Chapter Sixteen
She came home. Last night. Brett hadn’t been able to fall asleep until he heard her truck pull into the driveway. But even after he’d heard her footsteps in the hallway and her bedroom door close, sleep had still eluded him. He’d wondered what—or who—had kept her out so late.
Stokes?
Not that it was all that late. But with as many long days as Brett worked and with as little sleep as he’d been getting, he had headed to bed early.
And despite his restless night, he still woke up early the following morning.
He wasn’t the first one up, though, because he walked out to the kitchen to find Trish already dressed and awake.
Like him, she had dark circles beneath her eyes, so she hadn’t gotten much more sleep than he had.
“Good morning?” He asked it as a question rather than a greeting.
She nodded. “Yeah…”
“I wondered if you were coming back last night,” he admitted. “Or if my grandparents had scared you away from the ranch.” Or more likely away from him. He was their last single grandson, so he had to be the one on whom they were setting their matchmaking hopes.
“They are very sweet,” Trish said with a smile. “Your dad, too.”
“You met him when you went to see Maci?”
She nodded.
“I wasn’t sure that you were really doing that or just using it as an excuse to get away from them,” he said with a chuckle. “They can be a lot.”
“They were very kind, especially given what they must have thought of me over how I’ve handled everything.”
“They wouldn’t hold anything against you, Trish,” he assured her. “They were once mortal enemies themselves, and now they’re madly in love.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “I don’t believe it. Mortal enemies?”
“Since grade school,” he said. “They were constant rivals over grades and even arm wrestling as the stories go. And when he was mayor, she was constantly complaining to him.”
“Wow, I wouldn’t have believed that,” she said. “Not with how sweet they were with each other.”
“She didn’t call him an old fool?” he asked. “Because that’s what she used to call him. And she was the first to call him Old Man Lemmon, too. Now most everyone calls him that.”
“What changed between them?” she asked.
He shrugged, then sighed. “I’m sure they would say love. They think it’s the most important thing there is.”
“But you’re not convinced,” she surmised.
“Are you?” he asked curiously.
She shrugged then. “Between a man and a woman? I don’t know if that love can be trusted.” She cleared her throat. “Or, more specifically, I know that I wouldn’t be able to trust it.”
“Me neither,” he agreed. He should have been happy that they were on the same page about this, but there was an odd hollow feeling inside his chest.
“I know I love my children,” she said as she patted her belly that stretched the bib overalls she wore. “But I guess kids can hurt us, too. Like I hurt my dad.”
“Trish, you have to stop beating yourself up about that,” he said.
“I just wish I could talk to him,” she said. “Explain everything. Apologize…” Tears glistened in her eyes.
“So do it,” he said. “I go to his grave and tell him about what’s happening around the ranch.
” Sometimes it made him feel less alone since his brothers and sister had significant others now, and he was the odd man out.
But sometimes it made him feel even lonelier that all he had of his old friend was a tombstone.
She nodded. “Maybe I will do that.”
“I can drive you over there this morning if you like,” he offered.
She shook her head, and her curls tumbled around her face. “I have a meeting with the contractor to go over the final things that need to get done for the bunkhouse.”
“I can join you for that, too,” he offered.
But she shook her head again. “No. I’ve got it. I know you have things to do on the ranch.”
“Yeah, but I’m happy to help out,” he reminded her. “We’re all partners.”
“Yes, we are,” she said. “And Maci verified that everything’s been settled, by the way.”
“That’s good,” he said, and he waited for the wave of relief he’d expected when that was confirmed.
“Frank would be happy.” Brett should have been, too, and he was.
But he was also concerned. Even though he’d been talking about being Trish’s partner, it felt somehow bigger now that it was official.
Like they were partners in more than the ranch.
That wasn’t what either of them wanted, though.
Her lips curved into a slight smile. “I do hope he’s happy,” she murmured.
“So did you stay out with Maci to celebrate?” he asked, curious about why she’d gotten home so late.
Her smile widened. “Maci and Frankie and I had a sleepover at Maci’s house. We used to alternate houses when we were kids.”
“But you came home,” he said.
“You were waiting up for me?” she asked.
Heat rushed to his face. “Just couldn’t sleep.” But he hadn’t even noticed that Frankie hadn’t been home. He’d just been waiting up for Trish.
“I came home instead of spending the night because I have this meeting.” She glanced at her watch. “I better get to it,” she said, as she rushed out the side door of the kitchen.
Maybe she was just in a hurry to meet with the contractor, but Brett couldn’t help feeling that she might have been in a hurry to get away from him. Hopefully, she didn’t think that he would succumb to his grandparents’ matchmaking and start falling for her.
That wasn’t why he wanted to help her with things. He just didn’t want her to get too stressed, not when she was so very pregnant.
But she had made it clear that she wanted to be independent. That she wanted to take care of herself and her children without anyone’s help.
And he, the oldest of his family who’d always felt responsible for everyone else, should have been relieved that he didn’t have to help her.
But that wasn’t the way he felt at all. He wouldn’t even admit to himself what he was feeling—although, if he could bring himself to admit it, he would say that it felt a lot like disappointment.
