Colton: Rodeo Cowboy, page 17
At the table, they found a platter of roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn and peas.
“How do you do it, Mom? An hour after we show up on your doorstep and you have a beautiful meal all ready for us. Doesn’t this look delicious, Jill?”
“I love corn,” Jill answered.
And Davey loved peas. He liked to mash them with his fork and eat them one by one. Leah knew it was no coincidence that her mother had prepared her children’s favorite vegetables. She gazed fondly at her mom, who was busy cutting Jill’s chicken and didn’t notice.
“There’s apple crisp for dessert, too, so make sure you leave a little room.”
And that was Leah’s favorite. Her mom truly had covered all the bases.
During the meal, the kids were full of talk about the rodeo. Leah did her best to put the random comments into context for her mother. They told their grandmother about the parade, about the kiddie rodeo, then about the cowboys and the rodeo clown.
“And Colt was there. He rustled a steer,” Jill said proudly.
“Wrestled,” Leah corrected.
“And Midnight bucked!” Davey announced, lifting his fork in a victory pump.
“Sounds like quite the day.” There was a question in her mother’s eyes as she looked at Leah. She had to be wondering why they had ended up on her doorstep after such a fun outing.
It wasn’t until later, when the kids had been bathed and put into their old bedrooms, that Leah finally had a chance to have a proper conversation with her mom.
“I owe you an apology.” She curled up next to her mother on the sofa. “You had every right to be upset about the divorce. I just feel like such a failure when you tell me I didn’t try hard enough. Because I did try, Mom. I really did.”
“I believe you. And I didn’t mean to make you feel like a failure. You’re anything but. Even as a child, whenever you fell down, or hit an obstacle, you always pushed yourself back to your feet and tried again. It did hurt, though, when you picked Thunder Ranch rather than my home after your house flooded.”
“I’m sorry. That was a mistake.” A huge mistake. She’d tell her mom about what happened with Colt someday—when it no longer hurt so much.
“Well, the past few days gave me time to think and I realize I may have pushed too hard with my advice. But I believed it was my duty, Leah.”
“Your duty?”
“As your mother. You see, when I was newly married to your father, there was a period of about five years when I was very unhappy. I thought about leaving. Might have done so, too, if it wasn’t for the counsel of your grandmother.”
Leah had never thought her parents’ marriage was perfect. But she’d never guessed that it had come to the brink of dissolution, either. “What happened, Mom?”
“Nothing like what Jackson put you through. Your father was always faithful and loyal. But I had been raised in Great Falls and I had a terrible time adjusting to life on a ranch. I was so lonely and, though I didn’t want to admit it to your father, the cattle and horses scared me.”
“Poor Mom.” She’d always guessed that her mother hadn’t been so fond of ranch life, but never that she’d been this unhappy.
“Then you were born, a beautiful, happy baby. I should have been happy, too, but I couldn’t sleep and I was crying all the time.”
Leah hadn’t felt that way after her babies were born, but she’d read magazine articles describing those symptoms. “You had postpartum depression.”
“Yes. But it wasn’t diagnosed at the time. I just thought I was unhappy because I’d married the wrong man. I came so close to leaving, but your grandma came to visit. She stayed for several months and helped me with the chores and the night feedings. During the day she talked to me about the sort of commitment that’s needed to make a marriage last—and to make a family strong.”
“And so you stayed. And you were a wonderful wife and mother.”
“Thank you for saying that.” Her mom patted her cheek. “It means more than you know.”
“It’s true. I’m only realizing now how much I took you for granted.” Her mother had always been busy, but at the same time, when Leah needed her, she was there. Leah had grown up thinking homemade cinnamon buns and hot chocolate after school were nothing special. And she couldn’t count the number of times her mother had patiently helped with her school assignments.
“But Mom…did you ever think you’d sacrificed too much for us?”
“I lived to be very grateful that I’d stayed.”
“But if you hated the ranch…”
“Over the years I grew to love many things about it. No, Leah, I have absolutely zero regrets about staying with your father. But it’s because I went through that rough patch that I felt I needed to give you the same sort of support that I’d received from your grandmother.”
It made so much sense to Leah, now. She wished her mother had told her this earlier. “I wonder how a woman is supposed to know a rough patch from an irreconcilable difference?”
“That’s a good question. I suspect it has something to do with respect and trust. When those are lost, I don’t think any marriage can survive.”
Her mother was so wise. Because that was exactly what had happened today at the rodeo. Leah had lost her trust in Colt. And she hadn’t even realized, until it happened, how much she loved him.
* * *
IT WASN’T UNTIL 9:00 a.m. on Monday morning that Colt finally got the green light to go home. Ace had Midnight loaded in the trailer, and was waiting in the truck as Colt strode out of the hospital into the bright sunshine of a beautiful June day. Colt wasn’t feeling very bright or sunshiny himself. Not just his ribs, but his whole body ached after his tussle with the bull.
Plus he was beyond worried about Leah. She hadn’t replied to his text message last night, nor had she answered any of his calls.
He was glad to see a cup of coffee waiting for him in the cup holder when he climbed into the passenger side of the truck.
