Chapter Twenty Three
When they returned to the cabin, Riley’s phone rang. Not knowing the number, she answered it cautiously. “Hello?”
“Hi, Riley. It’s Rachel. Rebecca, Delaney, and I decided to have tea. Why don’t you come join us?”
She crinkled her nose. Unable to picture the two women she knew sitting at a tea table, sipping daintily from teacups. The third one she didn’t know well enough to imagine. “Ummm. I’m sorry. I don’t know. Tara has to finish her essay, and I need to make dinner,” she made the excuse.
“You can’t stay in the cabin forever. Come join us,” Rachel insisted.
Garrett motioned for her to wait, and she said, “Can you hold on for a moment?”
“Sure,” Rachel replied.
“I have paperwork to finish. Go join them. It’s time you made friends,” he encouraged.
But she didn’t plan on staying. She bit her lip and decided one time wouldn’t hurt. She put the phone to her ear. “All right, when?”
“There’s our girl,” Rachel said smugly. “Be here at three. Don’t worry. Delaney insisted I don’t make anything and brought tons of snacks. Rebecca’s returning from shopping with Megan. Julio will pick you up and swing by to take his daughter home.”
“If you think of anything I can bring, please let me know,” she said before hanging up. She turned to Garrett. “They invited me for tea.”
“You’ll have a great time. What’s the issue?”
“I need to wash the dress Rachel gave me. It’s the best one I own,” she told him, rushing to her laundry basket and grabbing the item.
She loaded it into the machine and put it on quick wash.
“She said not to bring anything, but I don’t want to come empty-handed.
” Riley opened the fridge, searching for something to take.
Garrett closed the fridge while Riley bit her nails, agonizing over choices.
“They invited you. One day, you can extend the invitation,” he suggested. “Let people do things for you, Riley. Not everything has a string attached or a motive.”
“I’m not fancy. Did you see the way Rachel wears her makeup? It’s like she has a makeup artist on call,” she said nervously.
“She only dresses up when she has meetings. When I met her, she didn’t have any makeup on, not even lip gloss. Do you see Rebecca wearing much?” he reminded her.
“What about this Delaney?” she asked.
“She’s the head ranch cook. She rarely wears it in the kitchen, and I haven’t seen her outside of it,” Garrett answered honestly.
“I have hay in my hair,” she exclaimed as she picked out a straw.
Garrett chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her forehead. “It happens when you play in the hay.”
“Shhh, Tara may hear you,” she said, covering his mouth.
“Will it be the worst thing if we tell her?” he asked, searching her eyes.
“Please give me some time. It’s a big step, and I don’t want her to get it in her head we’re staying here.”
Garrett stiffened, and his forehead crinkled in worry. “You’re not staying?”
“I never intended to stay in Embers or fall in love. Dad will remain a problem until I figure out how to legally get custody of Tara. Luckily, in his drunken state, he hasn’t managed to report me for kidnapping.
Yeah, sure, I can claim he’s abusive and a drunk, but she’s still underage.
I can’t risk Tara returning to him while the state investigates my accusations,” she said, thoughtfully.
“What if you hired a lawyer and petitioned the courts?” he asked.
“Ha,” she shrugged. “They’ll take one glance at my financial state and laugh. Plus, I can barely afford to keep us in a decent apartment and fed. Tara needs counseling. My dad has taken away her self-esteem.”
“What if you found a way to solve it all?” he asked, staring at her.
“Fat chance of it happening,” she said. “I’ve thought of a million ways under the sun and not a single one seems like a great idea.”
Garrett remained quiet. The buzzer sounded, and she turned toward the laundry room to put her dress in the dryer.
“I’m taking a shower. Then, I’ll figure out dinner,” she said.
“Don’t worry about it. Tara and I will handle it,” he assured her. “Go take your shower and enjoy yourself.”
At ten minutes to three, Julio pulled into the driveway. Riley waved goodbye to Tara and Garrett as Julio backed out and drove toward Rachel’s.
“How are you doing, Riley? It appears you’re healing nicely,” Julio said, keeping his eye on the dirt road.
“I’m doing great. Thank you for allowing me and Tara to stay here while I recover. It’s taken a load of stress off me,” she said, smiling at him.
“Pfft. I barely know you’re here. You need to stop by the house and visit Rebecca. She works at 0400 and finishes by noon to spend time with Megan or take her to doctor appointments.”
“I’m sorry she’s sick. I don’t mean to pry, but is it serious?”
Julio smiled sadly at her. “We adopted Megan. She came from an unusual situation and needs therapy among her medical stuff. Her body’s healing and doing better, but the mind takes a little longer.”
