Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Shelby
Cowgirls
She’d made numerous connections with authors over the years attending book signings or conferences, but most lived in different cities.
For the last twelve years she’d thought of Atlanta as her home, but suddenly it felt like anything but that.
After just two weeks in Sandy Point, everything looked different.
In Atlanta she’d collected a few people.
Her editor was based out of Atlanta, as were a few other writers from college, but in actuality she was a bit of a loner.
Just like when she was a kid, she was more content to be with her horses or books.
The drive took closer to five hours with traffic, and it had her wondering how frequently she could really expect Wesley to do it.
She’d planned to just lay low but she had to stop at the local market in Sandy Point for a few groceries, so she was happy to see there were barely any cars.
She knew her family wouldn’t dare to step foot in the little grocery store—they had staff for that—but she didn’t really want them to know she was in town again so soon.
They hadn’t reached out to her since the day she saw her mother at Pops’s funeral and she had to assume they wouldn’t.
It was sad and freeing at the same time.
In record time she gathered a few essentials—fruit, bread, cheese, and some coffee creamer—but on her way to the checkout the sight of Miranda Sutton stopped her in her tracks.
“Hi. I didn’t think I’d be seeing you moving back to town,” Miranda said with a genuine smile.
“Me either honestly?”
Miranda was dressed in cutoff shorts, dirty boots, no makeup, and had her hair pulled up with a bandana around her neck.
She looked like she’d just gotten off work at a farm, and been digging in the dirt before she popped into the grocery store.
Which was the complete opposite of everything she’d ever known about the girl in high school.
She was waiting at the front of the store where the pharmacy took up one corner.
“I just mean, the way your mama told it, you weren’t happy in Sandy Point and wouldn’t be staying.”
“Well I’m not permanently staying but I had a few more things to take care of out at my grandfather’s place.”
Miranda frowned. “I was really sorry to hear about your loss. Your pops was always kind.”
She sounded sincere and not at all like the snobby girl Shelby had assumed she was. Looking closer she could see dark circles under Miranda’s eyes, and she wasn’t wearing the huge diamond ring she’d seen at the women’s committee event.
“Since I’ll be in town maybe I can take you up on that offer to visit the ranch? We could go for a ride?” Shelby asked.
“It’s been really hectic and I don’t usually have much time for riding for pleasure, but you’d be more than welcome to visit and take any of the horses for a ride.”
Shelby nodded, but something didn’t seem right. Like Miranda wasn’t saying something that Shelby should know. “Great, I’m just getting back into it. I won’t be around long enough to keep a horse permanently, but it’d be nice to get in some rides.”
Miranda smiled. “You never know, those Hart boys seem to be quite convincing with the women they set their sights on. If Wesley Hart asked any other woman in Sandy Point to stay, I guarantee they wouldn’t hesitate.”
Then the pharmacist called her name and held several white bags of medication out to Miranda who stood up straighter and smoothed her messy hair as she turned back toward Shelby.
“Any morning you feel like cleaning a stall or going for a ride, just come on over. Maybe I’ll see you at the town hall meeting tomorrow night? ” Miranda smiled.
Shelby laughed. “I didn’t know there was a town hall meeting.”
“Anyone running for sheriff needs to make their formal announcement and pitch to the crowd why they’re going to make the best choice for Sandy Point.”
“Huh, well I’m not exactly on the best terms with my family right now and the local politics don’t really impact me.”
Miranda leaned in close. “Well I say screw them. Your pops wanted you to have that house, and you have every right to be here. Maybe more. If this town has any luck Wesley Hart will be announcing his bid for sheriff, or this town is in big trouble. Don’t forget to come visit me and the horses. ” Then she walked away.
Shelby was stunned. Miranda had been in the cool crowd, a cheerleader, Prom Queen, and lived on one of the largest estates near the beach.
But her father had been rumored to have a gambling problem.
Although he had one of the biggest stud farms in Georgia, if she remembered correctly, he’d lost most of his horses and fortune in some very big debts.
Maybe that was why Miranda looked more like she was working the farm than living on a fancy estate, with dirt under her nails, wearing worn boots, and grocery shopping instead of attending some formal party at the country club.
Shelby couldn’t stop thinking about what Miranda said about any other woman in town being happy to have Wesley Hart ask them to stay, but he hadn’t asked her. He’d just said they could make the long distance work. Maybe that was exactly how he preferred it?
Once she got her groceries put away at Pops’s she made some tea and set her laptop on the desk in the window of the library.
The last few rays of the sun lit up the water, highlighting the rocky waves.
She kept telling herself she came back for her book, not to see Wesley.
She needed to see how she felt in this home alone.
Could she make a life here? Was that what Pops meant in his final letter?
She always thought she was the reason her family wasn’t close, like she’d done something wrong.
But now as an adult it was clearer. She didn’t need them or their approval for the life she wanted to have, even if that life was in Sandy Point.
Opening her laptop, she reviewed the last few pages she’d written and before she knew it her fingers were flying over the keyboard again.
She could see her group of misfit girls with their black hair tangled in the wind as they sailed a borrowed ship out of port to start their quest. They weren’t going to let anyone or anything hold them back.
She wrote late into the night and then finally made her way to her bed with a smile on her face.
Even after being up late, Shelby’s body woke her as the dawn was turning the lights on in the deep blue sky and Miranda popped into her mind.
