Lone Tree (4 page)

“Reliable Mortgage,” said her coworker’s familiar
voice. “How may I help you?”

“Hi, Alison.”

“Lainie? Hi.” Her voice grew chummy, lost its
businesslike note. “Well, did you get to meet him?”

“Yeah, I met him.”

“And? How’d it go? You told him, right?”

“No.”

Silence. Then Alison said, “That bad, huh?”

“Not really. It just didn’t seem like a good idea.
From the looks of the place, he’s a wealthy man, and I wasn’t comfortable with
that. He doesn’t know anything about me, not even that I was born. If I’d
claimed to be who I am...well, it smells of fortune hunting. I’d have to
produce proof of my identity and I don’t want to go that route. That’s not why
I came. I just want to get to know him, who he is. Find out what happened
between him and Mom—”

“Lainie.”

She realized she was babbling, but couldn’t stop. “I
know so little about her childhood. She seldom talked about Texas, her family,
even about my father—my biological father. I’ve never even seen a picture of
him. So this is—”

“Lainie, stop it.” Alison’s voice was firm. “You
don’t have to talk me into it. You’re only talking yourself into it. And you
haven’t said exactly what you’re talking yourself into. I take it you’re still
there. When are you coming home?”

She looked at the suitcase. “I’m packing now.” She
sat directly in front of the air conditioner unit and was getting chilled, so
she reached over and turned the control to the halfway mark.

Alison maintained silence for a long moment, then
asked in a flat voice, “Why do I have this really sick feeling deep in my gut?”

Lainie hunched over. She had much the same feeling.
“Because I’m going to give notice as soon as I get home.”

“Oh, Lainie, no.”

“You said yourself the temp is doing a good job. I
won’t be missed. I’ll clean out my apartment and can be back here in three
weeks. I got another job today, Alison. I’m going to be Miles’s secretary.”

“Oh, boy.”

“I’ll stick out the summer—if the heat doesn’t kill
me—and come home in the fall.”

“Oh, boy.”

“It’ll be okay, Alison. I can pull it off. You know
I can. Mama always said I have more nerve than anyone else she knew.”

“And guile.”

Lainie ignored the comment. “I’m leaving first thing
in the morning and will call you soon as I get home.”

“Do me a favor. When you get back, call Jason and
talk to him about this.”

Lainie laughed without humor. “Now why would I do
that? We broke the engagement because he couldn’t cope with Mama’s illness and
how much she needed me. Remember? And I needed him, but he couldn’t handle that
either. Jason’s in my past, where he belongs.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” Alison sighed, then said,
“Yeah, I was stretching. But I don’t want you to get hurt. And you could be
making a big mistake here.”

“It’ll be okay. I promise. Gotta go now, but I’ll
call again soon.”

Lainie ended the call, stared at her cell for a
moment, then put it back in her purse and settled her attention on the
suitcase. Whenever she was faced with a choice of directions, straight ahead
just about always won.

Deliberately, Lainie hadn’t called ahead before
arriving the second time at Lone Tree, and she was then both relieved and
disappointed when she found Reed Smith away for the day.

That cowboy could prove to be big trouble.

She’d seldom felt a draw as strong as she’d felt with
him, never upon first acquaintance, and he’d made it apparent the attraction
was mutual. Since he didn’t appear the type to be easily deterred, it’d be
wiser not to allow room for a relationship to form.

Miles Auburn was the reason she was here, and, no
matter how tempting the prospect, she would not allow herself to be distracted
by his foreman.

Two ranch hands, Glen Charles and Luke, helped with
the heavy stuff. The southern drawl sometimes speeded up and sometimes slowed
down, she discovered, and she had to concentrate in order to understand her
helpers. Then she realized, a bit disconcerted, that she was the one with the
accent.

Among other things, they explained mealtime
protocol. “Rosalie sets the food out on the sideboard in the dinin’ hall,” Glen
Charles told her. “But you don’t sit nor eat till Miles shows himself and says
grace.”

