How to Rope a Real Man (22 page)

“You’d better watch your tongue, Jenna Sorentino. I had no idea.”

“What happened to Carson?” Marti said. “What secret?”

Jenna made fists, then flexed her fingers out. Her pulse was pounding like mad, but it felt too good calling these women out for her to stop. “A couple weeks after high school graduation, Kyle, Lance, and Bucky jumped Carson behind the feed and grain store. They beat him to within an inch of his life.”

A collective gasp vibrated through the room.

“You’ll shut your mouth about my boy,” Gayle said. “Kyle would never—”

“Oh, but he would,” Jenna said. “He did. And, to me, that’s not the worst part.” She paused for effect, meeting the eyes of each of the other eleven women. “The worst part to me is that Lou and Patricia, after they found him, beaten and bloody, decided not to take him to the hospital. They decided not to press charges. They decided that the town finding out their son was . . .” Jenna screwed her mouth up with wanting to finish that sentence. But it wasn’t her right to. Even if he never believed that she’d kept his secret, she’d never break her promise to him. Never. “They were more worried about their own bigoted asses than watching their son suffer.”

“Bigoted? What are you talking about?” Marti asked.

“Mom?” Kate said in a quivering voice. “Is that true? Is that why you sent Stacey and me to Aunt Gretchen’s house that summer?”

Patricia looked on her daughter with tear-filled eyes but didn’t answer.

“When your husband brought Carson home, a bloody mess, what was your first thought? Were you disappointed that Bucky, Kyle, and Lance hadn’t managed to kill him?”

Patricia lunged toward Jenna and, before she could back away, slapped her hard across the cheek. Jenna tasted blood where her teeth bit down on her tongue.

Gayle stepped between them, fury written all over her face. “My son would never beat up another person. You’re fixing to get yourself in a pot of hot water out of which you cannot climb, Jenna Sorentino.”

“Are you threatening me? What are you going to do?”

Gayle’s nostrils flared and her lips mashed together like she was weighing her options.

“I never meant for him to get hurt.” Everyone turned at the sound of Kate’s meek voice.

“What did you do?” Patricia asked breathlessly.

“Kyle and I were dating, sort of. I mean, I wanted to date him, but he was the most popular guy in my class. He came to our house one day and it was just me at home. We started hanging out, watching TV and stuff. At one point, I went to the bathroom and when I came out, he was in Carson’s room going through his stuff.” Her face pinked. “He said he was looking for porn we could watch. And he found some under Carson’s bed.”

What had Carson been thinking, keeping his porn stash in such an obvious place? Of course Jenna wasn’t the only one who’d stumbled across it. It seemed so obvious now. But would Carson believe her if she told him the truth or was he too far gone in his hate to care?

“We raised Kyle to be a good, Christian man,” Gayle insisted, spearing a finger toward the ground. “He’s respected on the rodeo circuit, a regional champion. He’s going to ask Brenda to marry him and settle down in Catcher Creek to help us on the ranch.” Emotion made her choke on the last word.

Patricia put her arm around Gayle and leveled a desperate look at Jenna. “I just wanted it all to go away. I want my old Carson back, before he turned . . .” She closed her eyes and swallowed.

A sharp, angry laugh bubbled up from Jenna’s chest. “Before he turned violent? That’s what you were going to say, right? Bitter and angry like he is now? Because, honestly, do you think Carson is going to let Kyle, Lance, and Bucky get away with their crimes? Do you think he’s going to let you get away with yours? Why do you think he came back to Catcher Creek—to play nice with all the people who hurt him? You’d better watch your backs. All of you.”

She stomped to the door and slammed it behind her.

On Friday night, Matt picked up Jenna and Tommy at a quarter to eight, fifteen minutes before Tommy’s usual weekend bedtime, but Matt hadn’t been able to get off work any earlier. She and Tommy nearly always went to the Catcher Creek Café on Friday nights for dessert, and he’d discussed it with Matt at length throughout the week, so there was no way he would’ve gone to bed without a huge tantrum.

Jenna prided herself on being the kind of mom who didn’t give in to tantrums or care if she seemed cool in her kid’s eyes, but if she changed her mind now about going to town, Matt would want to know why and, damn it all, Jenna couldn’t think of a single viable excuse she was willing to share with him.

