eyed the web-like maze of branches of the dead bush. “No reason.” He shook his head and continued on toward the house.

“What?” Brielle felt a need to defend herself. “I thought it’d look nice in the cactus patch. Having just the cactus and the sand looks kind of plain.”

“Yeah, it’ll really brighten up the place,” he replied with a neutral tone. “So where’s Colt today?”

“I saw his truck at the house. He’s supposed to be going to Zeke’s to see about buying the business from him.”

Jack stopped the truck abruptly, causing the tires to screech.

Brielle instinctively slammed her hands on the dash to avoid hitting her head. “Are you crazy?” She smacked him in the arm. “Are you trying to kill me? I don’t have my seatbelt on! My ribs aren’t even healed yet!”

“Sorry.” He cringed. “I didn’t realize. It’s just — why is he trying to buy the garage? Zeke needs it.”

“Why would he want to sell it if he needs it?” she asked as she fastened her seatbelt.

Jack sighed and stared down at the steering wheel, deep in thought.

Brielle grew impatient. “Well, spill it.”

Reluctantly, Jack spoke. “I saw Zeke one night at the bar. He’d had too much to drink and decided to share his problems. Anyway, his wife has cancer. Cervical cancer to be exact.”

“What?” she replied incredulously, placing a hand over her heart. “That’s terrible! I had no idea. No wonder I haven’t seen her in the diner lately.”

“He needs the steady income to pay her medical bills. I don’t think one lump sum for the business would be enough to cover it. And even if it did, he’d be flat broke with no income. I don’t think he wants to sell it. He just feels like he has no choice.”

“We have to tell Colt before it’s too late.”

“I promised Zeke I wouldn’t tell anybody.” Jack pulled in front of the house and shut the engine off.

“I don’t care about your promise. We have to stop Colt from buying the business. We can’t just let Zeke put himself between a rock and a hard place. He was a good friend of Dad’s. Now let’s go. Maybe Colt can figure something out.” She tapped her finger to her lips, deep in thought.

“All right. Let’s stop Zeke from making a big mistake.” He turned the key and headed for Colt’s farm.

Anxious to get to Colt’s before he left for town, Brielle began tapping her shoe impatiently when Jack didn’t speed up on the road. “What are you doing? Why are you going so slow?”

Jack shook his head. “First you get mad that I slam on the breaks and almost make you hit your head. Then you get mad that I’m driving with caution. Make up your mind.”

She sighed impatiently. “Jack, you’re driving like a turtle. I’m fine, okay? Can we please just get there?”

With that, Jack pressed the pedal to the floor. Within seconds he was turning into Colt’s driveway.

Colt had just climbed into his truck when he saw Jack and Brielle pull up behind him. He got out to greet them. “Good morning.”

Brielle climbed out of the truck and headed straight for Colt, elated to see him. “Good morning.” She stood on tiptoes to give him a light peck on the lips.

Colt grinned. “I missed you too.”

Jack approached and tipped his hat back. “So, I heard Zeke offered to sell you his business.”

“Yep, he did. I really wanted to start my own shop, but I didn’t want to take business away from Zeke. This way it works out for everyone.”

Jack opened his mouth to speak, but Brielle was quicker to the draw. “You can’t buy it,” she announced abruptly.

Colt was confused. “Are you kidding?”

“No, I’m not. Zeke’s only selling it because his wife has cancer and he needs to pay the medical bills. But if he does that, then he’s left without a steady income. He doesn’t want to sell it. He feels it’s the only way.”

Colt sighed. “All right, I’ll talk to Zeke. Maybe we can work something out.”

“Well, there’s sort of one more thing.” Jack spoke up. “I made a promise to Zeke to not tell anyone. He and his wife wanted the whole thing to be kept a secret. He’d just told me one night in the parking lot of the bar.” He shrugged his shoulders.

“Sorry, Jack,” Colt replied. “I’m sure he’ll understand. As a matter of fact, I think he’ll thank you later. I’ll go talk to him.”

