Chapter Eleven
October, fourteen years ago
Jackie
Her boots clacked on the tiled floor as she walked into the ranch’s large, open-plan kitchen.
The house underwent a major revamp a couple of years ago, when Jackie’s parents had finally managed to convince her grandmother that it would be a lot more comfortable for her.
Now, the kitchen looked like something straight from the pages of interior design magazines.
Charcoal gray units, marble countertops, high-end appliances throughout and underfloor heating.
There was even a wine cooler, which Jackie had been eyeing with increasing interest but pretended otherwise whenever Mimi caught her looking.
“There’s a fresh jug of iced tea,” Mimi croaked from the corner, not raising her eyes from her book.
“Thank you!” Jackie jogged up to the fridge, humming under her breath. “Do you want some?”
Mimi grunted, the sound of a page turning in lieu of an answer.
“Oh, Mimi, don’t be angry. I told you last week I like him.” She filled the glasses lined up on the kitchen counter.
“That doesn’t mean you had to brin’ him round here without telling me first.” Mimi glanced up from the book, her thick-framed glasses sliding down her nose.
She pushed them up. “You turn up, unannounced, with a stranger in tow and tell me you’re both stayin’ for the weekend.
I had no time to prepare the guest room for him, and now I need to change the sheets and dust up there—”
“I told you I’d do all that,” Jackie interrupted, annoyance creeping into her tone. “And, I didn’t think I needed an invitation to come home,” she added, much quieter.
Mimi blinked, her silver ponytail twitching. She slammed her book and wordlessly got up from the armchair by the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the garden, her favorite place.
Jackie had always thought the garden at Brooke’s Plains was Mimi personified: untamed, wild but also, somehow, controlled chaos.
Vegetable patches intersected with flowers and knickknacks, including several bird feeders and water bowls—Dixie, a loving rescue German Shepherd and Border Collie mix, chased the birds whenever they dared to land for a drink.
Busy watching the plants outside and reminiscing about their previous dog getting stung by a bee one summer, Jackie hadn’t noticed Mimi walking up to her.
“My sweet girl, you can always come home.” Mimi enveloped her in a hug. “I never want you to think otherwise.”
Jackie sniffed, inhaling her grandmother’s scent: Chanel N° 5, hay and fresh air. Another constant in her life since she could remember. “Why are you upset, then?”
Mimi let go of her and put her hands on her shoulders. “I’m not upset, but I wish you gave me a heads-up you’d be bringin’ home some boy for the whole weekend.”
“He’s not just any boy, Mimi.” Heat bloomed across her cheeks. She looked directly into her grandmother’s eyes. “He’s my boy.”
Mimi snorted, turning away from Jackie and walking up to the vast kitchen island with the marble top. Her hand hovered by the fruit bowl. She hesitated for a moment, then plucked an apple from the middle and faced Jackie again. “Even so. Next time, call me before. Or at least send me a text.”
Jackie laughed. “You never reply to any texts.”
“I don’t like them.” Mimi bit into the ruby red apple.
“Then you can hardly complain when you get surprised by guests,” Jackie said but bit the tip of her tongue when she caught Mimi’s stern eyes boring into her. She sighed. “Fine. I’ll let you know next time.”
Mimi nodded, chewing a piece of apple. “That’s all I’m askin’, sweetheart. Some heads-up.” She tilted her head and crossed her arms. “So. He’s your boy, huh?”
Jackie blushed, spinning back to face the countertop where her and Mitch’s iced tea sat. “He is.”
Mimi grunted again, letting out a heavy exhale like she didn’t see anything exciting about any of it. “Very well, then. Go and enjoy yourself. I’ll prep a room for him. But mind you, it’ll be the one downstairs.”
Jackie swallowed a chuckle rising in her chest. Trust Mimi to be concerned with proprieties.
The house had five bedrooms in total: Mimi’s, Jackie’s, her parents’, and two designated for guests.
Only one of the guest bedrooms was downstairs, at the back.
Not only was it on a different floor, but it was also at the opposite end of the house from her room.
“Thank you,” she said, knowing there was no point in arguing over it. At least not this time round. “We’ll be back for dinner.”
“He isn’t one of those vegans, is he? I’m makin’ chicken stew tonight.”
“He eats meat.” She grabbed both glasses. “Thanks, Mimi.”
