The Cowboy's New Heart Page 2
“You aren’t an old man by any stretch of the imagination and I won’t be missing out on anything. Besides, I’ll be eighteen in a few weeks,” Denni said, rolling her blue eyes. “We’ve had this conversation before, Drew. I’m not going away to school. I don’t want to be away from you. I can pick a college in Timbuktu, but it doesn’t mean I’ll go. I thought you agreed I could study at home. You can help me. I don’t need a college degree to hang on the wall when all I want is to be your wife.”
“Look, Molly, I know you think…” Drew said, but found his thoughts scattering a thousand directions when Denni started rubbing her hand along his jaw and blew in his ear. “You will get a college degree. I don’t care how, in what, or from where, but you are getting one. I promised your dad and I won’t go back on my word.”
“Fine. What’s the second condition?” Denni asked with an innocent look on her face as she trailed her fingers down Drew’s neck and along the collar of his cotton shirt.
“Second condition?” Drew asked distractedly, trying to remember what they were discussing. For such a young girl, Denni was very good at diverting a man’s attention, particularly his. Getting his thoughts back on track, he frowned at her. “That you behave yourself and not distract me when you know I’m right.”
When Denni shook her head at him, he gave her a rakish smile.
“Your daddy said no babies until you graduate from college,” Drew said, forcing himself not to kiss Denni senseless right there in broad daylight when she leaned into his chest and ran her fingers up and down his arm. He knew her sister Mary was watching them from the living room window and no doubt her mama was keeping an eye on them as well.
“How dare he try to dictate when…” Denni said, her voice loud enough the neighbor across the street watering her flowers looked their direction. Drew put a hand over Denni’s mouth and shook his head.
“Either you accept the terms of both conditions or no deal, Molly. I know this is going to irk you, but I agree with your dad. You need to experience life a little before we start a family and I want you to earn a college degree. Someday you might be glad you have it,” Drew said, giving her a comforting hug. “No more arguments. The sooner you pick out a college and enroll in a program you can study from home, the sooner you can start planning the wedding.”
Denni sat up and glared at him. He knew she felt like he’d turned into a traitor, agreeing with her parents, but Drew was just old enough and smart enough to realize her folks were right.
Putting his hand on the back of her neck, he pulled her close until his breath stirred the blond curls by her ear. “Don’t you think it would be a good idea to get married sooner rather than later, Molly girl? I have an idea you’re going to enjoy being my wife very much.”
Denni felt herself shiver from the warmth of his breath on her neck and nodded her head in agreement. When Drew made her insides turn to mush, she’d do anything he asked. In love with him since she was twelve and saw him standing in line at the movie theater with some tall, pretty brunette, she told herself then and there she was going to marry Drew Thompson if it was the last thing she ever did.
She spent years trying to get Drew to notice her. When he went off to college, it almost broke her heart. He stopped by a few times during summer vacation to visit, but Denni went unnoticed until last summer when Drew graduated from college and returned to the Triple T to help his father run the family ranch.
With an agribusiness degree, Drew was ready to settle down and be a partner with his dad. What he hadn’t planned on was Denni growing up while he was gone to college. Drew fought his attraction to the young girl with a rigid determination, but in the end Denni convinced him she was both mature and responsible enough to be in a relationship with him.
It was obvious to everyone the two of them shared a very special love, one most people searched for but never found.
Now that Denni had a future with Drew right in the grasp of her hand, she was holding tight and never letting go.
“Can you be ready for a wedding by the end of June?” Denni asked, jumping off Drew’s lap and pulling him to his feet.
Drew laughed and wrapped her in his arms, swinging her around and around on the porch.
“Something tells me ready or not, we’re getting married then.”
Chapter One
“The heart will break, but broken live on.”
Lord Byron
Thirty-Seven Years Later…
Holding sharpened scissors in a skilled hand, Denni Thompson quickly snipped through a piece of bright purple cotton fabric, following the pattern she was cutting with speed and precision.
Glancing up as the bell above her quilt-shop entrance jingled, she sucked in her breath, thinking for a fleeting moment that her Drew was walking in the door.
Blinking hard, she put on a tender smile to greet her oldest son.
“Trey, what are you doing here?” Denni asked, carefully placing the scissors in their holder behind the counter and walking around it to embrace the strapping man who looked like a replica of his deceased father. From the top of his black Stetson to the toes of his well-worn cowboy boots, Trey was the spitting image of Drew Thompson. His eye color was the only thing that distinguished him from the man Denni loved for thirty years before he died way too young.
“Can’t I drop by to see my mom without making her think I’m up to something?” Trey asked, his bright turquoise eyes twinkling with life and good humor.
“Of course you can, honey,” Denni said, patting his cheek, looking around him expecting his wife and daughter to come in the door any minute. “Where are the girls? What are you doing in town on this bitterly cold day?”
“Since the weather is nasty and Cady was feeling cooped up, I promised we’d come into town just for fun,” Trey said, leaning against the counter and pushing up the brim of his hat with his forefinger, a habit that made Denni’s heart catch. It was a move Drew executed thousands of times during his lifetime.
