The Single Dad's Redemption (5 page)

Chapter Five

A
t five o’clock Keeley flipped the sign in the front window to Closed and peered out at cars driving past, windshield wipers on high. Thunder rumbled again, making the wood flooring beneath her feet vibrate.

“I cannot believe this is the third rainy day in a row. The forecasters say it’s a ‘stalled front.’ I’m just praying it decides to pack up and move on tomorrow.”

Connor came out of the back room, his Western-style oilskin coat draped over his arm. “Why then?”

“The Antique Walk starts Friday.”

“You’ve mentioned it before, but I’m still not sure what it involves.”

“There’s usually a big flea market at the fairgrounds, with a carnival and rides, but everything could end up a big, muddy mess if the ground doesn’t dry out first.”

“Sounds like quite an event.”

“It’s supposed to be. Several of the churches put up food tents, the 4-H clubs set up a petting zoo and the FFA—Future Farmers of America—club coordinates a tractor pull and a horse show. The quilters raffle some beautiful quilts for charity—the list goes on and on.” She bustled around the store, pulling down the window shades facing the sidewalk and adjusting the positioning of the merchandise. “But it only works out well if the weather is nice and we get the big crowds from Minneapolis and Chicago.”

She moved to the cash register and began counting the money into neat stacks, tallied the total and slipped the money into a zippered bank deposit bag to drop off on the way home.

“Last spring was cold and windy, so we had the smallest crowd in years. We ended up in the red on event costs and didn’t reach our donation goals for heart disease and cancer research, either.”

Connor walked to the front door and studied the sign displaying the store hours. “So, your store is open tomorrow afternoon?”

She nodded, dropped the bank deposit bag into her purse and grabbed her car keys from a drawer under the counter. “All of the stores in town are open Sunday afternoons. Weekends are the busiest times during high season, and none of us can afford to close for the entire day, even if we want to. It would really decimate the weekend traffic coming from the big cities.”

“So, do you want me to come in tomorrow?” He shouldered on his coat.

“I’d like you here every day, if possible. Your time in town will be short as it is.” She smiled. “You’ve caught on really fast and your help means more to me than you’ll ever know.”

“The more hours, the better. Noon, then?”

“Perfect.” She eyed the light rain outside. “How on earth do you start a campfire when it’s this wet?”

“Can’t.”

“Then how will you cook your supper? Do you have a propane gas stove or something?”

“Something like that.” Thunder rumbled again as he opened the door to step outside. “G’night.”

“Wait.” Guilt lanced through her at the thought of him heading out into the rain. She slung her purse over her shoulder and hurried after him. “I’m definitely giving you a ride home tonight.”

He turned to face her, the rain sluicing down his coat. “I don’t mind the walk at all, ma’am.”

“I just had an idea. I’m heading over to Dad’s house to make supper and I’d like you to come along.”

“That isn’t necessary. Really.”

She waved away his protest. “Consider it a part of your workday, because this will help me a lot, as well. You can talk to Dad while I make supper and then you can eat with us. I am sure there’ll be a time or two when I need to send you over there, so it’ll help if he gets to know you. Maybe not anything about your, um, recent past, though. Not just yet.”

Frowning, he hitched a shoulder as if wanting to turn her down. “Well...”

She bit her lower lip. “I want to apologize in advance for anything Dad might say or do that seems rude. He wasn’t always that way. His doctor says it’s probably part of his dementia.”

A corner of Connor’s mouth kicked up into a brief grin. “Actually, it sounds just like home.”

Not for the first time, she wondered about what Connor’s life had been like before he’d ended up in prison.

Not always happy, apparently, from his hints about his troubled family life back at the ranch. Yet he’d been nothing but polite, with the subtle undercurrent of Texas charm that made her heart warm. Whatever he’d suffered during his unjust incarceration, he’d still managed to come through it as a kind and decent man. “So you’ll join us?”

He hesitated, then nodded.

This was strictly business—a way to help introduce Dad to this stranger. So why did she feel such a flicker of delight at his answer?

Connor would be leaving town in no time. She’d never see him again. And she’d already had too many lessons in the art of failed relationships to ever risk her heart again.

She would not—
could
not—have any personal interest in Connor Rafferty.

He raised an eyebrow and she realized she’d been staring at him while sorting out her thoughts. She scrambled for something else to say.

“Um, just steer clear of Dad’s dog and you’ll be fine.”

“I think I’ll manage...though it sounds like your dad might be the bigger challenge.”