“Can I come with you?” Brielle wanted to help too. The hefty sum of her father’s life insurance policy had finally been awarded, and Roger hadn’t touched his wife’s insurance funds, willing its entirety to her and Jack. Roger had even opened savings accounts for her and Jack when they were babies, and had made monthly deposits since then. Not to mention Roger’s own savings and the cash in his safe, also bequeathed to her and Jack. And they already had everything they needed. It didn’t seem right letting their fortune collect dust while a friend was selling all he’d worked hard for to save his wife’s life.

“Sure you can come, but it might be a touchy subject with Zeke. A man does have his pride,” Colt said.

“I know, but I think I can help too. I have an idea.” She smiled proudly and climbed into Colt’s truck.

Colt looked at Jack questioningly.

“Don’t look at me.” Jack shrugged. “I have no clue what’s going on in that pea brain of hers. This morning she had me stop so that she could pick up a tumbleweed to decorate the lawn with.” He sighed and pointed to the twisted conglomerate of brittle twigs in the back of the truck.

“Right.” Colt nodded. “I guess she knows what she’s doing. Maybe the tumbleweed will brighten up the place.” He chuckled slightly, his grin cocked to one side.

“Maybe it’ll blow out on the way back home.” Jack climbed back into the truck and turned it around. He gave a quick wave over the roof of the truck and headed home.

Colt climbed into his own truck. “Let’s go see what we can do for our old pal.”

“Let’s.” Brielle smiled and fastened her seatbelt. On the way to Zeke’s they brainstormed plans and came up with a solution.

Excited to talk to Zeke, Brielle grew anxious as they pulled into the parking lot. But as Colt turned into a parking space, she became nauseous. “Oh,” she placed a hand over her stomach. “I don’t feel so good.”

Colt looked worried. “Are you okay?”

Brielle took in a deep breath and swallowed hard. “Yeah, just a little carsick. I’ll be fine in a minute.”

“Are you sure? We could come back later.”

“No. I’m fine. Let’s go talk to Zeke.” She smiled to reassure him, though the nausea still nagged her. “I think our plan is gonna work.”

“I hope so, baby.”

They got out of the truck and went inside the bay door and into Zeke’s office.

“Colt, Gabby.” Zeke grinned and withdrew his outstretched legs from the top of his desk to sit upright. “I just sat down to take a breather.”

“Hi, Zeke.” Brielle smiled. She sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. The sickness still lingered, but not as strong.

Colt sat in the other. His expression was serious. “Zeke. Before I get down to business, I have something to tell you. You might not like what I’m about to say, but please just hear me out before you say anything. It’s all for good cause.”

“All right.” Zeke sat back and waited.

“I talked to Jack and found out about your wife’s cancer,” Colt announced carefully.

Zeke sat forward and opened his mouth to speak, but Colt put his hands up, reminding Zeke to let him finish talking first.

Zeke gave one nod and sat back again, crossing his arms.

Colt continued with compassion in his voice. “Zeke, we are truly sorry about your wife’s illness. And we want to help in any way that we can — which is why we’re here. We’ve come to make you an offer.”

Brielle clasped her hands together and propped her elbows on the desk.

Zeke looked confused. “All right, what are you two up to?”

Brielle looked anxiously at Colt. “You go ahead.”

“I don’t want to buy the business from you, Zeke,” Colt admitted forthright.

Zeke sighed heavily.

Colt flashed a grin. “I want to buy
into
your business. As partners.” He looked at Brielle. “We both do.”

Brielle’s excitement remained steady. Her eyes twinkled.

Zeke drew his brow together. “I never thought of that. You mean … you’d both be owners?”

“Yep,” Colt replied matter-of-factly. “But you’d own fifty percent. And Brielle and I would each own twenty-five percent. This way you get to keep the business, get cash up front from our buy-in, and still have a steady monthly income.”

Zeke thought hard about the offer before he spoke. “But with my portion of the profits split in half, it just wouldn’t be feasible. It’s a small business. It’d make more financial sense to just sell it for a larger sum.”