Hitched! Page 16

  “Everybody has troubles, I guess.”

  “Yeah. They’re okay now, though. They’ve got a couple of kids and Boone practices law in Showdown. He’s also the mayor and keeps an eye on doings at the ranch, which is managed by Rachel’s brother, Lee Cox.”

  “One great big happy family,” Maxi murmured. She sighed. She hated to be the one about to throw sand in Taggart gears, but the fault would be Rand’s, not hers. And he didn’t seem to be worried about it.

  RAND FELT great relief when Max finally quit asking questions. He had enough of them to worry about without her bringing up more.

  Questions some strange guy was asking. Could be because of the hijacking, he supposed, but more likely it had to do with Bill’s financial shenanigans. Follow the money. No money involved with the unexpected flight to Mexico but plenty in the other instance. And Rand wasn’t the only victim.

  What he resented most was that he no longer had a choice. He simply had to bull ahead and hope that what he’d told Max was correct; that he had a chance to pull this off.

  Whizzing through the Texas Hill Country, he barely noticed the passing of miles. Boone was sharp, damn sharp. As a successful attorney, he was accustomed to looking beneath the surface. As for Kit, she’d always loved the Rocking T with an all-consuming passion. Could Rand dredge up any reasonable doubt there?

  Something intruded upon his concentration and he jerked to alertness. A woman had been standing beside a car on the shoulder of the road. Something must be wrong. He’d ask Max to use the cell phone—

  But no, that wasn’t enough. He couldn’t leave a woman standing forlornly on the shoulder while he continued blithely on his way. At the first wide spot in the highway, he hung a U-turn and headed back.

  “What is it?” Max braced herself with a hand on the dashboard. “Is something wrong?”

  “There was a car broken down. Maybe I can help out.”

  “What? I thought you were the guy who didn’t like to get involved.”

  “That’s me to a T.”

  He wished.

  HE PARKED on the side of the road. Max got out with him, thinking that the woman beside the stalled car might be less alarmed by her presence.

  At their approach, the elderly lady took a quick, alarmed step back. Rand smiled.

  “May I be of some assistance, ma’am?” he drawled.

  In a flash, her apprehension melted away. “My goodness, a nice Texas boy. What a relief.” The woman stopped wringing her hands. “I have a flat tire and I can’t seem to figure out where the jack might be.”

  “Let me take care of that for you.” His smile was ingratiating. “You can just go on over and sit down in the shade of those trees with my wife while I change the tire. You’ll be up and running in a few minutes…if you have a spare.”

  “Oh, I do. I believe it’s with the jack. Thank you so much, young man. You’re a credit to your bringin’-up.”

  Sitting on a rock beneath a clump of trees, Maxi learned that the lady had been on her way to visit grandkids, when she met with this adversity. Maxi had never had a grandma but thought it would be nice if she had. In fact, the woman’s gentle soliloquy was making Maxi downright depressed.

  When Rand closed the car trunk and waved, the two women rose and walked back to the now re-tired car.

  “What do I owe you, young man?” the lady chirped.

  “Not a thing, ma’am. Glad to do it.”

  “In that case…” As if prepared for the likelihood that a nice Texas boy would refuse payment, she opened the passenger door, leaned inside the car and emerged holding a large disposable plastic dish with a cover. She offered it to him with a smile. “With my compliments. Cookies, all homemade and all delicious, if I do say so myself.”

  “Homemade cookies?” Rand glanced at Maxi. “I don’t think I can turn down homemade cookies.”

  “I wouldn’t let you.” Maxi took the dish. “I’ll see he gets his share,” she promised. “This is so kind of you.”

  “It’s the least I can do,” the lady averred. “Thanks again. If anybody criticizes young people to me, I’ll set ’em straight.”

  With a farewell wave, she walked around to the driver’s side, climbed inside, started the car and drove away. Only then did Rand turn to Maxi with a crooked smile. “I’ll do anything for a homemade cookie.”

  “You didn’t do it for cookies,” she said. “You did it because you’re a nice guy.”

  To herself she added, Sometimes.

  THEY ATE COOKIES all the way to Showdown. By the time they passed the city limits, nothing but crumbs remained in the plastic container.

