Chapter 5
By the time the security system was installed and the animals were settled for the day, Vanessa’s growling stomach told her it was past the dinner hour.
Twilight arrived just as the rain clouds parted, revealing a wide sky painted with streaks of purple and pink.
Distant stars created a dazzling display unlike anything she’d ever seen.
If she wasn’t so hungry, and the smell of the food from behind her wasn’t so tempting, she could stand outside and stare at the sky forever.
“You comin’ in, or should I bring you a plate of food to eat on the sidewalk?” Dax stood next to the brick building and held open the door.
She twisted her lips to the side as if giving the question serious thought. “Is that really an option?”
He grunted and shrugged. “If you want. But I’m cold and thirsty, and there’s no place to sit out here. I’m heading in.”
Grinning, she hurried to walk through the doorway and into Tilly’s Bar and Grill. She wasn’t sure which hit first, the scent of fried food or the feeling of stepping into a room ripped right out of an old Western she used to watch with her mom.
Square tables filled with patrons clogged the center of the space with booths lining one wall.
Backless stools were all taken along the gleaming wood bar, and neon lights flashed advertisements.
She cringed at the mounted buck’s head above the stone fireplace, even if the yellow rain hat between its antlers made it a little less intimidating.
Dax swept an arm through the air as if offering a glimpse of some foreign land’s cave of treasures. “Welcome to Tilly’s. The beer’s cold, the food’s good and the company’s always entertaining.”
A woman with auburn hair that fell down her back stood behind the bar and filled a pint glass with amber liquid. “Hat comes off in here, cowboy.”
Dax swept his hat from his head and rolled his eyes. “You’re making me look bad in front of my new friend,” he yelled, then hovered a hand near the small of Vanessa’s back to usher her to an empty table.
He didn’t touch her, but his palm so close brought with it an awareness of his proximity, as well as an intense desire for him to erase the gap of space. Instead, he pulled out a chair and waited for her to sit before settling in across from her.
The bartender delivered the beer then rounded the bar to their table. She was small in stature, but she fisted her hands on her hips and stared down Dax as if she were ten feet tall. “You’re a mess.”
He grinned up at her. “What can I say? I’m a hardworking man. And this is my hardworking friend, Vanessa. Vanessa, this is Eve Tilly. She owns this place.”
Eve turned her smile on Vanessa and offered a hand. “Nice to meet you. You helping Dax with some horses?”
“Horses?” she squeaked, accepting the outstretched hand. “Gosh, I hope I don’t own any of those. The goats and Bessie are hard enough to wrap my mind around.”
“Bessie?” Eve’s face fell. “Oh, you must be taking over the Kemp place.”
Yet another stranger who knew where she lived and who’d been there before her. How odd to have strangers know more about her property than she did. “Yes. I’m Vanessa Kemp.”
“Relation to Earl, I gather?”
She nodded. “He was my grandfather.”
“I’m real sorry about your loss,” Eve said. “Your grandfather was a good man. I’m glad you’re here to keep his legacy alive. When did you get into town?”
“Earlier today. It’s been an eye-opening experience to say the least.”
Eve hooked up one perfectly sculpted eyebrow. “And you already ran into this one?”
“She didn’t have the most welcoming homecoming,” Dax cut in. “Someone was in the house when she got there. She came into Sunrise Security for help. She didn’t get a chance to meet Reid yet.”
“Reid?” Vanessa asked, bouncing her gaze between the two.
“My fiancé,” Eve said. “He’s Madden’s business partner. He had the day off. But enough about him. I’m sorry to hear about your troubles. You’re in good hands with these guys. They know what they’re doing.”
“I hope so, because I sure don’t. Frankie and I have an awful lot to learn.”
Eve frowned. “Frankie?”
“Her farm dog,” Dax said, sarcasm dripping from the words.
Eve turned curious hazel eyes her way. “So, you’re already familiar with farm work?”
“Not in the slightest. I was born and raised in Chicago, and my farm dog is a pint-sized French bulldog who’s fast asleep at home because this day kicked his butt harder than it did mine.”
“How about some food to ease the pain of that butt-kicking?” Eve plucked a menu from the corner of a nearby table and set it in front of her.