“Five minutes,” Luke added, stepping gingerly across
the threshold with his arms wrapped around her computer monitor. “Exactly. I
can set my granddaddy’s watch by him.”

“Except for breakfast.” Glen Charles grinned. “He
sleeps through that.”

Lainie pointed at the credenza that sat in the short
hall outside the kitchen, and Luke set his burden on it. “Thanks,” she said,
hoping he wasn’t straining himself. Moving furniture exercised a different set
of muscles than ranch work, and she guessed Luke was on the other side of
fifty.

“Rosalie is up and down like a bouncin’ ball, but
pay her no mind.” Luke frowned as he positioned the monitor. Lainie got the
impression that was the first one he’d ever touched and he didn’t trust it.
“That’s the way she wants it. Even Miles learned to leave her be.”

“Yep, she’s one of the few people he’ll listen to.”
Glen Charles ran his shirt cuff across his forehead then headed out for another
load. “Her and Reed. He gets his point across, too.”

Her car was soon empty, cartons stacked where she’d
wanted them, and the only thing left to do was make sense of the mess. “Thank
you,” she told her helpmates, then added, as if testing the words, “I’m beholden.”
It didn’t appear the phrase sounded as strange to her audience as it felt to
her to say it.

As the men were on their way out the door, chimes
struck. Lainie felt her brow wrinkle as she tried to place the sound, and they
grinned.

“That’s that little triangle that hangs outside the
kitchen door,” Glen Charles explained. “Means supper’s ready. Rosalie strikes
it three times soon as everything’s laid out.”

Lainie glanced down at her jeans and the dusty tank
top that had started out this morning as white.

“Don’t you worry none about what you’re wearin’.”
Luke must’ve read her mind. “You look just fine.”

“We don’t stand on ceremony around here on workdays,
just Sundays.” Though he couldn’t have had more than five or ten years on her,
Glen Charles gave her a fatherly smile. “You go wash your hands and face and
then come on and eat.”

Lainie did as told and arrived at the same time as
her employer, who evidently was on time. Luke grinned at Lainie and returned
his watch to his pocket. After blessing the meal, Miles introduced Lainie, but
the only people present had spent the afternoon with her. Everybody else was
late or eating elsewhere.

Miles followed her along the sideboard, giving her a
dish-by-dish commentary. “Cole slaw was left over from dinner. Had greens too,
but they were so good none’s left. Meatloaf was fresh-made for supper. With
gravy over it, not that tomato-ey stuff, and that potato dish is a tasty one.”

For such a big man, Miles ate sparingly, and his
gaze kept straying to a small bowl of banana pudding next to his plate. Though
he clearly savored his food, he had attention left over for her.

“Hard trip?” he asked.

“Is that what I look like?” She put her fork down,
massaged her eyes. “Not really. But I was up early this morning and I’m feeling
it. I need to make my bed and then get in it.”

“Understand I’m not in a hurry to get to work. Never
had a secretary before, so I can wait. Take as much time as you need to get
yourself situated.”

“Thanks. I’ll need at least one day to shop. Rosalie
told me I should find everything I need at the Western Emporium.”

“She steered you right.” He pushed his empty dinner
plate away and put his dessert bowl in its place. “You never said what part of
Texas your mother was from.”

Lainie buttered a biscuit. “She spoke very little
about her childhood.” She made her voice as casual as his. “Now that she’s
gone, there’s much I wish I’d asked her.”

“That happens. Once we lose someone, it’s too late.
Can’t go back in time.” He sipped coffee, watching her over the brim of the cup.
“Do you have regrets about taking the job, Lainie? This was quite a move for
you.”

Finished with her biscuit, she dusted her hands with
her napkin. “No. Temporarily temporary. Remember? We’ll see how it works out.”

She pushed her chair back. “Goodnight, Miles. I’m
bushed. I’ve got to go to bed.”

Her cottage was closer to the kitchen door than the
front door, and Lainie stopped on her way out to smile at Rosalie. “That was
the best meatloaf I’ve ever had.”

