Chapter Twenty-Four
Autumn poured coffee into her oversized mug. She hadn’t slept a wink last night. After Jett had driven away, she had climbed into her own truck and driven around town for an hour or more before succumbing to the fact she had nowhere to go.
She had picked up her phone a dozen times to text or call Jett, but each time she had put it down. Jagged-edged fear kept her from reaching out to him and giving him the chance to say things were over. He would say it soon enough.
Almost her entire life she had placed her trust in the wrong places. A long time ago she had lost trust in Jett when he walked away, her heart broken and battered from his departure.
She had trusted Markus and then Trent. Each one had disappointed her. Even her mother had let her down by allowing her to believe she loved her enough to give her the family legacy.
Her cheeks were wet with tears. Her coffee grew cold. She needed to pull herself together. Quinn would be downstairs soon, and she would have to tell her sweet daughter they would be leaving their home—maybe even their town.
“Good morning,” her father said, sauntering into the kitchen. A whistle played on his lips.
“You’re chipper today.”
“Had myself a pleasant night.” He pulled down a mug and poured a cup of coffee. “You look a little tired.”
“Ha. A lot tired is more like it.”
Quinn bounded into the kitchen. Her oversized faded sweatshirt hung to her knees. Her hair was tied into a knot on the top of her head. “Mom, do you have a charger I could borrow? I think I left mine at Emily’s.”
“In my purse. I think. I’ll look.” She slipped out of the kitchen, relieved to have a reason to be alone. Her purse was still in her room.
The green dress was crumpled on the floor. She never wanted to wear that thing again. She’d burn it first. She grabbed her purse. Instead of the charger, her hand circled around the foreclosure papers.
She had almost forgotten about them. Her fight with Jett had given her little else to think about. She grabbed the charger too and returned to the kitchen. Quinn and Ives sat at the table, laughing over something on her phone.
“Here you go.” She handed Quinn the charger.
“Thanks. My phone is about to die.”
“What do you have there?” Ives turned in his chair. “That envelope is in pretty bad shape. Looks like it got caught in the rain.”
“It’s from the bank.” She flashed the front to him, then tore open the envelope. Even though this place was no longer her problem, she had to see the letter.
For the past two years, she had worked to save this place. Her blood was in the ground, the beams, the air. All that time and energy spent was for nothing now. She could have built a different life.
But then she wouldn’t have had these past weeks with Jett. To have loved him once more would take her through the rest of her life. She was grateful for the few moments together. To have seen him look at her as if she were the only person in the room could give her the strength to face what waited for her. No one had ever looked at her that way. And no one probably would again.
The letter read with typical rhetoric about foreclosing on the land. In three days, the property would belong to the bank. They would have to remove themselves from the premises.
“What’s it say?” Ives said.
“What’s going on?” Quinn looked between her and her father.
“I have some bad news.” She flipped to the second page and stopped.
A copy of the deed was included. Her heart picked up speed. Heat flushed over her body. Her hand trembled.
“Autumn?” Ives stood beside her and read over her shoulder. “I don’t understand.”
“The deed says I own the land. Me. And only me.” She waved around the paper. “Jett was right. She lied to keep me from him. She stooped to the lowest possible place because I wanted to be with Jett.”
“Your mother did something,” Ives said.
“She told me she owned the land. Not me. She also told me she asked you to come back so you could buy the land and sell it back to her. Not buy the land and help me. But buy the land and sell it to her. She wanted to get my land out from under me, and she was prepared to use you to do it.” Her voice jarred the ceiling. Anger shook her whole body.
“Vera is the queen of manipulation,” Ives said.
“What’s all the hollering about?” Vera ran into the kitchen.
“How could you?” She shoved the papers at Vera, who didn’t take them. “How could you lie to me like that? You’re a snake. My own mother is a snake.”
“Now, Autumn, let’s stay calm. I did it for your own good.”
“What are you saying right now?”
Vera’s face crumpled. Tears sprang from her eyes. “I had to do what was best for my family. I had to save you from the Rykers. They aren’t any good for you. You wouldn’t listen to me. If you would only listen and take my advice when I give it. I had to lie to you about me still owning the land so you wouldn’t stay with that man.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Autumn said. “You still need to sell. Someone had to buy it.”
“But not the Rykers. I needed a little time to prove to you Jett Ryker was all wrong for you. He would only control you and make you do what he wanted. He would never consider me in any of it. I’d be left all alone. I had to save us all.”
“So you lied,” Autumn said. “You hurt me so you could have your own way.”
“Selfish comes to mind,” Ives said.
Vera kept her gaze on her. “It wasn’t much of a lie. It was just a stall tactic. You found out, didn’t you? Now we can go back to the way things were.”
“The bank owns the land now.” She shoved the papers at her mother again. Vera’s shaky grip sent the papers to the floor.
