Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
“ D o you think I could get my own horse one day?”
Reid glanced over at Sophie. Two weeks ago, she’d been terrified to even come near a horse. Which explained why she had refused to help out at the ranch. Now she sat a saddle almost as well as he did and loved being at the ranch. Not only because she loved to ride, but also because the Holidays spoiled her rotten.
If Hank and Hallie weren’t teaching her how to rope, Darla was teaching her how to cook or Mimi was teaching her how to garden and sew. When she wasn’t at the ranch with him, she was at Nothin’ But Muffins with Noelle learning to bake or doing community service for the entire town, learning to be responsible.
Sophie was thriving under all the attention. While she still could be moody, she talked and laughed now. She had stopped wearing as much makeup—thanks to Sunny taking her makeup shopping and having the saleswoman give her a few tips—and, yesterday, she’d been greeted by a group of girls when he dropped her off at school.
Her drastic change made him realize what a pigheaded fool he’d been. If he hadn’t been so stubborn and accepted help sooner, Sophie would have been happier much sooner. He wanted to continue to make her happy, but he refused to lie to accomplish it.
“I’m sorry, Soph, but we don’t have the money for a horse.”
“But maybe one day? When you get your own ranch?”
He glanced over at her with surprise. “How did you know I wanted my own ranch?”
“Mama told me. She said you talked about having your own ranch nonstop when you were a kid.”
Memories of his childhood with Bree still made him sad, but now mixed with that sadness was a nostalgic, bittersweet feeling. He figured that was progress.
“That I did,” he said with a soft smile. “I talked on and on about my ranch while your mama talked nonstop about opening her own hair salon.”
Sophie stared at him. “She did? But she was horrible with hair. She couldn’t get my hair into a smooth ponytail to save her soul. And she was always dyeing her hair weird colors.”
He laughed. “I remember that. She once tried to give me blond highlights and I ended up with red-striped hair. Although all my second-grade friends thought it was cool.”
Sophie giggled. “I would have liked to see that. But, unlike Mama with hair, you’re good at ranching.” Her smile faded. “Me and Mama ruined your ranch dream, didn’t we? That’s why you were so mad at me.”
He started to deny it, but then realized Sophie was too smart for that. “I did blame you and your mama, but the truth is that y’all weren’t to blame for me not getting a ranch. I didn’t have nearly enough money saved up to buy a ranch and probably never would have. And that’s okay because everything turned out in the long run. I’m doing what I love to do.” He winked at her. “And now I get it to do it with my niece.”
“But this ranch isn’t yours.”
“True, but neither are all the headaches and bills.”
She smiled sadly. “Mama hated paying bills. Which probably explained why we kept getting kicked out of our apartments. The longest we stayed in one place was after you showed up.”
He struggled with how to reply without casting a bad light on Bree. “Your mama was a free spirit. She liked going wherever the wind blew her.”
“It blew her a lot. I don’t like being blown around.” She glanced over at him. “I like staying in one place.”
He knew she wasn’t just making small talk. She was asking for something. Something he was going to try his damnedest to give her. “Okay then. We’ll stay put for a while.”
“But what if you lose your job here? Mama had trouble keeping jobs.”
The question broke his heart. “I’m not your mama, Soph. I’m not going to do anything to lose my job. And I’ll make sure you don’t have to change schools again until you head to college.”
“You’d do that for me?”
“I’m not just doing it for you, Soph. I like staying in one place too.”
She smiled. “I guess we’re two peas in a pod.”
He smiled back. “I guess we are.”
A sassy sparkle entered her eyes. “Race you back to the house!” She took off at full gallop.
He easily caught up with her and pulled ahead. No one liked to win if they thought people let them. But when the barn came into view, he eased back just enough to let her horse beat his by a nose. It was worth the bright smile she flashed when they reached the barn.
“I won!”
“You sure did!” Mimi called from the porch. “I witnessed it with my own two eyes. Now y’all come and get some egg salad sandwiches and sweet tea.”
