12. Cara
Chapter twelve
Cara
Like every Sunday, Riley and I spent the morning at Cedar Creek Ranch. Terry had to pick us up and drive us there because my car was still in the shop. The terrifying cost estimate the mechanic had given me was just another item on my long list of worries.
We had an unusually gloomy breakfast. Despite our best efforts to hide what was going on from Riley, the atmosphere was tense. All three of us, Terry, Annette, and I, had our own problems to deal with, so we spoke little. And every time someone asked me a question, I was too deep in thought to pay attention. Ellis and all the good things and bad things he had brought to my life were taking up about 99% of my mental ity and hiding that fact was becoming increasingly difficult.
Terry finished his breakfast first and left the table right away to put his dirty plate in the dishwasher.
Riley shoved away his plate with his half-eaten scrambled eggs. “Are you going to the stables? Can I come with you?”
“I’m heading over to the yearling stall,” Terry said gruffly. “Come if you want, but be careful. You know how unpredictable young horses can be. I’ll need you to behave responsibly around them, alright?”
“Of course!” Riley jumped up from his chair, excited. “I’ll be very careful, Terry. I promise.”
Annette watched the two of them head out the back door with a solemn expression.
I pulled myself away from my Ellis thoughts long enough to notice how sad she looked. I reached out and gently touched her hand, hoping to provide some comfort. “How are you holding up?”
She let out a strained sigh. “Terry is still wrestling with the decision,” she said. “Horizon has raised the offer. It’s a really nice offer, but Terry… he still can’t commit. We both know it’s the only way to solve our problems, but it’s breaking his heart.”
“It’s hard to see him this way. I barely recognize him these days. I miss his sunny self.”
“Me, too,” Annette said. “And I’m terribly afraid he will stay this way if we sell the ranch. He loves it so much, loves the horses. I don’t know if he will ever be the same again, afterward.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. I’d already racked my brain to come up with another solution, but unless a fairy godmother dropped a pot full of gold in my lap, I could do absolutely nothing to help them. The whole situation and my inability to do anything about it tore me apart. My plan to use my relationship, as confusing as it might be, with Ellis to influence him, but I wasn’t even sure what I should ask him for. Wyatt had still not confided his secret plan. I loved him like a little brother but I had my doubts he would be able to come up with enough money to save the ranch. Horizon buying the land was most likely Terry and Annette’s best shot at getting out of their financial woes and ensure Annette could continue to take her new medication. But if the deal went through, my friends would lose their home, and on top of that, the Ellis problem would not resolve itself for months, and the chance that I could manage to stay away from him for that long was slim. I’d already had two close calls, and the longer he stayed in Brightwater, the greater the chance I would slip up. I hated myself for the fact that I couldn’t control myself around him. I should’ve been able to, for Riley’s sake, but I had to be honest with myself. Ellis Benton was my biggest weakness, and a woman could only take so much, devoted mother or not.
After a long, heavy silence, Annette put the fork on her still mostly full plate. “I’m considering going back to my old medication.”
“What? No!” I protested. “You had relapses every few months with your old medication. You can’t go back.”
She pursed her lips. “The new drug is a wonderful gift, but if I went back to interferon, it would free up some funds. It’s so much cheaper.”
“Yes, because it does not work as well. And you had a whole bunch of side effects with that stuff, remember?”
“I know, but—”
“Terry would never allow it, Annette. You know it. The only thing he cares more about than his horses is you. He would never sacrifice your health to save the ranch. Never.”
She rubbed her eyes, and the sorrow made her face look older than she was. “You’re probably right. But it kills me to know my disease is the cause of this.”
“You can’t think like that. You did not choose to get MS. It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault. Not yours. Not Terry’s. You are good people, and you’ve worked hard all your lives. You don’t deserve this.”
Before Annette could say anything else, the doorbell rang. She hurried to the front door as I took a sip from my coffee cup.
From my place in the kitchen, I could hear her talking. Telling someone, “My husband is working outside. If you want to talk to him, you need to come back later.”
“I’m not here to see your husband.”
I instantly recognized Ellis’s voice and froze, coffee cup in hand.
“I was wondering if Cara is here.”
“She’s here. But I’m not sure she wants to talk to you.”