She bit back a laugh. “I forgot. You had a career riding bulls or broncs or something equally intimidating. Right?”

“Saddle broncs.”

“So you can easily deal with a grumpy dog.” She ushered Connor out the back door of the shop and then locked the door behind them. “I’ve had a five-pound pot roast in Dad’s Crock-Pot since this morning, simmering away with plenty of fresh vegetables and garlic. I hope you’ll enjoy it more than a soggy campground and cold food.”

He flashed a smile that warmed her clear down to her toes. “On that score, I have no doubt.”

* * *

Once he’d heard about that beef roast, it would have taken a herd of stampeding Herefords to keep him from joining Keeley and her dad for dinner.

But now that they’d been at her dad’s house for an interminable hour, Connor wished he could tactfully leave despite the otherworldly aromas wafting into the family room from the kitchen.

Paul North sat in his La-Z-Boy recliner, his arms folded tightly across his chest.

He’d said nothing when Keeley introduced the two of them, and his icy demeanor hadn’t wavered since. Now and then he directed a glare in Connor’s direction.

If eyes could shoot flames, Connor would have been a pile of cinders by now. He shifted his weight on the leather sofa and tried another topic. “So...are you a sports fan?”

“No.”

Connor had never followed sports, so that would’ve been a dead end anyhow. “Golf?”

“No.”

“Camping? Hiking?”

Paul’s thick, steel-gray brows drew together in a frown. “Do I
look
like someone who would go camping?”

Connor glanced around the spacious room. Paneled in dark wood and cluttered with twice as much heavy furniture as it needed, and stacks of magazines on every flat surface, the room was so full that he’d even missed noticing the fireplace at first.

Toenails clicked on the hardwood floor and a white-muzzled, overweight dog appeared at the end of the sofa. It swiveled its head toward Paul then took a long, hard look at Connor, its teeth bared and hackles raised.

The dog and Paul had such similar personalities that Connor nearly laughed. “Nice dog.”

“Be careful. Bart doesn’t like anyone but me.” From the tone in his voice, Paul was proud of it, too.

But just then Bart ambled over to Connor, sniffed at the hem of his jeans, gave a sigh of contentment and planted his rear on the floor.

Connor reached down to ruffle the shaggy hair on his neck and scratch behind his ears. The old dog flopped down to rest his chin on Connor’s running shoe. In seconds he was snoring, his flaccid cheeks whuffling in and out with each wheezy breath.

Paul eyed his traitorous dog, and the old man’s bushy eyebrows lowered. “I guess
he
thinks you’re okay,” he muttered.

“Have you had him long?”

“Twelve years. He was a rescue from the animal shelter. No one wanted him till I came along, and we’ve been pals ever since.” A glimmer of a smile appeared briefly at the memory. “You have dogs?”

“I did, when I was still on my dad’s ranch in Texas. It was a long time ago.”

“A ranch?” Paul’s aloof expression faded. “I thought maybe you were some tramp.”

From the kitchen came the sound of a strangled laugh, and Keeley peered around the corner of the door. “Dad—for heaven’s sake. I told you he’s
camping
while his truck is being repaired. That doesn’t make him a hobo.”

When she disappeared back into the kitchen, Paul gave him a narrowed look. “A
real
ranch?”

Connor nodded, relieved to finally find some common ground. “Real. Horses. Cattle mostly. Around four hundred acres of hay.”

“I read a lot of Westerns. Seems like a great life, out there with the wide-open spaces. Clean air.”

“That’s what I miss most. But it’s a hard life and a lonely one at times.”

The rich aroma of beef roast grew stronger now, coupled with the scent of biscuits and something that smelled suspiciously like apple pie.

Homemade apple pie?
The very thought made Connor’s mouth water and stomach rumble. The food had been okay in prison, as far as institutional cooking went, but he could already tell that this meal would be unbelievably good. “I’m guessing your daughter is a very good cook.”

“She’ll do.”

“I heard that, Dad,” Keeley teased from the kitchen. “So beef pot roast for Connor but bread and water for you.”

Paul ignored her. “Now, my wife, Frances—there was a woman who could cook. She could make magic happen in the kitchen.” Paul settled back in his chair, his eyes closing as he drifted back through his memories. “Flakiest piecrusts and fluffiest biscuits you ever tasted. And her fried chicken? Whoo-eee. She could make a man almost cry, just by promising to make it for supper.”

