The Secret Truth at Dare Ranch (4 page)

He
set his glass on a small table, leaned forward and rested his elbows on his
legs. "Why didn't you tell me Lexie had a daughter?"

A
frown swept his father's face. He raised his feet and rested them on the
ottoman in front of his chair. "She asked me not to.”

"That’s
not good enough.” Mitch didn’t try to temper the bitterness in his voice. His
father hurt him. Lexie hurt him and damn it they both deserved a boat load of
attitude.

Judson
toyed with a picture of Mitch's mother on the table beside his chair and stared
at her face. "Lexie was adamant. She told me she wanted you to succeed
and—”

A
fresh wave of irritation rippled down Mitch’s spine. He waved a hand through
the air. "She already gave me that song and dance. I want to know why
you
kept my daughter’s existence a secret from me."

Judson
tilted his head and narrowed his eyes at Mitch. "Watch it, boy. I’m still
your father.”

He
huffed. “I meant no disrespect, but I’m not a kid anymore, Pop.”

Judson
huffed. “I knew how impossible it was for you to stay in Chimney Rock after
everything that had happened. You needed to put the past behind you and make a
life for yourself."

Bafflement
twisted through Mitch. "I deserved to know I had a daughter!" He shot
up from the glider and paced over to the porch screen where rain pattered with
a soft ticking noise against the mesh. Pictures flashed in his mind. The shape
of Dani's face and the color of her eyes. Pain stabbed him deep inside as his
heart broke. God, she looked just like him and he never knew about her until
today.

His
father strolled to his side. The rain fell harder now, blurring the grass and
trees in a watery curtain. He listened to the wind whistle around the house. The
sky had turned darker and the deeper shadows echoed his misery.

"I
realize that now. I’m sorry."

Mitch
whirled. "You’re sorry?"

His
father gripped his shoulder and gave him a light squeeze. "I can't change
what happened. I wanted her to tell you, but in the end it was up to her. I
didn’t have the right to go behind her back."

Mitch
shrugged out of his hold. "Don’t talk to me about rights. The fact is,
Pop, what you and Lexie did was wrong."

He
frowned. "You're as unforgiving and willful as I used to be. Let me give
you some advice. Forgive her. Don’t keep prodding or she and Dani will walk out
of your life for good."

Judson
moved to his chair and sat down. Without another word, he reached for his
tobacco and pipe. Mitch stared at it.

"Don't
say anything. I need a smoke right now."

He
filled the bowl of the pipe, lit it and inhaled several puffs. The rich, sweet
fragrance of the tobacco drifted out into the rain scented air. "Your
mother never wanted to live in the high country."

Mitch
remembered a time when he was young that his parents seemed distant. Their
words had been loud, harsh, even cruel.  Words he wished he'd never hear again.
He didn't know what was wrong. For a while, he thought whatever had happened
had been his fault, but after a time his parents stopped fighting and a cool,
polite distance settled between them.

His
father looked down at the pipe in his hand. "She was a city girl. I
convinced her to give the mountains a try, but she was never happy here. She
begged me to move back to Denver and try the city, but I planted my feet and
refused."

"That's
why she left?" Mitch asked. "I never really knew.” After their
divorce, Mitch still saw his mother on weekends, holidays and spent extra time
with her in the summer but it was never the same. He missed having her around
and listening to her gentle understanding of his problems.

"I
loved her very much, still do, but I never even tried to see her side of things.
It was always me, what I needed and wanted.” He laid down his pipe and looked
at Mitch. "I know Lexie hurt you but try and understand why she kept Dani
a secret."

She’d
wounded him all right. Lexie had skewered him all the way to his soul. Mitch grabbed
his jacket from the back of the glider. "I need to get out for a while."

Aggie
trotted over and bumped against his hand asking to be petted. He smoothed a
hand over her head.

"Try
to find a way to forgive her," Judson pleaded. "She's been through a
lot in her young life already. Don't add to it by ripping at her."

His
emotions bubbled to the surface. He shrugged into his jacket. "She’s had
her say. Now it’s my turn."

Chapter Three

Shaken
by Mitch's unexpected visit and bone tired from working since dawn, Lexie rolled
her shoulders to ease her knotted muscles.  

"So
you gonna spill it or what?"

Lexie
smiled and glanced at Vivian Palmer, her closest friend who sat at the kitchen
table. Vivian wore jeans, a bright red sweater and black boots. Her blond hair
was twisted into a messy knot on top of her head. Her skin appeared rosy from
the sun and her lips glossy. She sipped coffee and looked at Lexie over the rim
of her cup. Her green eyes filled with concern and her brows rose in anticipation
waiting for her answer.

Thunder
rumbled in the distance. Lexie liked this time of day when the world seemed to
snuggle in for the coming night. "Spill what?"

"You
and Mitch. What happened?"

Lexie
turned back to the sink and rinsed another plate before placing it in the
dishwasher. She gazed out of the window at the mountains in the distance. Gray
clouds scudded over their peaks bringing with them the promise of more rain. "He
was frosted when he found out about Dani.” Guilt over keeping their daughter a
secret settled hard and heavy in the pit of her stomach. "It’s like I’ve
betrayed him all over again.” She lowered her chin and stared at her hands
gripping the edge of the sink.

Vivian
patted the seat of the chair next to her. "Come sit down.”

Lexie
walked to the table and slid onto the chair. She signed in relief at being able
to sit after such a long, trying day.

Vivian
laid a hand on her arm. "What did you tell him?"

"Everything.”
She brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. His bitter voice echoed through
her mind and remorse weighed heavier on her heart.
I should have told him
the truth a long time ago.
"The more I talked the veins popped out on
his neck.”