Mimi waved her hand, muttering something Jackie didn’t catch on her way out. Iced tea sloshed inside the glasses. Jackie glanced down at them every now and then, hoping she wouldn’t spill any on her way through the house. She didn’t need another thing to annoy Mimi today.
Mitch’s wide grin welcomed her from the rocking chair on the decked porch as she pushed the door open with her shoulder. “Need any help with those?”
She shook her head. “All good.”
He beamed at her, his eyes flicking back to the landscape before them. “It’s so beautiful out here.”
Jackie handed him one of the glasses, sat down and kicked off her boots. Balancing her own glass, she brought one of her legs up on the chair, sitting semi cross-legged. “Yes, it is.”
She wasn’t looking at the barns, the gravel pathway, the paddocks or the bunkhouse where some of the ranch crew lived.
Neither was she looking at the vast fields, their greenery and yellowed hues left over from the summer, or the cattle happily grazing in their confines.
She was watching Mitch’s profile: his straight nose and green eyes, so much lusher than the bushes and the grass surrounding them, crinkling with wonder as he was soaking in her home.
He turned to her, perhaps sensing her eyes on him. “It must’ve been amazing growing up here.”
Jackie took a sip of her tea. “Yes and no. You see a grand ranch, miles of rolling fields and opportunities to roam. You see peace and nature, right?”
Mitch nodded slowly, once, like he doubted himself.
“Well, it was all that, yes. But it was also very lonely at times.” She glanced down at the glass in her lap, dragging her index finger around its edge.
“My parents were away a lot. Mimi’s great, I know she loves me very much.
Running a ranch is hard work, though. She was busy, especially after Grandpa died. It all fell on her shoulders.”
“She’s had help, right?”
“Of course. Dustin, our foreman, he’s been here forever. I think he started when I was maybe four or five.” She scrunched up her forehead, casting her mind deep into her memories, back to her early childhood. “Anyway, even though there’s enough people working here now, it wasn’t always the case.”
“Let me guess, your grandmother was too stubborn to admit she needed help?”
Jackie looked at him again and found him smiling. She smiled back at him. “Something like that.”
Mitch let out a breath, sinking lower in the chair. He pushed his booted foot off the decked porch, setting the chair in the rocking motion. “I’d love to have a ranch like this one day.”
Jackie’s brows rose. “I thought you wanted to be a vet.”
“I do. I want to do both. Being a vet comes in useful, you know. With animals at the ranch and all.”
“Yeah, horses you can’t ride. That might be the first thing to tick off your list. No self-respecting rancher would admit to not knowing how to ride.”
Mitch touched the brim of his hat. “Who said I’d admit it to anyone but you?”
“Well, I told you I’d teach you, so that won’t be an issue.”
“Have you ever taught anyone how to ride?”
“No. But how hard can it be?”
His eyes widened in alarm. “Incredibly. What if I fall off?”
“Oh, don’t worry, cowboy. I’ll catch you. But there’ll be no need. You’ll be fine.”
He swallowed a gulp of his iced tea, his forehead still creased with worry. “Tomorrow?”
Jackie rested her head against the back of her chair, closed her eyes and nodded. “Yes, Mitch. Tomorrow. Unless you’re going to obsess over it all night, then we can go right now.”
All she heard next was the thump of a glass being set against a wooden surface and the squeaking of an abandoned rocking chair. She opened one eye and found Mitch standing up straight right in front of her.
“Let’s get it over with,” he said, jaw hardened.
Jackie held her breath as she watched Mitch move his hand up and down Diamond’s bay-roan neck. The gelding snorted, pushing his nose right into Mitch’s palm.
Mitch turned to Jackie, his face split into a smile. “He doesn’t want to eat me!”
She relaxed, propping the heel of her boot on the beam she’d been leaning against. “I told you he’s a sweet soul.”
Mitch’s laugh bounced off the wooden walls of the barn, escaping through its small cracks into the October afternoon. His hand steadied, fingers brushing Diamond’s mane confidently. “I thought you said it so I wouldn’t be scared.”
She considered him with her arms crossed over her chest. Diamond was the sturdiest horse they had but he was also the gentlest. Knowing Mitch didn’t have much experience with even being around horses, Jackie had decided Diamond was the best choice for his riding lessons.
“If you’re done befriending him, mount up. We’ve been here over an hour.”
The smile slipped off Mitch’s face. “Can’t it wait?”
Jackie pushed herself off the beam and stalked up to him.
