All Roads Lead Home (32 page)

“Thank you, sweet girl, thank you.”

She placed a kiss to my forehead and said she would be downstairs waiting for us. I didn’t know what to say to my mother, so I remained quiet while she smiled at Wendy.

“Mama, I’m a little confused on what’s going on here. Wendy goes from nearly jumping up and down, to crying and falling apart.”

“Come sit with me, and I’ll explain it to you.” I held my mother’s outreached hand and joined her on my oversized chair. God knows I didn’t want my mother to sit on the bed after all the naughtiness Jagger and I did today.

“Wendy loves you so much, as if you were hers. I do love all sides to my dear friend, but seeing her cry is one emotion that gets me every time. Tenley, you must understand how hard it has been for Wendy to undertake such an emotional request with what your brother asked of her.”

“You knew about the letters?” I asked my mother.

“Not at first. Your brother was very private and even more so in his final days. I can only guess from the moment that you and Jagger broke up, and with everything that happened with Shane, he decided to put his plan in motion. Jagger was the only one that spent the most time here with your brother. At the time, Shane was on the outside looking in, but your brother never shunned him. He just spent time with him without Jagger being here. It was very hard for him to know his best friends were at odds with one another.”

My tears began to fall after hearing that. My mother quickly wiped my tears away.

“Oh my sweet girl, please don’t. Your brother loved you very much and although it has been hard on you to receive his written words, I truly hope they have brought some comfort too.”

“Not at first, mama. His first letter hurt very much. No one likes to discover what a disappointment you are to your family.”

“Oh no, Tenley, that’s not what your brother was saying to you. He only wanted the very best for you and feared his death would be incredibly hard on you, and he was right.”

“It was, mama, but I still managed to finish school and become a lawyer. It wasn’t that bad, it was just…”

“Lonely?” she answered for me.

“Yes, it was. And now I’m here in my home, reunited with the man I love, and I still feel like I’m being pulled in a hundred different directions. Mama, what road do I take? Do I just say goodbye to New York and my life there to come back here and begin again?”

“How does your heart react after you say those words?”

“What words? Like ‘home’ and ‘love’?”

“Yeah, those words.”

“It feels complete and full. Like it was hollow for so long and now it’s put back together again. I know without any more doubt that it wants Jagger, and it would nearly destroy me to walk away from him again.”

“Then, my darling daughter, you have your answer. Everything always seems to work out the way it is was supposed to, and when it doesn’t, life leads us down another road. Sometimes it may not exactly be the right one at the time, but we work it out and hope it leads us to better things. Your heart guided you home and to Jagger. Listen to it. Trust it, and just have faith. Did you ever wonder why your middle name is Faith?”

“Not really? What’s so special about it?”

“Your name represents complete trust in God. When Jamie was born, then diagnosed with Leukemia, I thought my heart would completely separate from my body. I never expected to hear those words from the specialist. We knew nothing about this cancer and the survival rates for the patients who had it. Jamie was diagnosed with Acute Monocytic Leukemia. It was an extreme cancer, and your brother was now facing the fight of his life. He was only three, and as his parents we were preparing for the worst, and then I found out I was pregnant with you. Another miracle from the good Lord, but also a very scary one. With what we were facing with Jamie, the thought of you being born sick just scared us to the brink of constant worry.”

“We discussed our options with the specialists and how to proceed once you were born. Stem cells were taken from your cord blood and tested. You were an identical match for your brother, and it was you who saved him. You, my Tenley Faith, gave our family a miracle not just with you being born to us, but you also saved your big brother. This is why your middle name is Faith. We trusted God with everything we had. This is why your brother knew you better than anyone else because you two were completely connected. He loved you with all of his heart, and in the end, he was going to protect yours and bring you back home.”

“Oh, mama! I miss him so much.”

