Chapter 15
CHAPTER 15
Hannah set out the last piece of glassware on the counter. She’d finally emptied the last box from her move over two months ago. She would have had everything organized earlier if she hadn’t been distracted by Brody. But what a yummy distraction.
She grinned as she set the empty box on the floor and surveyed the variety of glassware. It was all odds and ends she used once in a blue moon, as her grandmother used to say. Opening the cabinet before her, she frowned. It was packed. She moved to the next one. It was packed, too. Opening the last cupboard, she smiled. The top shelf was empty. “Perfect.”
She pulled over the chair she kept against the wall to use for just such a purpose. The dust and dirt on the shelves had been heavy, but she’d ignored the top shelves, erroneously thinking she wouldn’t need them. How wrong she was.
Wetting a paper towel, she climbed on the chair and looked at the inches of dust on the shelf. With no help for it, she carefully wiped one side, only to have a folder fall onto the counter sending up a cloud of desert dust all over her clean glassware. “Great.” Not happy she’d have to wash everything by hand, she went ahead and wiped down the wooden shelf.
It would need two or three wipes. She stepped down and moved the glassware to the sink, but only half of it. She wet another paper towel and moved back to the chair when she was struck by the handwriting on the folder. It looked like her grandmother’s. Far too curious to wait, she cleaned off the folder before opening it.
Her breath caught. It wasn’t her grandmother’s. It was her mother’s! Her mother’s name was printed on a label on the front—Monica Harper Kingsley. The ‘Harper’ was crossed off and ‘Kingsley’ added in a different color. If her mother was married at the time, that meant she was already born. Her parents had died in a car accident on their way home from their honeymoon, so she was told. What was something of her mother’s doing in the casita?
She sat in the chair and quickly opened the folder. There was an odd assortment of paper. A couple of receipts, a grocery list, a picture of her parents next to a saguaro cactus, a pressed flower, an image of a black horse ripped out of a magazine, and a folded piece of paper. As she put the receipts aside, a name caught her attention. Though the ink was faded, it was definitely from the Lucky Lasso Hotel and Saloon.
Her parents had been in Four Peaks? In this very casita? Her hands trembled at the thought. She lifted the picture and studied it. She’d seen pictures of her parents before, but this one was different. If she wasn’t mistaken, the mountain behind them was one of the Four Peaks. Reverently, she tucked it in the pocket of the folder.
Opening the folded piece of paper, she found a list of days with activities next to each. There was shopping, dancing, horseback riding, hiking, and even swimming. Under each were phrases like ‘amazing view’ and ‘delicious breakfast.’ At the bottom of the note were the words Best honeymoon ever !
The paper dropped from her fingers. Her parents had honeymooned in the casita, just like her grandparents! Tears formed in her eyes and she wiped them away as she tried to focus on the inside of her casita. She imagined her father carrying her mother over the threshold. She could envision them laughing together on the couch. They probably—her throat closed.
Setting aside the folder, she rose. She walked into the bedroom and touched the quilt. Her parents had slept in the very bed she now used. She grasped the footboard with both hands, the tears falling freely now. Not tears of sadness, but of happiness. It was as if her parents were here, with her. The last place they had spent time together full of joy.
She moved around the bed and sat in the middle of it facing the headboard, willing herself to feel them. She couldn’t, but it didn’t matter. They had been here, as had her grandparents. This was truly her home. Her heart filled with love and she smiled through her tears. For the first time in three generations, she had what no one else had—a place. She hadn’t realized how important it was to her until now.
All she’d known was apartments, some better than others, but all with shared walls and rent to pay. The little casita was hers , her family’s. She belonged here. No one could take it from her because it was paid for.
Except for the solar panels, new roof, and end-of-year taxes. The thought brought reality back and she moved off the bed. If she was going to afford to keep her family inheritance, she needed to get the glassware washed and the cabinet ready, so she could get back to work. She may be an emotional mess, but luckily numbers were logical, and she had no online meetings.
She quickly got everything done for what was supposed to be her lunch break, then moved to the desk she’d set up next to the couch. It took less than ten minutes, and she was back on an even keel with her work. There were figurative fires to put out and numbers to crunch, so the rest of the day flew by. When next she looked at the time, she’d gone over her work hours.
Standing, she stretched her back, the muscles happy to move. Checking her phone, she was surprised there were no texts from Brody. Usually he sent one in the afternoon, asking if she had plans. Then again, they may need him at the ranch, as they were getting very close to opening their dude ranch.
She shut off her computer and went back into the kitchen to put the now clean and dry glassware on the top shelf. She’d just put away the last glass, when someone knocked on her door. She stepped down from the chair and moved to the door. “Who is it?”
“It’s me. I need to talk to you.” Brody didn’t sound happy.
Quickly, she unlocked the door and let him in. “Hi.” As he brushed past, she noticed his truck parked next to her Jeep. Usually, he used the ATV.
He hadn’t even given her a kiss hello, which he always did now. Something must be seriously wrong. Closing the door, she waited for him to speak.
He stood staring at the couch, his hands rolled into fists.
She wanted to give him a hug, but anger seemed to radiate from him. Then he turned around and faced her.
“I need you to sell your place.”
She felt as if someone had punched her in the gut. “What?”
He walked into the kitchen and leaned against the counter as he spoke to the titled floor. “It will take some time. There’s paperwork and credit checks and numerous other hurdles to be jumped, but I’m sure it could be accomplished in a month. I know my father will approve a generous offer.” He finally looked at her. “Have you thought about what you want for it?”
She’d never seen this side of Brody. He was neither the polite cowboy nor the attentive lover. He was a businessman, who wished to conduct business. But she was having none of it. “Brody Dunn, what are you talking about?”