Once again Keeley appeared at the door to the kitchen with a pot holder and a smile. “What Dad said is all true. Mom was a wonderful cook. Even using her recipe files, I can’t measure up.”

Connor’s estimation of Keeley moved up another notch.

Apparently the old man didn’t appreciate how much his daughter helped him, and he certainly didn’t consider his words before speaking. Yet she remained consistently kind, handling him with grace and a touch of humor. Traits so far removed from the party girl he’d married that he couldn’t even begin to compare them.

He could only hope that Marsha had matured during the time he’d been in prison. That she’d become a better mom, a stronger person...and that her latest conquest was a man who was good to their son. Shaking off his thoughts, he turned to Paul. “I’m sorry about your loss.”

Paul’s eyes opened and his smile faded as he came back into the present. “It’s been a long time. Fifteen years and four months.”

“It must have been hard, losing your wife so young.”

“Car accident. All three kids were in the car with her, but only she died.” Paul stood slowly, as if favoring a multitude of arthritic joints. “She took my heart with her to the grave, and then I had to raise those kids on my own. Hardest thing I ever did.”

At least he’d had the privilege of raising them, though from his sour expression he’d considered it far more work than joy.

Joshua’s face flashed into Connor’s thoughts and he felt a familiar stab of sorrow over the years he’d lost with his son. The deep longing hit him like a heavy ache in his heart.

How could Paul not see what a blessing he’d been given?

Chapter Six

W
ith a sense of wonder, Keeley watched her dad converse with Connor over dinner about ranching and cowboys and the Old West.

Most days he said only a few words to her, and most of them were orders or complaints. But tonight he seemed to have slipped back to the man he’d been before Mom’s death—a sociable man she only vaguely remembered.

It wasn’t always easy to keep a conversation going—especially in the face of Dad’s irascible personality. If she’d known Connor better, she would’ve given him a big hug for making such an effort.

Connor looked up after his last bite of apple pie à la mode and grinned at her. “This meal was amazing.”

“Thanks. I’m just glad you could come.” She looked over at her father, who was already heading to his favorite chair in the living room, and lowered her voice. “I think Dad really enjoyed some male conversation over dinner. Can I bring some coffee into the living room for you?”

“I’d rather help you clean up.” He stood and gathered some of the dishes and then followed her into the kitchen.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’ve already got the prep dishes in the dishwasher, and I’ll just load the rest when the first batch is done. You really were a hit, by the way. Both Dad and Bart like you, and that’s like hitting a home run around here.”

He looked out the double windows over the sink. “He has a beautiful place. It must be hard keeping it all up.”

She joined him at the windows. “The flower gardens were incredible when my mom was living. Now it’s more like survival of the fittest out there. But Dad putters in the gardens and I do the mowing.”

He looked at her with a glint of admiration in his eyes. “No wonder you needed help at the store.”

“And you agreed—for which I am deeply thankful.” She pointed toward a row of pine trees at the back of the property. “See the three cute cabins out back? My mom had a small B-and-B business going, mostly because she enjoyed the guests. After she died, we eventually had to stop once Dad wasn’t up to managing them anymore. It was a nice way to remember Mom, though. I still miss her, even after all these years.” Embarrassed that Dad had been so blunt—once again—she felt a warm blush climb to her cheeks. “I’m really sorry about that awkward moment back in the living room. Dad doesn’t have much of a filter anymore.”

“How did the accident happen?”

“I was barely sixteen, a kid who still assumed we’d all live forever and everything would always be the same. We were on our way to the church Christmas pageant and my younger sister and brother were bickering nonstop in the backseat. I should’ve turned around and done something to stop the fighting, but I was so entranced by what I was reading that I wasn’t paying attention. Mom looked over her shoulder to tell them to be quiet and didn’t see the drunk driver who ran a red light. He broadsided our car.” Keeley drew in a shaky breath. “She would have had time to avoid him, if she hadn’t been distracted.”

“Oh, Keeley. I’m so sorry about your loss.”

Keeley struggled to regain her train of thought, then closed her eyes briefly as the memory of the accident flooded back in minute and graphic detail, just like an old movie. The one that had played through her brain for years after that terrible day.

“At the funeral we kids overheard Dad telling relatives that the wreck was our fault because we were misbehaving in the car. Believe me, that made our loss a thousand times worse.”

“But you were just being kids. She was the one responsible for watching the road. It was an
accident
,” Connor murmured. “To say something so cruel, your dad must have been too distraught to even think straight. After the funeral he probably didn’t even remember saying it.”

