The Rancher's Texas Match Page 18

  She knew books and libraries, how to teach and how to avoid the traffic during rush hour in Dallas.

  She didn’t want to let anyone else down. Her mind flipped back in time, to the past year. To holding Colby during the funeral and then at night when he cried. They’d gotten through some tough times, she and that little boy.

  They’d gotten through. The thought melted into her heart, chasing away the doubts that had plagued her for months. Her brother and sister-in-law had known. They hadn’t taken this letter to Haverman. They hadn’t changed their will. They had trusted her to raise their son. Maybe she was the one who needed to trust a little. Trust their decision. Trust her own abilities.

  Maybe, rather than turning Colby over to the Waye family, she could invite them into her life.

  It all made sense. She closed her eyes, thanking God for this answer when she needed it.

  She pulled the unsigned letter from her purse, crumpled it and tossed it in the trash. As she walked out the door, the receptionist asked if she’d changed her mind or did she want to reschedule.

  She shook her head and kept going. She’d not only changed her mind about seeing Haverman, she’d changed her mind about herself. She was much stronger than she’d given herself credit for.

  * * *

  Tanner walked back to Lila’s, entering the crowded café and bakery and not really knowing why he was there. He saw Flint at a corner table. Flint waved Tanner over to join them.

  “Flint?” Tanner pulled up a chair and sat down.

  “I wanted you to know, I talked to my friend Heath Grayson. I think he’s going to help us out with our vandalism.”

  A waitress hurried to their table, menus in her hand and a pot of coffee. “I just want coffee,” Tanner told her. “I’m glad to hear that. We’ve got to do something before people start to believe Fletcher.”

  The waitress poured him a cup and hurried off.

  “They found the Lawrences’ horse this morning,” Flint told him as they drank their coffee. “Grazing alongside the road about a mile from where the fence was cut.”

  “Glad they found him. Still doesn’t explain how he came to be on the wrong side of the fence.”

  “No,” Flint said, “it doesn’t. But we’re going to figure this out. It might take a while, but we’ll get to the bottom of it.”

  “Before someone gets hurt, I hope.” Tanner looked at the now-empty cup and searched for the waitress. She spotted him and headed their way to refill their cups. “About this friend of yours. Why hasn’t he been around?”

  Flint started to say something, but the waitress reappeared with two plates and more coffee. After she’d left, Flint dumped ketchup on his eggs.

  “Just some old baggage. But I think he’ll be fine. By the way, I saw Avery going into Fletcher’s office. I think she’s visited him a couple of times, and she’s looking pretty proud of herself. If it was just her, I wouldn’t worry.” Flint stirred his eggs up and piled them on his toast. Tanner was starting to feel a little bit sick. Flint gave him a challenging look and then continued. “I worry that Fletcher will use her as a pawn to do his dirty work.”

  “He might, but we have a will and community support on our side. Fletcher might want to think about the fact that this community is his livelihood.”

  “I hope he is thinking,” Flint said. “Bea has already taken a few new boys. We moved Cabin Two over to the Triple C. They’re set up in their wing and we’re moving Cabin Three today.”

  “That’s good. Anything you all need over there?”

  “Not that I know of right now.” Flint forked up a big bite of the concoction.

  “Then I think I’m going before I lose my appetite.” Tanner pushed back his chair and stood. “I think I’ll run out to the Triple C and look things over.”

  “We’re having a dinner this weekend, a big cookout for the kids and the community.” Flint leaned back in his chair.

  “If you’re making that public knowledge, then I would suggest you have the police on hand.” Tanner didn’t like thinking that way. But if someone wanted to cause problems, the cookout would be the time to do it.

  He left and headed out to the ranch. When he got out of his truck, Colby, on a tire swing that hung from a big tree next to the house, saw him and came running. Another boy trailed along behind him.

  “Tanner, we have new kids. And I have a cool room.”

  “Do you? How are you liking it here?”

  “I like it a lot.” Colby motioned the other kid forward. The boy was younger than Colby and obviously shy. He stayed back a few feet, dark-haired and dark eyes. He had a bruise across his cheek that was starting to fade.

  “What’s your friend’s name?” Tanner asked.

  “His name is TJ. He doesn’t talk much. And we have another new boy named Danny. He’s older than me. And he can ride a bike.”

  “Can’t you ride a bike?”

  Colby shook his head. “No. I just got a bike.”

  The boy didn’t finish, and Tanner wasn’t sure what to say.

  “I’m sure you’ll learn to ride it when you go home.”

  Colby shrugged, as if it didn’t matter. “Yeah, I guess. I think Aunt Macy can teach me. I guess. If she stays. I think she wants to be in Dallas.”

  “I don’t think so, Colby. I think she loves being here with you.” And he was going to have a talk with her and let her know what her nephew was thinking.

  “I like it okay on the ranch. I would miss Eleanor and Edward. And Miss Bea.” Colby looked back at his new friend. “And TJ needs me around.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure he’s glad you’re here.” Tanner patted Colby’s shoulder and made an attempt at smiling, because a little boy shouldn’t be okay with not going home. “You’re a good man, Colby.”

