A Home for Haley (8 page)

Haley scowled as she watched the
horse’s ears flick back and then forward. “He could still buck.”

“And rear if you want to get
technical, but he couldn’t get far from me, which means you couldn’t either.”

“That doesn’t mean you could catch
me, especially if you’ve got Ryan in front of you.”

“No, but I could pick you up. Does
that help?”

Francie laughed. “Your mom is right.
You’re a smart aleck.”

“Give me, Ryan,” Francie suggested.
“I’d love to have that cutie ride with me.”

Ethan handed Haley the reins to the
saddled gelding and took Ryan from her. He squealed with delight. Haley glanced
toward the house, wishing she could run back there and forget this nonsense.
She’d never been one for adventure. She swallowed hard and tried her best to
fight down a bad case of nerves.

“Mommy, look!” Ryan sat in the
saddle in front of Francie, a death grip on the saddle horn. His grin and
twinkling eyes, made her smile. “Horsie.” He patted the horse’s neck, while
Francie held onto his waist.

“Come on,” Francie urged her. “Ethan’s
got a great horse for beginning riders.”

Ethan arched his brows, waiting.

“Fine. I’ll try it.”
Hopefully,
she’d live to talk about it.

He grinned.  “Let me get him.”

Haley took several deep breaths in
an attempt to get her stampeding heart to slow down. She had to do this. Her
son was on a horse and if he could do it, she certainly could. Ethan walked out
of the barn, leading a small brown horse with a black mane and tail, already
saddled. He stopped beside her. “Put your left foot in the stirrup, grab the
horn and swing up.”

Haley’s mouth turned to dust. She
stuck the toe of her boot into the stirrup, grabbed the saddle horn and shoved
up. This was harder than it looked. She felt strong hands grasp her waist and
hoist her into the saddle. She settled in and let out a long sigh. “If I’m
still all in one piece when this is over, I’ll try and remember to thank you.”

Laughing, Ethan handed her the
reins, adjusted her stirrups and then took hold of the lead rope. He swung onto
his big gray gelding with ease. “Head ’em out, cowgirls and cowboys.” He
started out of the corral toward the north pasture.

Ryan’s eyes rounded and his smile
grew with each step of the horse.

“I think he’s a natural,” Francie
said.

“He may be, but I’m sure not.”
Haley felt as if she might slide right onto the ground with every step her
horse took.

Chloe trotted her horse past her
and caught up with her uncle. “Please don’t make us walk the whole way, Uncle
Ethan.”

“We’re barely out of the gate. Be
patient.”

“I’m fine walking,” Haley said.
“So’s Ryan.” Good Lord, what would she do if the horses ran? She’d fall off for
sure.

“You’ll get to move out later,
Chloe.” Francie trotted up beside everyone. “Be patient.”

Chloe rolled her eyes and Francie
laughed. “She loves to jump, so this is pretty dull for her.”

“No kidding,” Chloe complained,
rolling her eyes.

“Chill, Chloe and enjoy the scenery,”
Ethan said. Chloe glowered at her uncle.

“I guess I’m ruining this ride for
you. I’m sorry.” Haley wanted to slide off her horse and run like a deer back
to the house.

Ethan shot Chloe a warning look. “Try
and remember that you were once a beginner. Plus we have Ryan. Can’t do anything
to scare him.”

“Or his mom,” Haley added.

Ethan glanced at her. “You’re
pretty funny when you’re nervous.”

She shot him a lethal look. He gave
her a huge grin. “Would I do that? Francie, tell her. I’m almost as protective
as my brother.” Ethan pointed to the left. “Look. Coyotes.”

Haley watched as three coyotes
loped across the pasture away from them. A few minutes later, a hawk circled
high in the air in front of them, its red tail shining in the morning sun. It
dipped down to the ground and swooped back up, a rabbit in its claws. “Yuck,”
she said.

“Wish I could hunt that easily,”
Ethan said. “I have trouble even catching a fish.”

“Kayla will catch your fish for
you,” Haley said sweetly.

“Now who’s being the smart aleck?” He
pointed to Ryan and Haley turned her attention to her son, who stared wide-eyed
at everything around him.

Smiling, Haley let her gaze coast
over the rolling hills. Her son was right to be impressed. It was beautiful out
here. Creeks wound through the lush green grass and several ponds surrounded by
small groves of trees spotted the landscape. Before she knew it, she was
entranced right along with Ryan at the beautiful scenery and only clinging to
the horn with half as much desperation as when they’d started. She was almost glad
she’d come.