He stiffened as if ready to do battle. “I think I’ve been very clear. I’m talking about you selling us your property. You said your grandparents asked you to stay a while. It’s been a couple of months, so that constitutes a while, though I imagine they hadn’t expected you to actually live here. Who would expect a single woman to live out in the middle of the desert?”
This was not Brody. Something had to have happened. She couldn’t accept that he could be so heartless about her inheritance. “What happened? Why all of a sudden do you want me to sell my land?”
He pushed away from the counter and walked to the couch, where he turned and faced her. “It’s not all of a sudden. I told you the first day we met that my family needed to buy your land to survive in the cattle business.”
He wasn’t being honest with her and she didn’t like it. “But the Rocky Road Dude Ranch opens in just a few weeks. Amanda and Tanner believe it will save the ranch.”
He shook his head. “My father isn’t so sure. He’s the one managing the finances now, and he’s worried. We went into a lot of debt to build the infrastructure for this venture. It’s not like Four Peaks is a vacation destination to begin with. The only way to secure our future is to buy your property.”
She’d never thought of Brody as selfish, but he was sounding that way now. “What about my future? This is the first home I’ve ever owned. It’s my legacy from my grandparents, and—” She wasn’t going to share her discovery with him right now. “I enjoy living here.” Secretly, she hoped he’d offer for her to keep the building and give her an easement, what she’d come up with before finding her mother’s folder.
He spread his arms wide. “This is so small. With all the money we pay you, you could buy a big house. You could even stay in Four Peaks if you wanted to.”
Disappointment wafted over her. “We’ve had this conversation before, but you still haven’t told me why today. You didn’t text me as usual, didn’t even kiss me hello, but came storming in demanding I sell now. Why?” She crossed her arms over her chest, partly to cover how hurt she was at his actions.
Brody rubbed the back of his neck, the first sign that he was the man she knew. But when he still didn’t say anything, she was done being nice. “Either tell me why I need to sell right now, or leave.”
His head jerked up. “You want to know why?”
“Yes.” She scowled at him, unable to think of any reason that would excuse his behavior.
“I’ll tell you why. Because my father won’t let me out of my promise to stay at the ranch while he needs me unless you sell. If he doesn’t release me from that, then I’ll miss the wildlife manager training in January. They only offer it once a year. I don’t want to lose another year of my life to the family ranch. I’ve already given him more time than I expected.”
She wasn’t sure whether to laugh or scream. He had to be kidding. She shrugged. “So break your promise.”
“That’s exactly what I told him I would do. But I can’t. Everything in my DNA is against breaking a promise. I gave my word. A man’s word is his bond.”
She would have admired his integrity if she wasn’t so pissed. “Let’s see if I have this right. You gave your father a promise. He told you he’d release you from that promise if you got me to sell. So now you want to ruin my life so you can start your own with a clear conscience?”
“No. That’s not it. Your life wouldn’t be ruined. It would be better. Certainly a lot bigger than this.” He held his arms out to encompass her casita.
She was beyond thinking straight. “Believe it or not, bigger is not better. However, caring, compassion, and honesty are better, all qualities I thought you had. But I was wrong. You also can’t see beyond the obvious.” She strode forward into his personal space. “You could have just as easily waltzed in here, swept me off my feet, told me you loved me and asked me to marry you, and all your problems would have been solved. But you blew it. Get out of my tiny house. It’s obviously not big enough for you, being as how you are used to such comfortable living.” Though she pointed toward the door, she didn’t break eye contact.
Brody’s eyes widened in shock before he turned on his heel and brushed by her, leaving the casita with a loud bang as he slammed the door.
Shaking, she listened for his truck to let her know he left. She couldn’t hear it through the thick adobe walls, but the rocks hitting the outside wall as he peeled out told her he was gone. Just to be sure, she opened the door and stepped outside to see the large dust cloud following him down her simple driveway. Closing the door behind her, she stepped under the shade of her portico and sat on the new glider she’d bought just last week. The same glider she and Brody had sat on just two evenings ago, talking about the history of the town of Four Peaks.
She wanted to cry because the hurt in her chest was causing her physical pain, but no tears came. Had their relationship all been part of a plan he had to get her to sell? She didn’t want to think that of him, but the man who just left her house, was not the man she’d come to know over the last few months. Maybe she’d only seen what she wanted to see. She’d never had a real cowboy interested in her. Or maybe he’d just hit his breaking point.
Did he want to become a wildlife manager more than he cared about her? It appeared she had her answer. Deep down she understood his need to leave his family, but only on an intellectual level. Her family had been so small, she’d love to have what he had. Maybe humans were meant to always yearn for what they didn’t have.
Staring out at the desert, she could see a handful of wild burros munching on the autumn grasses in the distance. Even they had each other. Maybe her heartache was partly her own fault. She’d wanted to be a part of Brody’s life. She’d yearned for family and maybe, just maybe, she’d not given his ambition the attention it deserved.
She rose from the glider and turned toward her front door, temporarily blinded by the bright sun just setting beyond a peak. She held her hand up to shield her eyes. At least she still had her home. She opened the door, stepped inside, and quietly closed it behind her, leaning back against it. But she had no one to share it with, no one to tell about her parents’ honeymoon, no one to let know when she got back from Prescott safely, and no one to wake up next to in bed.
A single tear fell from her eye, and she brushed it away. She’d known when her grandparents had passed, she would be alone. She’d just been able to forget that for a while, thanks to Brody. But now, she’d have to get used to it. She’d only delayed the inevitable.
Brody had no idea had good he had it.