She’d said if Shelby ever wanted to go for a ride or help muck a stall to head on out to her property and she was itching to ride again.
The girls in her story were also going to be proficient riders and she figured she could claim some research as her reason for needing to see the horses.
Sure enough, when she pulled her truck into Miranda’s yard outside an old barn that looked in need of repair and a paint job, she found her old classmate bringing out a few horses into a pen.
“He’s a beauty,” Shelby called out.
Miranda shook her head. “My beautiful ornery Beast.” Once she closed the pen again she leaned on the tall fence post to talk to Shelby. “I take it you couldn’t stop thinking about my generous offer?”
Shelby laughed. “If you need some help, I’ve got two hands and am no stranger to mucking stalls. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in going for a ride today.”
“Well come on then, we’ve got eight horse stalls to clean and eight horses to exercise.”
Shelby looked around and realized Miranda was managing this all on her own.
“No grooms to help you out?” Shelby asked as she followed Miranda into the barn.
“Nope. I do have a few high school kids who come a few days a week, but I can’t afford to pay them fulltime.
And this is how I keep my girlish figure,” she said with a mocking smile and shake of her hips.
Then she gave Shelby a quick tour and found her some gloves.
“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention how you found the prom queen mucking her own stalls. ”
“Your secret is safe with me. We’re not defined by our parents’ shortcomings, you know. And like Pops always said, if you’re lucky enough to own a horse you better know how to care for it.”
Miranda just nodded. “They’d kick me off the women’s committee if they found out how broke we are.”
“Is that why you’re marrying Mr. Dubois, or is it true love?” Shelby asked but then instantly regretted it when Miranda flinched. She reached out to her. “Hey I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.”
Miranda sighed and shook her head, “I don’t think I can actually go through with it. I think I just said yes because I was so mad at Charlie and my father for leaving me with this mess. But lately I’ve been thinking it might be easier to just get out of this town altogether.”
Before Shelby could ask her anything else a teenage boy with curly blonde hair wearing a backpack walked into the barn.
“Andy, I’m heading off to school, mama’s sitting with her tea.”
Miranda painted on a smile. “Okay, I’ll walk you down to the bus stop. But first say hello to my friend. Shelby this is my baby brother, he’s brilliant and handsome.
“Hello, I’m Jeremy Sutton, it’s nice to meet you,” the young man said in a formal tone before turning back to face Miranda. “You don’t need to walk me to the bus stop, I’m not five.”
“Yes, but I’ll just walk you anyway then I can mean-mug Billy Rogers so he knows he better not try to start any stuff with you again, or he’ll have to deal with me.”
“Just what I need is my sassy sister fighting my battles.” But then he turned his attention to Shelby. “You must love horses too if you’re here this early.”
“Yep, I was hoping if I help your sister out with chores that she’ll have time to go riding today.”
“Good, she works too much. Make sure you choose Sugar, she’s the sweetest.” The young man said with confidence and walked over to the brown horse that clearly loved him. “She’s my favorite.”
“I’d be happy to,” Shelby said.
“I’ll be right back,” Miranda said, then wrapped her arm around brother. “Come on, that bus waits for no one.”
By the time Miranda returned, Shelby had walked the remaining horses out to the pen and started on mucking out the first stall, which meant removing the old hay to supply fresh, clean hay.
“A lot sure has changed since high school,” Miranda said.
Shelby stopped with the shovel in her hand. “Who knew the outcast and the cheerleader would end up being so alike.”
Miranda laughed and picked up a shovel to start on the next stall and shook her head. “You might be the first person to surprise me in this town in a good way.”
“Sounds like I have some catching up to do.”
“Well I’m not really one to gossip but…” They both laughed. And for the next hour they worked easily together while Miranda told Shelby all about people in town.
By the time they exercised each horse, Shelby’s body was sore and exhausted.
“I can’t believe you do this every day by yourself,” Shelby said.
“You get used to it, you know.”
“Which days do you need the most help?”
“You don’t have to worry about it. I mean come any day you want to ride and if you’re in time to muck a stall all the better.”
“Alright, if you’re sure you don’t mind? Maybe you should consider offering horseback riding to the tourists, like an excursion?”
Miranda nodded. “I doubt that would satisfy the bill collectors, but I do have Beast on the stud roster. If he can get a few successful pairings that’ll buy me more time. In the meantime, I’ll keep planning this wedding,” she said, twirling the massive ring on her finger and rolling her eyes.
Shelby nodded. It was clear Miranda wasn’t thrilled to be marrying a man almost twice her age. Without a second thought Shelby gave Miranda a big hug. “You’ve got a lot of grit, Miranda Sutton. Thank you for letting me get dirty and ride today.”
“I hope I see you again soon. Sandy Point could use more people like you,” Miranda said.
On her drive back home, Shelby passed through town and for the first time saw big red banners being hung downtown.
Wesley Hart for Sheriff in big bold letters hung on several storefronts.
And in the middle of town was city hall where there were more signs for Wesley, and then an equal amount with her brother’s name sat along the walkways in the grass, like dueling lawn ornaments.
Either Wes had changed his mind about running for sheriff or he’d always planned to.
Maybe she should attend the town hall and see for herself what was going on, she did own property in Sandy Point now.