A few minutes later, they walked
into a flat pasture, tall grass blowing in the breeze, shrubs growing along the
creek, and birds flitting from one tree to another. “Oh my,” she said. “The
kids and I didn’t make it this far a few weeks ago.”

“I would think not,” Francie said.
“That would have been a pretty long walk, especially with a toddler. There’s a
downy woodpecker.” She pointed as a black and white bird with a red spot on the
back of its head flew by and landed on the trunk of an evergreen.

Haley stared in wonder at the bird.
She’d never seen a downy woodpecker before. “He’s pretty.”

“Can we run now?” Chloe asked. “I
see a log I want to jump.”

“Not sure your horse is a jumper,”
Ethan responded. “Better take it slow and hang on in case he comes to a
screeching halt.” He motioned for Ryan. “Hand him over, Francie. I figure
you’re itching to take off, too.”

Grinning, Francie edged close and handed
Ryan to Ethan. Ryan squealed with delight and grabbed the saddle horn the
minute his seat was in the saddle. “I bet I could turn this young man into a
cowboy,” Ethan said. “Wanna trot, Haley?” She shook her head. “Ah, come on.
We’ll go slow. These are quarter horses. They have a pretty smooth slow trot.
Betcha Ryan would love it.”

Haley grabbed her horn with both
hands and tried to act brave. “Okay, but slow.”

Ethan clucked to his horse and it
started moving, picking up its pace when he nudged it again with his booted
feet. Haley’s horse lurched forward. Her butt slid to the side, and she held on
tighter, fighting down panic.

“Press your heels down and try to
relax. No slouching.”

Haley straightened, but kept a
tight grip on the horn, which made it hard not to bend forward. Good grief the
ground was far away and bouncing all over the place. Okay, so she was the one
doing the bouncing, but she couldn’t help it, and she felt as if her brain was
rattling around in her skull. She pressed her heels down and took a deep
breath, and her bouncing eased up a bit.

“Much better.” Ethan’s words
inspired her to stay straight and not hunch back over the horn. She wondered if
her insides could bounce hard enough to do damage. It sure felt that way.

Chloe gave a whoop and Haley looked
up. The young girl and Francie were racing across the pasture. Haley watched in
amazement. “I’m so totally out of my element,” she muttered.

“You haven’t fallen off.” Ethan
grinned at her as he pulled his horse up. “I think Ryan likes riding. Young
kids don’t get as uptight, so they go with the flow easier.”

Haley let go of the horn and rubbed
the palms of her hands, which burned from gripping the horn so tight. She
stared down at them and frowned.

“What are you looking for?”

“Blisters if you must know.”

He took one of her hands and rubbed
the pad of his thumb over the sorest spot. “I thought you were kidding. You
might want to wear gloves next time.”

“Dream on. I’m not planning on a
next time.” She pulled her hand free from his touch, a touch that radiated
clear through her, making her stomach feel as if she were falling. “I guess I did
have a pretty tight grip.”

“How about after Francie takes Ryan
back, I put you on my horse in the saddle while I ride behind you? I’ll keep
hold of the reins, so you can grip the horn with both hands.”

“Very funny.” Just the thought of
doing that made her stomach take another dive. “I’m passing on that.”

“Ah, come on Haley,” he coaxed. “Where’s
your sense of adventure? I’ll even teach you how to fall so it won’t hurt so
much when you bite the dust.”

She shot him daggers and he
laughed. “I’m glad I can amuse you so easily,” she retorted. She really was
glad she had amused him. Dale had tended to not laugh at her jokes, which had
hurt her feelings and made her pretty much quit trying to be funny. Her husband
had many wonderful qualities, but he’d never particularly found her funny, and she
had to admit that had bothered her. She hadn’t realized how much until now.

Ethan clucked to his horse. “I have
a few more places I’d like to show you before you jump off that horse and bolt
for the next county.”

“I’ll be lucky to crawl off by the
time this ride is over. And that’s only if I don’t hit the ground like a sack
of feed and puke my guts out.”

Ethan pulled his horse to a stop
and shifted in his saddle to grin at her. “I had no idea I’d hired such a
smart-mouthed nanny. With that kind of a mouth on you, you probably deserve a
bigger salary than you’re getting. My family rewards impudence. In fact, we
breed it.”

Haley felt her face flush, enjoying
that Ethan found her amusing. She had surprised even herself today, because she
rarely shot off her mouth like she’d done on this ride. “Your family must be
rubbing off on me. In fact, I think you bring it out in me.” He definitely made
the load she’d been carrying these last few years seem lighter. In fact, lately
there were way too many minutes in the day when she didn’t even think about
Dale.