My mother held me as I cried and cried onto her shoulders. She lovingly comforted me and quieted me down. I had grieved for so long for Jamie, and felt his loss daily. To hear this story for the first time made me feel so blessed to have had him as my brother and for as long as I did. God gave us our time with Jamie, and we spent every day of it loving each other and being happy as a family. I had the best childhood here on this ranch, and now for the first time since leaving home, I could picture myself back here and sharing my life with Jagger and the family we would make together.

“Thank you, mama. I love you so much,” I said with the last of my tears falling.

“I love you too, Tenley Faith. Please don’t ever question it again. I will always miss your brother, but it was you that I missed more.”

“How?”

“Because you were still with us, but yet so far away not only in miles, but in your heart. Our children are our greatest accomplishment in this life. We want nothing more than to see you happy. I see it now, Tenley, and I will thank God, Jamie, and Jagger in my daily prayers for making that happen for you. You deserve nothing more than all the love your heart can hold.”

When mama first came into my room, this was not the conversation I thought we would have, if ever. But once again, she surprised me with her words of wisdom and complete declaration of love.

“Okay, daughter, we’ve been up here long enough. You need to clean yourself up a bit, and then join us downstairs for a talk. Your father and I have been with Shane for most of the day with his parents as well. We all need to clear the air, and that begins tonight.”

“Mama, I’m not sure this is the right time for Jagger and Shane to be in the same room with one another, there is so much you don’t know.”

“I know everything, and so does your father. Get ready, and I’ll see you soon.”

My mother kissed me on my forehead and told me all will be okay. Jagger was standing on the threshold of my bedroom when mama placed a kiss on his cheek. She told him thank you and said to meet them downstairs.

Jagger smiled at her, then came in and closed the door. He took one look at me and held me in his arms. He had heard it all and was crying along with me.

“I love you so much, Tenley. I am going to make you so happy and never allow you to ever regret taking that leap of faith with me. I swear it on the blessed memory of your brother, I will never stop loving you. You are my life.”

He held my face and kissed me gently at first, and then passionately as our emotions got the best of us.

“And you are mine. I love you cowboy. Let’s go greet the parents,” I said through my smile.

As we made our way into the living room, his hold on my hand tightened as he saw Shane leaning up against the mantle. He was standing by his father, Jagger’s father, and mine. Generations of cowboys in my house and all looking very serious. I rubbed my thumb over his hand to calm him. My father invited us to join them. We followed my father into our large dining room. We all took a seat at the table with Jagger’s hand still connected with mine, sending Shane a very clear message.

My father began. “Welcome home, Jagger. From the looks of it, you seem pretty happy with yourself right about now, and my daughter’s smile matches yours. For that, I am a very happy father today. I love you both.”

We both said thank you, and he slapped Jagger on his back, but also sending his future son-in-law a message. He whispered for only Jagger to hear. “I don’t see a ring on her finger yet, so no more coupling under my roof, okay son?”

Jagger was silent and just nodded in agreement. My father was not someone to rile up, none of them were. These men were all very protective and scary as hell, but I loved them all.

Daddy continued, “Now, let’s get down to why I have gathered you all here. It’s very clear that Jagger and Tenley are back together, I can only hope for a wedding to happen very soon. It would bring us complete joy to know that our kids are finally getting their happily ever after. Right, Ren?” Jagger’s father agreed with a smile lining his face.

“Having said that, we now have a situation that needs to be addressed.”

My father turned to Jagger, and spoke only to him. “Jagger, we all know the truth about your accident up on that ridge. We have spent the better part of the day speaking with Shane and discovering the real story behind your accident. I believe I can speak for all of us on how sorry we are that you ever had to go through that, but thankful all the same to the good Lord for saving and bringing you back to us.”

We sat in silence and hung onto every word my father had spoken. Shane, along with his father, and Ren remained quiet as well. It was clear my father was in charge here.

“Now as you all know, the Fairchild Ranch is the top grossing ranch in all of Wyoming. Everyone here in this room has contributed to the success of this ranch. It was these hands, Kip and Ren’s, that worked this land with our fathers, and they passed it down to us, and then we passed it to our sons.” I watched my father bow his head for Jamie, and then continued on.