“Cass has been jabbering our ears off about some new fairy book that she absolutely must have, so I left her and Cady at the bookstore. I told them I’d see if you could be coerced into having lunch with us and meet them at that place around the corner.”
“I’d love to have lunch with you,” Denni said, grateful for his unexpected visit. “Spending time with you three will be a treat.”
Admitting her thoughts had been as gloomy as the January weather before Trey walked in the door, she was hoping time spent with him would cheer her up. Although everyone thought her youngest son Travis was her favorite, Trey was her first-born and the one most like his father. For that reason alone, she knew he would always hold a very special place in her heart.
“What’s eating at you, Mom? You’re usually full of pep and sass, but you seem sad today,” Trey said, studying his mother.
Although she was nearing her mid-fifties, she looked much younger with her stylish blond hair, trim figure and snapping blue eyes. The laugh lines that fanned from them were the only thing that kept her from looking the same age as her three daughters-in-law.
Today, though, there wasn’t a hint of a laugh or even a real smile.
“Nothing,” Denni said, gathering her purse and coat from behind the counter where she kept them and locking the cash register drawer. Her afternoon help wouldn’t arrive until one, but she didn’t min
d closing for an hour to have lunch with three of her favorite people.
Thinking about the quilt shop she now owned, Denni reflected on how much her life had changed from her days as a young ranch wife in Grass Valley to a widow running a store in The Dalles.
When her husband first died, Denni fought to keep going. She finally realized she had to get away from the ranch where memories of Drew haunted her every time she turned around. Moving to The Dalles, she went to work managing a friend’s quilt shop. With a love of sewing, quilting, and crafts, the store was the therapy she needed to manage her grief and get out of bed each day.
Last fall, her friend announced she wanted to sell the shop, so Denni bought it without hesitation. Making a few changes, she was increasing sales and enjoying the responsibility of being a businesswoman. She was finally putting the degree Drew made her get in business management to good use.
Sighing, Denni slipped her arms into the sleeves of the coat Trey held for her. She started toward the door but his hands settled on her shoulders before she took more than a few steps. Turning her around, he wrapped her in a warm hug and she hugged him back, holding him tightly.
“Thanks, honey. I needed that today,” she said, stepping back and plastering on a wobbly smile. Brushing at a wayward tear, she squeezed Trey’s hand and started for the door again.
“Mom, what’s the matter? You can tell me,” Trey said, stopping her a second time. “You look so sad today. Did something happen with the store? Is Nana okay? Is there something I do to help?”
Patting her son’s handsome cheek, she gave him a genuine smile and shook her head. “I’m fine, Trey. Nana’s fine. The store is great. I guess the winter blahs have settled in and I’m feeling a little blue.”
“You’re thinking about dad, aren’t you?” Trey asked as he opened the door and turned the sign to closed. Denni checked the lock after Trey closed the door then took her son’s arm as they strolled down the street toward a bistro.
“How did you know that?” Denni asked, startled by Trey’s perceptiveness. Maybe being married for a year had given him a new insight into how women thought and felt.
“You always get this far away look on your face and you practically wince when you see me,” Trey said, matter-of-factly. He was aware just the sight of him sometimes brought his mother as much pain as it did joy. He never doubted for a minute that she loved him, but he knew it was hard to see him when he looked so much like his dad.
“Oh, honey. I don’t want you to think I’m ever anything other than happy to see you. I am. Truly I am,” Denni said, sorry that she’d been so transparent in her feelings with her oldest son. “Some days are just harder to deal with than others.”
“I know, Mom. We all miss Dad. We always will, but don’t you think it’s time you moved on?” Trey asked as they stood waiting for traffic to pass so they could cross the street.
“I have moved on,” Denni said, feeling defensive. “I have my own house, own a nice business, and do things with friends.”
“That’s not moving on, Mom, that’s moving around,” Trey said, waving at his wife Cady as she walked down the sidewalk from the direction of the bookstore with their adopted daughter skipping along beside her, red curls bouncing in the frigid air. “Dad wouldn’t want you to stop living. I know your heart broke when he died, but don’t you think he’d want you to put the pieces back together and get on with your life? He’s been gone for almost eight years.”
“I’m well aware how long he’s been gone,” Denni said in a clipped tone as Trey escorted her across the street. “Let’s talk about this some other time.”
Bending down, Denni held out her arms to Cass and engulfed the energetic little girl in a big hug.
“How’s my favorite six-year-old on the planet?” Denni asked, giving Cass a kiss on her cheek.
“I’m great, Grammy. Mama got me a new fairy book. Want to see?” Cass said, pulling a book out of the bag she carried and handing it to Denni. The sparkly cover with splashes of pink and purple would certainly have caught Cass’ attention. The child absolutely loved glitter and fairies.
“Maybe we can read this after lunch. Do you think your Mom and Dad would let you come to my store for the afternoon?” Denni asked, taking Cass’ hand and walking in the restaurant door Trey held open.