Lexie
slumped against the back of the chair and gazed at Vivian. They had such an odd
friendship. Vivian was the attractive, successful accountant and Lexie the
average hen in the yard scratching for what she could get.

She
told Vivian about Mitch’s plan to buy the ranch and turn it into a rehab
facility.

"So,
what's
your
plan? How are you going to handle things with Dani and
Mitch?"

Lexie
crossed her bare feet at the ankles. "I’m not exactly sure."

"Mommy,
I can’t sleep. The thunder’s too loud.”

Dani
shuffled into the kitchen with her best I-can’t-possibly-go-to-bed-right-now
look on her face. But when she saw Vivian all thoughts about the storm fled. "Aunt
Vivian!"

Dani
scooted into the kitchen, breezed around Lexie and made a beeline for her
favorite person. She wore her Smurf pajamas with matching slippers. Her hair
was still a bit damp from her bath and she happiness beamed in her eyes.

Lexie
wanted to keep her that way, but with Mitch showing up out of the blue anything
could happen. Anxiety swirled through her blood and a headache pounded at her temples.
How would she keep Dani from being hurt?

With
a bright smile, Dani crawled into Vivian’s lap. She wrapped her small arms
around her neck and gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek.

"Hi
there, Priss," Vivian said. "When are we going to have another girls'
day out?"

Dani’s
eyes widened and excitement lit her face. "Tomorrow?"

Vivian
laughed and tweaked her nose. "You’ve got school."

In
a practiced move that Lexie had witnessed many times, Dani turned, dropped her
chin and gave her mother a pleading, heartfelt look. "Could I stay home
from school tomorrow?" she asked in her sweetest voice.

Lexie
laughed. "To go shopping and out to lunch? I think not."

"I
figured you’d say that."

"Now
off to bed.”

With
Dani settled back in her bed, Lexie walked Vivian to the front door and gave
her a hug. "Thanks for stopping by."

"That’s
what friends are for.”

Her
tender words eased Lexie after her long, emotionally draining day. Vivian gave
Lexie a half smile and opened the door. A damp breeze blew in chilling Lexie's
skin. Winter was just around the corner. There was still so much to do before
the first snowfall.

"Don’t
worry about Mitch. He’ll come around. Headlights swept through the misting rain
and illuminated the front door. “Maybe sooner than you think."

Mitch’s
car halted in front of the house.

Lexie's
brief moment of composure shattered. Why couldn't he leave her alone for one
night? She just needed a little time to shore up her center of strength before
she had to face him again.

Mitch
slid from a bright red sports car that looked as though it were moving while
standing still. He sauntered through the light rain and up onto the porch.

Vivian
breezed around Lexie. "Hi, cowboy.” She stopped long enough to kiss him on
the cheek. "Drop by the house sometime. I’ll buy you a drink.” She trotted
down the front steps at a fast clip. "Lexie, call me," she yelled and
ran to her car.

Lexie
tried to muster some dignity. She’d had a bath then pulled her hair up into a
pony tail before donning her favorite nightshirt and ratty old chenille robe. He’d
changed into a faded pair of jeans that hugged his hips and thighs and topped them
off with a gray sweatshirt and leather jacket.

Raindrops
sparkled in the brown strands of his hair under the porch light. She inhaled a
whiff of his aftershave and had a sudden urge to sidle up to him. "Mitch,
I’m tired. Haven’t you had enough for one day?"

"Is
Dani still awake?"

"No,
she’s already gone to bed."

Mitch
paused for a moment. "Okay, but plan on me being here for dinner tomorrow
evening. I want to tell Dani I’m her father."

# # #

The
next evening, Lexie picked at her food and eyed Mitch across the table. She'd
worried all day about Dani's reaction to finding out Mitch was her father. Last
night her mind had whirled with every possible outcome of this new unexpected
revelation in Dani's life and robbed her of valuable sleep. In an effort to
look her best, she had even changed clothes several times as if what she wore
would make one iota of difference in how Dani might react to the news.

The
moment Dani found Mitch in the house she'd started a stream of chatter as if
she'd been given a wonderful gift.

Was
she doing the right thing by allowing Mitch to tell Dani the truth? She had to
because for the first six years of Dani's life Mitch didn't know about her
existence. She owed him at least that. Didn't she?

"Mr.
Quinn, I’ve been learning how to take Morning Star over the jumps," she
said around a mouthful of rice.

"Don’t
talk with your mouth full," Lexie admonished and patted her mouth with a
napkin.

"Great.
You’ll have to show me sometime." Mitch smoothed a hand over Dani’s head.

"How
about tomorrow?" Dani asked. She picked up her glass of milk, took a sip
then set the glass down. A white mustache was left behind over her upper lip. Her
eyes, so like her father’s, gazed at him full of hope and expectation. Mitch’s
gaze shifted to Lexie. He studied her face as if asking her permission. He
lifted his brows in silence. Dread settled in her chest. The moment of truth
had come at last. Words caught in her throat. All she could do was nod.

"Dani."
Mitch covered her small hand with his. "Your mother and I have something
to tell you."

Lexie
studied Dani’s face. Her eyes widened and fixed on Mitch. She was so innocent. In
a few moments, her world would be shattered. Lexie's heart squeezed in her
chest.

"I
knew your mother a long time ago," Mitch continued. "Before you were
born."

Swallowing
hard, Lexie found her voice. "That’s right." "Sometimes people
can’t be together no matter how much they want to.” Her words were strained and
unnatural even to her own ears.

"Yeah,"
Mitch agreed. "Things happen sometimes."

Dani
shrugged. "I know. She said my daddy had to go away before he knew about
me."

Lexie’s
heart pounded harder and her palms grew sweaty. She twisted the napkin in her
lap.

"That’s
right," Mitch answered in a soft voice. "But I know about you now.” He
paused and smiled at her. "I’m your daddy."