Payback (33 page)

Jack’s face lit up. I wasn’t sure if it was from the mention of horses or just the joy in Caden’s voice that made him squeal. Caden put him on his shoulders, grabbed one of the bags, and then walked over to Brooke. She gave Jack’s thigh an affectionate squeeze and then waited as Caden leaned in and kissed her.

“I’ll be back as soon as I get them settled and take care of some fires. Are you sure you don’t want to go with us?” he asked her.

“You know I have Penelope’s bachelorette party in Cabo. I’ll see you when you get back. Take good care of him, Marie,” she demanded, with a certain edge to her voice.

I was pulling the rest of our bags from the car when she said it. “Uh, sure, I promise,” I assured her
, as I gave Caden a quizzical look. Standing up, I turned and gave her a polite smile, adding, “You have fun in Cabo.”

“I will.” She sighed and looked at the three of us getting ready to board the helicopter. She yelled over the sound of the rotors, “I have to admit, I don’t understand why you want to go up to Montana.  In a few weeks it will be snowing.”

I nodded. “True, but I’ll only be up there for a few months, and then I’ll come back to Los Angeles until we go up to shoot next spring.”

Caden gave me a wink.  “Marie’s tough
. She survived most of a winter in Montana under some pretty uncomfortable circumstances.”

That was the wrong thing to say and do. Brooke immediately picked up on the wink and the praise and the tone of his voice
, which sounded like a proud father talking about his kid graduating from high school. She stared at me as I picked up Jack.  I could see the wheels turning in her head—
Marie in Montana, mother of his precious child, cooped up in the winter with Caden—together—without me to chaperone them.  This doesn’t feel right.

“You know, I think when I get back from Cabo
, I’ll fly up to see you,” she blurted out.

I almost snickered, but thought better of it.  Instead
, I turned to Brooke and nodded. “It will be great to have another woman helping me with those salt blocks out in the field. It gets so cold, it will be nice to share the chores around the ranch so we can get back and get warm.”

“Chores?  I don’t
do
chores,” Brooke declared, with narrowed eyes.

“You don’t? Oh, well, that’s okay. I’m sure I can do it by myself,” I assured her.

“Marie?” Caden said quizzically, as if he didn’t quite understand. “Don’t worry, I’ll be working right by you when I’m there.”

I felt sorry for Caden.  He didn’t realize that he had risen to the bait and now Brooke was foaming at the mouth
, not sure which was better, doing the chores or allowing Caden to do them with me. Brooke clenched her jaw and took in a deep breath.

“
Well, if I make it to Montana, I’ll help you, Marie, so that Caden can do whatever he needs to do on the ranch.”

Caden let out a little laugh. “You’ll get up at six, put on ranch clothes, ride in the back of the tractor
, and help unload one-hundred-and-twenty-pound salt licks during a Montana winter?”

Brooke and I both knew that there was no way in hell that Brooke was going to unload salt licks.
The only way to avoid admitting the truth would be to come up with an excuse at some later date not to fly up to Montana. Until then, she could do only one thing, Brooke lied, “Of course, I’ll help if I’m there. I’m not useless, you know.”

Caden reached over and kissed her on her forehead. “That’s really great, darling! I never thought I’d get you anywhere near the cattle.”

“Well, I want to fit in your world, Caden.”

I had to turn away so she wouldn’t see the criminally cruel smile on my face. She wanted to do chores like I wanted to have my toenails pulled out. I started walking towards the helicopter with two of the bags. Caden took Jack off his shoulders and waited for me to get back before grabbing the rest of the luggage and loading it. He motioned for us to climb into the helicopter. I grabbed Jack and we climbed up inside. He started crying from the noise.  Caden handed me earmuffs
, which were too big for him, but with my help, I managed to keep them on his ears and, in turn, he calmed down.

It was nice having Caden on the trip helping with Jack. We traded off looking after him on the little
jet, which gave him very little room to move around. I finally gave Jack the Benadryl my doctor had told me to use if Jack was too antsy. He soon calmed down and fell asleep in his father’s lap.