“Nice of you to say so. Miles likes it, too.” The
housekeeper filled a pan with water to let it soak. “How you doin’ over there?
You gettin’ moved in okay?”

Lainie nodded.

“A woman from town, Angie, comes in days to help me
cook and clean. I can spare her if you need help.”

“Thanks, but I’ve got it under control.”

After she’d closed her own door behind her, Lainie
held the knob with both hands and leaned back against it. Her gaze swept the
cluttered room. She’d made a dent, that was all, but at least her clothing was
put away.

Then, in her bedroom, she stopped and laughed softly
as she tried to remember into which drawer she’d folded her nightgowns. She
found what she wanted in the second drawer she pulled out. She paused, her
attention caught by the envelope she’d also placed there. She bypassed the nightgown
and picked up the envelope.

“Oh, Mama,” she said, voice choking.

She sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the
envelope she’d found in her mother’s jewelry box a week after she’d buried her.
Withdrawing the sheets of paper, Lainie reread the words she now almost knew by
heart.

My
dearest Lainie,

By
the time you read this, I’ll be gone. I want to tell you one more time how much
I love you, and how proud I am you are my daughter. We were a happy family, the
three of us. Walter Johnson was the best thing that ever happened to you and
me, and I wish we’d had more time before death took him.

But
I need to tell you something, something we should have talked about a long time
ago. I told you so little about my family back in Texas, about my daddy. Every
time you asked, I just put you off till you stopped asking, and that’s not
right. It’s been eating away at me, and I want to write down what I can while
my mind is still clear enough to do it.

I
told you he disowned me and I disowned him, and that much is true. Bitterly
true. We were a proud and stubborn pair, Daddy and me. Always at odds with each
other over one thing or another. Then it went from bad to worse when I met
Garth Mallory, your father.

Daddy
claimed he was a no-good charmer looking for an easy life, and we had words
just about every day over him. Then when I told him Garth wanted to marry me,
he threatened to have him jailed, and it wasn’t an idle threat. I knew Daddy
wouldn’t hesitate to trump up charges, so I ran to Garth and then ran away with
him. Just up and ran one night and never looked back.

Then
I found out, too late, that Daddy was right. I loved Garth and gave him
everything, but the only good thing he ever gave me was you. I’ve told you very
little about him over the years, because there is so little to tell.

When
you were born, I wanted so much to take you home and show you off to your
granddaddy. And to Nelly. You remember I told you about Nelly, the stable
keeper, and how much I loved him. He was also like a father to me. But my stupid
pride wouldn’t allow me to admit how wrong I’d been, so they never knew about
my beautiful little baby girl. I was determined to make it on my own, and I
did, but I lost much that way. Too much. I don’t want it to be your loss as
well.

Nelly
was an old man when I left, so I doubt he’s still alive. But your grandfather
was too tough to die young. I’d bet my bottom dollar he’s still raising hell
out there at Lone Tree, just outside of Lawary. I’d told you that much at
least. I want you to think about it, honey, take your time and think on it. And
if you decide you want to look him up, do it with my blessing. Giving up my
family was my loss, Lainie, and over the years, it’s grown to be my regret.

I
love you, honey. I love you more than I could ever tell you.

Lainie’s hands dropped to her lap. “And I love you,
Mama,” she whispered. Her throat was so choked it felt sore. She leaned her
head back and allowed warm tears to roll down her face unchecked.

The decision to drive to Texas had been made in the
early throes of grief. If she’d waited even a few months, she probably wouldn’t
have done it. But now that she had, she didn’t regret it. However tenuous the
relationship, family was here, and that helped ease the void Elizabeth’s
passing had left.

Lainie continued to stare at the ceiling long after
the tears had dried. She felt like a misplaced person. Being aware of her
ambivalence, yet not knowing how to cope with it, made her feel powerless as
well. What had she let herself in for? Maybe she didn’t belong here, and Alison
was right. This might be the worst mistake she’d ever made.