“Why did you bring me into this, Vera?” Her father’s face was filled with pain. For the first time, he looked old, and her heart ached for him. He had his flaws, many of them, but he had never used her in the way her mother had.
“You know why.” Vera waved her hand in the air.
“To use me too? I came back thinking you missed me. I did want to consider another chance with you because we always had something together. But you only wanted to use me.”
“Oh please. As if you haven’t used me a hundred times over the years. Whenever you get lonely, you call me. And when you’re living high on the hog, you forget about me. I called you so I could show my daughter how all men are pigs and can’t be trusted.”
“You’re the one who can’t be trusted, Grandma. Mom was right about you. And you’re wrong about Coach Ryker. He’s a good guy. He’s helped me so much these past weeks. He cares about the team. I can’t stay in this house. I’m going to Emily’s. I’ll ride my bike.”
Autumn pulled Quinn into a hug. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for so many things. I promise to make our lives right somehow.”
Quinn eased out of the hug. “I know, Mom. We’ll figure it out. I hope.”
“I’ll give you a ride,” Ives said, then turned to Autumn. “I’m going back to the B and B. Call me if you need anything.”
“Dad, can you stay here instead? I’d like the company.”
“I would love that. Vera, if I were you, I’d pack a bag and get out.”
“I’m not going anywhere. This is my home.”
“Actually, it’s my home. I have to run out. I have to take care of something that can’t wait. I want you gone within the hour. And if you’re not gone by the time I get back, I’m going to call Sheriff Ryker to have you removed from the premises.”
Vera huffed. But for the first time, she said nothing at all.
Autumn scooped up the papers and ran from the house. She had to find Jett.
****
She threw the truck in park and raced into the Ryker Ranch’s main house. She bumped square into Lock and landed on her butt, as if she’d collided with a brick wall.
“Geez.” She shook her head.
“Sorry about that. I didn’t see you.” Lock held out a hand and helped her to her feet. “You okay?”
“I think so. Is Jett here?”
Lock took a bite out of an apple. “Haven’t seen him all morning. Did you text him?”
She hadn’t bothered. She needed to see him in person and show him what she had discovered. She also needed to explain what had happened with Markus. “Where can I find him?”
“Try the stables.”
“Thanks, Lock. I’ve got to run.”
“Good luck.”
She ran to the stables, passing guests who gave her strange looks. Her breath came in quick spirts, and her lungs hurt. She bent at the waist to gulp in air. The stable doors were open. A few of the horses were in their stalls. Most of the stalls were empty. On a Sunday, guests would be taking the horses for a ride. Jett could be with them.
“Can I help you?” A male voice drifted from behind her.
She turned.
“Oh, hey, Autumn. Are you looking for Jett?” Kace ambled farther into the stable. He looked so much like Jett in his jeans and sweatshirt.
“I am. Do you know where he is?” She needed to find her man, if he still wanted to be.
“He took a horse out for a ride. Not sure when he’ll be back. You can wait if you want.” He grabbed a rope from the hook.
“Is he with guests?”
“He said he needed to go alone. One of the employees, Paulie, took the guests out. Jett’s in a bad mood. Just want to warn you.”
She choked out a laugh. “Thanks.” He would probably be in a worse mood when he saw her.
But she couldn’t very well run around the ranch until she found him. She could be gone for a day or get lost in the mountain where the hiking trails were. She didn’t even remember how to get to the cute little cabin they had set up for hikers who needed to take a break while out.
“I’ll come back. But if you see him, will you tell him I was here? I have something I need to talk to him about.”
“Sure. I’ll tell him, but why don’t you just text him?”
“This needs to be said in person.”
“Did my brother say something stupid?”
“Kace, don’t talk about your brother that way.” Karen Ryker walked up the middle of the stable. Her face was grim, and she shook her head.
“Mom, have you talked to him today? He’s acting like a grizzly.”
“Never mind that. Hello, Autumn.” Karen turned to her.
“Hello.” The stable was suddenly too warm. She had no reason to be nervous around Karen, but she still was. Jett was close to his mother. If Karen had any idea about the problems between Autumn and Jett, she would be telling Autumn to stay away from her son.
“I’ll leave you two ladies to whatever it is you’re going to talk about. I have to get back to my garage.” He hugged his mother and sauntered away.
Karen watched as Kace disappeared around the corner. A smile the size of Montana delighted her face. “A mother never stops loving her children even when they’re all grown men.”
Karen turned back to her.
“I don’t suppose she does. At least that’s how I feel about Quinn.” Her love for Quinn had only grown over the years, and if a man ever treated her badly, Autumn would stop at nothing to right that wrong. She suspected Karen felt that way too and was about to tell Autumn to take a hike.
“My son is struggling with his feelings for you.”
