Teresa Southwick - The Rancher Who Took Her In

“What do you say?”

“That the two of us are a different kind of family. But there’s no way a kid can understand why his mother didn’t want to stay for her own son. Hell, I don’t understand.”

Anger had given way to wistfulness in his tone and that made her wonder if he still had feelings for the woman who’d walked out on him. “Is there a chance that Ty’s mom will come back?”

“Always, I suppose.”

Kate was a little surprised when he didn’t add that it would be a cold day in hell before he took her back. “What if she did?”

His mouth pulled tight for a moment, but when he answered, his voice lacked any emotion. No anger, regret or sadness. Just matter-of-fact. “If she showed up at the front door tomorrow, Ty wouldn’t have to wonder where his mother is.”

“Do you wonder?”

“No. I know where she is.” And she doesn’t want to be here. He didn’t say it, but the words hung in the air between them.

“Where is she?” That question was out-and-out nosy. Every time he answered something, more stuff popped into her head to ask him. At some point he was going to tell her to mind her own business, but until he did she couldn’t seem to stop herself from inquiring.

“Helena.”

Montana’s capital. “So it’s not that she doesn’t like Montana.”

“Nope. Just the ranch and small-town life.”

“Does Ty know how close she is?”

“Nope. She hasn’t shown any interest in seeing him and I wouldn’t put him through that unless she did.” He slowed his pace. “There’s no point in it. Rejection hurts.”

“Yeah.” She’d been rejected very publicly. She was realizing that she didn’t love her ex-fiancé because he hadn’t crossed her mind all that much since she’d arrived in Blackwater Lake and, more specifically, since she’d met Cabot. But at first it had hurt. The humiliation was no fun, either. And she was a grown-up. Ty was a little boy. “Are you ever going to tell him?”

“If he wants to know.”

“That seems wise,” she agreed.

“You’re judging again.” This time there was a smile in his voice.

“In a good way.”

“It’s not wise. Just common sense,” he claimed. “If you tell a kid he can’t do something, that’s exactly what he wants to do.”

“Is that the voice of experience talking?” she teased.

“Maybe. Maybe not. I think of it more as human nature.”

They had come full circle, past his house. She’d expected he would go inside and let her see herself back, but he didn’t. Cabot walked her to her front door and stopped.

“Good night, Kate. Two more days until the kids get here. Get some rest. You’re going to need it.”

“See you,” she said.

She watched him turn and walk back up the hill, a solitary man in the dark. Walking with him had been both exhilarating and enlightening. He had been married but was now divorced. She’d wanted so badly to say that he and his son were better off without a shallow, selfish woman like that having any influence on their lives. Only an idiot would run away from the child she’d borne and a man who loved her.

It was the running part that gave Kate pause. She’d run. Granted, the guy she’d left might be a good match for Cab’s ex—in the shallow-and-selfish department. But still, she’d run. Did he put her in the same category as his ex-wife?

The thought troubled her, which was both annoying and not very bright. She’d just escaped from complications with a man and shouldn’t let herself lose sleep over what this man thought. They’d only just met.

And she hoped to be wrong but couldn’t shake the feeling that he might be pining for the woman who’d left him.

* * *

On the first day of camp Kate helped the other four counselors greet and sign in the kids, then assign cabins and settle them there. The other employees were all first-or second-year schoolteachers and this was their summer job. She was the only oddball without training.

It was late afternoon when she walked into the camp kitchen. The dining room was a log-cabin-style building, and the food-preparation area was situated behind the larger room where picnic tables would seat the campers for meals. A patio jutted off, and if they wanted, the kids could eat out there with a spectacular view of the lake. Without children around, it could be the perfect spot for a romantic dinner if you were with a man who looked like Cabot Dixon, one who might lean toward a little romance after a walk under the stars. He didn’t seem to lean that way, but maybe she just wasn’t his type.

And the fact that she would even wonder about this meant she probably needed serious therapy.

“Hi, Caroline.” She greeted the manager/cook who was cutting up vegetables on the long stainless-steel counter in the center of the room. A six-burner stove stood behind her, and different-sized pots hung from a rack suspended from the ceiling.

The tall blonde looked up and smiled. “Did the kids scare you off?”

“No.” But Kate grinned at the teasing. “They’re a terrific bunch and I really enjoyed meeting them. But Jim told me to take a break while they divide the campers into color groups for activities.”

“Jim Shields is a good teacher and really terrific at what he does here.”

Kate knew Caroline worked with him at Blackwater Lake High School, where he taught math and was the boys’ volleyball coach. “I came to see if you need any help in the kitchen.”

“You don’t want to put your feet up? Catch a power nap?”

“Working with children might not be my best skill, but I can take it. I’m sturdier than I look.”

“What is your best skill?” the other woman asked.

Kate couldn’t blame her for being curious. She’d shown up in a wedding dress and given no other information about herself besides the fact that she’d left her cheating weasel of a groom at the altar. But this peace and quiet felt good after so many years of nonstop media interest and craziness. It would end if the details about her came out. She wanted serenity for just a little bit longer.

“If you don’t mind, I’d rather not say.”

“Suit yourself.” Caroline put down the knife in her hand. “I can use some help. Hamburgers and fries are the traditional first-night meal here, and I insist on fresh, not frozen, potatoes. You can cut them up. Real thin.”

“Okay.”

“When you finish that, would you slice some carrot and celery sticks? I always like to have those available.”

“Got it.”

Kate saw that the potatoes were already peeled and soaking in a pot of water. She got to work, and after checking the thinness of her fries, Caroline said nothing for a few moments. Finally Kate couldn’t stand the silence. It was against all the laws of nature for two women to be in a kitchen together and not talk. Usually about men. And she knew exactly which man she wanted to talk about.

“How long have you managed the camp for Cabot?”

“Ten years now.”

Tyler was eight, which meant this woman had met his mother. After the little bit Cabot had said, Kate had a lot of questions. “So what was Cabot’s wife like?”

Caroline glanced up quickly from the tomato she was slicing. “Why do you want to know?”

“He told me what happened and why.”

“Interesting.” She looked up again. “He doesn’t usually talk about it.”

Should she feel special that he’d told her the story? A question for another day. “I guess I’m just curious what you thought of her.”

“It’s hard to answer that. There is my impression when he was first with her and my feelings about what she did to him by running away.” She sighed and rested her wrist against the cutting board. “She was a very pretty little thing. Long black hair and violet-colored eyes. Seemed sweet and head over heels for Cabot. No one saw that she was unhappy or that she would do what she did. Folks were shocked, and some blamed it on postpartum depression. But she never came back to set things right. Cabot was stunned and dazed. The thing is, he didn’t really even have time to process his feelings because he had an infant to care for and a business to run. Maybe that was a blessing.”