Sophie didn’t have to be asked twice. She was headed for the porch before Reid could even dismount. After he took care of the horses, he followed.
The Holidays’ porch was always decorated for the upcoming holiday. Darla Holiday loved holidays, which was why she had named all her daughters after the holiday their birthdays fell on or around. Something Reid hadn’t figured out until Jace had called Hallie by her given name, Halloween, and all hell had broken loose. In February, the porch had been covered with hearts and cupids. In March, shamrocks and leprechauns. Now, it was decorated for Easter with a flowered wreath on the door, ceramic bunnies and chicks lining the windowsills, and a basket of dyed colored eggs sitting in the center of the table Sophie and Mimi were sitting at . . . and Corbin.
Reid didn’t know when Corbin had joined the lunch party, but he wasn’t too happy about it. He’d always been uncomfortable around his head boss. After kissing Sunny twice, Reid was even more so. He quickly made up an excuse for why he couldn’t stay.
“Thanks for the lunch invite, Ms. Mimi, but I need to go check in with Hallie. We’re suppose to move the south herd to get them ready for branding.”
“That will have to wait until tomorrow,” Mimi said. “Hallie’s a little off her feed today.”
“Is she okay?”
A smile stretched across Mimi’s face. “Right as rain. Now come take a seat, Reid. I already made you a plate.” She stood. “I’m gonna go make some more iced tea.”
With no other choice, besides being rude, Reid took off his hat and climbed the steps. Corbin and Sophie seemed to be in deep conversation about something. Reid didn’t pay much attention to what they were saying until he’d taken a seat and picked up his sandwich.
“. . . I still don’t get it, Corbin,” Sophie said. “What did your mama and daddy’s fighting have to do with anything?”
Reid’s eyes widened and he quickly swallowed the bite of sandwich he’d just taken. “I don’t think you should be asking such personal questions, Soph.”
“That’s okay,” Corbin said. “It’s a good question. One I’m not sure I have a good answer for.”
Sophie picked up a potato chip and munched it. “My mama told me she got in a lot of fights with my daddy before he ran off, but that didn’t make her get rid of me.” Before Reid could get after Sophie for giving out too much information, Corbin cut him off.
“And that’s how it should be. Parents shouldn’t get rid of their kids just because they can’t live with their significant other. Although I think my and Sunny’s parents just used their fights as an excuse to pawn us off on relatives.”
“But that’s just plain child abuse,” Sophie said. “Especially when Mimi told me your Uncle Dan was a good-for-nothin’ drunk.”
Reid choked. “Soph!”
Corbin laughed. “She’s just stating the truth. Uncle Dan was a good-for-nothing drunk and pawning your kids off on any relative that would take them is child abuse. But Sunny and I survived.”
“Thanks to you,” Sophie said. “Sunny told me about how you took care of her and worked to make sure she could have brand-name athletic shoes like the other kids at school.”
Reid felt more than a little stunned. While he was digesting everything he’d just learned, the screen door opened and Mimi came out carrying a pitcher of iced tea. She set it on the table before she glanced at Sophie. “Darla and I are getting ready to make some blueberry pies. You want to help?”
Sophie jumped up. “Of course I do!”
Once the screen door slammed behind her and Mimi, Corbin smiled at Reid. “She’s really come out of her shell.”
“I’m sorry if she got too personal.”
“She didn’t. Everyone in town knows about my and Sunny’s upbringing. Although by the stunned look on your face, I’d say that you didn’t.”
Reid shook his head. “No, sir.” He’d assumed the Whitlocks had grown up with silver spoons in their mouths. Finding out that they hadn’t left him feeling more than a little broadsided and speechless.
“I guess that’s where the old adage ‘never judge a book by its cover’ comes from,” Corbin said. “Although I can see where you’d get the idea. Sunny plays a spoiled little rich girl well.”
