Chapter Six #3
“I didn’t know him at all. Had never heard the name until recently.” He paused, frowning at the table, giving her the feeling that this moment was costing him. “According to the will, he’s my biological father. He spelled it out quite clearly.”
Lil went still.
She hadn’t expected a confession, hadn’t thought the man trusted her enough for that. When she met his gaze, she could see that he was waiting for something.
“Did you already know?” he asked. “Through your sister, I mean?”
“No.” She let the word slide out slowly. She’d guessed, but she hadn’t known. “Maya is unaware.”
He studied the table again, a faint frown still pulling his eyebrows together. “I just wondered.”
Lil let the comment lay as she brought the beer to her lips, drank, barely tasting the stuff. His previous statements about not wanting this ranch made sense now. He wasn’t refusing the inheritance; he wanted it in a form that didn’t remind him of a man who’d never claimed him as his own.
Her throat felt oddly tight as she set the beer down. “Jordan?”
He lifted his gaze, and the open vulnerability in his expression made whatever she’d been about to say leave her head.
“Sorry. I … this has to be hard.”
He nodded, then dissipated the awkwardness with a casual shrug.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do with the ranch in the long term, but whatever it is, the conditions of the lease will be honored.
I know rumors are flying, but until I decide what I want to do next, I’d appreciate it if you kept all this between us. ”
“No worries. I’m good with confidences.”
He surprised her by saying, “I believe you are.”
“Why’s that?” she asked curiously.
“Gut instinct.”
His gut was right in this instance. She was good at confidences. Part of the beauty of being an isolated rancher. She didn’t talk to a lot of people. Except for the farrier, of course.
He pushed his chair back. “I should go. It’s getting late. Thanks for the beer.”
“Thanks for not kicking us off the property.”
The corners of his mouth tilted up, and she felt a stirring in her midsection.
The Jordan who shared his secrets, who dropped his guard and let her see his vulnerable side, was harder to resist than the landlord version.
She gave herself a mental shake before walking with him to the door, where he stopped before opening it.
The look he gave her reminded her that once upon a time she’d had time in her life for guys.
“Did that gelding buck you off the other day?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it again. What kind of trainer wanted to admit that?
He smiled. “Been there. Have a good night.”
*
Lil tasted the bolognese then nodded in approval at both the sauce and the fact that it felt good to be on a forward course again.
She’d spent the late afternoon focused on her sauce, trying not to think about Jordan’s confession and the effect it had on her.
Yes, she who was empathy-ed out was empathizing.
And she was drawn to the man. Was that empathy, concern, or something more primitive, like, oh say, gut-level attraction?
A combination of all, she imagined. Regardless, she wasn’t stupid enough to hook up with her landlord. That guy-trouble thing.
But damn, she felt for him. What would it be like to discover that your real father was not the guy on the birth certificate?
That he’d known of you, but never reached out to make contact?
She’d be freaking bitter. And so, it seemed, was Jordan.
She, who was not a hugger, had wanted very much to hug him before he’d left that day.
Meg came into the kitchen wearing a Griz hoodie and leggings that had seen better days. She went to the cupboard and took down a bottle of wine.
“Join me?”
“I’m good,” Lil said.
They dished up at the stove, then carried their plates to the table. They didn’t usually eat dinner well after eight o’clock, unless an emergency intervened, but Meg had gone for drinks after her training session and Lil had cooked an actual meal.
“Great news about the non-sale.” Meg twirled spaghetti onto her fork.
“I think he’ll put the property up for sale, but he promised it would only go to someone who accepted the terms as they’re written.”
“Maya will be disappointed.”
“Yes.” Lil slurped up an uncooperative noodle. “She’ll have to take on another fight.”
They ate in silence for a few minutes, which wasn’t unusual, but Meg kept studying something through the window between bites.
“That cow’s been down out there for a long time,” Meg said. “Since I got home.”
Lil craned her neck to see that there was a cow down near the center of the pasture, while the rest of the herd was gathered near the barn. As she watched, the cow tried to get up, then fell back down again.
She and Meg looked at each other, then pushed their chairs back.
Betty followed closely behind them as they made their way through the gate and across the grassy expanse to where the cow lay. She lifted her head as they approached, heaved, then gave up again with a deep bovine groan.
“Look,” Lil said as a chill went through her.
The cow’s front leg was bloody, the flesh torn. It looked very much like a fresh gunshot wound.