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“Uncle David had a bad cold that day so he stayed home with us. When the services were over, there was going to be a big party.”
She sucked in her breath. “Everybody going to church left the ranch house. None of them ever came back.”
Rick’s expression darkened in horror and incredulity. She looked away, not wanting to see any more of his reaction.
“My parents and siblings were inside the church. So were Pam’s parents and siblings, the boys’ parents and siblings and Uncle David’s wife, his married children and grandchildren.”
“Good heavens—”
“Uncle David is really our great-uncle. He was the oldest member of the family and the last surviving adult of the Jarrett clan. He took us all in and raised us.
“I know it broke his heart to have to make that announcement today. He’s such a good man, and has bent over backward to be fair to each one of us. I don’t think your father could possibly understand how grateful Uncle David must be that this house is going to stay in the family.”
A lump had lodged in her throat. “T-there’s an old saying that we suffer three deaths in this life,” she stammered. “First when we die, the second when we are laid to rest and the third when our name is never spoken again.”
Her gaze lifted to his once more. “Your father has ensured that our ancestral home will stay in the Jarrett family for another generation anyway. I love Clint for loving Pam that much,” she whispered.
Audra continued in a voice that disguised little of her anger. “What I don’t understand is how ungrateful the boys are. They’re lucky he’s been able to leave them any birthright at all. On top of taking care of us all their lives, he took out loans to pay for our college education—”
She broke off talking.
None of this was Rick’s concern.
Embarrassed to have gone on and on, Audra finished dishing up the dessert. “As long as you’re here, would you mind taking these to the dining room?” She handed him two plates without looking up.
“I’ll be back to help.”
That’s what she was afraid of. She didn’t want to spend another second in the company of Rick Hawkins, of all people.
Hopefully, he’d be gone by tomorrow. Audra had no desire to get to know him any better. When you got to know someone, you learned to care about them.
Who was she kidding? She already cared about him. Until he’d rescued her from her nightmare, he’d only been an attractive face in a series of wedding photographs.
But a photograph only showed a face and body. It didn’t reveal the total person. Rick possessed layers of desirable qualities that broke down the defenses guarding her wary heart. When he’d followed her into the kitchen to help her, to listen with compassion to all she had to say, she realized he’d breached the outer walls and was standing at the door of its inner chamber.
CHAPTER THREE
THE IMPATIENT BLARE of a car horn coming from the front of the house couldn’t be ignored. Rick’s eyes sought his father’s in a private message.
“It sounds like you’ve got to go, Bobby.”
“Yeah. Dad wants to leave, but we’re not finished yet.”
“That’s all right. Call the ranch house anytime and ask for me. I can help you over the phone.”
“Thanks, Clint.” Bobby took the paper he’d been writing on and handed Clint back his pen.
“You’re welcome.”
“You, too, Rick. See ya.”
The young teen disappeared from the living room, leaving the two of them alone for the first time all day. Rick checked his watch. It was almost five o’clock.
He stared at his father. “You know the old saying, a picture is worth a thousand words?”
“You mean, after sitting through one meal with the Jarrett clan, you feel as if you’ve received a Ph.D. in family dysfunction?”
Rick folded his arms and sat back in the chair with his ankles crossed. “When I followed Audra into the kitchen to get the dessert, she told me about the tornado.” His mind still reeled from everything he’d learned. “It’s impossible to comprehend that kind of loss.”
“I didn’t know the details until Pam broke down on our honeymoon and told me. She keeps her pain well hidden. You have to bide your time with her.”
Rick couldn’t stay seated any longer. “The morning Nate and I drove you and Pam to the airport, I sensed a vulnerability about her. Only now am I beginning to understand why.” He paused. “I’m glad you found each other.”
His dad looked taken aback. “I’d hoped one day you might come to feel that way. I just didn’t expect it to happen this soon.”
“Being here has opened my eyes to a lot of things. It’s too bad you’ve got enemies.”
“Audra meant well, but I’m afraid her suggestion to Bobby fanned the flames.”
“Dad, the mere fact that you exist, let alone married Pam and bought this house, has caused a major conflagration. I’ve never met such fractious personalities.”
“It’s time her cousins dealt with reality.”
The edge in his tone prompted Rick to study his dad for a minute. “To think I used to wonder why Nate and I were attracted to careers with an element of danger…”
“Danger comes in many packages, son. Your kind kills instantly.”
“I’ll take my kind any day over three spiteful men who wished you on the other side of the universe today.”
“I can handle it. Right now I want to spend some private time with you.” He got to his feet. “Pam won’t be expecting us until dark.”
“Where are we going?”
“For a horseback ride.”
“You’ve got to be kidding. I haven’t been on a horse in years.”
“It’s like skiing. You never forget. Come on. We’ll slip out the front door and walk around back to the barn.”
Except for the absence of one car, it appeared everyone else was still inside the house, yet Rick couldn’t hear voices. Its unique design of multiple rooms and an asymmetrical floor plan swallowed sounds.
Though the house was built in a wide-open space, there were some pecan and oak trees growing close to the barn to provide shade. Nearby he noticed a spring-fed pond.
They entered the barn and walked over to the first two stalls. “You take Pam’s mare, Marshmallow. I’ll ride the bay. His name is Prince.”
“Is he David’s horse?”
“No. Prince is Audra’s pride and joy. He’s been missing her and will welcome the exercise.”
The mention of Audra prompted him to ask, “Was she engaged to the man who died?”
