Coming Home To The Cattleman

Jennifer slowly sat down. “I appreciate the offer to stay here. It was more than generous.” Her voice didn’t sound right, but it was the best she could do.

He nodded and looked away.

If he wasn’t even going to look at her, then she had no reason to stay. She stood again and started for her bag. “I think I’ll go back to the hotel.”

“No! No, you’ll stay here. I won’t have the town talking about us!”

Jennifer sat back down. She couldn’t stand up to receive the indictment that she felt was coming. She hadn’t wanted to believe all her mother’s rantings about her father, but maybe now she should.

“Do you want some iced tea, Sam?” Rachel asked.

“Yeah, that would be good.” Sam moved to the table but took the seat farthest from Jennifer. As if she carried a disease.

Jason took the seat next to Sam as though he was showing what side he was on. Was he trying to prove to Jennifer how much more her father favored him over her?

Jennifer bent her head, hoping to hide the tears she felt forming in her eyes. She was beginning to think it had been a mistake to come here. How could she stay here? How could she accept her father’s rejection for a second time?

“How are you, Jennifer?” Sam asked after a minute.

She blinked several times before she raised her head. “I’m fine. I…I was surprised to see that the place still looks the same,” she said.

“We’re managing to stay afloat. But I have to warn you I don’t have as much money as I used to have. If you’re here to get some money, I can’t give you any.” He sounded angry.

Another blow. He thought she was here to take. Jennifer again swallowed the urge to leave. She knew that if she didn’t fight for at least acceptance from her father, she’d have nothing.

“I didn’t come to get money…Sam. I just…just thought that maybe it was time to get to know each other. We haven’t seen each other in such a long time. I hoped you wouldn’t mind seeing me for a little while. I’ll leave as soon as you want me to go.”

Sam was silent for a moment as he looked down at the table. “Okay,” he agreed with no emotion. “I have to change clothes and get to work. Ask Rachel for anything you want.” And he got up and left the room without even tasting the tea Rachel had fixed for him.

Jason stood and followed him.

Jennifer sat there, staring at the chair her father had occupied. She didn’t realize she was crying until Rachel handed her a tissue.

“Don’t cry, Jenny. It was hard for him when you left, and it’s been a long time. Things can’t be changed overnight.”

Jennifer wiped her cheeks dry. “No…I guess not.” After a moment she asked, “I’m not sure I should even be here, it seems so hard between us! Should I leave, Rachel? Would that be for the best?”

“No! Never, Jenny. Just give your dad some time. Do you need to go back to New York right away?”

“No. I quit my job when Mom died. There was so much to take care of, and I wasn’t happy there. I’d always wanted to come back home.”

“I’m glad you think of it as your home. Let’s go get you settled in your room.” Rachel stepped over to Jennifer’s suitcase and picked it up. “Just follow me.”

Jennifer followed Rachel up the staircase and turned right to go to her old room. When Rachel opened the door, Jennifer entered and was immediately struck by how much time had passed since she’d left the ranch. She had expected the room to look the same as it had when she’d been a little girl, but of course all her toys were gone, except for one stuffed rabbit that rested its head on the pillows. The gaily decorated room she’d left when she was eight was now an elegant room done in shades of blue.

“I love the way you’ve decorated the room, Rachel,” she said, pasting a smile on her face.

“We kept it the same for a long time, Jenny, but when it was obvious you weren’t coming home, I changed it because…because your father couldn’t deal with…with the memories.”

It was the first sign Jennifer had that her father had any kind of emotions for her. “He missed me?”

“Of course he did! Something fierce. If Jason hadn’t come along and helped him, I’m not sure he’d be alive now.”

“Oh. Jason. I can tell that they’re very close.”

“Yes, they are. Jason has been good to your father. It would be a mistake if you tried to come between them, Jenny.”

“No, Rachel, I would never do that. I know—I’m sure he’s been very helpful to…Sam.”

“Why don’t you call him Dad?”

Jennifer blew out a long breath. “I don’t know, Rachel, he doesn’t seem to want me to. He didn’t even touch me when he saw me.”

“You didn’t touch him, either.”

“No. I guess I was afraid to.”

“Well, give it time. Why don’t you unpack and come back down and then we’ll talk some more.”

“All right. Rachel, thank you for welcoming me. I’ve missed you.”

Rachel hugged her. “I’ve missed you, too. It was a dark day when your mother took you away.”

“Yeah, for me, too.”

Sam sank down on his bed and stared into space.

His door opened and he looked up to see Jason standing there.

“Are you okay, Sam?”

“Yeah.” Nothing more. He couldn’t seem to put his emotions into words.

“She’s a beautiful woman,” Jason said bleakly.

“Yeah.”

“You don’t trust her do you? Is that why you lied about your wealth? Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you did, it’s better to have that understanding up-front.”

With a weary sigh, Sam shook his head.

“You could tell her to go away, if that’s what you want.”

“It isn’t. I want to try again, Jason, but it’s been so long it’s hard. She was so sweet and loving when she was a child. I adored her. That’s why it hurt so much when Lorraine took her away. She was my world. I did everything for her future.”

Jason stepped to Sam’s side and put his hand on his shoulder. “I know that, Sam, but go slow. There’s no rush. You were hurt badly last time, don’t be so easily knocked off your pins this time.”

“Yeah,” Sam agreed, but he was heartsick. He’d wanted to put his arms around Jenny and swear he’d never let her go again. But Sam knew he’d have to. Her home was in New York. A foreign land to him. Jennifer’s mother had come to Oklahoma on a vacation. He’d fallen for her at once. Two weeks later they’d married.