  Rand slowed to a crawl through the sleepy Texas town, with its white picket fences and tall old trees. He patted his flat middle.

  “That lady sure knows how to bake,” he said with admiration. “I don’t suppose you bake?” He cast her a teasing, hopeful glance.

  She sniffed haughtily, but she didn’t fool him; she was relaxed and enjoying herself as much as he was. “I certainly do,” she announced. “I’m a great baker. If I get a chance, I’ll prove it.”

  “I’ll hold you to that.” He pulled the rental car to the curb in front of a huge old Victorian mansion set well back from the street. Surrounded by a wrought-iron fence, it looked like a fairy-tale castle, with its soaring turrets and curving steamboat veranda.

  Maxine gasped. “That’s where they live?”

  “Sure is.”

  “It’s wonderful!”

  “I guess so. Are you ready to face the music?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be.” Drawing in a deep breath, she opened the door and stepped out onto the sidewalk. Leaves crunched beneath her feet.

  Rand joined her, taking her hand. By now she was used to that, and merely looked up at him with a faintly questioning smile.

  She’s beautiful, he thought suddenly. When he met her, he’d been deceived by her lack of gloss into judging her plain. He could see past that now. There were strength and symmetry in her face, humor and a quick wit. He could do worse—

  Shake it off, Taggart! This was a business arrangement, nothing more. He was paying her to be here and he’d forget it at his peril.

  Still holding her hand, he opened the unlocked iron gate and they walked together up the leaf-strewn sidewalk to the wide porch. He could tell she was impressed with the place and enjoying its eccentricities. At the ornate door, he rang the bell.

  He could hear it echoing through the house and then, without warning, the door flew open. A redheaded freckle-faced twelve-year-old girl with a pretty, oval face stood there. She wore jeans, a striped T-shirt and a bored expression.

  She said, “Oh, it’s you.”

  “You were maybe expecting a rock star?” Rand grinned at his young cousin. “Good to see you, too, Cherish. Are your folks here?”

  From somewhere inside the house, a feminine voice emerged. “Cherish, is that Randy? If it is, tell him to come on in!”

  “Mom says come on in.” Cherish opened the screen door wider. She added apologetically, “I thought it was Emily—she’s my best friend.” As Max walked in, Cherish stuck out her hand and said, “And you would be…?”

  Max laughed. “I would be Maxine— ‘Max’ to my friends.”

  Rand put his arm around Max’s shoulders. “This is my wife, short stuff. Didn’t your folks tell you I got married?”

  “Yeah, but I didn’t believe it.”

  “I’ve got a marriage license to prove it,” he said.

  She shrugged. “I don’t care about that stuff. I didn’t get to go to the wedding so I can’t be sure there was one. Simple as that.” She lifted her hand in a kind of salute. “I gotta go find out what’s keeping Emily. See you later.”

  When she was gone, Max shook her head, her expression admiring. “That’s quite a kid,” she said. “If she’s anything like her mother—”

  “She’s exactly like her mother.” The voice came from the hall leading deeper into the house. A woman stepped
forward with a welcoming smile, a woman with red hair and freckles and a pretty, oval face. She, too, wore jeans, but her shirt was plaid and tucked in at the waistband. “Welcome, Randy,” she said. “Welcome home.”

  ALL THIS HUGGING and family stuff were getting to Maxi big time. How could Rand—or anyone else, for that matter—not be completely in love with every single Taggart, whether by blood or marriage? Maxi would kill for a family like this.

  Maxi would kill Rand if he persisted in his plan to deceive and betray them. But the man turning to her with a smile wouldn’t, couldn’t, do a thing like that.

  “Aunt Kit, this is my wife, Maxine.”

  “Oh, honey, I’m so glad to meet you.” Now it was Maxi’s turn to get hugged. “Y’all come on back to the sunroom. I’ll give you a big glass of iced tea and catch you up on everything that’s goin’ on. Boone should be along any minute. He’s out puttin’ the fear of God into Dwayne Partridge—you remember him, Rand? He’s got a twin brother, Shayne?”