“No. From what Pam told me, Audra finally accepted a date with Pete when she didn’t really want to.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Perhaps to forget someone else.”
There was no perhaps about it, or his father wouldn’t have said it. For some strange reason, Rick wished he hadn’t asked the question.
“Since the accident, she blames herself for relenting. Audra’s convinced he wouldn’t be dead if she’d just said no to him.”
“Maybe that’s why she’s still having nightmares.” Without preamble, Rick told his father about the encounter with Audra at the bungalow. “Her screams were bloodcurdling. They left me shaken.”
His father nodded. “Both David and Pam are worried about her. She’s pretty fragile.”
“I’ve had buddies at the track who’ve been through the same trauma. It takes a long time to get over. Don’t tell Pam or she’ll tell Audra. I don’t want to make an enemy out of her.”
“I won’t, but I am going to have a talk with Audra about moving back to the main ranch house tonight. She shouldn’t be living out at the bungalow alone no matter how much she craves her independence.”
“Agreed.” When Rick thought about how easy it had been to climb in that back-bedroom window…
“I’ll think of a good excuse to approach her. In the meantime, let’s go in the tack room and get what we need.”
Rick smiled as he helped his father bridle and saddle the animals like a pro. He could tell Clint was loving this new lifestyle. Wait until Rick got his brother on the phone and told him what was going on.
There had been so much that neither he nor Nate had understood when their father had first announced his engagement to Pam. That felt like a hundred years ago.
Once the stirrups were adjusted, Rick swung himself up and followed his father’s lead along a well-worn path. They rode beyond the paddock to a field where the occasional line of trees appearing and disappearing among gently rolling hills denoted a winding creek.
His dad waited for Rick to join him. “It’s the perfect time of evening to show you something I know you’ll appreciate. Have you got your sea legs yet?”
Rick grinned. “I think so.”
“Then let’s go.”
They set off through the wild grass, beneath bits of darkening blue sky and clouds. Though the temperature bordered on hot, Rick felt comfortable because the air was surprisingly arid.
“When I called you yesterday morning to touch base, it concerned me to learn you hadn’t decided to sign those new racing contracts yet.”
That makes two of us.
Obviously his dad had set their slow pace for a reason.
“What’s holding you up? Between Trans T & T and Mayada, you’ve been offered an unprecedented amount of money. You’ll have the same crew chief as before.”
Rick’s hand tightened on the reins. “I have no complaints.”
His dad squinted at him. “I know you broke it off with Natalie when you left Arizona. Is she the reason you’re hesitant to return?”
“Who’s Natalie?” he teased to cover his anxiety.
“All right. I have the answer to that question at least.” A troubled expression broke out on his father’s face. “When your mother died, the fire went out of you. It’s never come back, has it?”
Rick expelled a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. “I can’t deny that her death took its toll. But in all honesty, the thrill of competition hasn’t been there for the last year.”
“That must be a terrifying feeling.”
“How did you know?”
“I’ve been putting myself in your place. You’re at the top of your game with enough money invested right now to retire in luxury for the rest of your life, yet the excitement is gone and you’re only coming up on thirty years of age.”
His dad had nailed part of the problem, but not all. Rick didn’t have a place to call his own anymore. Though Clint had told him and Nate they would always have a home with him, it wasn’t the same thing. Rick needed a place where he belonged. It haunted him there was no longer a center of his universe.
“After you and mom met you did it right by making marriage and family your first priority.”
Clint shook his head. “If she hadn’t come along, I might have been where you are now, with several gold medals and the promise of more. Except that I’d be a single man of thirty who was in debt for the rest of his life.”
“You were lucky.”
His dad flashed him a shrewd look. “Have you thought of trying to find the right woman?”
“No. I don’t believe in it.” He frowned. “Either she shows up in the scheme of things like Mom did and like Laurel did for Nate, or she doesn’t. If I have to work on meeting my intended, then I might as well stick to racing.”
“Well—I’m glad we had this little talk.”
“So am I. After breakfast tomorrow I’ll head out for Phoenix and sign those contracts Neal’s holding for me. I’m fortunate to have a job waiting for me I know how to do, right?” That’s what Rick had to keep telling himself.
“A man needs work. If he knows how to be successful at it, that’s a plus. Tell you what—I’ll race you to that clump of blackjack oak in the distance.”
Blackjack? Already he was an expert on Texas flora?
To Rick’s surprise, his father took off at a gallop. He couldn’t believe what a natural he was in the saddle. Just as if he was on a pair of skis. It was a pleasure to watch man and horse race toward the sunset.
After a moment Rick realized this was supposed to be a race. Already behind, he found that splashing through the creek not far ahead of him slowed him down even more. He had a devil of a time catching up to his father.
It wasn’t long before he saw a sea of blue in the distance. “Is that a lake?” He’d reined in next to his dad. “I didn’t see it on the map.”
“I asked Pam the same question when she first brought me out here. Those are Texas bluebonnets. They grow wild here in the spring. You’ll never see the likes of them in Colorado.
“If you’d come a few weeks later, you would have missed them. Though there’s no fragrance, the sight is unmatched.”
“It’s spectacular!”
But Rick’s thoughts were elsewhere. The word bluebonnet brought to mind the haunting lyrics of the country music sung by the fabulous female vocalist he’d heard on the radio last night.
I’m an uprooted bluebonnet,
I no longer have a home,