Panic rose in my chest. Was he here to confront me about Riley? Everything inside me told me to just crash through the bay window and run for the hills, but I knew that wouldn’t help my case. Maybe if I took the conversation head-on, I could salvage the situation, so I joined Annette in the hallway, where Ellis was standing. Instead of his chic knee-long designer coat, he was wearing a sporty winter jacket, dark gray with teal stripes. I wondered if that was a conscious choice because I’d criticized his lavish lifestyle yesterday.
My plans to stonewall him out of any suspicions crumbled yet again when our eyes met across the hallway.
It was like he sank a fishing hook into my heart every time he looked at me, reeling me in inch by inch.
I’d scolded myself for being so weak that I almost ended up in bed with him despite my good intentions, but now, as I stood face to face with him again, I could understand why past Cara had made those choices.
He was damn irresistible.
A weak “Hi” was the only thing I managed to produce.
“Hello.”
After a long silence, Annette was the one who got us moving.
“Why don’t you two step outside?”
“I would like that,” Ellis said.
“Let me get my coat.”
I put my coat on in a hurry and followed Ellis outside, but as soon as Annette closed the door behind us, a knowing look on her face, I was all out of words again.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, more callous than I intended.
“I was looking for you,” Ellis explained. “I stopped by at your apartment, but no one was there, so I drove out here and got lucky.”
“We come here every Sunday to have breakfast with Terry and Annette.”
“We? Is your son here too?”
I silently cursed myself for steering the conversation toward Riley. “Yeah, he’s at the stables with Terry. He loves horses.” I watched his face closely for a reaction, but nothing hinted toward whether he suspected anything about Riley’s parentage. Maybe I was being overly paranoid. Yes, they looked a lot alike, but would Ellis even notice that? Was that really enough to make him suspicious?
“I was going to invite you out for dinner,” Ellis said. “But now that I’m here, I don’t feel like returning to the town. The place really is beautiful. The nature is breathtaking.”
An idea popped up in my head. “Hey, why don’t I show you around a little? So you understand what you are asking Terry and Annette to give up to make room for your factory?”
He sighed. “Cara, you know it’s nothing personal. I don’t want to destroy this place out of spite. It’s a business decision. And one I didn’t even make—I’m just executing it.”
“I just want you to understand why I’m fighting you on this so hard.” Maybe I could convince Ellis to look for another building site. Terry and Annette would still be in financial trouble, but that would give Wyatt more time to find a solution. Finding a way out of a tricky situation was hard if a deadline was looming over one’s head.
To my relief, Ellis smiled. “Okay. Fair enough. If it’s important to you, it’s important to me. Lead the way.”
I couldn’t hide my grin.
We walked away from the ranch house and headed for the paddocks.
“These paddocks are for the mares, and this one over there is for the stallions,” I explained. “Currently, there’s only two of them, but they are both prize winners and produce great offspring.”
Just like you, I thought to myself and flushed a little.
“They look small,” Ellis said. “Do the horses have enough room?”
“The larger pastures are over there, toward the hills.”
We followed the dirt path toward the stables, a crisp breeze blowing in our faces.
“The large building straight ahead is the main stable. It currently houses twenty-two horses.”
“What are the two smaller buildings?”
“That one by the trees is the foaling stall, but it’s currently empty. Foaling season is in spring. At this time of the year, the foals are already weaned. Most of them got sold, but Terry kept a few promising ones. They live in this other, smaller stable. It’s just for the yearlings.”
Ellis nodded. “Too bad. I was hoping to see some cute babies today.”
“Yearlings are still cute. A bit lanky, but cute.”
“Can we go look at them?”
I hesitated. Terry and Riley were at that stable, and I didn’t want Ellis to spend any more time with Riley than necessary. He hadn’t seemed to notice the resemblance just yet, but he might if he took a closer look at my son.
“Um… better not. They’re not trained and spook easily.”
To my relief, Ellis shrugged. “Then let’s go to the main stable and look at the other horses.”
“Really?”
“Yes, why do you look so surprised?”
“You don’t have to do this just to humor me. You may get some horse manure on these undoubtedly expensive shoes.”
He cocked his head. “These shoes are from Target, and I happen to like horses.”