  “Who could forget the Partridge brothers?”

  “Exactly. Anyway, Dwayne got drunk the other day and ran his pickup into the side of the Dairy Domicile—that’s the local drive-in restaurant, Maxine. Nobody was hurt, but there was considerable damage, which Dwayne swears he won’t pay for. He claims he only had eight beers. It usually takes a dozen to get him drunk, so what happened must be an act of God.”

  She led them into a screened-in porch beautifully appointed with wicker furniture and an abundance of potted ferns. It could have been lifted intact from another century. “Iced tea?” She looked at Maxi, apparently knowing Rand’s preferences.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “Sweetened?”

  “No, thank you.”

  Kit poured the tea from a side table without a break in her monologue. “So how was the drive? I’ll bet it was nice, with all the leaves changing and everything. Fall’s my favorite season. I’ve always liked that drive between here and Hells Bells—takes just long enough to be interesting.” She glanced up from her task with a smile. “If I’m not mistaken, Boone just came in.”

  Presenting the glasses, she gazed expectantly at the door.

  A tall, broad-shouldered man in slacks and a sweater that appeared to be cashmere entered. Maxi would have known him anywhere, since he resembled Jesse so much. With a smile for the guests, he walked first to his wife and kissed her lightly on the lips. Then he turned toward Rand and Maxi, who sat side by side on a wicker settee.

  “I see you made it, Randy. I take it this is your bride?”

  “Yes, Uncle Boone. This is Maxine.”

  “I’m very pleased to meet you.”

  Outwardly friendly, inwardly shrewd. This was one savvy man, Maxi realized. It was going to take a lot to fool him.

  She said, “I’m pleased to meet you, too. I’ve been pleased to meet all of Rand’s family.”

  Boone seemed to pick up on the longing she couldn’t keep out of her tone. Crossing to fix himself a glass of tea, he spoke over his shoulder. “Do you come from a large family, Maxine?”

  “No.” She must be very careful what she said to this man. “My mother died almost ten years ago. After that it was just my sister and me.”

  “That’s too bad.” Boone looked as if he meant it. He sat down on a wicker chair. “Kit didn’t have much family, either.”

  Kit took the chair next to his. “I grew up with my mother in California. She died when I was about twelve, so I came to live with my aunt at the Rocking T. She was Thom T.’s housekeeper and he became my surrogate…my surrogate everything. When my aunt retired to Florida, I stayed here because it was home.”

  Maxi, trying to listen poker-faced, risked a glance at Rand. His expression revealed nothing.

  Kit went on as if she hadn’t noticed anything amiss. “Thom T. sent me to nursing school and eventually I moved back to the ranch to take care of him after he broke a leg in a riding accident.” Her laugher was merry. “He was in his eighties at the time.”

  Boone appeared pained. “Can you blame me for thinking the old guy would be better off if he moved back East with me instead of trying to run a ranch at his age?”

  Kit’s face turned stubborn. “He had help—me, for one.”

  Rand laughed. “Are you two still fighting that war? Give it up, Uncle Boone. Women always win those fights.”

  Boone’s grin held a mischievous edge. “I hope so, because I predict that Maxine is purely gonna love that ranch. If she does, you’ll have no choice but to keep it—live there, raise your kids there.”

  Maxi smiled mechanically, thinking: live there, raise her kids there? Not a chance, and yet…The prospect held considerable charm.

  Or would, if Rand were not the man he was.

  “Speaking of the ranch…” Kit stood up. “Lee’s got everything ready for you, kids.” She added in case Maxi didn’t know, “Lee’s my brother. He’s been in charge out there since Thom T. passed away.”

  Rand said quickly, “What do you mean, ready for us?”

  “Don’t you want to look everything over? If I recall…” Her glance narrowed fractionally. “You haven’t been there since Thom T. d-died.”

  Her mouth actually trembled when she said the word. Here was a woman who had truly loved the old man who had befriended her.

  Rand looked stricken. “You mean now? You want us to go now?”

  Boone caught Kit’s forearm in a light grip. “You’re rushing them, sweetheart. Give them a few minutes to catch their bearings. For that matter, give them lunch. You got anything to eat in the kitchen?”