“Well, I… are you sure, Denni?” Cady asked, knowing Cass could be a handful. “You’re usually so busy on Saturdays. We’re disrupting your day as it is.”
“My assistant manager will be there this afternoon and I hardly get to see my only grandchild as it is,” Denni said, sliding into a booth and pulling Cass in next to her. “I’d really love to have her for a few hours, if you two don’t mind.”
“We wouldn’t mind at all,” Trey said, turning his bright gaze to his wife and giving her a wink as he hung their coats and his hat on the hook at the end of their booth before sitting down beside her. “I’m sure I can think of something to keep us occupied for a few hours, without any responsibilities, or interruptions, or little chatterboxes underfoot.”
“I’m not a chatterbox, Daddy,” Cass said, giggling as Trey reached under the table and grabbed her jiggling foot.
“Are you sure?” Trey teased, grinning at his daughter.
“Yep. Uncle Trent said I couldn’t be a chatterbox because I’m really a goofball,” Cass said, looking around the restaurant with wide blue eyes, taking in everything.
“That you are,” Denni said, tweaking Cass’s little button nose. She loved this child as much as if she’d been born into the family. Raised by an alcoholic mother in poverty, Trey and Cady took Cass in when her mother died. At the time, Cady was Trey’s housekeeper and cook, but they worked together to gain custody of the child and then adopt her, squeezing in a wedding between the two events.
Married for only a year, Trey and Cady didn’t have many opportunities to spend time alone. Between ranch responsibilities, family obligations, and trying to provide Cass with a sense of security and stability, the couple rarely spent time alone.
Denni wanted Cass to stay with her not only because she loved spending time with the precocious child, but also because she wanted Trey and Cady to have a few carefree hours to enjoy each other.
Although her three sons worked hard to make sure the Triple T Ranch was solid and successful, Trey was the one who seemed to shoulder the bulk of the responsibility. Everyone looked to him for guidance, leadership, and direction. He was much like his father that way.
Cady arrived at the ranch serious and professional in demeanor, but living at the Triple T seemed to bring out a more relaxed, playful side in Denni’s beautiful daughter-in-law. Cooking and cleaning for all the family, as well as the ranch hands, kept the young woman hopping from early morning to late at night.
All the more reason Trey and Cady needed some time for fun.
Placing their orders, they chatted about Denni’s store, Trey’s grandmother, Nana, his cousin’s upcoming wedding to one of their very good friends, and life on the ranch.
Moving into town, Denni missed so many things about Grass Valley. She missed the sense of community, she missed friends she’d had for more than thirty years, and she really missed the open spaces and big sky at the ranch.
“Mr. Hammond gave us new swings,” Cass said, interrupting Denni’s musing as she sucked the last of her milk through a bright pink straw.
“New swings?” Denni asked, trying to follow the child’s train of thought. “Oh, at school. Did you get new swings at school?”
“Yep. They’re awesome. You can go up, up, up way high in the sky,” Cass said shooting her little hand up in the air and zooming it back down, imitating the motion of a swing. “I bet I go up as high as Uncle Trent’s head!” Cass said, comparing her swinging abilities to her uncle’s six-foot five-inch height.
“My goodness. That sounds like fun. And you say Mr. Hammond gave them to you?” Denni asked, looking at Cady for an explanation.
Hart Hammond moved to Grass V
alley before Halloween, buying the run-down gas station and giving it new life. He added a coffee counter, along with a variety of snacks, and made it one of the nicest of the many Renegade gas stations he owned throughout the Northwest. The fact that he bore a striking resemblance to Jon Bon Jovi and always seemed to wear a friendly smile was not lost on Denni. For a man who had to be in his fifties, he was wickedly handsome and obscenely fit.
Apparently, he was also a bit of a philanthropist.
“One evening, when Hart was at the ranch for dinner, the conversation rolled around to the need for new playground equipment at school. We were tossing around ideas on how to raise the money and the next thing we knew, the school received a delivery of all new equipment,” Cady said, smiling as she remembered how excited the students were by Hart’s gift. “Hart tried to act like he didn’t know anything about it, but he finally admitted he ordered the equipment. He’s such a nice man. I’m so glad he decided to settle in Grass Valley.”
“Me, too,” Trey said, finishing his burger and glancing at the uneaten fries on Cady’s plate. At her nod, he started munching on them. “He’s got good prices on fuel, he’s friendly and fair, and he seems willing to get involved in community projects. Did you know he spearheaded the new paint job on the church?”
“I didn’t know that,” Denni said, irritated with herself for being interested in anything Hart Hammond did. She first met him at the ranch when Travis took it upon himself to invite the man for Thanksgiving dinner. Cady and Travis’ wife, Tess, made sure Denni sat right across the table from him. How could she help but notice his blue eyes, easy smile, and that darn cleft in his chin.
“He also said…” Trey stopped mid-sentence at a glare from his mother. Today was evidently not the day to expound on all of Hart Hammond’s many fine qualities. He wondered what Hart had done to get on his mother’s bad side. She generally liked just about everyone.
Clearing his throat he tipped his head toward Cass. “How long do you want to keep our little flittering fairy?”