Sea Of Grass (37 page)

“Good night, Jed. And thank you,” Claire said.

“
G’night
, Dad,” Tess said. He patted Tess on the shoulder as he walked away.

As they sat in silence, Jack walked in the back door. “Hi.”

Claire smiled. “Hi, sweetie. Can’t sleep?”

Jack shrugged. “No. I…I just wanted to say thanks for letting me do this, Mom.” He had his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the kitchen counter.

“It’s time for you. Just please be careful.”

Tess laughed along with Jack. “I will. I promise.”

“Thanks for being my mom and taking care of me,” he said.

Claire stood and opened her arms. Jack flew into them. Tess wiped her eyes, saying nothing. “Don’t ever thank me for loving you, Jack. You’re my son.” She pulled back. “Now you get some sleep.” She reached up and touched his cheek.

“Okay. See ya in three weeks. Take care of her, Tess.”

“I will. Have fun.”

Jack quickly walked out; Claire took a few steps toward the door, then she stopped. “He’s no longer my boy.”

Tess walked up behind her and put her hands on her shoulders. Claire turned around, threw her arms around Tess’s neck, and sobbed. Tess encircled her waist and held on, murmuring soft words of love into her silky hair.

“He’ll always be your boy, sweetheart,” Tess said.

The moonlight bathed the bedroom, casting a shadowy light on Tess’s face as she slept. Claire lay on her side watching her. She reached over and brushed the blond hair away from her face. Tess stirred in her sleep, letting out a gentle snore, and Claire ignored the urge to lean over and kiss her. Instead, she slipped out of bed and into her robe.

She took a deep breath of pristine Montana air as she stood on the porch. It was late August, and the night was humid, but the breeze that blew over the grassland seemed to cool her overheated body. Claire laughed and rolled her eyes thinking of their lovemaking just a short time ago. Tess was an ardent lover, and Claire reveled in her romantic touch.

“How lucky am I?” she whispered into the night, pulling her robe around her.

With Jack and the rest of them driving the herd to Colorado, it seemed too quiet, but she welcomed the time alone with Tess. The crickets chirped and the night birds called. In the moonlight, she could see the snow-capped Bitterroots and hear the water rippling in the stream behind the house.

These things haven’t changed in decades, she thought. How many women have stood on this porch, with their partners sleeping inside, contemplating how lucky they were to be part of the Rawlins family and how they loved their men and this prairie? During her summer here, Claire had grown as much as her son. She found love, true and abiding love in Tess Rawlins. Jack suddenly became a man, who also loved this family and the land. Claire had left her old life behind and stepped into a world of honest, compassionate love. Tess did this for her; she awakened feelings Claire had no idea existed.

She gazed at the grassland shimmering in the moonlight. She smiled when Jack told her how Tess recalled her childhood and how she would lie in the tall grass watching the clouds drift by, feeling as though she was swimming in a sea of grass.

Claire grinned when she heard the screen door creak. She gasped when she felt Tess’s warm arms wrap around her waist. “Did I wake you?”

“Nope,” Tess whispered against her ear. “I rolled over and got nothing but pillow.”

Claire laughed and leaned back into her body, resting her head against Tess’s shoulder.

“
Whatcha
thinkin
’?”

“How lucky I am to be part of all this.”

“You may not feel like that when we have a house full of guests waiting on dinner.”

Claire tightened the arms around her. “That day will come, Tess. This is a good idea.” She turned in Tess’s arms, snaking her hands behind her neck. “You saved everyone.”

Tess shook her head. “No,
darlin
’. You saved me from a life of loneliness, and Jack saved me from saddle sores.”

Claire laughed and pulled her down for a tender kiss. Claire nodded and pulled away. “Will this be the end of it?” Claire asked, thinking of the cattle drive.

Tess turned to her. She searched the pretty face she loved, then kissed her lightly on the lips. “It’s just the beginning, Claire Redmond. Rawlins and Redmond, the Double R Ranch. We’re next. It’s our time and we’ll make it work. Then it’ll be Jack’s turn, and it’ll go on and on forever.”

Epilogue

“You have to stop crying at some point, honey,” Tess said, holding Claire’s hand tightly.

Claire nodded and wiped her eyes as she looked at the stage. It was a beautiful Montana summer afternoon with not a cloud in the sky. The sunlight filtered through the trees, shading them from the heat, although Chuck and Pedro fanned themselves with the program handout.

Jed turned to Pedro. “This is a wonderful day for you.”

Pedro nodded, and Claire could tell he was fighting to keep his emotions in check. Jed leaned over Tess and placed his shaky hand on Claire’s arm. “I’m so proud right now, Claire.”

Again Claire nodded, clinging to Tess’s strong hand. “I am too, Jed.” She looked at Tess through her tears, watching the summer wind blow through her blond hair, now shimmering with a few strands of silver. In this unguarded moment, Tess smiled, her tears welling in her blue eyes as she kept her gaze on the stage.