She winced at that acknowledgement
but the usual guilt didn’t invade her, and to her surprise she was grateful. Ethan
had been right. She deserved a few good moments without worry and grief. It
didn’t lessen her love for Dale and her deep need for him to return, and it
felt incredibly good not hurt all the time.

“That’s the highest compliment you
could pay me or my family,” Ethan said with a wink. “Want to see the house Matt
and I are building?”

“How far is it?”

“Just over that hill and down a
ways.”

“Okay,” Haley answered, wishing she
could get off this beast right now. He clucked and the horses began trotting.
Haley grabbed the horn. Only this time, she was able to keep her balance as
they made their way across the green pasture.

Haley sat on the bed next to Ryan
and rubbed her sleeping son’s back. He’d been exhausted after they got back
from riding and had barely managed to eat his lunch before Ethan picked him up and
carried him to bed.

Haley listened to the murmur of
voices and laughter downstairs. Part of her wanted to join everyone and listen
to their stories and share in their fun, but she really didn’t feel as if she
belonged at the Richardson family reunion. Ethan had a wonderful family, but
she was only the nanny and didn’t want to intrude. Besides, she was shy by
nature and didn’t know most of these people, and part of her liked being
upstairs with her son and enjoying the peace and quiet.

With a sigh, she shoved off the
bed. Shy or not, it was time to go back downstairs and watch Kayla. This might
be the best job in the world, but it was still a job. Not family. The thought
saddened her. She had always wanted siblings and these people seemed close. How
could they not be with a mother like Dottie?

Haley scooted a couple of chairs up
against the bed so Ryan couldn’t roll onto the floor and headed downstairs,
glad Ethan had put a baby monitor in the room. And even more glad for the hot
tub that he had installed last weekend when he’d come by himself. The man
thought of everything. Thank goodness, because she was already sore from
bouncing around on that horse.  By this evening, she’d be ready to soothe her
achy muscles in the hottest water she could stand.

She hurried downstairs and found
Kayla and Chloe sitting on Ethan’s lap, his arms wrapped around them both. Francie’s
husband, Matt, had the baby, who was fast asleep on his chest. Haley smiled,
wishing she had her camera with her, because the contrast of hard masculinity
and gentle protectiveness drew her in. Goodness, the man’s hands practically
covered the infant’s entire backside.

Ethan grinned at her. “I was about
to come check on you, but I got way-laid.” He tickled the girls and they
giggled, doing their best to tickle him back. Ethan grabbed their hands, and
nodded to the empty chair beside him. “Take a load off Haley.”

“Have you met my Aunt Jo?” he asked
as she made herself comfortable. Haley shook her head.

“She hasn’t had time to meet me,”
said an older woman who looked amazingly like Dottie except for having snow-white
hair. “You’ve been terrorizing her with horses all morning.”

Haley laughed. “That’s the truth,
but they weren’t as frightening as that cougar a few weeks ago.” She shuddered
at the memory of the late-night, ear-splitting scream that had jarred her from
a deep sleep.

“Yeah those mountain lions can send
chills up and down your spine, that’s for sure,” Francie said. “I don’t ever
want to see one up close and personal again.”

“Again?” Haley sat forward in her a
chair. “You saw one?” she asked breathlessly. “Up close?”

“Another time. Another story,”
Francie said, motioning to the girls with her eyes.

Haley got it. No use scaring Kayla
and Chloe. Bad enough to scare her.

Matt reached out and ran a hand
down his wife’s arm. “This woman can kick ass when she needs to.”

“Good thing since she has to keep
you in line,” Ashley said, popping her oldest brother on the shoulder.

“Haley, meet Ashley, my little
sister who keeps both her brothers in line,” Matt added with a grin.

Smiling, Ashley extended a hand. “Kayla
has told me all about you. My niece adores you, so I already like you.”

Haley was warmed by her remark.
“Kayla is a pretty remarkable five-year old. She’s teaching me the ropes around
here.”

Kayla grinned and high-fived her
dad.

“Kayla’s just buttering you up,
Haley, like I taught her.” Chloe elbowed her younger cousin.

Everyone laughed, and Haley felt
her nerves start to settle. Ethan’s family was great—warm and friendly and
everything you’d want in a family. She’d always wished for a brother or sister
and right now she knew why. This weekend promised to be a fun time. She smiled
at Ethan when she caught him watching her.

“So have you gone to the zoo and
visited Lucille?” Ethan asked Amos, who sat quietly beside Dottie on a loveseat,
twirling his cowboy hat in his hands.

