Jake (39 page)

Phoebe looked up from the stove. “He left for the Carson ranch hours ago.”

“Hours ago? It’s only seven. I heard him come in after midnight. Does he ever sleep anymore?”

Phoebe glanced at Ela, and the two women wore matching looks of concern. “He’s pushing himself, Cole. I should think you’d understand.”

“I understand that he’s going to push himself right into a sick bed. A man has to sleep.”

“Not if his sleep is troubled.” Ela set a platter of corn bread on the table. “Jake learned at an early age that a woman can leave and never return.”

Around the table, everyone went silent.

Cole turned to his father. “Can you talk to him, Big Jim?”

“I can try. But you know only too well that a man has to work out some things for himself.”

“All the same, try talking to him. If he keeps this up much longer, he’s apt to drop in his tracks.”

The family remained subdued. Though Jake still managed to charm half the female population of Paintbrush, a great deal of the flirtation that had been his trademark seemed to have faded away. And though he relayed only bits and pieces of the conversations he had with Cory, those pieces were enough to tell them that the boy was making a real effort to fit into Meg’s life in D.C.

Meg was in a strange mood as she stepped into the foyer of her condo and kicked off her shoes. She ought to have been feeling on top of the world. It had been her input earlier in the week that had given a team of lawyers at the firm their key defense for their client. Because of it, the prosecution was seeking to cut a deal in the hottest trial of the year. And Cyrus Kettering had requested a meeting with Meg in the morning. The buzz around the firm was that she was in for a big promotion. There were even some who’d dared to use the word
partner
. It was unimaginable that a woman her age would be invited to be a partner in a firm as prestigious as Howe-Kettering. But crazier things had happened. Like the housekeeper, Theresa, who’d been heaven-sent. She’d come highly recommended by one of the lawyers in Meg’s firm. Theresa had even agreed to the flexible hours Meg had required, so that until Meg’s life settled down a bit, someone would always be here with Cory.

But despite all the good things that had happened in the four weeks since she’d returned, Meg couldn’t seem to summon any joy in her success.

A gray-haired woman poked her head in the doorway. “I thought I heard you come in, Miss Stanford. I’m keeping your dinner warm in the oven.”

“Thank you, Theresa.” Meg set her laptop on a marble side table. “Where’s Cory?”

“Up in his room. He and his tutor just finished their lessons.”

The door to the den opened, and the young man she’d hired to prepare Cory for private school was standing in the doorway. “I heard your voice. Perfect timing. I wonder if I could have a few words with you before I go.”

Meg returned his smile. “Of course. Let’s talk in the den.” She turned to her housekeeper. “If you’d like to leave now, I’m home for the evening, Theresa. I’ll see you at seven in the morning.”

“Good night, Miss Stanford.”

Meg waited until the front door closed behind the older woman. In the den she indicated a pair of chairs and sat facing Zach Tracy, the brilliant young teacher that so many of her friends raved about.

Zach wore his long, sun-bleached hair tied back in a ponytail. Instead of the dress pants and shirt-and-tie look expected of a prep-school tutor, he favored skinny pants tucked into high-tops, and a wrinkled shirt over a faded tee. He’d arrived at Meg’s condo carrying a skateboard under his arm, explaining that this was his summertime persona. Come autumn and the start of the school year, he would once again morph into a buttoned-down prep-school teacher.

“How are things working out with you and Cory?”

“Cool. He’s a great kid.”

She noted that he used
cool
or
great
in nearly every sentence. “So you think he’ll be ready for private school?”

“Academically? Hey, if you hadn’t told me he was homeschooled, I’d have never guessed. He’s a really smart little kid.”

Meg began to relax.

“But he’s…different, you know?”

Meg’s protective antenna went up. “Different? In what way?”

Zach shrugged. “When I asked him what he’d like to do for fun, he said he wasn’t here to have fun. He was here to make you proud of him. He said somebody named Big Jim had said that women were to be protected. And he’d promised somebody named Jake that he would do everything he could to be a good brother.” Zach shook his head. “He’s a funny little kid. Calls me ‘sir.’ He’s smart, and cool, but he’s just not like any kid I’ve tutored before. It’s like he just dropped down from another planet. Planet Old School.” Zach chuckled at his little joke. “And I’m not sure just how he’s going to fit in when school starts.”

