Chapter 4 Amy
FOUR
AMY
“Tell me about the town, Bobs,” Cal said pulling me out of my thoughts and back to the dinner.
Bob McCall launched into his list of reasons why Poplar Springs was a great place to saddle your horse and hang your hat with Bob Jackson filling in details.
Of course, they made sure to bring up the legendary greatness of the high school’s football team.
All three Bobs—including the mayor—had been on Pop High’s football team almost fifty years ago, and bragging on the team was one of their favorite hobbies.
In truth, the team’s record had always been pretty solidly middle of the road, but the Bobs weren’t ones for letting accuracy get in the way of a good story.
The Bobs ended their litany with a question for Cal.
“Are you from a small town or are you a city boy at heart?”
“I grew up in the outskirts of Austin,” he said. “So I’m neither, really. I’m not a big city fan, but I don’t ever really see myself in a small town either.”
“Why not?” I asked, joining the conversation after remaining silent for several minutes.
“Nothing against your town,” he was quick to say. “Seems like a nice place, but I like being on the road, staying moving.”
Hence, the rodeo life for him. Cal didn’t want to be pinned down.
I’d originally thought that Luke would be more like that.
At least, he’d seemed to enjoy the idea of travel back when he’d still had hopes of a pro-football career.
He’d gone to school on a football scholarship, expecting to be the big man on campus.
That hadn’t turned out to be the case. It might’ve been different if he’d chosen a smaller school, but he’d gone with one of the largest in the nation, and the football team had been incredibly competitive.
He would have had to seriously push himself to stand out and draw the kind of attention he’d need to end up making it to the NFL, and Luke had never been one to work harder than he had to.
Once he figured out he had zero chance of a football career, he couldn’t wait to return to this small town in Colorado.
I’d understood why after arriving. Luke enjoyed the attention and admiration of others, and he easily got that here.
And it turned out, I enjoyed small town life more than I expected to, if for very different reasons.
“I grew up in Virginia,” I said, holding my wine glass by the stem, “and went to college in California. With my degree in public relations, I expected to find a job in a big city, but I love it here and I’ve got no plans to leave.”
Cal gave me a nod that I wasn’t sure how to interpret. I figured he was probably judging me—and I decided I didn’t care. He wasn’t part of my life. I had no reason to care what he thought. I could get through a month of appearances and promo work with him, but I’d be glad when it was done.
“Oops,” Bob McCall said after he checked his phone. “That’ll be the wife.” Bob set his napkin down and smiled at Cal. “I’ve got to run.”
“I’ll go too,” Bob Jackson said, setting his napkin aside.
“You all stay and have dessert. Order whatever you like. The restaurant knows to bill it to me,” Bob McCall said, leaving me and Cal at the table in slightly stunned silence.
I narrowed my eyes at the retreating Bobs, feeling like I’d been set up.
It was definitely not like either of the Bobs to turn down dessert.
“Well, you’ve met the Bobs. Did you want dessert?” I didn’t, but I couldn’t just walk away from my guest either.
“I can go either way,” he said and leaned closer to me. “Amy, I’ve been sitting here debating what to do, but I think I need to be honest with you.”
“About what?” I felt a curl of nerves start in my stomach.
“There’s a reason I look so much like your husband.
” When I didn’t respond, he continued quietly, guaranteeing that no other diners could hear him.
“I was adopted as a baby, and until today I never asked questions about my birth family. After meeting you and seeing people’s reactions in town, I called my mom, my adopted mom. ”
“What did she say?” I almost didn’t want to know.
“She gave me the name of my birth mother. Laura Cooper,” he said. “I did some research and found that Laura married Marshall Thorne thirty years ago here in Poplar Springs.”
I swallowed hard when I heard my mother-in-law’s name. This man sitting here was my husband’s half brother. It seemed too impossible to be true, but I had no reason to doubt his words either. Had Luke even known he’d had another sibling? Did Jake and Brian? I didn’t think so.
I gulped down the last of my wine, managing not to choke on it. What was I supposed to say to that? I waited, letting the information sink in as I searched for the best reaction.
“Thank you for telling me that,” I finally said, wondering what he expected from me. I suddenly wanted to be away from him. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to head home. I think it’s best if we keep our dealings professional. As for social, I…I can’t. I hope you understand.”
“That’s probably for the best,” he agreed, but the way he was watching me made me feel a flicker of something I hadn’t experienced in a very long time. God, was that attraction? It couldn’t be.
“Shall we go?” I said, retreating to excessive politeness.
He walked me to my car, making me think that whoever had raised him had ingrained gentlemanly behavior. Laura would be proud of him.
Good gracious, Laura had another son in the world.
That thought kept my mind occupied while I drove back to the Thorne family ranch, where I’d continued to live after my husband’s death.
I’d wanted to be with my mother-in-law and Luke’s brothers while we’d all been reeling with grief after the accident.
Later, I’d stayed for my son’s sake. Henry was a Thorne and deserved to grow up on the ranch and be part of the family’s legacy.
I pulled up in front of the sprawling ranch house that had been my home since coming here as a bride with Luke.
When I made my way inside, I found Jake sound asleep on the couch in front of the TV, a baseball game on.
It was a familiar sight. He always worked himself too hard—trying to fill the shoes his father and older brother had left behind.
I tiptoed past him and went to check on my son.
I found Henry fast asleep under the covers with a plastic horse tucked in with him.
I gently worked the horse loose, so he wouldn’t roll over on it during the night.