I looked at him for a moment, trying to determine if he was pulling my leg, but he appeared sincere. And why not? Horses were sensitive creatures, and Ellis was a sensitive man. Even if he tried to make the world believe he was some cool-as-cucumber business lawyer, I knew better. Ellis and horses made sense.
“Fine, let’s go, then.”
We walked past the paddocks toward the stable. I had to admit that Ellis’s confession had piqued my interest.
“Do you know how to ride?” I asked.
“I do, actually.”
“You do?”
“Of course. All rich little kids get their own pony, don’t you know? It’s been a while, though. A long while. And I learned it English style. I assume on a ranch like this, horses are ridden in Western style.”
“Yes, they are.”
I led him into the stables. It was a lot warmer there than outside. The musty smell of horses greeted us, but Ellis seemed unbothered.
“Over there is Marigold. She’s my favorite.”
When Marigold heard my voice, she came to the door and stuck her head out to get some attention.
I gently stroked her nose before moving on.
“That gorgeous guy over there is Gatsby, one of the stallions.”
I stepped closer so that Ellis could appreciate the full beauty of Terry’s prized stud when I noticed we weren’t alone.
“Gorgeous guy? You’re not talking about me, are you?” Wyatt appeared at the stall door, but as soon as he saw who was with me, his grin morphed into a scowl.
“What are you doing here?” he grunted.
I came to Ellis’s defense. “I’m giving him a tour so he can understand why this is not the right place for a factory.” I exchanged a long look with Wyatt, hoping he would understand that this was part of the plan to buy him more time to find the money to help his parents.
“Hmm.” Wyatt stared Ellis down, who looked very uncomfortable. “In that case, why don’t you get him a horse and take him for a ride?”
I laughed nervously. “I’m not sure that’s—”
Ellis interrupted me before I could decline for him. “I like that idea. As long as it’s not this horse. He looks fiery.”
Wyatt looked as surprised as I felt, but he quickly sprang into action.
“I can get you a gentle horse.” He looked Ellis up and down. “Maybe Jupiter. What do you think, Cara?”
“Oh… yes, I think Jupiter would be a good fit.”
Wyatt nodded. He suddenly looked hopeful and a little excited. “I’ll saddle him for you. Won’t take long.”
He hurried toward the tack room and I turned back to Ellis. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
He buried his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “It’s a beautiful, clear day. Perfect for a ride.”
“You said you’re out of practice. Are you sure you can handle it?”
He smiled a half -smile. “I can handle anything if it means spending time with you.”
I blushed and was glad Wyatt was too far away to overhear that comment. Everything was so confusing. The rational part of me wanted to push Ellis away, but at the same time, I was inwardly squealing with joy anytime he said or did something like that. No matter how hard I tried to not care about Ellis, the girl who’d fallen head over heels in love with him thirteen years before kept nudging me toward him.
“I’ll go saddle Marigold,” I said awkwardly. “You wait here.”
With my heart fluttering, I got Marigold’s tack and saddle and readied her for our ride.
Marigold seemed to sense my emotional turmoil because she was even more cuddly than usual. She gently nudged me with her head and blew warm air on my neck.
Just as I was tightening the last buckles of her saddle, Wyatt walked past Marigold’s stall, a saddled Jupiter in tow. Marigold and I followed him outside, and Ellis walked a few steps behind us. I looked over my shoulder and noticed that he looked quite nervous.
“This horse is calm?” Ellis whispered to me as we left the stable. “I don’t think the Spencer boy likes me very much. He hasn’t accidentally picked an unbroken stallion for me, in hopes I fall off, break my neck, and will no longer bother his family?”
I laughed. “Wyatt is probably not your biggest fan right now, but don’t worry about Jupiter. He’s as gentle as a lamb and as calm as a boulder.”
Ellis still didn’t look fully convinced but mounted Jupiter nevertheless. He got onto the horse in one smooth motion—not a total beginner, that much was clear. I wondered if he’d undersold his riding abilities, because he looked like a proper cowboy on top of the bay-colored gelding.
Wyatt crossed his arms with a grin. “Have fun, you guys,” he said. Then he added, a bit more seriously, “But watch the weather. You don’t want to be surprised by a snowstorm out there.”