  “Thanks, Tanner.” The little boy beamed and suddenly looked older than his seven years. “I should go now. I have to show TJ all the stuff.”

  “Okay. Later, Colby.”

  Tanner headed for the barn. He knew Jay and other hands would be working, getting everything put away. He could help them out before he headed to his store. This would give him a chance to get to know Jay a little better, since it seemed he might be dating Chloe.

  He had to give one to whoever was doing the matchmaking. They’d saved his sister from a bad relationship, and they’d fixed her up with a decent guy.

  That brought to mind a book and a note. The matchmaker’s attempt to fix him up with Macy. It seemed they had failed when it came to Tanner and Macy. As much as he thought he might like her, he wasn’t going to chase after her or beg her to stay in Haven.

  He’d done enough begging in his life. Most of it before he turned ten.

  What surprised him was how much he didn’t want to walk away from her. All of the things he’d thought would be important in the woman he someday met didn’t seem to matter. City or country, kids or no kids, he wanted Macy in his life.

  But it seemed to him she was putting more distance between them, and that distance meant something. Maybe it meant she’d changed her mind about them. Maybe she meant to take Colby and go to Arizona.

  * * *

  Macy wasn’t surprised to see Tanner’s truck at the Triple C when she got there. She hoped she didn’t run into him. Not now. Maybe after a few days, or a few weeks, she’d be able to talk to him, to tell him she’d made the right decision, throwing the letter away and choosing to stay.

  She hadn’t spoken to him since they met up outside Haverman’s office.

  Maybe he’d decided it was best to let her go, for them to go their separate ways. After all, they were two different people in different places. She had Colby to focus on. That had to be her priority. She’d received a call from Eleanor, telling her that today was the day she should move Colby home. He was getting too c
omfortable at the ranch and using it as a way to avoid his pain.

  Macy understood wanting to avoid pain.

  She walked into the ranch that smelled of new paint, something good cooking in the kitchen and fresh country air. Eleanor met her in the front living area. The other woman, her red hair held back with a headband, paint spattering her top, smiled and motioned her outside.

  “He’s on the tire swing with TJ,” Eleanor told her as they walked down the front steps. “I didn’t tell him that you were coming. I didn’t want him to worry and get himself worked up.”

  “I understand. I’ve been working myself up on the drive over.”

  “Macy, you can do this.”

  “I know I can. I doubted myself for a while. But I’m not running.”

  As they crossed the yard, Colby waved and told Aunt Macy to come see the swing and meet his new friend. She smiled big, and when she got close, he ran to give her a hug.

  “Colby, it looks like you’re having fun.” Macy waved to his friend TJ. The little boy, head down, started for the house.

  “I didn’t know you were coming to visit.” Colby had her by the hand, pulling her toward the swing.

  “Actually, this isn’t really a visit, Colby,” Eleanor cut in. “Aunt Macy is here to take you home.”

  Colby shook his head and pulled away from her. “I’m not going home. I want to stay here.”

  “Sweetie, what happened? I just don’t know what to do. Grandma doesn’t know what to do.” Macy knelt in front of him, but he wouldn’t look at her.

  “I don’t want any more people to get mad and go away. I don’t want to go home. I can stay here, and you can go to Dallas if you want.”

  To Dallas. “What does that mean?”

  “You told Tanner you don’t think you can be my mom.”

  “I’m not going away,” she said as firmly as she could. He had to believe her. “I’m here, and we’re a family.”

  “You’re not my mom.” He cried as he said it.

  She picked him up and sat him on the tire swing. “No, I’m not. I’m a poor substitute. I can’t make chocolate chip cookies without burning them. I couldn’t put together the basketball goal. I can’t sing like your mom. But I love you. I’m not trying to take her place. I just want to be here with you.”

  He jumped down off the tire swing. “No, you don’t!”

  And then he ran off. Eleanor kept her from going after him.

  “We’ll try again.”

  “I don’t think it’s just about trying again,” Macy said, watching her nephew round the corner of the house. “I think he needs to realize that I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”

  “That’s exactly what he needs from you.”

  “The two of us are a team, Colby and I.”

  Eleanor hugged her tight and released her. “We’ll try again this weekend. And make sure he knows that.”

  “Thank you.”

  Dazed, she walked away. She had a cake at home and streamers hanging from the ceiling. She had bought the ingredients for his favorite casserole. Her mom had bought Colby a cool leash for Arthur.

  And she was going home without him.

  “Are you okay?” Tanner appeared at her side.

  She shook her head, feeling okay with the honest answer. “I will be. Colby isn’t ready to go home with me. But I’m not giving up.”

  “Time,” he started.

  She cut him off. “I know, give him time. I will.”

  She wanted to ask if he would give her time and second chances. Maybe she didn’t deserve either. And Colby needed her. Her nephew didn’t need to be second in her life right now.

  “Did you talk to Haverman?”

  She shook her head. “I threw the letter away.”

  “Okay.”

  That was it. She didn’t know what she expected him to say. But surely he could do better than that.

