Chapter 15
CHAPTER 15
B elle and her children sang while Aaron drove down the mountain to the Sweet Mountain Ranch driveway. In between songs, the kids asked Aaron about the ranch.
She liked her children’s enthusiasm about staying at the ranch—the change would be the break they needed from the mounting pressures.
When she had told her parents that she and Chad were divorcing, her relieved father announced he’d put her back in the will. She asked him to reconsider. She’d never cared about the money. She and her children would not depend on her parents for their support. She had a teaching degree. Teachers were in demand, so she’d have a job soon.
Her children’s excitement pulled Belle from her reverie when Aaron guided the truck next to the front porch. His parents, along with the biggest dog she’d ever seen, stepped from the house.
Though Aaron’s mother looked the same, his father leaned on a cane, making Belle wonder what had happened. When she’d visited the ranch as a teen, he’d always seemed larger than life—like Aaron did now.
“You have a dog,” Lyle exclaimed. “That is so cool.”
“He’s a big dog,” Kelsey said more softly. She never stopped watching the animal.
Neither did Belle.
“His name is Titan. He’s a Bull Mastiff, but he’s gentle, and he loves kids.” Aaron looked from Belle to her children in the back seat.
“The name Titan seems appropriate for an animal that size.” Belle spoke haltingly.
“Come on.” Aaron climbed from the car. “I’ll introduce you.”
Belle and her children followed. Holding their hands to Titan, the big dog’s tongue rolled out of his mouth and licked their palms. Their delighted laughs brought chuckles from everyone.
Belle greeted Mr. and Mrs. McSweeney while Aaron helped her children gather their bags of clothes. Aaron’s parents welcomed them as if they were family.
What if they were? Belle pushed that thought aside. Their stay at Sweet Mountain Ranch would give her children a new and exciting experience they’d treasure for a lifetime. She’d take her life one day at a time.
“We’ll let you get settled.” Mrs. McSweeney stepped back from the door. “I fixed a light lunch, but come down whenever you’re ready.”
“Thank you.” Belle felt tenderness toward the couple that opened their home to them. “I can’t tell you how grateful we are for this invitation.”
“We were sorry to hear about your family’s cabin.” Mrs. McSweeney looked at her with tenderness. “I remember the barbeques your parents hosted at their place, which were exquisite. That they would invite the entire town had people talking for days. They were generous to everyone they met.”
“Thank you. They loved the town, and they loved the people. They wanted to give back to the community.” Belle remembered how her mother agonized over every detail of the parties, even though her husband had told her most people wouldn’t notice, but Belle’s mom wanted everything perfect. The townspeople were her friends. Nothing less would do.
Belle’s throat went tight with emotion. Until this moment, she had never realized her parents’ fondness for the locals.
She enjoyed her friendship with the kids whose sincerity and thoughtfulness were a contrast to the privileged class at her boarding school. Too bad Belle hadn’t realized then what a gift these friendships had been.
Lyle and Kelsey were filled with questions as they followed Aaron into the house.
“Come on, kids.” Belle rested a hand on their shoulders. “Let’s settle in, then have some lunch.”
“Can Titan come with us?” Lyle asked.
“Let’s get settled, then we’ll get to know Titan better,” Belle said.
After a lunch of turkey and cheese sandwiches, chips and carrot and celery sticks, the children were standing at the bay windows and watching Aaron’s brothers guide a horse out of a trailer.
“Can we go down and watch?” Lyle turned to her, hope in his eyes.
“I’m not sure what they’re going to do,” Belle chewed her lower lip.
Whatever they were doing, it looked like fun, though she knew they were working.
“They’re just unloading one of the new horses.” Mrs. McSweeney moved next to her. “It’s okay if the children want to watch. They should be safe.”
Lyle and Kelsey shifted hopeful gazes to her.
“Let’s go upstairs and change into our jeans.” Belle guided them from the window.
“I have some boots and hats in a trunk upstairs if you don’t mind the kids wearing the boys’ old clothes,” Mrs. McSweeney said. “I hated to part with them so I kept all their clothes. Of course, a lot of them were handed down from brother to brother, but the kids grew so fast they didn’t have a chance to wear out.”
Lyle whipped a hopeful face to Belle. Kelsey stood at his side, her eyes wide.
“I think that would be fine,” Belle said with a laugh.
After the quickest clothes change by her children Belle had ever seen, she and her children followed Mrs. McSweeney up the stairs to the attic and sorted through a trunk of boots and hats of every size. Belle even found a pair of boots and a hat to fit her.
With the children dressed and looking like they belonged on a ranch, they walked down the path to the barn. Aaron and his brothers had already led the horse inside. Belle and her children followed the voices and whinnies to a stall at the rear.
Aaron’s brothers stood outside the stall. They turned to her and her children as they approached. Titan rose and wagged his tail in greeting. The children pet him, but were fascinated by the activity in the stall.
Belle looked past the McSweeney men to Aaron, who stood in the stall with a black-as-night horse—appropriately named Stormy. The horse’s eyes wide, he watched Aaron while pacing the small area.
“Can I ride him?” Lyle watched the horse excitedly.
Belle jerked her head to her son. Kelsey’s mouth fell open. She stared at him, too. Aaron’s brothers turned to him, their mouths curved in slight smiles.
“I’m not sure even I could ride this horse yet.” Aaron grinned at Lyle, then turned back to the horse. “He needs to get used to his new home. In the meantime, we have other horses you can ride.”
“Okay.” Lyle didn’t look disappointed.
“I want to ride, too.” Kelsey stood tall.
“I was going to ask you that,” Aaron said with a smile. “Let me work with Stormy for a little bit. If you want to check out the other horses, I’ll join you in a while.”
