The Rancher Next Door

“Katherine Marie Fitzgerald, you’re quite the grown woman, aren’t you?” Hattie asked, holding out both hands.

Without thinking, Katie set her bag on the floor and crossed to the side of the bed. She found herself smiling at Hattie. “Hello, Mrs. Darby.”

The older woman frowned. “Please, don’t call me that. I’m Hattie. After all, you’re going make me sweat and listen to me swear through my exercises. Under those circumstances it would be silly to be formal, don’t you think?” Hattie squeezed her hands and released them. “Besides, I’ve known you since before you were born.”

Katie laughed. “I hadn’t thought of it that way, but you’re right.” She pulled up the chair by the bed and settled on the seat. “I’ve spoken to Dr. Remington. He says you’re doing very well. How are you feeling?”

Hattie motioned to her lower body and sighed. “Like a fool. Jack keeps telling me I should have known better than to show off at the Thompsons’ barbecue, but I couldn’t help myself. Several broken bones later, I guess I’ve learned my lesson.”

Katie reached for her bag and pulled out a folder. “I have all the information here on your injuries and your recovery. Dr. Remington would like you to have a month of daily physical therapy. Then another month of three times a week. The aggressive schedule is to help you regain as much of your former range of motion and strength as possible.”

Hattie nodded. “I want to be up and barrel racing real soon. The sight of a good-looking woman on a horse always makes the men around here go crazy, and I could use a mild flirtation or two in my life.”

Katie looked at Hattie’s pretty features. There were a few lines around her eyes and mouth, but they only added to her attraction. Her strong features reminded Katie a little of Jack.

“I’ll see what I can do about getting you back on the horse.” She dug a pen out of her bag and wrote the date on her chart. “Are you getting around all right? Any trouble I should know about?”

Hattie snorted. “I can barely take a breath without someone running in to ask me if I’m all right. Jack comes to fuss over me three or four times a day. Nora, my oldest daughter, comes in from town every day to check on me. She offered to move back in for a time, but I told her I was fine. You raise them and finally get them out and the first thing you know, they want to move back.”

Hattie might be complaining, but Katie heard the love in her voice.

“Dr. Remington said he would be willing to recommend a part-time nurse if you think you need one,” Katie reminded her.

“I’m fine.” Shrewd dark eyes, so much like Jack’s, settled on her face. “I just realized this is the first time you’ve been inside my house. Isn’t that so?”

Katie considered the question. “I guess it is.”

Hattie sighed. She settled back on her pillows and folded her hands across her stomach. “The Darbys and Fitzgeralds have been neighbors for over a hundred years and still they fight. The feud has never made sense to me and it never well. I’ll bet you barely know any of my children and they barely know you. What a tragedy. We should have been friends, looking out for each other.”

“I agree,” Katie said softly. She hadn’t realized she was tense about being on the Darby ranch until Hattie’s words made her relax. She closed the file. “If you’re ready, we can get started.”

Hattie looked at her and grinned. “I would prefer you didn’t make me scream. At my age, it’s embarrassing.”

An hour later they completed the exercises. Hattie used a washcloth to wipe the perspiration from her face. “That wasn’t too terrible,” she said.

“Not even one scream,” Katie teased. “I’ll be drummed out of my local physical therapy association.”

Sunlight spilled into the big room. Light reflected off the highly polished wood flooring and fell across the bed. Hattie turned toward the window. “It’s nearly three. About time for Jack to come pay me a visit. He brings me a snack. You could stay and keep us both company.”

As Hattie had spent the past hour talking about Jack—how wonderful he was, how smart, how gifted, how wealthy, how single—Katie wasn’t surprised by the invitation. Hattie might be funny and kind, but she wasn’t subtle.

She packed up her equipment and pulled out the chart. “Hattie, I’m not in the market for a husband,” she said.

“Who said anything about a husband?” Hattie asked innocently. “I’m talking about having a little fun.”

“Uh-huh. Sure. First it’s fun, then you’ll want to know about grandchildren.”