The deep compassion in Connor’s voice offered her comfort. Peace. And a moment of grace she hadn’t ever realized she needed.

“I—I guess I never thought of it that way.” She turned away and stared blindly out the window. “I can’t tell you how often I considered ending my life during that first year. It was horrible to realize I would never get past that crushing grief because nothing would ever change. How could it? Mom would never come back. Life would never again be like it was. And the ragged hole in my heart would never heal. I knew I would feel guilty forever.”

“But...it got better.”

“Yeah. I used to hate the people who told me ‘time heals all wounds.’ I
hated
that they dared minimize my grief. But...I guess they were right.” She gave him a watery smile. “Sorry—I don’t usually trap people into hearing all of that.”

His beautiful eyes filled with deep understanding and he smiled gently. “I’m so sorry about all you went through.”

Feeling awkward and unbalanced after revealing so much of herself, she stole a glance at her watch. “Oh, gosh. It’s getting late. I want to give you a ride home, but I need to talk to Dad for a minute. Okay?”

“I can walk back on my own.”

“No, I’ll drive you. It’s not a problem at all, because I have to drive home anyway. If you want to go on out, I’ll meet you at the car.”

* * *

Keeley had made it clear that life with her father wasn’t always easy, especially now that he was slowly failing.

But spending the past few hours in their family home, enjoying a dinner and time with two people who had weathered hard times and still actually talked to each other, had tugged at Connor until he felt a raw and lonely chasm deepen in his heart.

Feelings he’d buried during what he thought would be a hopeless, lifelong incarceration were surfacing with each passing day.

What if there was still hope for new beginnings? What if Marsha had changed—and would be willing to get along, if only for their son’s sake?

Putting the past behind them would make everything so much easier...

Connor pulled his cell phone from his pocket, turned it on and checked the bars as he walked out to Keeley’s car. Sure enough, there was much better reception here in town than at the campground, where rocky bluffs towered over Aspen Creek and rimmed the main camping area.

He speed-dialed one of the few numbers programmed into the phone and listened to it ring, and ring, and ring...not even hopeful that there would be an answer.

“Hullo?” His ex-wife’s slurred voice grated in his ear.

From the sound of her voice, she was beyond drunk, and his hope faded. He only hoped Joshua wasn’t awake to see her. Then again, maybe he saw her like this so often that he thought it was normal.

“This is Connor. I wanted to tell you that—”

“I know who you are,” she muttered. “A
convict
. What kid deserves a dad like you?”

He fought to keep his voice level and calm. “As I already told you, I was never guilty. It was all a mistake. I’ve been
exonerated
.”

“Right. Only who’s to say the new DNA stuff isn’t wrong?”

Connor glanced at his watch. “Please, let me talk to Joshua.”

“Since they gave me full custody, I’m the one making the decisions. You have no business calling him.”

“Actually, I do. You may have custody, but I still have a father’s rights, Marsha.” He closed his eyes, feeling a chill creep down his spine as he remembered her threat to take the boy and move somewhere out on the East Coast without sharing a forwarding address. “And I also have a right to visit him.”

“Just try.”

“It would be better for him if we could be adults and work together. Have you told him that I’ve been released yet? That I want to see him?”

“I’ve got a new boyfriend now. A great guy, with lots of money—and Josh already thinks of him as Dad. Why mess the poor kid up?”

Her words felt like a knife twisting in his gut. Was it true or just another of her fabrications? “Josh deserves to know his real dad, Marsha—”

“Just drop it. After school’s out the three of us are moving out East, and good luck finding us then.”

She disconnected the call.

Connor closed his eyes and silently counted to ten. What
were
the laws on parental rights in Michigan?

From behind him, he heard Keeley clear her throat as she came down the porch steps. “Sorry it took a while. I needed to ask Dad about an idea I had, but trying to convince him of anything he doesn’t think of first is like asking a mule to fly.”

How much had she overheard of his phone call? “No problem.”

Dusk had settled in and now the old-fashioned street lamp by the curb painted lacy patterns of light and shadow on the sidewalk. As she walked around to the driver’s side of her old SUV, her blond hair gleamed like molten silver and gold, so pretty that it nearly took his breath away.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt your conversation,” she murmured as she buckled her seat belt and started the engine. “You seemed to be arguing with someone when I first came out on the porch, so I went back into the house for a while.”

He slouched in the front seat and looked straight ahead as she shifted into Drive, debating what to say. He’d been brutally honest about his incarceration, and even about his estrangement from his family back at the ranch.