“Generations have worked incredibly hard with their blood, sweat, and tears and have given themselves to this land. I am forever thankful in this ever growing legacy we have all had a hand in. It was my late son’s dying wish to continue on through the bonds of our friendship. He loved this land and from the time he could run amuck with you two boys, this was all he ever dreamed of. You three would be partners like your fathers before you. Now that partnership has been strained and tested. I am finding myself at a crossroads and not sure what path to take. Jagger, you chose to run your portion of it with your father, and alone, where Shane and Kip joined me here on our combined land.”

“It saddened me when you made your choice, but we respected it nonetheless. With you marrying my daughter—am I right to assume this son?” my father asked Jagger.

“Yes sir, absolutely.”

“Okay. Tenley is a Fairchild, and marrying you will connect our families as one. We always felt we were, but you two will now make it official. Where does that leave Shane? And his role here?” My father asked as he looked directly at Jagger.

You could hear a pin drop in the room. My father commanded us all to sit in full attention. Jagger looked like he would throw up at any moment. I rubbed his thigh and encouraged him to talk. He took in a deep breath and surprised me with what he said.

“Sir, everyone in this room can attest to my love for ranch life. It’s in my blood and I know no other way of life. You’re right, it was my dream along with Jamie and Shane to take over for you all one day, and make our businesses even greater and prosperous, but when Jamie died, that dream died with him. I respect you, Brock and Kip. You are like second fathers to me, but I no longer see Shane as my brother. I don’t know if I will ever be able to move past what happened between us, but I will not hold it against him either. My life is my own, and it will not be guided by holding a grudge. My new life began here today in this house with your daughter, and I promised her a lifetime of happiness. I’m not sure where that will begin. Tenley and I have to discuss our future in private. All I know is that if this life here in Wyoming is not what she wants, then I don’t want it either, and this time it will be me following her.”

“Jagger…” I said.

He kissed me to silence my objections.

My mother and Wendy were wiping their tears away, while Kip patted his son’s back. Ren looked over to his son with nothing but pride showing over his rugged face. My father appeared to be at a loss for words, but he just shrugged back his shoulders and looked right at us.

“Jagger, you are a good man, and I trust you completely in your promises to my daughter. You have our blessing to marry her and join our family…officially. It is my hope that you and Shane will reconcile your differences and renew your once strong friendship, and bind yourselves back to this land. This is truly where your heart lives, and it will bring me great sadness to see it be destroyed. I know you’re hurting son, but life is too short to hang onto a past hurt. You know what I’m saying son, and it will only hurt you more to carry it with you in your new life with Tenley. Now, my partnership with Ren and Kip will remain. We will run our cattle and horse business just like we have always done. The lovely ladies in our lives will still handle their roles in our family’s ventures. It’s up to you cowboys to really decide what to do about your roles. Shane has offered to relinquish his partnership back over to me and walk away clean with severing ties to the ranch.”

We all looked at Shane as daddy continued, “This is not what I want, but in life you have to make some tough choices. Jagger, I’m not going to make it. No matter where you are with my daughter, this ranch is still her home, and you, son, are going to have to decide if you want Shane to be part of it. This is his home as it is all of ours, and he’s willing to give it all up for the sake of righting his terrible wrong. I know this is an incredible decision I am laying on your lap, but again, it’s yours and Tenley’s to make. I truly hope whatever you decide will bring you peace. That’s all I have to say and will say until Jagger gives us his answer.”

My father dismissed all of us, and we watched one by one as everyone left the room, leaving us behind. Jagger’s expression was carved out in stone. I wasn’t sure if I should even touch him, so I began to get up from my chair and that’s when his hand reached for my arm.

“Where are you going?” he asked coldly. This was not Jagger, his voice was laced with anger.

“I’m going to fix myself a drink, and I think you could use one too.”