“Let’s go meet some horses.” Belle took a step back, then looked at Aaron. “Do you have any of the horses I rode when I visited the ranch?”
“We have most of them.” Aaron still watched Stormy, who seemed a little calmer.
Aaron offered him his hand. The horse dipped his nose into it as if judging his scent.
“Do you think Daisy’s a good horse for Lyle?” Aaron looked at his brother Seth.
“I think Daisy and Lyle would get along just fine.” Seth winked at Lyle, then looked at Aaron. “Do you want me to take your place while you introduce everyone to Daisy?”
“Good idea.” Aaron moved back, giving Seth room to step into the stall. His eyes still on Stormy, he moved into the alley, then turned to Belle and her children. “Follow me.”
Together they walked to the stall holding the horse Belle always wanted to ride. As if she remembered Belle, she moved to the Dutch door and whinnied.
“Oh, she’s pretty, Mommy,” Kelsey said when they reached the stall.
“She is pretty.” Belle stared at the buckskin horse. A flood of memories washed over her—she and Aaron racing through a meadow—his letting her win—and riding along narrow paths through the forests. Aaron knew where the old mines were and they’d explore those. “She’s very sweet.”
“And she’s good with children.” Aaron scratched the horse’s nose. “I’m not sure I’ll have time to take you riding today. While you were changing, I got a call from the fire department. Since I’m on call tonight, they won’t need me this afternoon. In the meantime, I do have a couple of conference calls to make. I should have time tomorrow to take you for a ride. We can go to your mother’s favorite place—the lily ponds.”
“The lily ponds,” Belle breathed. The memory of when she and Aaron took a picnic to the area flooded her. While they ate, the frogs serenaded them. They had spent the afternoon exploring a mine and climbing around the rusty locomotive. “I haven’t thought about them in years. Yes, we have to go there.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.” Aaron looked over their heads to Belle.
The softness in his eyes made her wonder if he remembered how they talked about what they wanted to be when they grew up. He wanted to design spacecraft and satellites. With her language skills, she wanted to be an interpreter at the United Nations.
Sadly, that dream fizzled when she learned she was pregnant.
Had Aaron achieved his dream? She still kept in touch with some of her friends in town. They had mentioned Aaron worked remotely but never said what he did. She didn’t want to ask. She was married and had a family. It didn’t seem right to ask about another man even though they’d only been friends—at least that was what she thought.
There were moments when she wondered if Aaron wanted more, though he never said or did anything untoward. It was the way he looked at her and listened to her.
She exhaled roughly. She was reading too much into those moments.
“I should go to the house and see if your mom needs help with dinner.” She lifted her head and was slightly surprised to see that Aaron watched her.
Lyle jerked his head to her, then Aaron. She shifted her gaze to her son and hoped her smile allayed any curiosity the boy had. Except for the kiss, nothing had happened between her and Aaron. They were just friends—mostly.
“I’ll walk you up.” Aaron’s mouth curved into a gentle smile. “I have my first conference call. After I finish the second one, I’ll come in and help.”
At the house, Belle asked Mrs. McSweeney where the plates and silverware were, then asked her children to set the table. She and Aaron’s mother chatted while they bustled about fixing a salad, making a roux for the steamed vegetables and checking the shortcakes baking in the oven. When Aaron came in, he seasoned steaks and carried them outside to the grill. Lyle was eager to help and followed. Kelsey trailed after her brother. A moment later, Belle glanced out the window to see Aaron teaching them how to lasso. Titan sat near the corral and watched.
“Looks like they’re naturals.” Mrs. McSweeney stepped next to her.
“Aaron’s the natural,” Belle said, remembering the summer when he had taught her all sorts of rope tricks. He had stood close to her giving her his sense of strength and gentleness.
He had ridden bulls and roped steers at the local rodeos. Now he was a designer. Of spacecraft? She hoped he had achieved his dream.
She felt Mrs. McSweeney’s look. Turning to her, she managed a weak smile, then looked past her to the oven.
“Oh, the shortcakes.” She snatched a potholder from the counter and dashed to the oven. She released a breath when she saw they had browned nicely. She set them on a rack to cool.
She had to quit thinking about Aaron. He was nice. He was her friend. She was still married, though that would end soon, and she had her children to think about. They missed their father. It broke her heart that he rarely called.
Kelsey may not suspect there would be anything more between Belle and Aaron, but Lyle was like his father—ever watchful. That made her more determined to remain friends with the man who could be so much more—especially in her vulnerable state. Her heart could so easily find comfort in another man.
During her marriage, she and Chad had taken the children to church, but her faith had been perfunctory at best—not an example for her children that made her proud. She felt Chad went to make connections, but at least he went. She prayed that God’s Word would find its way to his heart. She would walk by faith and not by sight for the answer to that prayer.
Aaron, followed by Lyle asking a litany of questions, strode into the kitchen carrying the sizzling steaks. His brothers brought up the rear and dashed up the stairs to shower and change. Aaron’s brother, Levi, lived nearby. He and his wife, Rachel, brought their kids to round out the dinner table. Lyle and Kelsey were delighted to play with their toddler, Jedidiah, who was busy exploring the world. Both children made fast friends with Rachel’s and Levi’s adopted daughter, Madeline.
Soon, everyone was seated around the table, where they bowed their heads and asked the blessing.
Silently, Belle thanked God for the blessings He had given her and her children. Her parents stood by her, though she was determined to make it on her own.
That the McSweeneys opened their home to her and her children filled her with emotion. They were the friends she never expected.
She thanked God for Aaron’s friendship. Knowing it was the right thing to do, she prayed their relationship would stay that way.
That made her hurt inside. With her hands clasped so hard they ached, she asked God for the strength she’d need to maintain her resolve.