Wilde Ride (Love is a Cowboy Book 2), page 5
“I’ll be sure to let my mother know you said she was pretty.”
Levi let out a bark of laughter. “She is, but I was talking about you, Em.”
I felt my cheeks heat, and I pushed off the tree and started toward his truck. I turned and walked backward as I called out, “I hope that means you’re paying for lunch!”
The drive into town was filled with easy conversation. Levi asked about the ranch, my parents, my uncles, and inquired further about the camp, as well as how I’d been doing over the last few years. And, finally, whether I was dating anyone.
“I’ve dated off and on. A couple of relationships, but they didn’t last long.”
“Why not?”
I shrugged and didn’t say what I wanted to say. Oh, because they weren’t you, Levi. So I went with the second reason they never lasted.
“Apparently, I work too much. Both of the guys I dated long term said that the ranch and the camps consumed all my time, and that I never made time for them. First of all, they knew that going in, and nothing will ever take me away from the ranch. I love that place, and I love my job. The horses are…well…they’re everything to me.
“And the camp? Well, I can say they made me realize I was taking on too much. I’m the camp director now, but there are some tasks I should be delegating to others. I’m slowly getting better at that. So, I guess I can thank those guys for opening my eyes a bit. But no one is going to tell me how to live my life or spend my time.”
He laughed. “You for sure have Wilde blood pumping through those veins.”
Smiling, I turned to look at his handsome profile. “Wilde as in my last name, or W. I. L. D. kind of wild?”
“Both.”
I grinned. “Fair enough.”
When the conversation about me had nowhere else to go, I took the opportunity to ask Levi the one question I’d been dying to ask, but wasn’t sure I should.
“So…you and Caroline?”
He glanced at me and shrugged before focusing back on the road. We were about to drive into town, so it was probably a question I should have saved for the drive back to the ranch. Or maybe he didn’t want to talk about it. I was pretty sure it had everything to do with Brooke and the accident.
“Things between us hadn’t been great for the last few years. Hell, our whole marriage, if I’m truly being honest. We fought a lot. Basically, if she wasn’t sleeping, she was picking a fight with me. On the day of the accident, I told her I thought we should separate. She freaked out on me and said she’d never give me the kids. She went on about some other crazy things, then grabbed Brooke and said she was leaving.”
He closed his eyes and drew in a slow breath.
“Brooke was crying; she didn’t want to go with Caroline. I should have demanded that Caroline leave her with me. I don’t know why I didn’t.”
I reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. “There was no way you could have known what would happen, Levi.”
He nodded. “I know. There are nights I wake up in a cold sweat, hearing Brooke cry out for me. Anyway, the accident wasn’t Caroline’s fault. A truck ran a red light. Brooke passed on impact, and for that, I guess I’m thankful. Caroline immediately blamed me for making her leave. She completely ignored Rhett for weeks, and when she finally managed to get out of bed, she started drinking. That’s something I don’t share with many people.
“I finally realized that my being there wasn’t making things better. Rhett would overhear us fighting, hear Caroline blaming me. He unleashed on her one night, and told her that she was the reason Brooke died. That’s when I realized I needed to get us both out of Denver. I asked for full custody, and she didn’t argue, and had given written permission for me to move back to River Falls with Rhett. I served Caroline with divorce papers three weeks ago. I’m waiting on her to sign the papers so I can move on.”
Stunned, I asked, “She gave up custody of Rhett, just like that?”
“Yeah. Pretty sad, isn’t it? And Rhett, he lost his sister and best friend, and his mother. It’s been tough on him.”
“Where is she? Back in Denver?”
He drew in a breath and then quickly released it. “As far as I know. She moved out of our house and into an apartment right after the night Rhett unleashed on her. I told her about my plans to return to River Falls, and that if she ever wanted to share custody of Rhett, she’d have to move back. She just stared at me with a blank expression. The last thing I said to her was that she needed therapy…and I hope she gets it for Rhett’s sake.
“Caroline’s never going to win Mother of the Year, but she had a rare moment or two when she was a good mom. We had some good times, but it was pretty clear we weren’t meant to be together. Brooke hadn’t been planned. She was a happy surprise, but we hadn’t planned on having any other kids.”
Closing my eyes, I shook my head. “I’m so sorry, Levi. I’m sorry about Brooke, Rhett, and your marriage. It seems like a lot to lose in such a short amount of time.”
“Thank you, Emeline. I appreciate it.”
He pulled into a parking spot in front of Anna’s Café. I stared at the building, then at Levi. “This is where you want to eat lunch?”
“Would you rather have pizza, or something else?”
Granted, River Falls was small, but over the last few years, we’d gotten more restaurants. The locals, however, still seemed to eat at the older places, like Anna’s Café.
Nodding toward the door, I said, “It’s just…Anna is Janet’s sister. And Janet writes The Daily Dirt column.”
He grinned. “Are you afraid we’ll end up in the next edition?”
“Yes, I am. She doesn’t have anything to write about. She actually wrote about Ms. Betty’s chickens getting out, Levi.”
“All of her chickens got out?”
I nodded.
“Did someone let them out?”
“Levi!”
“Sorry, you got me curious now about her chickens. I know how much she loves those birds, or at least she used to.”