  “I need to get home. My mom is waiting. We had a little family party planned. Balloons, cake, everything.”

  “The party will happen, Macy.”

  “I know it will. We’ve gone through so much and we’ll go through more. But I think we’re getting somewhere, and I do believe he’ll come home.”

  He nodded and let her go.

  She drove off with him in her rearview mirror. She didn’t know what she’d expected. For him to declare his love and beg her to stay in Haven? To stay in his life?

  He wasn’t the kind of man who begged. And she wasn’t the kind of woman who begged. She’d learned more than just that she could be a mom. She’d learned that she was strong. She’d realized what she wanted for her life.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Saturday, the day of the party, was warm but breezy. Macy and her mom arrived early. They’d seen Colby every day since Tuesday. Each day he’d seemed to come around a bit more. He had seemed a little more sure of himself.

  The cookout was being held on the big patio behind the house. The giant grill was going, and Flint and Jay were cooking burgers. Miss Bea waved and hurried their way.

  “How are you, ladies?” Bea asked as she gave Macy a hug. “I have the best news. Samuel Teller will definitely be here for the reunion in March.”

  “That is good news. Two down, if we count Avery, and three to go. Has Flint made any inroads?”

  “Not that I know of. But he does have a friend who is going to help out around here, making sure we don’t have any more problems and trying to find the person responsible for all of our incidents.”

  “Who is his friend?” Josie Markham approached, her hand on her rounded belly.

  “A Texas Ranger from Waco,” Bea offered. “And speaking of Avery, that girl is a mess.”

  “I know,” Macy confessed. “I almost wish I hadn’t found her.”

  “But we had to. We’ll let God take care of the rest,” Bea assured Macy. “Now, you ladies go find something to eat. I think Colby is playing on the swings with some of the others. And we have boys who are giving their parents a tour of the new facility.”

  “How is Colby?” Macy asked. She’d seen him the previous day during counseling. It had been tough for both of them, but when she’d left, he’d given her a hug.

  “He’s good, Macy. We talked again this morning about trust. It’s going to take time, and I think we should keep with our plan for him to have weekly counseling for a month or two.”

  “Thank you, Bea.”

  Macy left her mother with Bea and went in search of Colby. She’d been praying for him, that today would be the day. She knew the timing would eventually be right. She knew that Colby’s heart would heal.

  “Aunt Macy,” Colby shouted and waved. He was on a board swing hung from a tree. “Want to swing with me?”

  She did. Very much so. She approached, and he got up and gave her his spot. And then he climbed on her lap. She exaggerated a groan as he sat down. “Colby, you’ve grown.”

  “I know, I’m getting older and more mature. That’s what Edward said. He said I would be a fine man and that you need me to be the man of the house. I told him I thought Tanner would be the man of the house. He laughed at that and said someone should tell Tanner.”

  “Oh, Colby.” She buried her face in his back. “I’m so glad you’re going home with me.” She was so glad she was staying here with him.

  A weight had been lifted this week. It had felt as if her heart had been waiting for her to come to terms with everything and to make a decision to stay in Haven with Colby. She felt more peace. She felt stronger.

  Her mom had told her she’d been worrying too much about things that couldn’t be changed and not moving forward with the life she had been given.

  “You do like him, don’t you?” Colby pushed with his feet, forcing her to set the sw
ing in motion. “Because I think he likes you. And I don’t want the two of you to fight.”

  “What?” She was yanked back to the conversation.

  “Tanner,” he said, as if it was a given. “I don’t want the two of you to be mad at each other.”

  “Colby, people have disagreements sometimes. Remember when you were upset with me the other day?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I came back.”

  They continued to swing in silence for a while. Finally Colby sighed and leaned back against her.

  “Yeah, you came back.”

  “That’s because I love you. Your mom and dad loved you, too.”

  “I keep waiting for them to come back. But they’re not going to. It’s just you and me now. And you aren’t going anywhere, are you?”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “For a while I thought you might.” He broke her heart with those words. “I don’t want you to go. Someday I’m going to call you Mom. Eleanor said I can.”

  “Of course you can.” She squeezed her eyes closed, and it was just her, Colby, the autumn breeze and...

  Tanner’s cologne. She opened her eyes, and he was standing by the tree, one shoulder against the rough bark of the big oak.

  Colby stopped the swing and hopped down. “I have to go tell Grandma that I’m going home. Arthur will be glad.”

  “Yes, Arthur will.”

  Tanner moved away from the tree to the swing. He stood behind her, catching hold of the ropes and pulling back to set the swing in motion. They didn’t speak. He continued to push. She flew through the air, every now and then catching his scent and the scent of autumn combined.

  “I’m a little bit like Colby,” he finally said. And he stopped the motion of the swing, pulling her back so that her head rested against his chest.

  “How so?”

  “I don’t like to feel abandoned. I close off when I think people are walking away from me. And I won’t beg someone to stay if they don’t want to be in my life.”

  “I’m not going anywhere. Haven is Colby’s home. It’s my home,” she said softly.