Tommy’s world was going to be turned on its head soon anyway, with the move and starting kindergarten, and he’d been such a trooper with the drives to and from Santa Fe that it was tough to deny him anything as basic as a sweet treat and an extra hour of awake time.

She took comfort in the theory that Carson would wait until the rodeo on Wednesday to put on any public display. From Bunco she knew he hadn’t paraded himself around town in an overtly public way so she wasn’t all that worried about him showing up. What she was worried about was running into Patricia or Kate Parrish, Gayle, Marti, Charlene, or any one of the Bunco ladies or their families. She’d be happy living the rest of her life without coming face-to-face with any of them, especially Patricia.

She’d felt that slap tingling on her cheek for the rest of the night, long after she’d changed into pajamas and made up a bed on the sofa in the big house. She had no regrets about calling the women of Catcher Creek on their misdeeds, even though she was still a bit stunned that she’d been so forward. She was tired of sitting on the information like it was shameful. She’d never been one to court conflict, but it’d felt cathartic to stand up for the Carson she’d loved, that sweet boy who’d been her best and only true friend for so many formative years.

Downtown Catcher Creek was jumping, or what qualified as jumping for a town with only four thousand residents. The Catcher Creek Café was located on the corner of Del Zorro and First Street, right in the heart of the four-square-block downtown district that boasted a single stoplight.

They parked in the lot behind Catcher Creek Café and immediately spotted Rachel’s truck.

Inside the café, the ice-cream counter was crowded. They were in the dog days of summer in the desert and the day’s heat had finally cracked enough that people had ventured out of their air-conditioned homes. Many of the farmers and ranch workers headed for Smithy’s Bar, but those who had families were at the café, kicking off the weekend with ice cream.

Jenna was proud to have Matt with them. She liked the idea of tongues wagging about how cozy she looked with her new man. She took his hand as they waited in line. Tommy raced ahead to peer through the glass at the ice-cream flavors.

They stood in line at the ice cream and pie counter, separate from the dining area, and scanned the tables for Rachel. Matt spotted her first, coming out of the hallway that led to the restrooms.

“Hey, you. What are you doing here? Where’s Vaughn?” Jenna asked.

“He and I had plans to come here for dinner together, but he got called in to work a shooting in Devil’s Furnace. He knew I’d probably just eat cereal for dinner without him there, so he made me promise I’d come get some dinner anyway. While I was here, I figured I’d drop off a slice of pie at his office because he’ll probably be there doing paperwork late into the night. I thought it’d be a nice surprise.”

“Rachel, you do so much manual labor every day, you know you need more nutrition for dinner than cereal. We’ve talked about this.”

Rachel flashed a scowl. “There’s nothing wrong with cereal.”

It was no secret that Vaughn and Rachel had zero skills in the kitchen. Ever since Amy had moved in at Kellan’s ranch and her sous chef, Douglas Dixon, had taken up with Kellan’s mom, hot meals were a daily challenge for those two. Jenna and Tommy ate at the big house with them a couple times a week, with Jenna cooking, but they were left to fend for themselves most of the time and ended up eating out a lot. That was one aspect of moving Jenna didn’t like. Rachel and Vaughn would be left on their own in the kitchen on days the inn’s restaurant wasn’t open.

“We’re here for the ice cream,” Tommy exclaimed.

“Nice. That sounds delicious,” Rachel said.

“Did you eat dessert yet?” Matt asked. At her shake of the head, he added, “You should stay and have ice cream and pie with us before you hit the road for home.”

Rachel surveyed the line for ice cream, then smiled. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”

They were waiting only a moment before the bells on the door jingled. Out of the corner of her eye, Jenna spotted Vaughn coming into the café, dressed in his sheriff’s uniform and looking worn to the bone. She started to wave, but he warned her off, indicating with a finger over his lips that he wanted to surprise Rachel. Jenna was all for that. Little else warmed her heart as much as seeing Rachel happy and in love. After the decades she’d spent caring for Jenna, Amy, their mom, and the farm, she deserved it more than anyone.

Vaughn slid his arms around Rachel from behind and nuzzled her neck. Rachel didn’t exactly squeal with delight like Jenna might have, but her whole being lit up. “What are you doing here?”