  Kit seemed dismayed. “What am I thinking? Of course we’ll eat lunch first. It’s just that I’m so sure once Rand and Maxine see the Rocking T they won’t possibly be able to even consider—”

  She stopped, biting her lower lip. “Not that I have any reason to believe you don’t honor your heritage, Randy,” she said. “No true Taggart would sell the Rocking T. Other members of this family may have their suspicions—” She glanced at her husband, leaving little doubt about who these “other members” included. “I won’t believe such a terrible thing is possible until it happens, which I’m confident it never will.”

  Everybody eyed Rand, who was sitting there tight jawed. “Whatever,” he said. “If you want me to go look at the place, I’ll go look at the place.”

  “Uh-uh,” Boone said.

  “Uh-uh?”

  “It isn’t a question of looking at the place. It’s ready for you to move in and that’s what we expect you to do, at least until your birthday. After that…” He shrugged, but his meaning was clear.

  Convince me.

  THE LONGER LUNCH LASTED, the more Rand fought a growing anxiety. He hadn’t realized how much he dreaded seeing the Rocking T again. He’d loved the old place when he was a kid visiting his great-grandpa, but it hadn’t been important to him in terms of family history or stability. No one had ever spoken about the ranch or its future. Now they couldn’t talk about anything else and he was beginning to feel more and more defensive.

  Kit was rattling on about the herd of longhorns, which Rand was surprised to realize still existed, when eighteen-year-old Travis arrived for lunch with his cousin Jason Cox, the minister. Tall and good-looking like his father, Travis greeted everyone courteously if coolly, grabbed a ham sandwich and disappeared.

  Kit sighed. “That boy,” she said. “I just don’t know what’s got into him lately. This time last year he was a delight and now he seems barely able to stay in the same room with us.”

  Jason reached for the mustard. “It’s a phase,” he said. “His heart’s in the right place. He was helping out over at the church with the kids.”

  “There’s a bit more to it than that,” Boone said quietly. “Kit babies the boy.”

  A shiver shot down Rand’s spine; he had heard these words before. His father had said them to his mother, over and over again. In retrospect, Rand suspected his father might have been right. His mother had babied her on
ly son, but his father had retaliated by being too tough. Too remote. Too cool.

  The result had been years of boarding school and a resulting estrangement that just seemed to grow and grow and grow. During holidays and vacations, he’d spent as little time at home as possible, preferring the Rocking T, his aunts and uncles, the homes of friends, even camp.

  He’d always thought that if his parents really loved him, they wouldn’t have stood for that. Now he surprised himself by offering unsolicited advice.

  “Don’t let Travis get away with this, folks.”

  Everyone looked at him in surprise.

  “Sorry to stick my nose into your business but I know where that kid’s coming from.”

  “Because…” Jason’s tone was sympathetic. “You’ve been there, huh?”

  “Yeah, I’ve been there.” Rand hesitated, afraid he’d sound like a crybaby but concerned enough for his cousin to risk it. “I know it’d be easier to let him have his way, but don’t. And don’t land on him like a ton of bricks, either.”

  “Then what?” Kit’s frustration was evident. “What’s left?”

  “Keep him close,” Rand said, “and…love him. Make sure he knows it, because at this point I can guarantee he’s not any too damn sure of much of anything.”

  Max stared at him, wide-eyed. Her hand touched his, resting beneath the table on his thigh, and he started.

  Embarrassed, he said, “I guess that’s enough free advice for one day. Are you about ready to go, Max?”

  “I’m ready when you are.”

  “Then let’s hit the road.” He stood up, drawing her with him by the hand still clasped in his.

  “Thank you,” Kit said softly.

  “Ah…”

  “No, I mean it. That’s the first time you ever opened up with us that way, Randy. It’s been obvious over the years that you don’t like to talk about personal things. That you’d do so now…” She smiled suddenly at Max. “I guess your new wife is already having a good effect on you.”

  Max’s high cheekbones pinked. “I can’t take the credit,” she protested.

  “Sure you can,” Boone countered. “That’s why men get married—so their wives can steer them in the right direction.”