Chapter 13 Jake
THIRTEEN
JAKE
Ibrought Julia’s horses in from where they were grazing in the pasture next to the barn and made sure to portion out their food, giving Ally a smaller amount.
I couldn’t resist spending a little extra time with Twister who was spirited with firm opinions on everything from treats to which brush he liked used on him.
He was magnificent and even though I was wrestling with a serious case of stallion envy, I enjoyed my time with him.
Admittedly, I’d spent far too much time trying to figure out why my brother never bought any horses from Shaun Lett after Dad turned the operations over to him.
I already spent most of my days wondering what Luke would do with each situation that I faced.
With the horses, that kind of wondering made sense.
It was up to me to carry on the legacy Luke and our father had left behind.
However, given the proximity and the obvious superb genetics I was seeing in Twister, Luke should’ve been chomping at the bit to use Lett stallions in our breeding program.
I didn’t want to entertain Julia’s claim that they didn’t get along.
It had to be something else. But I’d been through Luke’s records so many times now, I practically had them memorized and I still couldn’t find anything to explain it.
After making sure all the horses were settled, I closed the barn door and latched it before heading back to Julia’s house.
I’d been stopping by multiple times daily for nearly two weeks to care for her animals and check on her.
It helped that our ranches butted up against each other and I had hands I could trust to handle things while I was off the ranch.
And I hardly minded helping her out. In some ways, I’d be a little sorry when her ankle was fully healed, and I was no longer needed. That day was fast approaching.
“Everything good?” she asked when I reached the house. She was leaning against a porch post with Wellington and Fay sitting beside her.
“Settled in for the night,” I said and had a sudden idea. “How would you like to go for a drive?”
“I’d love to.” Her rapid acceptance surprised me since she usually turned down anything extra that I tried to do for her.
Maybe I should have suggested a drive sooner if she was going to react with enthusiasm.
She opened the door to put the dogs in the house, then started crutching her way toward my truck.
I got her settled and returned the crutches to her front porch.
“I might need those,” she protested when I climbed into the driver’s seat.
“You won’t,” I said as I switched on the radio. “It’s just a drive.”
We rolled down the windows, and I switched on a country music station as we drove through the twilight.
When songs came on that I liked and knew, I sang along.
It was easy being with her. That was what had struck me over the past few weeks.
Each day was a little easier, and I found myself looking forward to the moments we spent together.
“I had no idea you had such a great voice,” she said when a song ended.
“Not many people do—people who know me, anyway. I like to sing karaoke at the Tipsy Vandal, but I perform incognito.”
“Is that in Beaumont?”
“That’s the one.” I’d gotten plenty of applause for my performances and even a pair of women’s panties tossed at me one night. I’d stuffed them in my pocket, unsure how to respond.
“I would never sing in public,” she said, “even if I didn’t know a single person in the audience.”
Her voice wasn’t bad. I’d heard it low and soft while we’d been singing to the radio. “I think you’ve got a nice voice.”
“You are so wrong about that. I sing very quietly and hope no one notices,” she said with a laugh.
“Surely you’re not shy.” From what I’d seen, she had no problem stepping up and speaking her mind with confidence.
“Not shy exactly, just reluctant. I don’t like people staring at me and judging my choices.
How do you know what’s the perfect song to sing?
It’s like putting your thoughts and your heart on the line for everyone to see.
No thanks,” she said. “I’d like to see you perform sometime—unless you’re uncomfortable with that. ”
Was I? I enjoyed singing for strangers. It would be different if I knew she was in the audience, but that didn’t make it bad. We’d become friends of a sort over the past two weeks. “I’ll let you know the next time the karaoke mood strikes me.” I glanced over at her and saw the smile on her face.
“Let’s pull off up there and look at the stars,” she suggested.
I’d chosen a route that took us along a scenic highway overlooking a valley below. I backed my truck into a space.
“Don’t we want to be facing the other direction?” she asked with a gesture over her shoulder. “The view’s better that way.”
“Give me a minute. I’ve got a plan. Don’t go anywhere.”
“Aww, and I was hoping to go for a jog,” she said. I chuckled as I got out of the truck and dropped the tailgate. I grabbed the thick blanket that I always carried in the truck’s bed and spread it out before opening her door.
“You see, this is where I need my crutches,” she said, scooting to the edge of the seat.
Before she could attempt to stand, I scooped her up in my arms, hearing her breath catch, and carried her to the back of the truck.
I placed her gently on the tailgate. She scooted back onto the blanket, and I hopped up to stretch out next to her.
“This is the best way to look at the stars,” I said and felt her relax next to me. If I mentioned what I was thinking—that this felt like a date—she’d become as prickly as her hedgehog, so I kept it casual.
“Perfect night for it,” she agreed. “Is that why you’re in such a good mood? You love soft summer evenings and star gazing?”
“I do love those things,” I said. “But it’s been a good day from top to bottom.”
“Why?”
I wanted to laugh. Didn’t she realize that a huge chunk of that goodness came from spending so much time with her?
I couldn’t answer that she made me happy, so I told her what else had.