Amos nodded. “Kinda silly, I guess,
but I went there yesterday. They wouldn’t let me pet her, but she came up to the
fence and greeted me. Sure wish they would have let me in with the old gal,” he
added, shooting Ethan a hard look.

“It’s called liability, Amos.” Everyone
turned their heads at the sound of Hank’s voice. He approached the group,
stopped and grabbed a beer out of a cooler, and twisted off the lid. “Trust me
she’s happier in that large enclosure, and the rest of us are a lot safer.”

“Quit sugar coating everything,
Hank.” Ethan shifted kids off his lap and stood, grabbed a beer for himself and
punched Hank on the arm. “Glad you made it.”

Hank raised his drink. “Who could
resist free beer?” He took a long pull. “Good to see you, Jo.” His gaze shifted
to Ashley. “You too, Ashley. Long time.”

“Yeah. Everyone went and moved on
me.”

“You moved first,” Hand responded.

“True.” Ashley stood and held out
her hand to Kayla. “You promised to show me the lamb.”

Kayla grinned and scrambled off her
dad’s lap. “You’ll love him, Aunt Ashley.”

“I’m coming too,” Chloe declared.

“How about I come and help you keep
the girls corralled?” Haley offered.

“That would be great.” Haley stood
and they started toward the front door, the girls leading the way.

“Don’t stay with him too long,”
Hank cautioned. “He needs his sleep.” He strode after them. “Maybe I should make
sure he doesn’t get too much stimulation. I don’t want to lose any ground with
him.”

Ashley scowled. “I’m sure we can
handle everything.”

Haley watched the exchange with
interest and wondered if anyone else in the room felt the tension surrounding
Ashley and Hank.

Ethan clapped Hank on the back.
“Ashely’s been around animals all her life, and you know it. Quit worrying so
much.”

Hank shrugged and turned away. “You’re
right. Just don’t want any setbacks for the little guy.”

“I think you’re worrying too much,”
Francie said. “Ashley’s ridden at my stables and definitely knows her way
around animals.” Hank took another pull on his beer.

“What I would give for a beer right
now,” Francie said with a heavy sigh.

Hank grabbed one for her, but she
shook her head. “Can’t. I’m nursing.”

He tossed it to Matt. “Have one for
your wife.”

Matt handed it off to Amos. “If
Francie can’t drink, the least I can do is keep it to a minimum.”

Hank clasped a hand over his heart.
“You used to be my idol, Matt.”

Matt laughed. “Sorry to let you
down.”

“You’ve definitely done that.” Matt
chuckled. Hank shook his head then pulled another swig of beer.

“I took Haley up to see the house
today,” Ethan said. “We need to get back on it, Matt, before the wood rots.”

Matt scowled. “Sorry, bro. Life’s
been crazy. I know a few good workers you could hire.”

“I might take you up on that at
some point, but I want to do as much as I can first.”

“We’ll try for next weekend,” Matt
said casting a sideways look at Francie.

“Fine by me as long as you don’t
stay overnight.”

Matt gave him the thumbs up, and
Ethan grinned. He might not be planning on living here full-time, but he was
still eager to get it done, and he enjoyed the work. Nothing like hard work to
clear the mind.

Ethan’s phone rang. He glanced at
it and adrenaline shot through him. “Gotta take this,” he said, standing and
walking into the kitchen, his heart in his throat. His buddy from the Pentagon
was finally calling, and suddenly Ethan wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what
Chris had to say. “Yo, Chris. Got some news for me?”

“Yeah. Some locals found bones in a
shallow grave in the area where we know a plane crashed quite some time ago. We
never found anything and figured the pilot bailed, but this might be him. No
dog tags, so we’ll need forensics. However, it looks like there’s a possibility
that Dale Donahue went down with his plane a couple of years ago. I’ll keep you
posted.”

Ethan’s heart squeezed like a vise
in his chest. “Any idea how long before you know something?”

“A week at least. We’ve got to
recover the remains first.”

Ethan considered himself a guy who
could handle pretty much anything, but this was hitting him hard. How would he
ever tell Haley if this was her husband? But how could he not? Whatever they
discovered, Ethan wanted to be the one to break the news to her. God knows he
didn’t want her to learn her husband was dead from the government. He’d tell
her before the dreaded United States military personnel pulled up to inform her
she’d never see her husband again.

“Thanks, Chris. Keep me posted,” he
said around a tight throat.

“Sure thing.”