But the situation with Marsha and Josh dominated his thoughts day and night, and felt too raw, too unsettled, too painful to share. Definitely not fodder for casual conversation where he might be faced with a flood of questions he wasn’t prepared to answer.

“You aren’t in some kind of trouble, are you? Should I be worried about you working for me?”

“Not at all.” He considered his words for a moment. “Just some...personal problems, unfortunately. Not at all relevant to the job at the store.”

They drove in silence through the downtown area of Aspen Creek and out to the campground, where she pulled to a stop by the pavilion. Several families were gathered in the shelter, playing cards at the picnic tables.

She turned sideways in her seat and rested a wrist on the steering wheel. “Maybe you could elaborate just a little. I’m now imagining street gangs and SWAT teams knocking on my door.”

“None of that has ever been a part of my life.” He sighed heavily. “Though they might be easier to deal with. The phone call was, unfortunately, with my ex-wife.”

Keeley drew in a shaky breath, her eyes wide. “You were married—and she wants you back?”

“She would like me to disappear. Forever. But that isn’t going to happen.”

“You mean...you want her
back?” Keeley’s somber gaze searched his face. “You still love her?”

“No.” He rubbed his palm over his face and exhaled slowly. “We barely tolerate each other, sad to say.”

“I can’t imagine how difficult that was, if neither of you was happy.”

At that, he snorted. “Happy would be a rare emotion for Marsha. Especially when she’s talking to me.”

Keeley dropped her gaze to her hands for a long moment then slanted a look at him. “I know it’s none of my business, but wouldn’t it be easier to just avoid each other?”

“It isn’t that simple.” He looked out at the deepening dusk and the squadron of moths orbiting the nearby security light. “We stayed together for four hard years. Then she ran off with one of the guys she’d been seeing on the sly. I wouldn’t have cared by then, except...” He swallowed hard. “For our son.”

Keeley paled. “Y-you have a child?”

“I would’ve done anything to keep that marriage together, so Josh wouldn’t have a broken home. Anything.”

“I’m so sorry.”

A familiar, heavy mantle of sorrow and regret settled over him, making it harder to breathe. “I haven’t seen him in five years. I didn’t want him to have memories of visiting me in prison, but maybe I was wrong.”

“It must have been so hard, not seeing him grow up,” Keeley murmured. “How old is he?”

“Nine. As soon as I left prison I tried to find them, but Marsha had disappeared. I started calling old friends of hers—anyone I could remember. Most refused to talk to me, but one gal finally gave me Marsha’s new cell number and last known address.” He swallowed hard at the memory of that conversation. “She gave it to me because she felt Josh deserved to be in better hands.”

“Oh,
no
.”

“I tried to get Lonnie to elaborate. All she’d say was that Marsha had lived with a string of boyfriends in recent years, still loved the party scene, and that Josh was practically raising himself. Last month Marsha took him and moved somewhere near Detroit. She has full custody, but she should have asked me—or at least should have contacted me with that new address.”

“How did she end up with full...?” Keeley bit her lower lip. “Stupid question.”

“She didn’t even want shared custody at first. But her lawyer convinced her otherwise, in case she ever changed her mind, I guess.” Connor gave a short, bitter laugh. “After I went to prison, she got full custody by default. No one thought I’d ever be released.”

“So that’s why you’re heading for Detroit—hoping to find your son,” Keeley said slowly. “I can’t imagine how heart-wrenching that must be.”

“I have missed him every moment of every day. Knowing he’s not in a good situation makes it a thousand times worse.”

“But you’ve talked to him, right? Sent letters?”

“I sent letters to him twice a week, the entire time I was in prison, but never heard back. I don’t know if he ever got them.”

“Could you call him from there?”

“With prepaid calling cards, but Marsha always refused to put him on the phone. Then she started complaining to her lawyer about ‘harassment’ and ‘threats,’ so I wasn’t allowed to call them again.”

Keeley sagged against her seat and shook her head. “I just don’t know what to say.”

“I promise you, I have never, ever, harassed anyone. Not in my entire life.”

She reached across the front seat and rested her hand on his. “I believe you. Honest, I do.”

He willed away the tension roiling in his stomach. “Would you let me use your laptop tomorrow?”

“You want to take it out to the campground?”

“No—just at the store, because I need the internet. Marsha says she’s taking off with Josh and her new boyfriend after the last day of school. I need to know when that is.”

“Of course. We can go back to town right now, if you want to.”