Living With Lies Trilogy (Books 1, 2, and 3 of The Dancing Moon Ranch Series) (63 page)

STORY DESCRIPTION: All her life Sophie Meecham was told that modesty was a virtue and sex before marriage was wrong, so when she learns that her step-mother slept her way up the corporate ladder before marrying her father, Sophie’s so angry and disillusioned she shows up unexpectedly at the Dancing Moon Ranch to vent to her lifelong friend, Rick Hansen. Rick too is disillusioned. Sophie’s changed from the woman he’d grown to love over the years, and even envisioned marrying. In fact, she's so mad, she rebels against everything that’s been instilled in her, even tries to have sex with Rick. But he wants no part of it. Although he doesn’t want the woman Sophie is now, he doesn’t want any other man to have her either. But soon after, a life-altering incident has Sophie looking at Rick, her buddy, in a whole new light. It's also clear, the man she’s falling in love with has fallen out of love with her, and it will be an uphill battle to prove to Rick she's still the woman he'd always thought her to be.

CHAPTER 1

Dancing Moon Ranch - Sheridan, Oregon 

Rick Hansen studied his mother as she went through a litany of excuses as to why she'd dropped in at his father's house at the ranch to see Rick, all the while trying to make her way to the real reason she'd come, which would be to borrow money. Ask for money, he corrected. She never paid him back. But as she talked, he couldn't help but notice the hard lines around her mouth and etched in the outer corners of her eyes. From the neck down she still looked like a woman in her twenties, but there were many telltale signs in her face now that screamed of middle age. She wouldn't want those pointed out. In contrast, his stepmother, Jayne, had one of those ageless faces. Or maybe that happened when a woman was happy with her life.

"I started a new program, working with pregnant women," Susan Hansen said. "It's brought in a few new clients." She let out a long audible sigh. Underlying meaning behind that sigh:
It's brought in a few new clients, but not enough to make ends meet
.

"What about Don? Doesn't he pay anything?" Don was his mother's latest live-in, who shared her private quarters above the fitness center. Rick only met the guy once, but the man had toy boy written all over him—at least ten years younger than his mother, snug workout shorts, tight tank top, arm draped around the older woman who was keeping him. But Don wasn't the one who concerned Rick now. It was the younger guy he'd seen at his mother's place the week before, a seventeen-year-old kid his mother claimed she'd taken under her wing because of an issue he was having with his family. Although his mother's live-ins had become progressively younger over the years, even as his mother grew older, he hoped like hell she hadn't crossed the line this time, but it wouldn't be the first time she'd have two guys living with her. The last time she'd claimed the "extra" man needed a place to live until he could find work…

"Why are you looking at me like that?" his mother asked.

Rick realized he'd been staring at her the way he did when he was trying to sort it all out. "I was just wondering why you let some guy live with you if he isn't paying his share of expenses."

"Don will pay when he gets a job," Susan pointed out, in the tone she used when she was trying to explain away the unexplainable. "He's looking for work now and I'm sure he'll find something soon. He's young and strong." She smiled as if things were fine, but her lips twitched, and Rick saw that her hands were clasped tightly in her lap.

"That's another thing, Mom," Rick said. "He looks like he's ten years younger than you."

"I like a younger man," Susan replied in defense. "They appreciate me."

Rick found it strange that he could love such a woman, but where he used to be angry with her for the string of men she'd kept over the years, now he felt pity. She was getting older and trying to hold onto her youth by keeping men who made her feel young, even when he knew that the men were flattering her and giving her everything she thought she wanted, just to keep the perks coming. "You've been moving men in and out of your place for years and that's all you have when you end things with them. Nothing," Rick said. "Have you ever thought about getting married again? Maybe you and dad didn't work out but it sure beats what's going on in your life."

"I know this might surprise you, but some women are just not cut out for marriage," Susan said in all honesty. "Your dad and I had a good marriage for a while, but after a few years I began to feel restless, and then Ross came along and, well, you know the rest."

"Yeah, I know the rest," Rick said, in disgust. "And I think you need to go now. I wouldn't want Dad and Jayne to come home and find you here."

"I have a right to see my son."

"Not at their house you don't," Rick said. "But, whenever you do come here looking for me it's always because you need money, so how much do you want?"

"That is absolutely not the case!" Susan clipped.

Ignoring her angry retort, Rick took his wallet from his jacket pocket and pulled out a fifty-dollar bill and held it out, and said, "This is it for now. It bugs the crap out of me to have to subsidize your live-ins. Doesn't Don pay anything at all?"

Susan took the bill and tucked it into her bag. "Like I said, he's between jobs," she replied. "He does maintenance, and there isn't as much work as before. I also have some expenses with Kenny there now. Young men eat a lot, but he's helping me around the gym, sweeping up in the evening and doing light cleaning, so he earns his keep."

Rick eyed her, dubiously. "Where is Kenny's family?"

"They live a little ways out of town, but it's a very dysfunctional family. I'm just giving Kenny a place to live until things get worked out. He's a very nice young man."

"He's also under eighteen," Rick pointed out, then immediately regretted it.

Susan stood. "I refuse to listen to this."

"Sorry," Rick said, realizing he'd crossed the line with his mother. Having a stud ten years younger didn't necessarily mean she'd hit on a yet younger guy if he came along, but her past behavior patterns with men didn't exclude it either. He could see the future clearly. His mother would get older and harder looking, the toy boys would be younger and more demanding of perks, and a practicing vet could hardly turn his mother away.

He was on the verge of pointing out that reality when she said, "I know you don't understand how it is with women like me but I'm very glad you seek out the kind of women who do want marriage, and that's the way it should be. Are you dating anyone special right now?"