Ethan sank onto a kitchen chair,
dread and sadness filling him. In all likelihood, Haley and Ryan were now officially
on their own. They had him and his family, but he knew how she would feel.
Totally alone. He dropped his face in his hands, remembering when his dad had
died and his uncle had been killed in Nam. Nothing could prepare someone for
the death of a loved one. Nothing.

He heard Ryan crying on the monitor
and headed upstairs. Poor kid would probably never know his father. Ethan
opened the bedroom door. “Hey Ryan,” he said scooting a chair away from the
side of the bed and sitting down. That was a quick nap.”

“Horsie?”

Ethan grinned. “Enough horses for
today, but your mom and Kayla are in the barn with the lamb. Want to go see
them?”

Ryan sat up, his eyes still heavy
with sleep. Yawning, he crawled into Ethan’s lap. Ethan held the boy close, his
heart heavy. No little boy should lose his father, especially without ever
knowing him. Ethan, at least, had memories of his dad—good memories he could
draw on.

Ryan tried to scramble off his lap,
but Ethan held him close a minute longer, while he fought to get his emotions
under control. Somehow he had to keep Haley from seeing that he was upset,
because the last thing she needed was to endure the grueling weeks of minute-by-minute
waiting to find out if those bones were her husband’s remains.

He shoved to his feet, Ryan in his
arms, and headed back to his family, knowing deep in his bones that the woman
who had become his friend—hell, his entire family’s friend—was about to walk
into a living hell. And Ethan was the one who had brought it all on.

****

 “Don’t wait up for us old folks,”
Dottie chirped as she, Amos and Jo headed down the porch steps and out to
Amos’s truck.

“You kids behave yourselves,” Ethan
hollered after them.

Ashley sank onto the porch steps
and watched them go. “Wonder what made them party poopers? Surely we weren’t
getting on their nerves,” she said with a giggle.

Ethan tossed a tennis ball to
Chloe, who caught it and threw it back. “Amos is probably still holding a
grudge about Lucille.”

“You can’t really blame him,” Haley
said. “She was his pet.”

“No wild animal is ever a pet.” Arms
crossed in front of his chest, Hank leaned against the porch railing, chewing a
piece of straw. “It’s stupid to have a damn mountain lion for a pet, especially
when you don’t even have the proper facilities for it.”

“I’d have to agree with you on that.”
Matt pushed the porch swing with a foot. “And you’d know about wild animals if
anyone would.”

Ashley dug her bare toe into the
dirt. “You always did have a way with animals.”

“He has a way with women too. Admit
it.” Ethan caught the ball Chloe threw right before it hit him in the head.

Hank glared at him. “Just animals.
Women are too much trouble.”

“Speak for yourself,” Matt said,
wrapping his arm around Francie, who sat beside him, holding the baby.

Shrugging, Hank shoved away from
the porch railing, stretched, then headed toward the barn, sidestepping
Ashley’s bare feet. “I need to fly out to San Diego tomorrow. Seems their zoo
has a sick gorilla and no one can figure out what’s wrong.” He tipped his hat
to everyone. “Thanks for the Richardson hospitality. Good to see you again,
Ashley. You grew up nice.”

Ashley’s face turned pink. “Thanks,
Hank. Good to see you too.” Ashley watched Hank walk across the yard to the
barn. “Why in God’s name does he live in the barn?”

Ethan shrugged. “Says he likes it
out there. It’s peaceful.”

“He doesn’t think it’s peaceful at
the main house?” Francie grinned at her husband. “But we’re so entertaining.”
Matt laughed at his wife.

Chloe and Kayla raced across the
lawn, Maggie on their heels. Grinning, Ethan took a long look around him.
“Everything about this place is peaceful as far as I’m concerned.” He pointed
to their left. “Look at the gorgeous sunset. If that doesn’t bring you some
peace, nothing will.”

All eyes turned toward the west and
watched the big orange ball drop behind the trees, filling the sky with hues of
pink and orange.

“We have some pretty sunsets in
California too, especially over the ocean. I think you should all come out
there.” Ashley stood and brushed the dust off her bottom. “I could get you free
tickets to Disneyland.”

“Thank God you didn’t say that loud
enough for Chloe to hear,” Francie said. “I might have had to hurt you.”

“That makes two of us,” Matt added.
“Chloe sure would love it though.” He looked pointedly at Ethan.

Ethan held his hands palms out. “No
can do. At least not right now. Mom has surgery coming up. I can’t go ‘til
that’s a done deal, and she’ll be pretty laid up for a while.”

“How about we trade you Chloe for
Mom?” Matt suggested, a twinkle in his eye.