The Boston Debutante (The Debutante Series Book 1) (16 page)

Megan got up early and helped Macy load her baggage in the truck.

Macy kissed Maude goodbye and they left for the train station. 

As they talked on the way Macy said, “I hope my friends in Boston never find out how I acted out here. 

They will kick me out of the country club.” 

Megan replied, “I would like to visit you some time to see how the rich live in Boston.

Macy said, “Come anytime you want. My door is always open for relatives except for that sleaze bag Turk I never want to see him again as long I live. I can’t believe I almost let him have sex with me. I must have been out of my mind.” 

When they got to the train station the train was already there. Macy hugged Megan and told her to take care of herself and tell the guys goodbye for her.

She got on the train and in a few minutes it pulled away from the station.

Macy looked out the window and waved at Megan standing on the platform. Megan looked like she was losing her best friend.

When Megan got back to the ranch Turk came out of the barn and went into the house demanding to talk to Macy.

Megan looked at him and said, “She’s gone you fool. You know if you would have let her take a little time to make up her mind. You sure blew your chances with her and when mom gets through with you, you might as well find a new job and a place to live. She is really pissed.”

Turk asked
, “Where has Macy gone?” 

“She went back to Boston and said she never wanted to see you again as long as she lives.”

              Maude came in the room and told him to get his gear together.

He had a shack to build and then he was going job hunting.
             

“Buck and some of the guys have already hauled all the material there. They will bring you supplies once a week, now get going before I change my mind and run you off.”

Turk lowered his head and said, “Yes ma’am.” 

He walked out the front door and out to the stable.

Maude looked at Megan and said, “What’s gotten into that boy. He could have had a beautiful girl and his own ranch and he goes into town one night and blows his whole future on a whore. I’ll never understand him.”

“Mom, do you think there’s
any way we can get Macy to ever come back? I got her to open up to me once we got past that attitude she brought with her. I think she really was starting to like it here.”

“No dear I would say she is gone for good. She has too much in Boston and nothing here. Our only hope for getting her to stay was Turk and he had to be a jerk.”  

Turk saddled his horse up slowly trying to fight urge to take off after Macy. He wasn’t finished with Macy. She was eating his heart out bit by bit. All his thoughts were of Macy and what he had going with her. She was the best thing that ever came in his life.

He should have accepted her apology but his bull headiness made him get stupid and go looking for Mildred.

After Macy had slapped him he took Mildred home and rode around for hours trying to get his head on straight.

If he really loved Macy he wouldn’t have pushed her to do something she wasn’t ready for.  

Buck told him he would be out in the morning with a load of food for him and the horse.

Turk turned the horse and headed out onto the range. 

Maude and Megan watched him ride away.

They started trying to come up with some way to get Macy to come back. Megan was going to miss her as much as Maude was. They knew the only way that even had a chance to get her back out there was to get Turk off the ranch. The only problem they had was there was nothing there for her.

Turk rode slowly while the thoughts of Macy ran through his head. His heart was aching for her and it hadn’t been a day since she had left. He knew he had pushed her too fast.

Turk was her first real serious relationship and he had screwed it up just for the conquest of being the first to have her. He should have had enough respect for her to let her decide when and where. She was so much more
than just sex to him. He should have realized that.

All his life he
had to be the first and the best at what he did and it has gotten him in trouble more than once. Where was his loving compassion? All these thought ran through his head while he rode out to be by himself for weeks.

He rode on till he came to the spot where the old cabin once stood. 

Turk pulled his bedroll off the saddle and laid it out on the ground. 

He gathered up some wood and built a fire.

When the fire was going strong he pulled some jerky out of his saddlebag and started chewing it as the haunting thoughts of her scrambled his brain. He lay on the blanket and looked up into the sky. 

He thought about leaving out for Boston and talking her into forgiving him but he decided she probably wouldn’t see him.

  The first night on the range by himself was lonely. His mind wouldn’t stay off Macy.  He finally fell asleep around midnight.

The next morning he woke up with the sun beating down on him. He pulled some more Jerky out of his saddlebag and ate it for breakfast.

As soon as he felt he had his strength he started laying out the floor for the cabin.

The job progressed slowly with only one man building.

The sun beat down on his bareback making him break out in a sweat right away. The sweat ran down his face as he toiled with the long pieces of lumber cutting and nailing them into place.

He loved the range but he hated being out there alone.

This time he laid out for a separate room for Megan. Of course he didn’t know how much longer she would be at the ranch. Everyone knew that she wanted to live in the big city and go to college. As he laid out the room he thought about Macy. She could have been sleeping in there with Megan if she was still there. Then he remembered how good she looked the night she got drunk and got a little wild. He knew he would never get to see her like that again. As he worked and thought about her tears filled his eyes.

Noontime came and Buck showed up with his food.

“Well Turk I heard you blew it with Macy.  Man you screwed up a good thing. She was the most beautiful woman I have seen around these parts. She would have made you a good wife and she was smart too.”

Turk stood there staring off in the distance.

“Buck I know I screwed up. I let my hormones do my thinking instead of my head. I thought I was paying her back for something I did by going in town and seeing Mildred. I didn’t think about what her reaction would be and now I have no one.