Rick knew this was more about changing the subject than his mother being pleased with his choice in women. "Vet school doesn't leave much time for dating," he said. "The amount of study material's staggering. Even as Dr. Terry's assistant this summer I'm up to my elbows in stuff to study." He hoped that would take his mother off the who are you dating subject.

"What about, Sophie?" Susan asked. "When I ran into the two of you a while back you couldn't keep your eyes off her."

"We're just friends," Rick said, his mind conjuring a pair of big blue eyes fringed in long brown lashes, and a face about as perfect as a woman's face could be, surrounded by a cloud of natural blond hair with just enough curl to make him want to run his fingers through it.

"I suspect you like her more than just friends," Susan replied.

"She lives in California which is a little far for dating," Rick said, knowing he didn't want to carry this conversation any further. Discussing love interests with his mother was not something he intended to do. Ever.

"Would she make a good veterinarian's wife?" Susan asked in a tone that led Rick to believe she was actually asking out of maternal concern.

"I suppose," Rick replied, trying to sound indifferent. But the fact was, Sophie would make a good wife for any man, and that had not been a sudden realization. He'd thought about it for years, more so after she graduated from college. Sophie, the perfect woman. The perfect wife. Opposite in every way from his mother, who was in every way the most imperfect woman he'd ever known. But Sophie had it all. Looks. Brains. She wasn't allowed to date in high school and she'd just graduated from an all-girl's college where she'd only dated casually, so she was definitely available.

"Is she coming to the ranch with her folks again this summer?" Susan asked.

"Probably not," Rick replied. "Now that she's finished college she’s looking for a job."

"Maybe she could work at the ranch until she finds one," Susan said.

Rick refrained from telling her he was actually thinking about suggesting that to Sophie. The less his mother knew about his personal life the better, and Sophie was definitely off limits to his mother, especially if he managed to convince her to work at the ranch until she decided what she wanted to do. But his plans for Sophie included more than just getting her to the ranch for a few months. Although their relationship over the years had been platonic, he intended to change that. He'd even found himself looking at rings and wondering what she'd like, if it ever came to that, but first, he had to get her to the ranch. He mentioned it in one of his emails, but she'd gone off on other tangents about wanting to travel some before settling into a job.

A sharp rapping on the door surprised him. No one at the ranch knocked. Most just poked their heads in the doorway and announced they were there, but when he opened the door, he was startled to find Sophie staring at him, a grim look on her face. "Hey, Soph," he said. He glanced around her for her parents. "I didn't know you were coming."

"Neither did I." Sophie swept past him. "Justine and Dad don't know I'm here and that's fine with me."

"What's with the Justine thing?" Rick asked. "When did she stop being Mom?"

"When I found out my beloved step-mother was a slut. I'm sorry to break it to you in such explicit terms but that's what she is, or was, before she married my dad." Sophie shoved her arms together, locking them tightly across her chest.

Rick glanced out the window and saw a car. "Is that a rental," he asked, "or did you just drive six-hundred miles?"

"It's my car," Sophie replied. "I had to get away from those hypocrites. All the time I was growing up she and my dad preached about saving myself for the man I’d marry. Well, I've been saving myself alright. I might as well have grown up in a nunnery."

Rick glanced off to the side and said, while flicking a thumb in the direction of his mother, "Yeah, well maybe you'd better fill me in later. You remember my mom?"

Sophie looked around, clearly surprised to see they were not alone. Unfolding her arms, she said in a hesitant voice, "Umm... hello, Mrs. Hansen."

Susan gave her a cordial smile. "Clearly you are upset, honey," she said, "so go ahead and vent to Rick and pretend I'm not here."

Before Rick could insist his mother leave, Sophie started into a tirade, saying, "I was looking for my birth certificate so I could get a passport in case I needed one and I found some correspondence between Justine and the president of the college where she graduated as valedictorian, only the way she managed to become valedictorian was by having sex with her professor. There was a copy of the letter she sent to the college describing what happened. It was pretty graphic, and pretty disgusting. So no, she's no longer Mom. She's nothing."

Rick put his hand on Sophie's shoulder to calm her, and Sophie gave a little jerk, dislodging it, and said, "Please don't give me a sermon about having to love the woman, Rick. I'm in no mood for that."

"Yeah, I kinda got that impression," Rick replied. "But why would she tell all to the college now, after all these years?"

"The letters were old," Sophie said. "It was eighteen years ago, but when I confronted her with the letters she didn't deny it. Instead, she gave me some song and dance about changing her life once she met my father. When I asked if there had been other men, she made a feeble attempt at trying to explain that once she'd started into a pattern she couldn't seem to stop. As it turns out, she pretty much slept her way up the corporate ladder. And all the while I was growing up my father led me to believe he'd waited for the one special woman who was pure and untouched and morally sound. It's enough to make you puke."

"You need to call and let them know you're here," Rick said.

"No, I don't need to do a damn thing."

Rick eyed Sophie with unease. All the years he'd known her she'd never used curse words. But then, she'd been at college for the past four years, and he'd only been with her during her family's summer visits, so things might have changed. "Where do you plan to stay?" he asked. "The lodge and cabins will be full starting Sunday, and with Adam and Marc home from college for the summer, Aunt Grace and Uncle Jack's house is full, and Becca's here with the baby while Chase is in Afghanistan. Had you even thought about that, or did you just leave in a snit?"

"Believe me, I left in way more than a snit," Sophie said. "And I don't care where I stay, as long as it's as far away from them as possible."

"You can stay with me," Susan volunteered. "I have a spare bedroom and you'd be more than welcome. In fact, I'd love to have you stay."

"Forget it," Rick said to Sophie. "Your folks would have a fit."

Sophie gave Rick an ironic smile. "Yes, I believe they would, which is exactly why I intend to stay with your mother." She turned to Susan, "If you're sure I won't be a bother."