Barbara Dunlop - A Cowboy Comes Home

That meant the two brothers might not even see each other. They might not get a chance to talk. And once the crisis was over, things could easily go back to the status quo, Reed here, Caleb there, still estranged from each other.

Mandy trotted up the stairs, across the porch and into the ranch house foyer. Maybe keeping Danielle’s search a secret from Caleb had been the wrong idea. Taking Caleb with her to Helena made much more sense. If he’d come, he’d have to talk to Reed. That would break the ice. And he’d still have time to make it to Brazil. And, afterward, maybe he’d come back.

She pulled off her boots in the front foyer and headed for the second floor, intending to have a quick shower and pack an overnight case.

She warmed to her modified plan. Reed was sure to be happy with Caleb’s honor and generosity. The two brothers could talk in Helena, resolve things and then… Well, the plan got a little fuzzy after that, but at least it was a start.

She stripped of her shirt, peeled off her jeans, discarded her underwear and stepped into a hot shower.

She hadn’t talked to Caleb since they’d returned from Lyndon last night after the rodeo. Seth and Travis had finished in second place, and after a celebratory beer and a round of burgers, she and Caleb had driven back together.

He’d been unusually quiet on the drive, but had kissed her good-night, and he’d told her he was going to miss her overnight. Nothing wrong with that. Everything was fine between them. She could safely broach the subject of Reed.

Perhaps she could do it between kisses. That would be manipulating the situation. But it was for a good cause.

Then again, that was probably a bad idea. She’d go with a straight-up outline of the facts. Caleb liked facts, and the facts were on her side in this.

She dressed, blow-dried her hair, put on a touch of makeup, a pair of clean jeans, a striped T-shirt and a navy blazer. Then she tossed a few clothes into the overnight bag, left a note to her brothers, saying she’d call them when she got to Helena, and jumped into a pickup truck.

The ride to the Terrell ranch took its usual twenty minutes, but it felt much longer. She pulled up to the house, took a very deep, bracing breath and set out to reason with Caleb.

When she knocked, he called out a huffed “come in.”

“Caleb?” she called back as the door opened. She could hear scraping sounds coming from the living room.

She followed the noise, rounding the corner from the foyer to find him surrounded by cardboard packing boxes, a tape dispenser in his hand, as he sealed one of them up.

“What are you doing?” Her tone came out sharper than she’d intended.

“Packing.” He voiced the obvious.

“But, why?” What had happened? Had she missed something? Had he already sold the ranch?

“Mostly, because it’s not going to pack itself,” he answered.

“But I thought-”

“Can you hand me another box?”

Mandy was too stunned to move. She felt sick to her stomach.

“Did you sell?” she managed on a harsh whisper.

“Not yet.”

She put out a hand to brace herself against the back of the sofa, all but staggering in relief. There was still time.

“A box?” he asked again.

“Sure.” She picked up a flattened box from a pile beside her feet and handed it over. She met his gaze. “And, if we find Reed?”

His jaw tensed. “Seriously, Mandy. I’m not having that conversation all over again.”

She swallowed against her dry throat. “But, if we did find him. Like, right away. Would you be willing-”

He smacked the box on the coffee table in the middle of the room, startling her. The thread of anger in his voice was crystal clear. “What is with you people? This isn’t a Jacobs family decision. It’s my decision.”

His tone set her back. “But-”

“No.” He jabbed his finger in her direction. “No, Mandy. I am packing. I am selling. I am going to Brazil and then back to Chicago. And I’m not changing my mind. You won’t change it. Seth won’t change it. And neither will Travis.”

So much for gentle. So much for reasonable. “You’re a stubborn fool.”

“You’re not the first one to notice.”

She came around the end of the pile of boxes, staring straight into his eyes, lowering her voice. “You step over this cliff, Caleb, and we can’t come back.”

He went still for a very long moment, staring levelly back. “We, as in you and me?”

“As in your brother, your family, your heritage.”

“I can live with that.” It was obvious he was serious, completely serious. There was no way she’d get him to Helena.

Though she told herself it was a much less significant matter, she couldn’t seem to stop herself from asking. “What about me and you?”

His expression didn’t change. He leaned in and gave her a fleeting kiss. It wasn’t exactly a cold kiss, but it didn’t invite anything further. “Me and you are still going to Rio.”

She tried not to let his words hurt her, but they did. So her voice was laced with sarcasm when she answered. “Is that an ‘I’ll call you sometime, babe’?”

“That’s not what I said.”

She bit her tongue. He was right. He’d been up front and honest all along the way. All he’d ever offered was Rio and New York City. If it wasn’t enough for her, she should have spoken up a long time ago.

She knew she couldn’t change Caleb. But she could still help Reed. Pretending everything was fine, she stretched up and kissed Caleb on the cheek. “Rio sounds good. I gotta go. The vet’s working with the horses today, and he’s, well, they’ll need me down there.”

“Sure,” Caleb agreed, flipping the box over to reinforce the bottom with a strip of tape. “See you later.”

“Later,” she echoed, turning to leave.

Caleb worked for about an hour, reassuring himself he was doing exactly the right thing. He couldn’t stay here. He growing frighteningly attached to Mandy, and it got worse every day.

But every time he turned around in this house, there was another picture, another memento, another annoying memory trigger, like the woodsy scent of the throw blanket his mother had knit for the back of the sofa.

It had taken a long time for Chicago to feel like home, and he wasn’t about to lose that. Not for the sake of his family’s land, and not to be near Mandy for a few more days.

Mandy. He blew out a breath. He hadn’t wanted to fight with her. But she had to understand. There was no hope that he’d erase his childhood, nor would he ever come to terms with it. The best he could hope for was to leave it far, far behind. So he didn’t have to think about it every day of his life.

Still, he shouldn’t have taken it out on her.

She was entitled to her opinion. And she held that particular opinion only because she was a compassionate, generous, caring person. She couldn’t stand to see anyone hurt or upset, and that included Reed. And what did she get from Caleb for her trouble? Anger and the cold shoulder.

He needed to apologize.

Silently acknowledging he’d been a jerk, he deserted the packing job and headed for his SUV. He rammed it into Drive and peeled out.

Down the ranch roadway, he took the corners fast, his back tires breaking loose on the gravel ranch road. Then he sped along the main valley road to the arched gateway to the Jacobses’ ranch. It was five minutes up the driveway, and then he was pulling up front of the house.

He knocked once, then let himself in to find Travis and Seth at the table, digging into steaks.

He glanced around. “Is Mandy upstairs?”

Seth shook his head. “You didn’t talk to her before she left?”

“Left?”

Mandy sure hadn’t said anything to Caleb about leaving.