Susan Mallery: The Rancher Next Door

“Not that it matters to me,” Katie said aloud as she turned off the engine and grabbed her bag of equipment. “This is about business, nothing more.”

She almost believed it, she thought as she made her way to the front of the house. Unfortunately, instead of knocking, she found herself wondering why she’d never been able to put Jack completely out of her mind. Had his ex-wife had the same problem? Jack seemed much more able to get the past behind him. Whenever he and Katie had met in town over the years when she’d been home for holidays and birthdays, he’d offered a polite hello but nothing more. Two days ago, he’d acted as if they’d barely been acquainted with each other. Eleven years ago she’d declared her love and had begged Jack to run away with her. Apparently that had mattered a whole lot more to her than to him.

Forget it , she told herself as she knocked firmly on the front door. From inside, a voice called that the door was open. Katie let herself in and stepped into the front room.

When she’d been little, her family had been the affluent one and the Darbys had been struggling. Looking around at the new furniture and refinished hardwood floor, she saw evidence of Jack’s success. Times had certainly changed.

“Katie, I’m hoping that’s you,” Hattie Darby called. “Head down the hall. I’m in the first room on the right.”

“Yes, it’s me,” Katie said, following the directions.

She crossed the huge front room, filled with three comfortable sofas and two sets of wing chairs, all done in dark blue, then entered the hallway. The first room on the right was a recently converted library. Shelves still ran around three of the four walls. The fourth contained a big window. In the center of the room stood a hospital bed, a table on wheels and two stationary nightstands. Several floor lamps would provide illumination in the evening.

Katie turned her attention to the bed and the woman sitting there. Hattie Darby had to be in her fifties, but with her long, dark hair hanging in a thick braid over one shoulder and laughter dancing in her dark eyes, she barely looked thirty-five. Jack’s mother was a pleasant woman with a well-known generous heart and a lust for adventure. Which was the reason she was living in a hospital bed with a brace and partial cast.

“Katherine Marie Fitzgerald, you’re quite the grown woman, aren’t you?” Hattie asked, holding out both hands.

Without thinking, Katie set her bag on the floor and crossed to the side of the bed. She found herself smiling at Hattie. “Hello, Mrs. Darby.”

The older woman frowned. “Please, don’t call me that. I’m Hattie. After all, you’re going make me sweat and listen to me swear through my exercises. Under those circumstances it would be silly to be formal, don’t you think?” Hattie squeezed her hands and released them. “Besides, I’ve known you since before you were born.”

Katie laughed. “I hadn’t thought of it that way, but you’re right.” She pulled up the chair by the bed and settled on the seat. “I’ve spoken to Dr. Remington. He says you’re doing very well. How are you feeling?”

Hattie motioned to her lower body and sighed. “Like a fool. Jack keeps telling me I should have known better than to show off at the Thompsons’ barbecue, but I couldn’t help myself. Several broken bones later, I guess I’ve learned my lesson.”

Katie reached for her bag and pulled out a folder. “I have all the information here on your injuries and your recovery. Dr. Remington would like you to have a month of daily physical therapy. Then another month of three times a week. The aggressive schedule is to help you regain as much of your former range of motion and strength as possible.”

Hattie nodded. “I want to be up and barrel racing real soon. The sight of a good-looking woman on a horse always makes the men around here go crazy, and I could use a mild flirtation or two in my life.”

Katie looked at Hattie’s pretty features. There were a few lines around her eyes and mouth, but they only added to her attraction. Her strong features reminded Katie a little of Jack.

“I’ll see what I can do about getting you back on the horse.” She dug a pen out of her bag and wrote the date on her chart. “Are you getting around all right? Any trouble I should know about?”

Hattie snorted. “I can barely take a breath without someone running in to ask me if I’m all right. Jack comes to fuss over me three or four times a day. Nora, my oldest daughter, comes in from town every day to check on me. She offered to move back in for a time, but I told her I was fine. You raise them and finally get them out and the first thing you know, they want to move back.”

Hattie might be complaining, but Katie heard the love in her voice.

“Dr. Remington said he would be willing to recommend a part-time nurse if you think you need one,” Katie reminded her.

“I’m fine.” Shrewd dark eyes, so much like Jack’s, settled on her face. “I just realized this is the first time you’ve been inside my house. Isn’t that so?”

Katie considered the question. “I guess it is.”

Hattie sighed. She settled back on her pillows and folded her hands across her stomach. “The Darbys and Fitzgeralds have been neighbors for over a hundred years and still they fight. The feud has never made sense to me and it never well. I’ll bet you barely know any of my children and they barely know you. What a tragedy. We should have been friends, looking out for each other.”

“I agree,” Katie said softly. She hadn’t realized she was tense about being on the Darby ranch until Hattie’s words made her relax. She closed the file. “If you’re ready, we can get started.”

Hattie looked at her and grinned. “I would prefer you didn’t make me scream. At my age, it’s embarrassing.”

An hour later they completed the exercises. Hattie used a washcloth to wipe the perspiration from her face. “That wasn’t too terrible,” she said.

“Not even one scream,” Katie teased. “I’ll be drummed out of my local physical therapy association.”

Sunlight spilled into the big room. Light reflected off the highly polished wood flooring and fell across the bed. Hattie turned toward the window. “It’s nearly three. About time for Jack to come pay me a visit. He brings me a snack. You could stay and keep us both company.”

As Hattie had spent the past hour talking about Jack-how wonderful he was, how smart, how gifted, how wealthy, how single -Katie wasn’t surprised by the invitation. Hattie might be funny and kind, but she wasn’t subtle.

She packed up her equipment and pulled out the chart. “Hattie, I’m not in the market for a husband,” she said.

“Who said anything about a husband?” Hattie asked innocently. “I’m talking about having a little fun.”

“Uh-huh. Sure. First it’s fun, then you’ll want to know about grandchildren.”

Hattie laughed. “Maybe just one small one.” Her humor faded. “So tell me why you’re so against marriage.” She frowned. “I remember hearing you were married before. Is that why?”

“Right in one guess,” Katie said lightly. Even though it had been ten years, she didn’t like talking about her divorce. Not because she missed her ex-husband, but because remembering that time also made her remember that she’d been a fool. Young and not the least bit aware of what she was doing, but a fool nonetheless.

“Did he break your heart?” Hattie asked.

Her voice had changed from teasing to comforting. Katie knew that Hattie’s husband had abandoned her and her seven children when Jack, the oldest, had been twelve. If anyone understood the meaning of heartbreak, it was Hattie Darby.

“More like he showed me that I could be incredibly stupid,” Katie admitted. “What I’d taken for true love was just a reaction to being on the rebound. I found myself married, pregnant and divorced in about six months. The good news is I grew up fast. Being a single mom before I turned twenty forced my hand on that one.” She paused, then smiled. “But I wouldn’t trade Shane for the world, so there’s a positive side to the story, after all.”