The young teacher got to his feet. “I just thought you ought to know. Maybe you’d like me to work on his social skills along with his academics. Speaking of social skills, I tried to tell him to ditch the cheesy cowboy hat, and you’d have thought I’d insulted his mother. You’d better let him know that he won’t be able to wear it to school.” He paused. “Same time tomorrow?”

Meg forced herself to smile as she walked with him to the door. “Let me think about it, Zach. I’ll call you.”

“No problem. If you leave the kid to me, I’ll have him up to speed in no time.”

When he left, Meg walked to the kitchen and filled a glass with water before looking out the window. Several boys, not much older than Cory, were laughing and shouting as they followed Zach along the sidewalk on their skateboards.

Feeling troubled, she set aside the water and climbed the stairs. She was about to knock on Cory’s door when she found it ajar. Inside she could hear Cory talking to someone on the phone.

“…had supper with my tutor, Zach. He said I’m lucky to have a housekeeper who cooks. His mother was a college professor, but the only thing she knew how to cook was grilled cheese sandwiches.” There was a pause before he said, “She’s fine. She’s working awfully hard. She said she has to make it up to the firm because of all the days she missed. She said when she clears her desk, we’ll take a day to see the monuments and stuff. But I don’t mind. I know she’s got to work even harder now that she’s got me.” His voice lowered. Trembled. “How’s Shadow? Does he miss me?”

Meg turned away and made her way to her own room. She didn’t want Cory to see her feeling so distressed.

Inside her room she began to pace. Where had it all gone so terribly wrong? When had the joy gone out of her career? Even the tantalizing thought of being offered partnership in the firm had lost its thrill. When she was at the office, all she could think about was Cory spending his days with strangers. When she was here with him, it broke her heart to see how hard he was trying to make this all work.

She thought of Zach, trying to make Cory over into a boy who would fit in with all the other prep school boys. She tried to imagine Cory maneuvering a skateboard along the hot, crowded sidewalks, trading in Jake’s old cowboy hat for a backward baseball cap. The mere thought of it had tears stinging her eyes.

And then she recalled Zach’s words.

He said he wasn’t here to have fun. He was here to make you proud of him…And he’d promised somebody named Jake that he would do everything he could to be a good brother.

A good brother. He was the best little brother in the world. But what kind of sister was she?

Meg dropped down on the edge of her bed and covered her face with her hands, unable to stop the sobs that tore through her.

Jake had been right about her. She’d been running away. Unable to face the truth. The loss of her father had broken something inside of her. Instead of staying and fighting to get back the life she’d been denied, she’d taken the same route her mother had taken all those years earlier. She’d run away. But this time, there would be no one to blame but herself. She might have been a little girl then, but now she was an adult, and responsible for the life of another.

Cory. The memories of her early days in the city, feeling lost and bewildered, came rushing back to her. No one had been here to ease her through that painful transition. She’d felt completely abandoned.

Did she want the same thing for her little brother?

But what was the alternative? How could she return to Wyoming, after that horrid scene with Jake?

She hadn’t heard a single word from him. Not one.

By now Jake would have moved on with his life. A life that would have no place for her.

At the soft knock on her door, her head came up.

“Meg? You in there?”

“Yes.” She wiped frantically at her eyes as Cory stepped into her room.

“I heard something.” He walked closer to peer at her. “You crying?”

”Yeah. Blubbering like a big baby.” She tried to smile, but her lips quivered. “Sorry.”

“Did somebody hurt you?” His hand was on her shoulder, his eyes suddenly hot with anger.

So like another, she thought with a fresh stab of pain to her heart.

“No. It isn’t like that. I’m just feeling…sad.”

“Is it something I did? I know Zach didn’t like my hat, but I thought…”

She drew him down beside her on the edge of the bed. “It isn’t anything you did, Cory. It’s me. I’m afraid I’ve made a mess of things.”

“What things?”