I was excited to see the old truck and Jason waving us over when we got out of the airport. Running into his arms, he twirled me ar
ound and put me down on my feet. “Damn, girl, you look great for being a Mom! Come on, I need to meet the heir apparent.”

Jason was one of those men that got more handsome as he aged. I was pleased to see that, like Caden, he had allowed a little scruff to grow on his face. The two of them reeked of masculinity
in their dark jeans, plaid snap-button shirts, and cowboy boots. Caden had Jack on his shoulders again and was walking through the lot with a porter and our bags behind him. 

“Jesus, Marie, are those all your bags?” Jason moaned.

“All except one. Hey, don’t give me that look! You’ve never had to pack for a toddler.  It’s a nightmare.”

Jason walked forward with his arm extended to give Caden a solid handshake. After a pat on Caden’s upper arm, Jason immediately reached up for Jack
, who pulled back, unsure of who this strange man was. Caden must have reassured Jack, because he allowed Jason to take him without crying. They eventually reached the truck, and within a few minutes we were headed to the ranch, with me sitting in the back with Jack.  The men talked the entire trip about ranch business. When we drove past the ranch house, I felt a little sad that we wouldn’t be staying there. Another half mile and we pulled up to a wide log cabin that appeared to be three stories with a basement.

“My God! It’s huge, Caden!”

Jason nodded. “Yeah, and I have it all to myself.”

The house was surrounded on three sides by tall pines and some oaks, now missing their leaves.  It sat up on a small hill overlooking the long meadow
, which on the east side was now filled with water forming a small lake. We walked around to the back so I could see the view before the sun went down. The pines leading from the log house to the lake had been thinned out considerably to improve the view. I was surprised by the surge of happiness I felt looking at the meadow again. A feeling roared through my body, a feeling I never thought I would associate with this ranch, this place where I had experienced so much humiliation, pain, anger, and sadness--I felt as if I had come home. It occurred to me that my feelings about the ranch were separate from my feelings for Caden and what had happened here. I loved Montana. I loved the towering trees, the lake in the meadow, the cornucopia of wildlife, and the mountains, the jagged, white-tipped beauties that formed a distant ring around the ranch.  My breath caught at the welling of all these emotions.

Jason must have noticed. H
e put an arm around my shoulder and asked, “Marie? Are you okay?”

I shook my head and had to take a deep breath. “I just forgot how beautiful it is.”

Caden nodded, as Jack wrapped his arms around his father’s neck. “Every time I come home, I kick myself for leaving it.  But, as you know, the winters aren’t easy.”

“I know. The short days do make me a little antsy,” I acknowledged.

“Let’s get inside; it’s getting chilly out here,” Caden said.

Walking into the lower basement was like walking into Disneyland. The room was divided by a glass wall.  On one side was a sitting area, a bar, pool table, numerous flat screen televisions, a small kitchenette
, and a computer bank, all facing six fourteen-foot French doors and an incredible view of the patio, mountains, and meadow.  On the other side of the glass wall and locked door was a large, heated swimming pool.  It flowed from inside the basement to the outside, separated by a glass exterior wall and decorative rock. On one side of the deep blue pool was a slide, and on the other was a diving board. As we walked by one of the doors, I saw it was marked, “Theater.”  I couldn’t resist. I ducked inside and drew in a deep breath. There were twelve cognac leather recliners, a 3-D projector for a twelve-foot screen.  On one side, there was an old fashioned popcorn machine and a tall drink dispenser. In the back of the theater was a sectional sofa with two chaise lounges and several ottomans.

“Jesus, Caden, you went absolutely nuts!” I said
, as I shook my head.

“I realized that Jack and I were going to need something to do during the winters. Before we go
upstairs, you have to see what’s behind this door.” He opened a door that had several large windows on the west-facing side to let in the light.

“Oh
, my God!”