She stopped by his side, their elbows knocking as she reached out to rub behind Diamond’s ear.
“I showed you how to do it. I saddled Diamond up for you, though next time I want you to try doing that yourself. You’re comfortable with him; he’s with you. What is there to wait for?”
“Nothing.” He sighed. “I’m just nervous.”
His hand rested on Diamond’s neck.
Jackie covered it with hers. “I’ll be right here with you.” She gave his fingers a gentle squeeze, hoping it’d convey the reassurance her words were clearly falling short of delivering. “You can’t learn to ride if you aren’t on a horse.”
“You don’t give up, do you?”
“Not when I feel passionate about something, no.”
Jackie bit down on her lip, trying to keep her mind sharp and not give in to the desire to pull him to her and kiss him senseless.
It had been three weeks since their first kiss at Betty’s Hens.
And oh, the kisses that followed … She’d lost track of them.
It’d been like being on cloud nine. Even her anxiety about chemistry—that she’d decided already she would hate more than she did in high school—vanished whenever they saw each other.
She wasn’t sure how it had happened, but being with Mitch was easy.
It felt natural, like she’d met someone who was always supposed to be in her life.
Her eyes flicked to meet his. In the late afternoon light of a dimming sun, his irises looked darker, reminding her of grass after several days of much needed rain during a drought.
Jackie smiled, as she remembered his slowly growing confidence and the flirting that came with it. She didn’t know if he meant to say some of the things he did or if sometimes he blurted them without thinking, but it didn’t matter. She was ready to get carried away with him, all the way.
Mitch turned her hand over, lazily drawing circles on her palm with his thumb. “And what are you passionate about? Me or the idea of getting me on a horse?”
Diamond snickered and Jackie withdrew her hand. Mitch was so unlike any guy she’d dated before that sometimes she wasn’t sure how she should act around him.
“Both. Now come on, up you go,” she said.
Breath whooshed out of his chest. “Here goes nothing.” His facial expression was a lot more determined than his tone suggested. He tipped his head back, whispering something into Diamond’s ear.
Jackie fixed her hat, needing to find something to do to overcome the urge to tease him.
Moments later, Mitch’s posture straightened. He grabbed the reins, then the pommel, put his booted foot into the stirrup, pushed himself up with little visible effort and swung his other leg over.
It took him a good second to realize he was sitting on Diamond. Jackie saw the exact moment his face lit up; relief mixed with excitement colored his cheeks. Pure happiness reflected in his eyes and when he looked at Jackie, the weight of it momentarily stole the air from her lungs.
“Look at that!” she exclaimed, unable to suppress a grin. “You either lied to me or you’re a natural.”
“Diamond’s keeping his end of the bargain. I told him I’ll find him the nicest carrot I can if he doesn’t throw me off.”
“Ah. Bribery. Nice one, Diamond.”
Mitch shuffled in the saddle. “I’d ask you to climb up here with me, but I don’t think it’d work.”
Jackie imagined sitting in the same saddle, her chest pressed against his muscular back, her cheek resting on his cotton shirt, watching his forearms flexing as he led Diamond in a canter through the fields.
She knew exactly where they would go; there was a small lake at the back of the eastern field.
They could take a blanket, and maybe even have a picnic …
It was a nice thought, but there was no way she’d be able to lead Diamond from behind Mitch—or even reach over his broad shoulders. And she didn’t think it’d be safe or fair to let Diamond carry them both with an inexperienced rider holding the reins.
“Not until you start riding well. Then, who knows. Maybe.” She shrugged. “For now, pass me the reins and I’ll lead you outside into the paddock. You can get a feel for how Diamond moves.”
Mitch groaned. “All of the ranch hands are having dinner outside.”
“So?”
“They’ll laugh their heads off seeing me on a horse you’re leading, like I’m a child.”
Jackie glared at him.
“Not that I care in the slightest what they think,” he added, avoiding looking at her.
“I’m glad to hear. Because no one’s going to laugh. You know what they’d laugh at? If you tried to be a hero and went out on your own when it’s your first time. Diamond might’ve thrown you off and that’d be hilarious to them.”
He met her gaze. “You’re right. That does sound stupid.”
Jackie grasped the reins under Diamond’s chin with her right hand. “Hold on tight. Focus on keeping yourself in the saddle with your thighs, but also feel the way Diamond moves and move with him, not against him.”
Mitch nodded. “Roger that.”
Jackie smiled at him and tugged the reins.