“I met with my ranch hands today for our weekly meeting and it went really well. They also had nothing but good things to say about how well the livestock were all doing after the change in their feed. So, thank you for pointing that out. Caitlin’s morning sickness seems to have finally subsided, which means Brian is a whole lot easier to deal with and I’m sure most of the town is pleased about that one. ”
Julia laughed at that comment, which had me searching for other good things to make her smile.
“Let’s see… Henry has lost another tooth and he has a huge gap in front now.
Cal taught him how to shoot watermelon seeds through it.
He’s got some distance on them, and he wants to enter the juvenile division at the county fair. ”
“Oh! I used to love going to the county fair. I’d play all the games and watch all the competitions. As much as I enjoyed showcasing my 4-H projects, it was a lot more fun to take it all in and eat way too much fair food,” Julia said.
“And then go on the rides,” I added, although that wasn’t always the best idea if anyone happened to eat too much of the deep-fried offerings.
“Do you remember the time the Ferris wheel got stuck and the auto shop teacher climbed down from the top to help the poor carnie get it restarted?”
“Dan Hayes was everyone’s hero for weeks after,” I said. It happened a few years after I graduated but his Spider-Man skills scaling down the frame was immortalized on video. It actually made the national news.
We lapsed into a companionable silence and my mind drifted over to the things that weren’t going well.
I still hadn’t found a stallion to buy, despite expanding my search parameters up into Wyoming and Montana, as well as parts of Texas.
I thought I was close a couple times, but none of them could hold a candle to Twister, which was frustrating.
“Look,” Julia said, pointing upward as a shooting star crossed overhead. “I love seeing those. I used to spend so many nights outside as a kid.”
“After climbing down the trellis?” I asked, remembering our conversation from the cabin.
She laughed. “Sometimes I used the door.”
I tapped her elbow with mine. “So, what good things happened to you today?”
Julia shifted, so her head was resting on my shoulder and I tried not to read anything into it.
“Well, the furry freeloaders have been enjoying having my undivided attention whenever they want. And I have to admit, it’s been nice slowing down a bit and taking a break, even if it is a forced one.
I even managed to read a couple books that have been sitting on my nightstand for far too long. ”
“I can’t remember the last time I read a book for pleasure. Care to share the titles?” Most days, I collapsed into bed as soon as I finished with work.
“Well, one is on equine genetics, which you might find interesting. The other was a medical thriller,” she said.
“Huh, don’t think I’ve ever read a medical thriller. What’s it about? A doctor doing bad things?” As a veterinarian, I could imagine Julia enjoying a technical book like that though I was sure it would go completely over my head, even as fiction.
“There are a lot of books like that out there. This one is actually a veterinary medical thriller. The lead medical investigator is a small town vet. The author does a great job doling out the details so readers learn what’s going on the same time as the vet.”
“So, did you figure out who the bad guy was before the grand reveal?”
She bumped her head against my shoulder and I could feel her smile. “I did, but only just.”
I rubbed my chest. “I don’t know if I could read a book where animals die inhumanely. I think that might be a hard limit for me.” I couldn’t stand seeing anything in distress—humans or animals. While Thorne Ranch bred and raised livestock to sell, we didn’t sell them for food.
“I can understand that. You care a lot about the animals you breed. It shows in how you care for them. Thorne Ranch might be a smaller, more boutique operation compared to the larger organizations around here, but you are a hands-on rancher. I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” Julia said. I was touched that she would say that.
“I’m not as hands-on as I’d like to be—not like I was when Dad and Luke were running the place, and I was free to just work with the guys.
When I took over the ranch…” I slowed, remembering those days after the car crash.
Then I felt her hand slip into mine and give it a squeeze.
Her simple touch made it easier for me to go on.
“I worried about not knowing what to do. So much of my time was spent buried in paperwork and trying to figure out what was going on that I felt disconnected from the day-to-day operations. So now I hold these meetings so we can all check in with each other. That way nothing falls through the cracks. I’ve got some older guys who have been with us for years, and I rely on them, but sometimes I’ll get a fresh-faced kid with the solution to a problem. ”
“Is that what happened today?” she guessed.
“Yeah, we’ve been struggling with drainage in one place. We’ve tried ten different things, and nothing’s worked. This kid had a suggestion that made us all go ‘now why didn’t any of us think of that?’” The solution had been a simple one, too.
“These meetings that solve problems on the ranch were your innovation?” Her question was thoughtful. “That’s interesting. You keep insisting you need to do things the way Luke would have, but you’re clearly deviating from his plan with success.”
I hadn’t thought about it that way before.
For a moment, her comment made me second-guess the meetings.
No, they were good. I was keeping them. Luke, if he’d lived longer, would likely have come up with the idea himself.
Or would he? Luke taking suggestions from the hands, especially young ones? That was tough to picture.
“I didn’t say that to badmouth Luke,” she said when I’d been quiet for several seconds. “I meant it as a compliment to you. You should trust yourself to make the right calls. You’ve got good instincts when it comes to ranching.”
She kept talking, but I was too distracted to focus on what she was saying.
All I could think about was how badly I wanted to kiss her.
Finally, I couldn’t hold back any longer.
I rolled toward her and kissed her, stopping her flow of words.
I felt her slight hesitation, and then she was kissing me back.