“You want me to drive?”
Ace shook his head and grinned. “You’re kidding, right? Just sit back and rest. You shouldn’t even be out of bed yet.”
Colt ignored him and pulled out his phone. No messages. He kept it in his hand, just in case.
“Why the big sigh?” Ace checked in his mirror, before merging onto the road toward home.
“Leah isn’t answering her phone. It would be nice to know she got home safely.”
“Well you can stop worrying. She did.”
“How do you know?”
“Mom. I phoned her after I called Flynn last night to give her an update.”
Colt realized he should have called his mother, too. But he’d had a lot on his mind. His son, for one. Their first meeting had gone better than he’d hoped. Better than he deserved. Janet was right. Evan was a real nice kid. She—and Justin—had done a great job raising him.
He was dying to tell Leah all about it. Why wasn’t she answering her phone? Unable to resist, he checked for messages again.
“Might as well save your time,” Ace said drily.
“Why?” Colt studied his brother’s face carefully. He was wearing that know-it-all expression that so often drove Colt crazy.
“She saw you with the blonde, right? She’s probably pissed as hell, and who could blame her? Damn it, Colt, I thought you were—” Ace slammed a hand against the steering wheel. “Aw, forget it. You never listen to me, anyway.”
“Well, you don’t know everything.”
“I know you were hugging a beautiful blonde after inviting Leah and her kids to watch you at the rodeo.”
“But…it wasn’t like that. Janet is someone I knew a long time ago.”
“I meet old friends all the time. I don’t hug them the way you were hugging that Janet woman.”
Colt’s temper flared. “Maybe you would if they’d had your baby.”
“What!” Ace gripped the wheel tightly, then shot a fireball at Colt with his eyes. “When did this happen?”
“Twelve years ago.” Colt had planned on his mother being the first member of the family he told. Damn him and his hot temper. Now Ace would tear a strip off his hide and while Colt knew he deserved his brother’s approbation, he was sick and tired of Ace acting like his father.
But the expected words of condemnation didn’t come. Ace was quiet for a full five minutes before he spoke again. And when he did, his voice was full of concern.
“How did it happen?”
“I met Janet at the Belt rodeo, thirteen years ago. We met up on the Friday night, at a bar in town, and ended up spending most of the weekend together. We didn’t see one another after that. The next time I heard from her was nine months later when I received a registered letter from her lawyer.”
Ace whistled. “She didn’t call you personally?”
“Nah. She’d met someone shortly after our affair. They’d fallen in love and were getting married. The fellow’s name is Justin Greenway. A decent enough guy. He agreed to raise Janet’s baby as his son, so according to the letter I got from the lawyer, all that was required from me were monthly child support payments.”
“And you’ve been paying those?”
Colt nodded. “Since I was twenty years old.”
His brother shot another look at him—this one seemed to hold respect. “Who else knows about this?”
“No one. I considered telling Dad. But you’d just been accepted at vet school and he was so proud of you. I figured he’d just see me as even more of a loser than he already did.”
“Dad never saw you that way. How could he? You’re an amazingly talented guy.”
“You mean talented at attracting trouble.” And those were his father’s exact words. They were branded in Colt’s memory from repeated usage.
“I can’t believe you went through all this on your own.”
“Leah was the first person I told.”
“She means a lot to you,” Ace said, like he was only now figuring this out.
“I love her. Until I met her, I never saw the need to rise above the opinion that everyone else seemed to have of me.”
“And that’s why you were talking with Janet at the rodeo?”
“I needed her okay, so I could finally meet my son. Which I did. And he’s fantastic.” Colt felt a warm glow inside, just recalling the special moments they’d spent together. “I’m going to watch him play baseball next week.”
“That’s terrific.” Ace shook his head. “You know what this means? Mom is already a grandmother. And I’m an uncle… Holy crap. This is terrific news, Colt.”
Yeah, it was. But now that he knew what Leah had seen, and what she’d surmised, Colt was more desperate than ever to talk to her.
* * *
WHEN ACE AND COLT pulled into Thunder Ranch, Gracie was waiting for them. She started talking as soon as they stepped out of the truck, telling them that the clients who had booked Midnight’s stud services that week had already arrived and unloaded their four mares into the pasture.
“Ed Fowley wanted to talk to you before the breeding commences.” Gracie was addressing Ace, but her eyes were on the bandages wrapped around Colt’s chest. “What happened to you?”
“The usual. I got kicked around by a bull.”
“Glad to see you’re still standing.” She turned back to Ace. “I told Ed to go to Roundup, grab a coffee and a muffin and come back at noon.”
Ace checked his watch. “Good, we’ve got an hour then. Let’s unload Midnight and get him comfortable. I’m planning to try a supervised breeding today, Gracie. Since he kicked ass at the rodeo on Sunday, Midnight’s been acting like another horse. He loaded like a dream this morning.”
“You sure you brought home the right horse?”
“I told you Midnight missed the rodeo,” Colt felt compelled to point out.
“True enough. But he still could have been injured,” Ace replied.
Colt supposed this was one subject where the two of them would never agree. But their relationship had shifted during their two-hour drive. Ace was no longer just his superior older brother, but someone he might count on as a friend.