* * *
A pang of regret struck Trish over how she’d rushed away from Brett. He was so sweet to keep offering to help her. But she felt as if she’d already taken enough of his time and caused him enough trouble, and most of that had happened even before they’d met.
At least the estate was settled now. So he didn’t have to worry about that. And she would make sure that he didn’t have to worry about the camps either since he didn’t even think they were a good idea.
And she didn’t think it was a good idea for her to lean on him as much as she already had. He’d helped so much already. And when he’d offered to take her to the cemetery…
That wasn’t just physical support he was offering but moral and emotional support, too. And that was too dangerous.
She couldn’t let her emotions get away from her with Brett. She’d already kissed him once. If she hadn’t rushed out of the kitchen when she had, she might have kissed him again.
He probably would have been horrified. He’d made his plans clear to her that he had no intention of ever getting married.
He didn’t want to divide his attention between a relationship and the ranch.
He wanted to focus on the ranch, so that it would prosper without affecting his brothers’ relationships.
And that was good. She shared that intention.
So why was she still so nervous around him?
So aware of him?
She glanced back toward the house then, almost as if she’d instinctively known that he was walking out at that time. That was how aware of him she was. But he walked toward the barn, not her.
And she walked past it, only stopping when she reached the new smaller barn and fenced-in area for the petting zoo.
She stopped at the enclosed pens and greeted each of the new animals.
They were all so perfect for a petting zoo.
The kids would love them. She touched her belly and was certain that her own kids would probably love them most of all.
But she needed more than the petting zoo to keep the kids busy during the day and summer camps.
So after feeding her new critters, she headed toward the bunkhouse.
She laid out the plans she’d drawn up for the building just as the contractor arrived.
She half expected to see Brett with him, especially when the man asked if he would be joining them.
When she shook her head, he looked disappointed.
He was older, though, and maybe he preferred dealing with men.
She made it clear that she was the one making the decisions when it came to the camps, and the man’s disappointment turned to what looked—at least to Trish—like begrudging respect.
She didn’t care that it might have been begrudging. At least it was respect. And Trish felt a new surge of confidence. She could do this. Even though she had partners, she was still capable on her own. But she did miss Brett’s involvement, like when she’d picked out the animals.
Or maybe she just missed Brett.
* * *
Elise found Trish out in the old bunkhouse. Dust danced in the air as power equipment rumbled in the building. “Should you be out here?” she asked, raising her voice as she waved her hand around.
Trish tensed, and her skin paled slightly, leaving the circles beneath her eyes as the only color in her face. “Oh, I…” She coughed.
Elise linked their arms, drawing the other woman outside. She handed her the water bottle she’d brought out with her. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yes,” Trish said after she took a big swig from the bottle. “I just got caught up in the renovation. I should have thought about the dust.” She patted her belly with her free hand.
“I’m sure the dust won’t affect them,” Elise assured her. “I just came to find you to thank you for watching Lucy yesterday for me.”
“I didn’t watch her very long before her great-grandparents showed up,” Trish said.
“They must have made it here in record time,” Elise said with a smile. “They’re amazing.”
“Yes, they are, so I figured Lucy was safe with them,” Trish said. “Probably safer than with me. I don’t have much experience with babies.”
“You’ll be a great mother,” Elise assured her.
“How is everything at your mom’s foster home?” Trish asked. “Is everyone okay?”
Elise nodded. “Yes, a couple of the teenagers got into a physical altercation.”
“Oh, no.”
“They’re both fine now,” Elise said. “We did have to take them to the ER, though, to get X-rays to make sure that nobody broke or sprained anything. They knocked each other halfway down the stairs.”
Trish gasped. “But they’re okay?”
Elise nodded. “Nurse Sue and Livvy checked them out for us.”
Trish smiled. “Like they checked me out when I thought I was in labor.” Her forehead creased. “Nurse Sue reminds me of someone…”
“Who?” Elise asked.
“Nolan Stokes,” she said. “They both have those very pale blue, almost silver eyes.”
Elise’s eyes widened as she remembered the man. And she also remembered what Sue had once confided in her. Was it possible…?
She shook her head, unwilling to let herself speculate or gossip about the woman who’d trusted her with such a personal secret.
She focused on her mother again. “My mom might need to find a placement for one of those foster girls.” She glanced at the bunkhouse and the barn.
“Or maybe a summer job. Working here would be great for some of those kids, give them a real purpose.”
Trish smiled. “A real purpose. That’s what it feels like to me, too.”
“I see how much it means to you,” Elise said. “And I think it will be great.”
“I have more planned than the petting zoo,” Trish said. “I want to have hayrides and scavenger hunts and horseback riding lessons for the kids. I’ll need help for all that.”
“You have it,” Elise said. “I’ll do what I can, and I know the others will, too. Even Brett and Frankie.”
“I think Frankie will leave soon,” Trish said.
“Back to the road,” Elise murmured, but she wasn’t so sure that Frankie would be able to tear herself away from the ranch. It was her last connection with the man she’d loved like a father, her uncle Frank. “But Brett isn’t going anywhere.”
Trish didn’t look relieved over that comment, though. She looked concerned. Was she worried about Brett taking over when it was so clear that the kids’ camps were her babies?
Or was she worried about falling for the determined-to-stay-single bachelor cowboy?