Jack squealed and wiggled
to get down from Caden’s arms. Caden deposited him on the rubber matt that covered the entire floor.  On one side of the room was a fort, complete with lookouts and four-foot-tall gates. On the other side of the room was a wooden jungle gym—the type most people put outside for their kids. Around the perimeter of the rest of the room were tables, whiteboards, crafts, bookshelves, and several video game consoles, with their own flat screens.

“I don’t believe this!”

Jason nodded, “Believe it. My friend’s kids came over for a barbeque and we didn’t see them all day. Their mom had to take their lunches in to them.”

I took one look at Jack frantically trying to enjoy e
very inch of the room and frowned at Caden.  “You have single-handedly spoiled our son. So when he refuses to do his chores because he wants to finish some video game, you remember—it was you who built Fantasyland in the basement.”

Caden laughed at me
, even though I was dead serious. Picking up Jack, he quickly stopped laughing when our son grabbed the fort’s flagpole and refused to let go.

Jason and I gave each other knowing looks. I turned to follow Jason upstairs
, as Caden wrestled with an angry Jack. “Congratulations, Daddy…you get to enjoy your first full-blown tantrum.” 

Reaching the top of the stairs, I heard Caden first try to negotiate with Jack and when that did
n’t work, he began to threaten. Snickering, Jason and I finally broke into full blown laughter.

“He really loves Jack,” Jason noted.

“Yes, I have to admit, he is really a great dad.”

“Have you met Brooke?”

I nodded and waited to see what Jason was going to say.

“I th
ink he is really fond of her.” There was both a warning and a little disappointment in his voice.

“I hope so. If she makes him happy, then I’m happy.” I prayed it sounded sincere. “She seems to treat Jack well
, and that’s what counts.”

Jason looked uneasy. “I guess.”

I looked out the towering windows that overlooked the same view as the basement only from a slightly higher advantage. In the middle of the bank of seamless windows was a tall rock fireplace.  Half a dozen antler chandeliers hung from the twenty-five-foot cathedral ceilings. It was grand, it was spectacular, and it was furnished with leather sofas and chairs with down stuffing.

There was a large bedroom off of the living room
, which Jason was using. “I live on this floor.  The upstairs bedrooms are usually closed off, but I opened up one that has a small sitting room adjoining it. I made the sitting room into a small bedroom for Jack, but we can put him in another room, if you want.”

“His nanny arrives next week.  Let’s keep him with me until she gets here.”

We went upstairs, and I was overwhelmed with how beautiful the bedroom was that Jason had selected.  It was a corner room, with a balcony overlooking the swimming pool and meadow.  The windows to the north framed the edgy peaks of the northern Rockies.  The rich pinewood floors were covered with thick, Native American area rugs in front of another rock fireplace with a wide pine mantel. Above the mantel was an oil painting of a beautiful valley with mountains ringing it.

I collapsed onto the four
-poster bed with the memory foam mattress. “Oh, wow, this feels great.”

“I have some chili on the stove downstairs.  You can eat whenever you want. Why don’t you take a nap while Caden and I look after the prince?”

“That’s tempting, but not fair to Caden.”

“I don’t think Caden will begrudge you a little nap.”

“I was thinking about soaking in a bath.”

“I’ll leave you to it.” Jason left the room.

I realized that I didn’t have my baggage and a change of clothes. I noticed the thick terry cloth robe hanging in the walk-in closet like in a first-class spa. Turning into the bathroom, I whistled out loud.  It was bigger than my bedroom in Bakersfield with double sinks, a large four-fixture shower, a standalone soaking tub, and a large flat screen television.

After ru
nning the bath, I climbed into the warm water and took the remote off the round oak table next to the bath and turned on the flat screen.  I chose a station that only played light classical music and then leaned back to relax when I heard the sound of the door to the bathroom open. Caden stood in the doorway smiling at me. The bathtub sides were so tall I knew that he couldn’t see my body from that angle, but I still folded my arms over my breasts.