She had played it well. She had certainly fooled Reid. Just like she had fooled everyone into believing she was just a happy-go-lucky woman without a care in the world. Her angry art said differently. Reid couldn’t help wondering if Corbin knew about the art. He doubted it. It seemed Sunny Whitlock had become extremely good at hiding her true feelings. He had to wonder if that’s how she’d dealt with her parents’ abuse.
“Are you interested in my sister?”
Corbin’s question brought Reid out of his thoughts. He stared at his boss, thinking he’d misunderstood. “Excuse me, sir?”
“Sunny. Are you interested in her?”
He scrambled for a reply that wouldn’t be a boldfaced lie, and also wouldn’t get him fired, and came up empty. After the kiss in Sunny’s attic room, there was little doubt that he was interested in her. More than interested. She had a hold on him that went way beyond mere interest. It was bordering on complete infatuation. He spent his nights dreaming about her and his days trying to push thoughts of her out of his head—unsuccessfully. Now he was going to get fired because he couldn’t control his obsession with her. But he wouldn’t go down without a fight. He owed Sophie that much.
“I guess Mrs. Stokes told you about what happened in town. And I want to apologize, sir. I totally overstep my bounds. I promise it won’t happen again.”
Corbin’s eyebrows lifted. “Exactly what happened in town?”
Reid cringed. Shit. He walked right into that one. With no way out, he told the truth. “I kissed your sister. But it just . . . sorta happened.”
“Ahh.” Corbin didn’t look surprised at all. “So that explains why Mrs. Stokes thinks you’re interested in Sunny. And I must admit, I was kind of hoping you were. Sunny could use a stable man like you in her life.” Reid felt like his jaw hit the table as Corbin continued. “And just so you know, I would never fire you over a kiss . . . unless it was forced.”
“No, sir. It wasn’t forced. She . . . it wasn’t forced.”
Corbin smiled. “I understand. Sunny can be hard to say no to. I’m certainly not good at doing it. I’ve spoiled her rotten, which probably explains why she’s so flighty.”
“I wouldn’t say she’s flighty.”
Corbin tipped his head. “You wouldn’t? How would you describe my sister?”
Reid thought for only a moment before he answered. “Sunny’s like a beam of sunlight. You can’t keep a beam of sunlight in one place and you shouldn’t expect to. It has to constantly move with the positioning of the sun. But while it’s shining on you, you feel warm and grateful.” Once the words were out, he didn’t know who was more surprised by them—he or Corbin.
A beam of sunlight? Where had that come from?
But it was the truth. Sunny had certainly been a beam of sunlight for Reid. She’d shed light on the mistakes he was making with Sophie and helped him to become a better guardian. A better person. Now, he realized it was because she had walked in Sophie’s shoes and knew what it was like to be dumped off on an inept relative. While most people became angry and jaded after enduring such a horrible childhood, Sunny kept smiling and spreading her light—only showing her pain and anger through her art.
That bothered Reid more than he cared to admit. He might have showed his anger too much, but hiding it wasn’t good either. He was on the verge of mentioning the angry art to Corbin when the screen door flew open and Hallie strode out to the porch.
She didn’t look sick. Just annoyed.
“Come on, Reid. We need to head out to the west pasture and check the fences. Decker called and said someone spotted cows wandering along the highway and I’m worried they’re ours. Plus if I stay around my overprotective mama and know-it-all grandma for one more second, I might scream.”
Reid jumped up. “Yes, ma’am.” He grabbed the other half of his sandwich to eat on the way. It was a bad idea. A glop of egg salad fell out and landed on Hallie’s boot. She took one look at the egg and mayo mixture and her face lost all color. Covering her mouth, she whirled and pushed past Mimi who was just coming out the door.
Mimi smiled slyly as she watched her granddaughter disappear inside the house. “I know what I know.” She looked at Reid. “And I know you’re going to need to take care of those cows and fences by yourself.”