“Anything you want, on the house tonight. Welcome to Cloud Valley. You need anything, all you have to do is ask. I’m always more than happy to lend a hand, and I know quite a few people who feel the same. ”
Dax grabbed the menu and flipped it open. “On the house, huh?”
Eve reclaimed the menu and hit him upside the head with it. “Not for you. And don’t act like you haven’t memorized everything we have to offer. I’ll grab you a beer, Dax. Can I start you off with something to drink, Vanessa?”
“I’ll have what he’s having, and a water as well, if it’s no trouble.”
“None at all. I’ll be right back with your drinks then I’ll grab your order.”
She watched Eve weave between the tables. She grabbed dirty plates and tossed out a few words or a smile to everyone she passed. “I like her.”
“Yeah, she’s pretty likable. Even when the rest of the town treated my family like outcasts, she always had our back. She’s one of the good ones.”
Tilting her head to the side, she studied the change of his facial features. Gone was the easy smile and drool-inducing dimples. In their place were hard lines and a flash of anger—a glimpse of a different side of him than she’d seen so far.
But what did she expect? Dax had been a lifesaver, but she didn’t know much about him. He was just as much a stranger as everyone else in this town.
“Why did people mistreat your family? From the sounds of it so far, everyone here is so nice.”
He worked his jaw back and forth as he scanned the dinner crowd.
“Not everything’s always what it seems. People judge.
They make assumptions. They paint you one way when they had no business holding a damn brush in the first place.
Things are good now, but that’s not how it’s always been. But that’s a story for another time.”
Eve arrived with their drinks and a promise to be right back for their food order.
He lifted his glass. “Tonight is for celebrating your arrival in Cloud Valley. For working hard and shifting gears when the unexpected happened. It was a challenging day but a good one, because it’s the day we met. Here’s to you.”
Unexpected tears filled her eyes. Her muscles ached, her brain filled with a hundred uncertainties, but her heart was full. After twenty-five years, she’d finally made it home. And she wouldn’t let anything, or anyone, scare her away.
* * *
Exhaustion weighed down each step Dax took as he made his way up the porch steps to his house. After he’d seen Vanessa safely home, he’d had his own chores to finish. Thirty minutes after his return to the ranch, the horses were just as ready for sleep as he was.
Dried mud caked the bottom of his jeans, making the material stiffer than usual and uncomfortable as hell. His shirt may have dried, but the dirt and sweat mixed together to invade the fabric. He needed a hot shower and warm bed.
Night had fallen, bringing with it an inky-black sky and cascading stars. The air had grown colder, a cool breeze announcing the coming rain. Springtime always brought its fair amount of precipitation, but he was damn well sick of it.
Not like anyone cared about his opinion on the matter.
The subtle creaking announced the presence of his father before he climbed the last step. As much as his entire body craved heading straight inside, his conscience had him settling in the old, white rocking chair beside his dad.
Walter spared him a quick glance before returning his focus straight ahead, eyes either on the shabby old barn or the faint outline of the mountains in the distance. His ever-present pipe sat on the wide arm of the rocker. “Busy day?”
Dax snorted, his body relaxing along with the gentle motion of the chair back and forth. Most nights, he and his dad found themselves out here. Sometimes not even having a word to say between the two of them. But that didn’t matter. They didn’t need conversation to enjoy each other’s company.
A familiar ache crept into his chest, squeezing his lungs. This would be what he missed the most one day.
“Well?” Walter barked. “Get mud in those ears of yours, too, or you just not in the mood to say much?”
Clearing his throat, Dax pushed away the awful thoughts of what life would be like without his father and focused on the question at hand. “Nah, just wrapping things up in my head. You know how it is.”
“Had many days like that in years past. Not so much now, but that’s all right with me. Don’t have the stamina for too many shenanigans.”
Dax fought against a laugh at the old man’s word choice. “You and that wild crew of yours could get into your fair share of trouble if ya wanted. Weekly poker games seem to be all any of you old geezers care about.”
Walter chuckled. “Of course it is. How else will I win all their hard-earned cash?”
“Fair point.”
“So, you gonna fill me in or what?”