“My deputy took the shooting suspect to jail and I’m getting a head start on the paperwork. I saw your truck, so I thought I’d come and say hello before I anchored myself to my desk. Hey, Jenna, Matt. Hiya, Tommy.”

“It’s going to be hard for me to surprise you with this slice of pie since you’re standing right here.”

He took it from her. “Tell me you ate a real dinner.”

“I did. Like I promised you I would.”

He kissed her cheek. “Good. I hate the idea of you sitting at home alone eating cereal.”

“How long have you two been engaged?” Matt asked.

Vaughn screwed up his face, thinking. “Three months. Right, Rach?”

“Sounds about right.”

“Any wedding plans?” Matt asked. Jenna had been holding off on asking, figuring they were letting Kellan and Amy have their moment in the spotlight. She wagered they were going to wait until after the newlyweds had returned from their honeymoon before making the announcement about their wedding date, but she was glad Matt had gone down that road because she was dying of curiosity.

Vaughn and Rachel shrugged simultaneously. “Not so far,” Vaughn said. “We move slow. Hell, it took me twelve years to figure out she was my person.”

Rachel patted the arm he had wrapped around her middle. “I’m not in a hurry, though I wouldn’t mind getting a ring on your finger.”

Vaughn looked stunned by the pronouncement. “Yeah? That’s news to me. I guess we’ll have to work on that. What does your calendar look like next month?”

“Next month’s wide open,” Rachel said with a grin.

Vaughn beamed at Jenna and Matt. “See? There you go. Wedding plans.”

Jenna was spellbound by the easy confidence they had in each other’s unwavering love. She and Matt weren’t there yet, but she felt their bonds strengthening with every passing day. The time together at his house had been good for them. In a few days’ time, they’d be only a short car ride apart. No more three-hour hauls to be together.

She reached out to Matt, but just then, Tommy galloped to their place in line and grabbed Matt’s hand, dragging him up to the counter to discuss flavors.

Rachel wagged a finger at Jenna. “Don’t you dare get it in your head to turn it into a circus like Amy’s wedding.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Of course, she was going to need to figure out what day they were thinking of tying the knot. Jenna’s graduation was in a month, on a Saturday. Her pulse quickened as she realized that, by then, everyone would know the truth about her schooling. She wished it didn’t scare her, thinking of her secret getting out. After all, she’d nearly spilled Carson’s secret to the world the night before.

Tommy and Matt returned to the line, and Tommy was so excited about the bubblegum ice cream—“it’s candy and ice cream all in one!”—that he dragged Vaughn and Rachel by the hands to show them.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Matt leaned close and kissed Jenna. “How’d it go with your sister today? Did you tell her about UNM?”

The frustration she’d felt earlier that day at her failed attempt to get Rachel alone wrapped around her heart as she shook her head. “I’d planned on sitting Rachel down around lunchtime. Psyched myself up and got nervous and everything.” She and Tommy had walked over to the main house, armed with a cartoon DVD to occupy Tommy’s attention while they talked, only to discover that Vaughn and Rachel had gone on an all-day trail ride. “But I couldn’t get her alone. Vaughn had the day off. He’s working all weekend, so I was hoping you might be able to watch Tommy so I can talk to her.”

A shadow of disappointment flitted across his face before disappearing. “Of course. I was thinking of taking him with me to visit Jake and Max tomorrow anyway, to give you a break so you can pack in peace.”

“Tommy loves spending time with you. He’s still talking about your picnic on Wednesday. He asked me if the two of you could go camping soon.”

“What did you tell him?”

He looked anxious about her response. She smoothed a hand along his collar. “I told him that’d be up to you. I think he took that as a yes.”

“It’s a yes.”

The bells on the door jingled again. The woman in line in front of them turned to look with a glance, then did a double take, her eyes huge. “Carson Parrish? Is that really you?”

Jenna’s heart plunged to the floor. Her body tensed and it was all she could do to keep breathing. Maybe he hadn’t seen her. Catcher Creek Café had a back exit down the hall from the restrooms. She could grab Tommy, fake a sudden bout of stomach flu, and leave. She didn’t have her car, but they could hide out in Vaughn’s office until they could catch a ride back to the farm.

There’d be questions from Matt, but those she could face. She’d even tell him the truth if it helped keep her and Tommy safe from Carson, Bucky, Kyle, Lance, and anyone else who might hurt them.