I feel like riding up in the hills and ending it all.”’

Buck replied, “Now Turk there’s no sense taking drastic measures. You will get over her eventually. Just stay here and keep building. Every nail you hit you can take out your frustrations on them. Don’t do anything stupid.

You know Megan and your mom depend on you.”

“I don’t know Buck. Mom is thinking about running me off. I may have to find a new job somewhere. So you know of any ranches that are looking for help?”

“No I don’t Turk but I am sure you can find work at one of them.” 

Buck built a fire and soon he was cooking eggs and grits. He figured he would give Turk a break and fix his lunch. He knew Turk probably would not eat if he hadn’t fixed it because of the mood he was in.

Turk finished the meal and went back to work while Buck headed back to the ranch.

By late afternoon he had finished the floor joist. He had them all nailed together and made sure everything was level. Work was slow on the building.  He cut wood with a handsaw and laid out the spacing with a limb he cut to size. 

After three weeks he had enough built so he could sleep on the floor of the cabin with a partial roof over him.

Macy called her Aunt about once a week to see how everything was going at the ranch.

She felt guilty for leaving her and destroying her dreams for the ranch.

She had made it back to Boston with no problems and had gotten a job teaching. She started going out with Michael again. She realized that he was no Turk. He never put his hands on her or tried to take advantage of her.

The only time he ever kissed her was a quick goodnight kiss.

Macy grew to miss Turk’s forwardness. Michael was just a little too much of a gentleman for Macy’s liking. 

He had opened his law practice and his business was thriving.

Each time Maude begged Macy to come back but she refused and said she was trying to get a new life established there.

She was making trips to New York and Chicago about once a week micro managing her investments. That was the one thing that kept her mind off the ranch. When she dug in deep in her finances it took all her
mind and never left room for any other thoughts. Right now she like being totally consumed by business matters. 

She did however agree to come out to the
ranch to visit during the holidays.  She told her aunt that she and Michael might drive out but she would only come if Turk wasn’t there.

That was almost a stab in the heart to Maude. She knew if she married Michael she would never see her again. 

She still hoped that somehow Turk and Macy would end up back together.

Macy could sense Maude’s sadness in her voice each time she talked to her but she wasn’t going to let her change her mind.

Buck came in the house when he got back from delivering supplies to the lime shack one day about six weeks later.

“Mis
s Maude. I couldn’t find Turk. Nothing has been done to the shack since I was there last week. His fire was cold and has been rained on.  It hasn’t rained in about five days so I would say he has been gone at least that long. Maude almost fell in the chair as she sat down. She called out for Megan. 

Megan came running. “Mom what’s wrong?” 

“Turks missing, Buck said it looks like he hasn’t been at the shack in at least five days.”

Mom where is his horse?”

“I don’t know Buck didn’t see it either.”

“We have got to call the sheriff.

Somebody could have killed him and hauled his body off.

“Miss Maude there is something I have got to tell you.

That first day I rode out there Turk told me he was thinking about riding up into the hills and ending it all. 

I didn’t think anything about it. I thought it was his misery talking but maybe he meant it.”

Maude got on the phone to the sheriff while Megan saddled her horse to ride with the rest of the ranch hands to start a search. 

Meanwhile when Maude got off the phone with the sheriff something told her to go out to the shed and see if his car was missing. 

Sure enough when she opened the doors it was empty.

When she went back in the house the phone was ringing. 

She picked up the phone and a voice said, “Hi Aunt Maude this is Macy. I just flew in from Chicago. Sorry I haven’t called you for a couple weeks but I have been so tied up trying to teach and going to business meetings out of town. How are things at the ranch?” Maude broke into tears. 

“Not to
o good. Turk has been missing for five days. 

The whole ranch is out looking for him and the sheriff’s department has a search party and a helicopter looking for him. 

Some of the guys think he may have been killed or he may have ridden into the mountains and killed himself.

Maude heard the phone go dead on the other end as Macy passed out and dropped the phone. She had never thought he could be suffering from her leaving him. 

Thinking he might have killed himself over her was more than her mixed up mind could take.

In a few minutes she called Maude back and in a visibly shaken voice.

“Aunt Maude it’s my fault. He did this because of me I can’t handle loosing another person I love. Aunt Maude what am I going to do I can’t take it anymore.”

Tears were streaming down her face. Maude could tell she was crying. She tried
to comfort her the best she could but Macy had her bawling to.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can get a flight out to Dallas and get a substitute for me at school. Could you send someone to meet me at the airport? I’ll call you back as soon as I know what flight I’ll be on.”

She hung up and called the airport. 

She got a reservation for 10:00 to land in Dallas at 11:00 Dallas time. 

She called her aunt back and told her she would be in Dallas at 11:00.

Maude broke down again and replied, “Macy please hurry. I need you.” 

As soon as she hung up she called Michael and told him she had to go to Texas on an emergency and then she called the school and told them she would be gone for a while. She didn’t know how long.

As soon as she got her bags packed she called a cab to take her to the airport. She paid the taxi extra money to hurry. She made it to the airport in record time.

Macy boarded the plane and it seemed they sat on the runway for hours before they finally took off.