When Gracie started preparing to unload Midnight, Colt moved to help her. Ace stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
“We’ll handle this. I know you have someone you need to talk to.”
Relieved, Colt thanked his brother, then headed for the trailer. It hurt to run, but he couldn’t stop himself. He was desperate to see her. But when he arrived at his Airstream, all was quiet. He knocked, then opened the door.
The place was pristine. Every one of Leah’s and the kids’ belongings were gone.
“They’ve moved back to Leah’s mother’s house.”
His own mother must have followed him here, because she was now sitting at the picnic table. He closed the door to the trailer.
“Hi, Mom.” He sank down heavily onto the bench across the table from her.
“Are you okay, son?”
“I’ll heal.” The day was catching up to him. His body was screaming at him to lie down. But he needed to find Leah. “Is that where she is now? At her mother’s?”
“Tell me something first, Colt. Do you love her?”
“I do. And I have more news for you, Mom. I had an ulterior motive for going to the rodeo in Belt last weekend. I wanted to meet someone special—my son.”
His mother stared back at him, speechless. He reached for her hand and squeezed it tightly.
“We’ll talk about this later, okay? But I really need to see Leah, because she saw something and interpreted it the wrong way.”
Sarah blinked. “You are going to be the death of me one day, son.”
“I hope not, Mom. Because I love you a lot. And I’m looking forward to the day when I can introduce you to your grandson. He’s twelve and he loves baseball.”
Sarah’s eyes rounded in shock. “Twelve?”
“I’ll explain later,” he promised. “Leah?”
Sarah let out a long sigh. “She’s in the office, finishing up her work for me. She’s a terrific gal. You better set things right with her, Colt.”
He was already off the bench, starting to run. “I’ll try.”
* * *
LEAH REVIEWED THE printouts one more time, checking for errors. There were none. She’d finished computerizing the Thunder Ranch accounts and had printed out the latest monthly reports for Sarah to send to the bank.
From now on she’d be able to keep up with the accounting for the ranch by spending a half day per week, with a little extra at reporting dates and income tax time. She needed more clients, but she had several meetings lined up and she was confident that more work would follow.
After dropping the kids off at their babysitter’s that morning, she’d also taken time to call her landlord. The insurance company was scheduled to examine the damage this week. After that, the landlord would organize repairs. Hopefully she and the kids would be able to move in within the next month, or so.
Meanwhile, her mother had assured her they were welcome to stay with her.
Leah knew she ought to be feeling pleased with the way her new life was panning out.
But she felt miserable.
In some ways, Colt’s betrayal hurt even more than finding out about her husband’s cheating. She knew it was because of the special connection she shared with Colt. When they’d been out riding trail on Thunder Ranch, she’d truly believed that it would be impossible to find another man more perfect for her than he was. Everything she loved about Montana and ranching, he loved, too. But their connection went deeper than that. She craved everything about him: his touch, his smile, his voice.
How was she supposed to live without all of those things?
How was she supposed to go on without him?
When the door to the office opened, she looked up, expecting to see Sarah. Leah had delivered her invoice to the house that morning and Sarah had agreed to bring her a check around noon. Maybe she’d decided to drop by earlier.
But it wasn’t Sarah.
Colt stood at the door, in the same clothes he’d worn on the weekend, with one addition. His shirt was unbuttoned and bandages swaddled his chest.
“What happened to you?” She was out of her chair and moving toward him, before she could think about how angry she was at him. She stopped a few feet away, suddenly remembering all that stood between them.
Her question could have applied to so many things. How had he been injured? Was he okay? Why hadn’t he come home as planned last night?
But Colt chose to answer another question first.
“That woman you saw? That was Janet Greenway. Evan’s mother.”
It took Leah a moment to process his words. “The pretty blonde—she’s the woman who had your baby?”
Colt nodded. “Can we talk?”
“Of course.”
He shut the door behind himself. He looked nervous…and, despite his injuries, so damn handsome. Why did this man always have such an effect on her?
“I’ve been working hard to get my life straightened up, Leah. You know I talked to Mom about handling more responsibility here at the ranch. But, even more importantly, I needed to sort out my relationship with my son, and in order to do that, I needed Janet’s okay.”
“And what did she say?” Leah hadn’t forgotten about his injury. She meant to get the whole story about what happened. But he must be okay if he was standing here. And this—his son—was more urgent. Obviously Colt had a lot to tell her.
“Janet said yes. But she warned me not to hurt him. I think that’s when she hugged me. I saw you and the kids, but I didn’t realize you’d seen me, too. And I was so preoccupied with my own nervousness and excitement about meeting Evan for the first time—it never occurred to me that you might misinterpret my conversation with Janet. That you might see it in any sort of romantic context.”
“Oh, my Lord.” Leah realized she was trembling. She’d been wrong about Colt. The relief was almost overwhelming.
“I did meet Evan, by the way,” Colt continued. “And he’s a really neat kid. He’s into baseball, but he seemed impressed when I showed him Midnight. I’m going to watch one of his baseball games next week. Janet’s sending me the schedule.”