Riley sighed and frowned, thinking Megan seemed far too young to experience enough trauma to require medical intervention.
“Can I ask you a question?” she asked.
“Sure,” Julio said, glancing at her.
“Mac and Garrett take care of the ranch. What do you and Matthew do? I haven’t seen you driving to the fields, and there’s an entirely different crew working the other side of the ranch.
It’s not wise to keep them separated. What if something happens on one side and you need the others to step in and fill those jobs?
They won’t know where you keep everything or the rotations of the herds,” she explained.
“You make an excellent point,” he said, pulling into the driveway. “It sounds like you’ve worked on a ranch and speak from experience.”
“Yes, I ran our family ranch. The only mistake I made was trusting my father to pay the taxes on the place. I covered all the bills and gave him the funds to cover the rest. He spent it on alcohol and who knows what else. Every time we see him, he seems skinnier than the last. I don’t know when he’s eaten a hot meal or even washed his clothes. ”
“I’m sorry he failed you as a parent. He made his choices. One day, they’ll catch up to him,” he assured her. “Have a great time with the ladies.”
Riley smiled as Julio helped her out, realizing he never answered her question. She climbed the steps and rang the doorbell as Julio waited beside her. Rebecca answered the door, holding Megan’s hand, already dressed to leave.
“Hello, Rebecca,” she greeted, noticing the woman seemed shaken.
Julio took their daughter from her. “How did it go?”
“She’s tuckered out. We’ll talk about it later,” she said, her eyes glistening with tears.
Not wanting to intrude on the couple’s private moment, she took off her boots and made her way into the home.
“Hey, Riley,” Rachel said, handing a drink to a pregnant woman sitting in a leather chair. “Meet Delaney. Delaney, meet Riley. She’s staying with Garrett.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” she murmured.
“What are you drinking?” Rachel asked as she entered the kitchen.
“Tea?” Riley said, cringing. She disliked hot tea, but she desperately wanted friends.
Delaney sipped her drink while she rubbed her belly. “Come sit down. Rebecca and Megan experienced a rough day, and we came to support them.”
Riley sat on the couch, and Rachel returned, handing her a glass of wine.
“Oh, I asked for tea,” she said, thinking Rachel mistook her.
“I know, dear. The only tea in this house comes from grapes and is aged in a barrel,” Rachel said, winking. “Help yourself to the snacks on the table.”
Riley laughed. “Thanks. I thought…”
“I know what you thought. We use tea as a code word for let’s get together for a drink. It’s been a damn rough week, but we have tons to celebrate. Delaney got a clean bill of health from the doctor and has only three months to go until we see little Delaney Jr since she won’t tell us the sex.”
“I told you, as long as the baby’s healthy, I don’t care,” Delaney insisted. “Besides, when did you become a fan of babies? Last time I checked, you have a freakish fear of them.”
“Other babies don’t belong to my best friend,” Rachel argued. “As long as you don’t ask me to change a diaper or watch it, I’m excited for you.”
Delaney held her stomach as she laughed. “Like I’d ever ask you to take care of my kid. The dog has better motherly instincts than you.”
“She’s fixed. We’re both enjoying our unmotherly bitches time.”
Riley snorted. “Excuse me.”
“For what? Not every woman wants kids. Who wants to deal with getting fat, cankles, and giving birth to have something that eats, cries, and poops every hour of the day?” Rachel said, refilling her wine glass.
“Sorry, Delaney. It makes me mad when people act like something’s wrong with you if you don’t want kids. ”
“I raised Tara. I’m not against having kids, but I prefer to wait until I’ve traveled and buy a ranch of my own,” Riley interjected. “You don’t want any kids, Rachel?”
The woman shrugged. “I’m not sure. When Delaney has her baby, I’ll practice on it and then decide.
“I never expected Megan,” Rebecca said, entering the room and holding up her glass for Rachel to pour her some wine. “She’ll always be our first daughter. I can’t imagine my life without her.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. She’s a little darling,” Rachel said, waving her hand.
“I don’t think I have a motherly instinct.
My mother certainly didn’t have it. Watch Delaney rub her stomach for the hundredth time.
Rebecca has a natural flair for motherhood.
Tell us about you, Riley. We called this get-together because you’ve stayed holed up in the cabin.
Rebecca’s experienced a rough day, and it’s the perfect opportunity to get to know you. ”
“There’s not much to know. I’ve raised Tara since our mom died and our father turned into an alcoholic. I worked the ranch until we left, and I’ve taken odd jobs to survive. What do you do?” she asked the three women, now curious since Julio avoided her question.