Elaine Grant - Make-Believe Mum

“That’s a good idea,” Jon agreed. “From now on, we pick up our own things, every one of us. Bring dirty clothes to the laundry room. Put the toys away when you finish playing. Don’t leave wet towels on the floor in the bathrooms. Agreed?”

The kids bobbed their heads in unison.

“Good. Now who wants ice cream?”

Six hands shot up amid a chorus of “Me! Me! Me!” Jon set Wendy down and pulled the last two ice-cream containers from the freezer while Sam put bowls on the table. Rachel pulled out the drawer for spoons, but suddenly turned to Jon and threw her arms around his waist.

“It’ll be all right, Daddy. I love you.”

“Me, too!” Zach cried, flinging his arms around Jon’s legs.

Tyler did the same. “Me, three!”

Wendy, Michele and Sam came running and Jon sank to the kitchen floor amid a flurry of arms, legs and wet little mouths kissing his face. Which was good because that way they didn’t notice the tears in his eyes as he gathered them close and sent a silent prayer heavenward to help him keep his family together.

SUNDAY DAWNED like fireworks when the sun crested the mountaintops. Brilliant white rays exploded across the sky, igniting streaks of scarlet in the scattered clouds. Jon poured the last of the morning’s feed into the trough then stood in reverent appreciation of nature’s beauty.

His soul thrived in these mountains, where he and his family had worked the land for three generations. This was his heritage, his children’s heritage—the wisdom gained by witnessing the cycle of life on the ranch, the respect instilled by experiencing firsthand the awesome power of God and nature. How dare a bitter old man threaten to steal that from them?

Under his breath, Jon swore for the thousandth time that he would not let that happen. But he couldn’t quell the gnawing worry in the pit of his stomach. Not since talking to his lawyer, Frank Thompson. Hal could do serious damage without ever proving a thing, just by convincing the social worker or local law enforcement Jon might have done something wrong.

“Daddy,” Michele called, running toward him, so pretty in her simple blue dress, her tawny, beribboned hair streaming out behind her. “Rachel said to tell you we’re all finished with our chores and dressed for Sunday school.”

The young girl leapt toward him and he caught her in midair. “Let’s go, then.” He swung her in circles until she giggled hysterically.

Michele wrapped her arms tightly around his neck as he carried her toward the house. “Daddy, you look worried this morning. Because of that social worker?”

Jon smiled. “Everything is going to be all right. I’ll see to it.” He hoped he was right. Knowing his in-laws’ controlling mentality, he couldn’t afford a misstep. He intended to call Mrs. Hawthorn to try to mend his fences with her, hopefully get her off his back, but he needed to have a full-time housekeeper in place before then.

“Hey, Jon,” Clint called, catching up to them. “Anything in particular you need me to do today other than what we’ve already scheduled?”

“Check on that C-section heifer and calf. They looked good this morning, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

“Gotcha. Thought I’d get Rory and Cal to keep an eye out for any calving problems among the herd so I can spend some time with Claire later this afternoon, if that’s okay.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll be around this afternoon.”

Clint chucked Michele under the chin. “You’re off to church mighty early. You been extra bad?”

“Has she ever,” Jon said, giving the girl a mock frown.

“What’d you do?” Clint asked her.

“I’m not supposed to say,” she said, looking up at Jon through her lashes.

“She’s trying to get me married off again,” Jon said. Clint was like family and would need to know what was going on with the social worker, but Jon was proud of Michele for not mentioning Kaycee.

“If Daddy will just cooperate,” Michele said with a lopsided smile.

“Wha…?” Clint stopped, agape.

Jon laughed and kept walking.

“You’re kidding me, right?”

Jon looked around at his foreman in amusement. “Not if Mish has her way. I’ll fill you in later. Right now we’re off to breakfast with my pretend fiancée.”

A few minutes later the family piled into the four-wheel-drive Suburban that the kids had dubbed “Mom’s Limo” and headed for town. During the half-hour drive into Little Lobo, Jon avoided glancing toward the passenger seat. Alison’s seat. Now occupied by Rachel, tall and willowy for her age, who looked more like her mother than any of the girls. Right now, he didn’t want to imagine Alison so close, yet not there at all.

The last time he saw her alive she’d been sitting beside him in his truck, laughing about some silly thing the twins had done. Out of the corner of his eye Jon had caught a glimpse of her beautiful face turned toward him and in that same instant saw the elk bound out of nowhere…directly into the truck’s path. He couldn’t dodge it, couldn’t stop on the black ice. It was an accident. Nothing he could do…. A cold sweat popped out on Jon’s body.

Stop thinking about it. How long would it take for the pain to ease? How long would he have to do penance for being behind the wheel that day?

In town, the children barreled out of the Suburban and, before Jon could stop them, the young ones blasted into Kaycee’s clinic like a hurricane. Kaycee met them in the waiting room, bundling all that energy into her arms without missing a beat. Tyler and Zach went headlong. Bo hung back, wary of the woman he’d never seen before, until jealousy of the hugs and attention bestowed on his brothers got the better of him and he shouldered his way in. Kaycee gave him a hug, too. Michele stood close, beaming at Kaycee, already in love with her, Jon realized. The two older girls found a middle ground, waiting to take over the little ones by habit. Wendy stayed firmly behind Jon, her small hand in his, watching, but not participating.

Kaycee already had biscuits and toast prepared along with a huge bowl of scrambled eggs, crumbled bacon and cheese. Toasted cheese sandwiches cut into triangles waited on a warming plate on the counter. A bowl of fresh fruit sat in the center of the table. She produced a high chair for Bo stamped with the logo from the café next door. Amid the lively chatter, Rachel set Bo in the chair and gave him a plate with a piece of toasted cheese sandwich, slices of banana and poured juice in his sipper cup. The other girls helped Kaycee distribute orange juice and milk.

Soon the room was filled with the familiar bantering and squabbling of the kids. Jon watched Kaycee meld into his family so seamlessly that he had a hard time believing they’d met only the one time. If they were an imposition, she didn’t show it. She appeared to enjoy them.

Her sun-burnished brown hair fell loose around her shoulders. A trace of makeup enhanced her large green eyes, and up close Jon noticed the gold flecks that made them sparkle. The yellow sweater she wore over tweed slacks molded to her curves.

Battling a blaze that started in his groin and worked its way up, Jon forced himself to look somewhere else. A sense of melancholy settled heavily in his chest as he realized how badly he missed his wife, missed the rapport of planning out their schedule each morning, of raising these children together. He hadn’t allowed himself to admit how lonely he was until this moment.

Kaycee caught Jon’s eye and smiled over the sea of heads. He answered with one of sincere gratitude and tried to shake off his gloom as she offered him a plate full of food and sat beside him. Jon mediated the minor disagreements between the children when necessary, kept up his end of the conversation with Kaycee and pondered how to manage the rest of the day. Sunday school and church for the children—he hadn’t been since Alison’s funeral—grocery shopping, getting everybody home and settled again so he could work the ranch. Call Hal. Somehow he had to find a compromise with his in-laws before this dangerous game irreparably damaged his family.