“I love you, Tess Rawlins,” Claire whispered.

Tess looked at her then and winked. “You have absolutely no choice in the matter, sweetheart. You’re stuck.”

“Thank God for that.”

Tess leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Thank God for you.”

The dean of Milburn College addressed the audience, beginning the commencement ceremony. While everyone listened to his speech, Claire had eyes for only one person. In the front row, sitting tall and looking far too grownup, was Jack. On his right was Rebecca, and on his other side, Pedro’s son, Manny. Claire smiled as she remembered how they became friends through these years—good friends that would last a lifetime.

When Jack’s gaze locked with hers, Claire smiled. The flood of memories that flashed before her eyes were so thick she could barely see Jack. What she saw was the happy baby he was and the gentle yet strong man he had become while living on the ranch. She remembered how Tess and her family changed their lives that April morning years ago when she first laid eyes on Tess Rawlins at the bus depot and fell in love. She could say that with absolute surety now after all these years. For Tess had found the way to Claire’s heart, and from that day forward, there were daisies on the kitchen table for Claire; there was no doubt they would love each other the rest of their lives.

She glanced over at Jed, his eyes glistening as Jack, who he regarded as his own son, received his diploma. Along with the rest of the family, Claire knew Jed’s mind had been slowly slipping these past few years, and someday he would be reduced to remembering nothing at all. But, God bless Jack, who would take the leather-bound memoirs of Jeremiah Rawlins, and retell the beginning of the Double R Ranch. He would sit by the fire and read it over and over, willing Jed not to forget. It was, at times, heartbreaking for her and Tess to watch.

“That’s my boy,” Jed whispered now as he watched.

Yes, Claire thought, that’s our boy.

With the diplomas handed out, Jack, Rebecca, and Manny made their way through the crowd of graduates and family to where they stood. Claire hugged him so fierce around the neck Jack made a laughing strangling noise and tried to keep his graduation cap on his head. Tess laughed along and gently pulled Claire away.

Jack leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. He turned to Tess, and as he kissed her, he whispered, “Thank you for loving my mother.”

Tess pulled back and swallowed. “My honor by far, Jack.”

It was then Claire noticed the book Jack was holding. “What is that?” Claire asked, wiping her eyes.

Jack held the book reverently in his hand and stood in front of Jed. “This is for you, Jed.”

Jed looked confused as he took the book. He put on his glasses and read the cover. He was speechless as he looked from the book to Jack. “Sea of Grass,” he whispered. “By Jack Redmond?”

Claire was stunned. “Jack, how in the world did you find the time to write a book?”

“Much less get it published,” Tess added, completely in awe as she looked on with the rest of them.

“I’ve been working on it for three years. With Manny and Rebecca’s help, we took the memoirs from your Uncle Jeremiah. It wasn’t too hard. He did all the work. The college agreed to publish it and keep it in the library. It’ll never be forgotten.”

Claire’s heart ached when she heard Jack’s voice tremble.

“I cannot believe you did this, son,” Jed said; he took off his glasses and cleaned them on his shirt. “Damned glasses.”

Everyone turned around when Chuck sniffed loudly and blew his nose in his handkerchief.

“Read the dedication, Jack.” Rebecca slipped her arm through his.

Claire saw the look of pure devotion in Rebecca’s eyes as she looked at Jack. This is good, she thought, and looked at Tess who must have seen the look, as well. She smiled and wrapped her arm around Claire’s shoulders.
 

Jack opened the book, but when he read, he looked at Jed. “To Jed Rawlins, who I’ve loved as the father I never knew and who graciously loved me as the son he had lost. I will remember how he taught me to fight for family and what you believe in, how he told me of generations before him who out of a simple act of faith and love started a cattle ranch and fed a starving nation through two world wars and who took five thousand acres of lonesome Montana prairie and nurtured it into a sea of grass.”

About the author

Kate Sweeney, a 2010 Alice B. Medal winner, was the 2007 recipient of the Golden Crown Literary Society award for Debut Author for
She Waits
,
the first in the
Kate Ryan Mystery
series. The series also includes
A Nice Clean Murder,
The Trouble with Murder,
a 2008 Golden Crown Award Winner for Mystery,
Who’ll Be Dead for Christmas?
and
Of Course It’s Murder
.

Other novels include
Away from the Dawn
,
Survive the Dawn
,
Residual Moon,
a
2008 Golden Crown Award Winner for Speculative Fiction,
The O’Malley Legacy
and
Winds Of Heaven
. She is also a contributing author for the anthology
Wild Nights: (Mostly) True Stories of Women Loving Women
, published by Bella Books.

Born in Chicago, Kate resides in Villa Park, Illinois, where she works as an office manager—no glamour here, folks; it pays the bills. Humor is deeply embedded in Kate’s DNA. She sincerely hopes you will see this when you read her novels, short stories, and other works by visiting her Web site at
www.katesweeneyonline.com
. E-mail Kate at [email protected].