“I know. I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to hurt him.” As she suspected, Karen was gearing up to send her away.
“Do you love him?”
“Very much.” More than any other man before or after.
“Then you need to fix it.”
She stared at Karen, waiting for her to say more, to say she wanted Autumn off the ranch, to find a rock and crawl under it, that Autumn would never be good enough for her son.
“I’m not sure how. I want to, but maybe I ruined us.”
“He’s so much like his father, and he doesn’t even know it. John was a man of few words. In fact, all of my sons are that way. Except for Ajay. He had been the talkative one. Jett tries the hardest to keep his emotions to himself. He wants to be like Gage. Always has. Since he could walk across the room and chase his brother.”
“That’s sweet.” She enjoyed picturing Jett as a boy toddling around. Hard to believe her rugged and deliberate man had been a little boy, but she still liked imagining it, imagining what their little boy would have been like too.
“I love how close my sons are. But sometimes Jett trying to be like Gage gets him tangled up the most. He has to work through those emotions he’s got. You need to give him some space. A day or two. Maybe a week. I don’t know what happened yesterday. He isn’t going to say. Not to me. Maybe to Gage, but not now. He’ll find you when he’s ready.”
“I don’t know if I can wait. I only have three days.”
“Three days?”
“It’s a long story. And one I want you to know. But I do have to find Jett. This is important. Even if he and I can’t work our differences out. I have information he needs.”
“Autumn?” Jett stood at the entrance of the stable, his horse beside him.
“Looks to me like you had your prayers answered.” Karen stole a glance at the ceiling and smiled. “Good luck.” She patted Jett’s arm as she went past.
He led the horse to the stall but didn’t put it inside. Then he came to her.
“What are you doing here?” He kept his distance and leaned against the stall door. His eyes were hooded, and his beard was thicker. Instead of his cowboy hat, he wore a gray knit cap on his head. He was gorgeous and strong and off-limits.
“You were right. My mother lied.” She pulled the papers out of her coat pocket, unfolded them, and handed them to him.
He glanced at them, then at her. “I’m sorry she lied to you. But now you can decide what to do.”
“I want you to buy the land. We have three days to make it happen.”
“I don’t want your land anymore.”
“What? Why? It’s a perfect business decision for you.”
“It was. But not anymore.”
“Why? Because of us? Don’t be foolish and allow your feelings for me to get in the way.” She had to convince him. He was the best person to take care of her family’s legacy. She had been too caught up in her own demons to see her way clearly.
“I can’t buy your land and see you every day. And I can’t go back to pretending like we’ve done for so long. You wrecked me. I don’t know what to do to get back to my old self.”
“I’m sorry.”
“We’ve been saying ‘sorry’ a lot lately. I don’t know if love is supposed to be this hard.” He pulled off his hat and scratched his head.
“We aren’t perfect. We’re going to mess up. All the time. We’re going to get hurt. I can’t promise I won’t hurt you again. And you can’t promise that either.” She wanted to make him understand a love for a lifetime would come with joy and pain.
“I know what it’s like to be hurt, Autumn.”
“You don’t do hurt. You avoid it. You think if you love someone, they’re going to leave you. Your father left you. Your brother left you. Our child left us. I married someone else. I never stopped loving you. I made a mistake. Lots of them. And your father didn’t die because he loved you. And Ajay didn’t die because he loved you. And Silver Bell didn’t die because she loved you. She lived because she loved all of you.”
“Why did you lie to me? That’s what I can’t live with.”
She had to touch him and crossed the space to him and placed her hands on his chest. He didn’t push her away. He looked down at her, and all the hurt she had mentioned pooled in his eyes.
“I was afraid. I needed the money, and Markus offered me a job cooking for him. That was how it started. I didn’t want the whole town to know I was over at Markus’s. Especially not you. And then he asked me for a favor. He pleaded with me. And I fell for it. Stupid. Gullible Autumn. Fell for it. But all he wanted was a way to get a piece of my land without buying it and make a ton of money. As soon as I knew that, I left. That’s when you showed up. I’m sorry. I planned on telling you everything last night.”
He laced his fingers through hers. “You’re not stupid or gullible. No more talk like that. You’re kind with a big heart. You want to believe the best in people. It’s why you’ve given your mother so many chances.”
“Not anymore. I threw her out.”
He barked out a laugh. “You did?”
“I did.”
“That’s my girl.”
“Am I, Jett? Am I yours?”
“If you’ll put up with my stubbornness and my competitiveness. If you’ll understand I want to protect you even when you don’t need it. I won’t share you with any other man. I will always want the truth even when I don’t want to hear it. If you can live with that and all my other flaws, then you are mine and I am yours. For good this time.”
“I will tell you the truth always. I will tell you when I’m scared. I will lean on you when I need help.”
“I believe we have ourselves a deal.”
Then he kissed her.