“Everything. My life. Your life. This.” She looked around, trying to see it all through his eyes. “I was hoping we could be happy here. I thought I owed it to myself and you to see if this could work.”

“I’ll work harder, Meg. I’ll do whatever you want.”

His words brought a fresh round of tears to her eyes. She sighed and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “Ela was right, you know. You’re such a good boy. But this isn’t about anything you did or didn’t do. This mistake is entirely mine. And I’m the only one who can fix it.”

He turned trusting eyes to hers. “I don’t understand.”

She took in a deep breath, wondering how she would get through the meeting with Cyrus Kettering in the morning. She would be letting him down. But in the end, she had no choice.

She’d thought, after seeing Jake shot, and thinking that she’d once again lost the person who mattered most in her life, that the wisest thing was to leave before she got her heart broken again.

She’d honestly believed that by coming back to the life she’d made, she would find herself. The only problem was, the person she’d found was no wiser than that girl who’d carried a chip on her shoulder a lifetime ago.

She gathered Cory close. “Pack your things. I need…to see about the ranch. And you need a visit with Shadow.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

As the family gathered around the breakfast table, Big Jim caught sight of Jake’s back as he started toward the mudroom. “You think you could spare us some time, boyo?”

“Sorry. Not today.” Jake reached for a slice of corn bread before moving toward the door.

“More sick cows this morning, bro?” Josh asked.

“Too many to count. And the day is just starting….” Hearing the ping of a text, Jake caught sight of the caller and read the text before looking up. “It’s Cory. He and Meg are flying in. She has to meet with Kirby about ranch business. Cory says they’ll be in Paintbrush at noon.”

Cole and Phoebe exchanged looks. “Are they coming back for good?” Cole asked.

Jake’s fingers shot over the keyboard of his phone, then read the next text. “Cory doesn’t know. Apparently Meg needs to make some decisions about the ranch. But he says she had a serious meeting with her law firm.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?” Phoebe asked.

“Maybe. Maybe not. Cory says they’re on the company jet.”

Quinn shook his head. “That doesn’t sound like a good thing. I don’t think the company would fly an ex-employee clear across the country.”

“Maybe it’s part of her severance package.” Sierra glanced hopefully at Josh, who squeezed her hand.

“You should go to Paintbrush and pick them up,” Cheyenne said. “You need to pour on the charm so Meg will decide to stay here.”

Jake started out the door. “I’m fresh out of charm. I have some things to do in the barn.”

“Look, son—”

Jake kept walking. “Not now, Pa.”

Before Cole could say more, Big Jim put a hand on his arm to silence him. “He’ll work it out in his own way.”

Cole said what the rest of them were thinking. “He’d better do it fast before he lets her get away for good.”

Phoebe dropped a hand on Cole’s shoulder. “If I were betting on the outcome, I’d put my money on Jake.” She gave him a gentle smile. “He inherited his father’s charm, and that’s a very good thing. That Conway charm’s been known to persuade a woman to wait a lifetime if necessary.”

Her words were enough to silence anything more Cole intended to say.

Meg stared hungrily at the herds of cattle darkening the rangeland as the plane flew over the green fields. In no time it was circling the town of Paintbrush before gliding to a smooth landing. She followed Cory from the plane and saw Big Jim standing beside a ranch truck.

She felt her heart plummet. Though she had adamantly refused to admit it to herself, she’d been hoping to see Jake waiting for her.

The old man hurried forward and caught Cory in a fierce bear hug.

“Did Shadow miss me?” the boy asked.

“Almost as much as the whole family missed you.” With his arm around the boy, Big Jim hugged Meg. “Welcome back.”

“Thanks. I missed…all your family.”

If he noticed her hesitation, he gave no indication.

“Where’s Jake?” Cory asked. “I was hoping to see him here.”

“Ranch chores. Vet chores. A lot of sick animals around here. You know how it is.”

Meg saw the disappointment on Cory’s face and hoped her own didn’t give away her feelings as easily.

“Come on. I’ll drive you home.” Big Jim tossed their luggage in the rear of the truck before climbing behind the wheel.

“I ordered a rental car.” Meg fastened her seat belt. “I have to pick it up here in town.”

“Okay.”