The boy was horse obsessed, a fact that would have pleased Luke.
But I was more cautious in my enthusiasm, especially after Henry broke his leg last winter while riding in the inside arena.
One limb was still thinner than the other, a result of wearing a cast for the past few months.
I knew I’d have to let Henry ride again, but I was frightened of what could happen to such a little boy.
He was still small for six years old, but he was the brightest spot in my life. If something happened to him….
I was being maudlin, I decided as I kissed his forehead. The day had been too much. I needed rest, but as I went back into the hall, I didn’t turn toward my bedroom. Instead, I made my way to the kitchen where I expected to find my mother-in-law.
I had no clear plan of what I’d say to Laura when I entered the kitchen.
Would she want to know about her oldest son?
Or had the woman already suffered enough?
But she had another child, who’d grown up into a decent man.
What woman wouldn’t want to know that? Maybe it would even help Laura heal in some way.
“How was your dinner?” Laura looked up with a smile from her place at the kitchen island.
“It was fine. I think the rodeo will raise the funds we need, and that’s a good thing.” Because if they didn’t, I wasn’t sure what would happen. “What are you up to?”
“Putting together the grocery list,” Laura said. “Growing boy to feed, you know.”
“Henry’s not putting away that much food, yet,” I said, but I was still amazed at how much my son could consume.
“He will soon enough. He’ll be eating like his…” Laura didn’t finish the sentence, but we both knew the next word would have been “daddy.”
That little reference to Luke was enough for me to ask the difficult question, and I decided that I wasn’t going to hedge my way into it. “Laura, did you have a child before Luke who you gave up for adoption?”
Laura’s head was bent over her list, and she tapped against the pad of paper with a pen for several seconds before letting out a sigh and looking up. Her face was calm but resigned. “I think that’s a conversation for the front porch. How about I make us some tea and meet you out there?”
I left the kitchen, understanding that Laura needed a minute to herself.
Making tea, Laura’s go-to beverage, would be therapeutic.
On the porch, I sat in one of the rockers, trying to enjoy the cool spring evening, but my thoughts wandered to what Laura would say.
I’d have never thought my mother-in-law could be carrying around such a secret, but Laura hadn’t denied the existence of another child.
I shook my head and settled deeper into the rocker as I let the familiar surroundings soothe me after a tempestuous day.
Under the light of the moon, I could see pastures and barns.
All was quiet except for the nickering of horses in the distance.
The Thornes bred and raised horses, much like many of the other families in the area.
From what my father-in-law had shared when I’d first arrived, the Thornes, much like the Caffertys, McCalls, and Lumleys, had been among the first who’d settled in the area.
The town of Poplar Springs had grown up around them, based on need instead of the other way around.
At least, that’s how Marshall described the town’s origins.
For me, this was home. It gave me comfort, and I thought it did the same for Laura.
“Quiet tonight,” Laura said, stepping onto the porch and handing me a mug of hot tea.
“I made chamomile. I think we’ll both need something calming.
” We sipped our tea for a moment before Laura began.
“I was seventeen when I graduated from high school and realized I was pregnant. My family wasn’t pleased.
We’d never been close, not like the Thornes, but they didn’t throw me out either.
They were prepared to help me with the baby.
I decided, though, that I was too young to raise a child.
I left home and ended up in Aurora, where I found a place that took in pregnant girls.
They helped me set up the adoption, and I lived there until the baby was born.
I held him for just a minute before I let him go. He was beautiful. I remember that.”
I couldn’t imagine giving up a child like that. It would have broken my heart.
“I was assured that the adoptive couple was older and financially stable. They were unable to have children and wanted one desperately,” Laura continued, as if anticipating my reaction. “And I knew the baby would be better off with them than with me.”
“What did you do afterward?” I asked after taking a sip of tea.
“I wanted a fresh start, so I worked for a few months and saved up money to buy a car. It wasn’t a very good car.
It only got me as far as Poplar Springs, where it broke down.
” There was warmth in Laura’s voice now as she remembered the scene.
“Marshall Thorne came to my rescue at the side of the road, and I fell in love instantly. That never changed.”
I knew that to be true. My in-laws had had an enviable marriage. Their love for each other was in everything they did. I had been almost jealous of that in the final months of my marriage when I’d finally accepted that I would never have that with Luke.
“The rodeo rider, Cal Pierce, is my son,” Laura said quietly. “I wondered what would happen when you said he was coming to town.”
“You knew?” I was shocked.
“I wasn’t sure,” Laura admitted. “I saw him on television once. I was flipping through channels one day while cleaning. He was being interviewed after a successful competition—something about winning a major prize—and I just knew. He looked like Luke, but also like the men in my family. What’s he like in person? ”
“He’s kind. He seems like the type who doesn’t beat around the bush, though.” I told her about my near collapse in the office and about dinner where Cal revealed what he’d learned. “He doesn’t like small town life. He made that clear at dinner tonight.”
“Unlike Luke,” Laura said, and we were both silent for a minute.
I guessed we were having the same thoughts.
Luke had loved everything about Poplar Springs.
“So he’ll move on, then. That’s probably for the best. Once the rodeo is over, he’ll have no reason to return.
” She stood, collected their tea mugs and went into the house.
I couldn’t get a read on Laura’s feelings. What must it be like to have given up a child and realize who he was as an adult? I shook my head. The day had been an emotional tangle, and I could think of nothing else to do but to kiss my son again and go to bed.