Dax scrubbed a hand over his face, deciding where to start. Hell, he hadn’t exactly figured out why he’d spent so much of his time with a woman he didn’t know. How could he explain it to his dad?
“A woman came into the office this morning. She moved into the old Kemp house.”
“Related to Earl?”
“His granddaughter. You know anything about her?”
Walter kept the steady motion of his chair moving and nodded. “There’s been talk. Not much lately. Years ago. When his daughter left town.”
“Why’d she do that?” He couldn’t help asking the question even if he knew he shouldn’t. He liked Vanessa. Wanted to get to know her better, and if she had a story to tell, he should wait for her to tell it. But he couldn’t help but wonder if his dad could offer some insight.
“’Cause of the granddaughter you met. Her mama, Mindy, was young and wouldn’t name the father.
Ignited a real uproar at the time. She took off and never came back.
I’m surprised to hear the granddaughter’s here.
I wonder what Chip thinks about her moving into the house.
If I remember correctly, it sits on a nice little patch of land. ”
“Yeah, land she doesn’t have the first clue what to do with.”
Walter picked up his pipe and put the end in his mouth. “And how would you know that?”
Dax bit back a comment about how he was wrecking his lungs. His dad had enough heath issues limiting not only his life span but his ability to live that life the way he wanted. Instead he quickly replayed the events of the day, sharing a laugh with the old man when he described her fall in the mud.
“She’s got heart, I’ll give her that,” he said. “I’m not sure if she’ll stick around, but I think she’ll give it an honest shot. I told her I’d help any way I could. I patched the fence, and I’ll stop by tomorrow to show her more details about caring for the animals.”
“So, she’s pretty, huh?” Walter took one more puff then blew a wisp of smoke in the air.
He rolled his eyes. “Didn’t say anything about how she looks.”
“Why else would you be so helpful?”
“Because I’m a good neighbor? Maybe you raised me right. Ever consider that?”
Walter chuckled and set his pipe back down. “Nope. Never crossed my mind. But I do hope whoever’s giving her a hard time leaves her be. You think the same person who was in her house is the one who cut her fence?”
Dax tossed the idea around in his mind. He hadn’t given it much thought, but it was a possibility.
Hell, with everything that had happened today, he hadn’t thought back to the fence at all after it’d been patched, and he’d moved onto the next issue.
“Maybe. Not sure what the point of that would be.”
“To warn her off. Make her think staying in town’s not worth the trouble.”
“If that’s the case, there wouldn’t be many people who’d benefit from her leaving. I’ll keep that in mind, though. If she has more issues, it’s a good theory worth looking into. Hopefully the security system I installed is enough to keep whoever’s messing with her away.”
“And you want to her to stick around.” It was a statement and not a question.
A statement he couldn’t argue.
“I feel bad for her. She’s all alone. Well, her and that little dog of hers. It’s not easy to start over. To pivot with your life and create a new path. I understand how that feels, and if I can make it a little easier for her, I will.”
“Because she’s pretty,” Walter said again.
Chuckling, Dax shook her head. “Yeah, she’s pretty. But she’s interesting and smart and funny as hell.”
“Sounds like her grandma.”
Dax stopped rocking and glanced at his dad. “You knew Mrs. Kemp?”
“Son, I’ve known everyone who’s lived in this town. Earl’s wife passed years ago, back when both Chip and Mindy were young. Earl showed his support a lot when your mama passed. He understood what I was going through. Offered to lend a hand any way he could.”
Frowning, Dax thought back to the days after his mom died. He’d been young but the memories from those days were strong. “I don’t remember Earl coming around.”
“Didn’t say he did. Said he offered support, so I reckon you doing the same for his granddaughter makes sense. Brings everything full circle.”
He let that settle in, and yeah, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel as though the universe played some part in bringing Vanessa Kemp into his life.
The ping of raindrops against the tin roof combined with the crickets in the distance—a soundtrack to his childhood.
“Rain’s coming back,” Walter said. “We should head inside.”
“In a minute.”
His day had been long, and his bed beckoned him, but he’d savor this moment for a while longer because pretty soon he wouldn’t have another chance.