Hattie laughed. “Maybe just one small one.” Her humor faded. “So tell me why you’re so against marriage.” She frowned. “I remember hearing you were married before. Is that why?”

“Right in one guess,” Katie said lightly. Even though it had been ten years, she didn’t like talking about her divorce. Not because she missed her ex-husband, but because remembering that time also made her remember that she’d been a fool. Young and not the least bit aware of what she was doing, but a fool nonetheless.

“Did he break your heart?” Hattie asked.

Her voice had changed from teasing to comforting. Katie knew that Hattie’s husband had abandoned her and her seven children when Jack, the oldest, had been twelve. If anyone understood the meaning of heartbreak, it was Hattie Darby.

“More like he showed me that I could be incredibly stupid,” Katie admitted. “What I’d taken for true love was just a reaction to being on the rebound. I found myself married, pregnant and divorced in about six months. The good news is I grew up fast. Being a single mom before I turned twenty forced my hand on that one.” She paused, then smiled. “But I wouldn’t trade Shane for the world, so there’s a positive side to the story, after all.”

Hattie adjusted her sheet. “I know what you mean. My children are my greatest blessing. So how old is your son?”

“Nearly ten.”

“His father didn’t mind you moving back to Lone Star Canyon?”

“His father hasn’t seen him even once in his life, so it wasn’t a problem.”

Hattie’s dark eyes turned sympathetic. “I don’t understand men who can turn their backs on their children. My husband hasn’t been back to see his, either.”

All this talk of the past made Katie uncomfortable. She wanted to be able to put it behind her. She cleared her throat, then reached for her scheduling book. “We need to pick a time for your physical therapy,” she said by way of changing the subject. “Your body needs to recover from our sessions, and it’s best to have a standing appointment so there’s always twenty-four hours between workouts. Fortunately I’m pretty open at the moment, so what works for you?”

Hattie leaned back against the pillows and thought for a moment. “How about four in the afternoon?”

Katie shook her head. “I pick up Shane at three-thirty from school. I wouldn’t be able to do that, get him home and then here in time.”

“Then bring him. This old house needs a child’s laughter.”

Katie started to protest, then thought about the difficult afternoons at her father’s house. Her temporary move home while her new house was being built was supposed to bring grandfather and grandson closer together. So far the plan had been a complete failure. Maybe afternoons away from the ranch would be good for Shane.

“If you’re sure he won’t get in the way.”

Hattie waved toward the window. “It’s a working ranch. What trouble could he be? This world was made for children.”

Katie found herself warming to Jack’s mother. Hattie wasn’t completely conventional, but she had a homeyness about her that welcomed Katie. The furniture might be new but the family values were old-fashioned and comforting.

Katie wrote the standing appointment in her book. “Tomorrow at four, then,” she said. “Do you need anything before I leave?”

“Not one thing. Except…” Hattie hesitated. “Your father isn’t going to like you helping me. If he makes your life too difficult, I’ll understand if you don’t want to come here anymore.”

Katie shook her head. “I’m over eighteen. He can’t tell me what to do.”

“Fathers have a way of interfering even when they shouldn’t.”

“I know. But this is one argument my father isn’t going to win. My work is too important to me. The fact that our families have been feuding for generations doesn’t mean very much to me.”

“Good.” Hattie smiled. “See you tomorrow.”

Katie waved goodbye, then walked out of the house. Her first session with the older woman had gone well. She made a note to talk to Stephen Remington about his patient. The doctor would want to know that Hattie was making an extraordinary recovery. Probably because of her zest for life. She was one of the most—

The rumble of a truck engine broke through her thoughts. Katie looked up, then squinted in the sunlight as a pickup pulled up next to her Explorer. Even before she saw the driver clearly, she knew who was behind the wheel of the truck. On cue, her heart rate jumped into triple digits and her mouth went dry. All this before Jack Darby even said hello. Imagine what her reaction would be if he actually spoke her name.