Rolling my eyes, I sighed. “All I’m saying is, don’t be surprised if people talk when they see us together.”
“About us eating together? Em, it’s just lunch. Your brother is my best friend. I have a son whom I want to enroll in your summer camp, and I’m pretty sure I was volunteered to help at each session this summer, not just the one Rhett’s attending. It’s not like we don’t have a reason to have lunch together.”
“You’re right. It’s just a business lunch.” I knew I sounded a bit childish, so I attempted to play it off. “You know how small-town gossip is. I just didn’t want you to have to deal with it right off the bat, considering everything else you have going on in your life.”
“Truth be told, Em, I don’t give a shit what anyone says about me.”
A small laugh slipped free. “Well, okay then. Let’s go get some lunch.”
Levi
The moment the bell above the door rang, I wished I’d listened to Emeline.
All heads turned and stared. And I don’t mean a curious stare; I mean the kind where you just know the moment they get a chance, they’re going to tell everyone who they saw together at the local café.
“That pizza sounds good right about now,” I whispered as a young girl walked up to us.
“Too late,” Emeline replied, an I-told-you-so expression on her face.
“Hey, Emeline. Table for two?” the young waitress asked.
“A booth, if you can, Lucy.”
Grinning, she grabbed two menus and motioned for us to follow her. She tucked us into the back corner and set the menus down. “Thought you might like some privacy.”
Emeline looked at me with one brow raised.
“It’s fine, we don’t need privacy…Lucy, is it?” I asked.
Her cheeks flushed. “Lucy Miller.”
I didn’t dare look at Emeline. “It’s a business lunch. We’re here to talk about my son attending a session at River Falls Summer Camp.”
“And having Dr. Tucker here volunteer at the camp, as well,” Emeline interjected.
Lucy’s eyes lit up. “A doctor? Are you new in town? Will you be working at the new clinic that just opened?”
“No, I’m a vet.”
Lucy nodded. “Thank you for your service. Were you a doctor in the military?”
I blinked at her a few times, until Emeline subtly nudged me. “Um.” I shook my head, then replied, “A veterinarian. The other kind of vet. Not a vet like in the military… It doesn’t matter.”
Lucy looked confused.
Emeline smiled at the young girl. “An animal doctor, Lucy.”
The light bulb went off. “Ohh! I’m so stupid. Daddy calls our local veterinarian a fleecer.”
Emeline laughed, then quickly covered it up by coughing.
“He calls him a fleecer?” I asked, frowning.
She nodded. “Is that another name for a veterinarian?”
I looked over to Emeline, who was practically turning red from trying to hold her laughter in. She also gave up on a different table, and finally slid into the booth.
“No, it’s not,” I answered with a forced smile.
She shrugged, as if bored with the conversation. “What can I get you both to drink?”
“I’ll have a water for now,” Emeline stated.
“Same for me.”
“Two waters, coming up!”
Turning on her heel, Lucy walked toward the counter. I took that moment to glance around. The café wasn’t crowded, but there were still a good number of people here. All of whom were still watching us.
Anna’s Café hadn’t changed a bit. It still looked the same as when I was little, sitting at the counter when my father brought me in for a shake. I was pretty sure they hadn’t remodeled it since it opened in 1955.
I focused back on Emeline, who was looking through the menu with a small smile on her face.
“I think I should let my father know what Mr. Miller thinks of him.”
She giggled but didn’t say anything.
Opening the menu, I asked, “Wait, who is her father?”
Emeline glanced over the menu. “That would be Jed Miller.”
I groaned. “Janet’s younger son?”
“That’s the one. Anna’s his aunt.”
“Does Jed have just the one girl?”
Her eyes sparkled. “He has four girls.”
I was positive my eyes went as wide as saucers.
“And three boys.”
“Fucking hell,” I mumbled. “Seven more Millers?”
She bit her lower lip and dropped her eyes back to the menu.
Leaning closer, I asked, “Do they all work here at the café?”
Dipping the menu so I could only see her eyes, I could tell she was smiling when the corners crinkled. “They’ve all worked here at one point, and at the newspaper.”
Looking toward the kitchen, I sighed. “The cook?”
“That would be Monty, Jed’s youngest son. Monty and Lucy are the only two left in town. The rest all left.”
“Fled the town, huh?”
She looked up again, brow raised. “Fled the gossip.”
“The gossip they caused, or were they subject to it?”
“Oh, family members aren’t excluded when it comes to The Daily Dirt.”
“Their own grandmother gossiped about them?”
“Yep.”
When I didn’t say anything, just gaped at her, she laughed and said, “They have an excellent BLT here.”
“A BLT? Em, I can make that at home.”
“Yeah, but is the bacon from your own farm, with an aioli sauce to die for?”
“Nope, it definitely is not.”
I quickly reviewed the menu. When Lucy came back with our waters, we both told her we’d have the BLTs, and I added a Coke to my order. She took our menus, then slipped away.
“So, what would you need from me for this volunteering gig your mother signed me up for?”
Emeline set her water down. “Levi, if you don’t want to do it, you really don’t have to. Just because my mother guilted you, doesn’t mean I’ll hold you to it.”
“I want to do it. I think it’ll be a good way to re-enter the community and ease my way into my father’s practice. He’s been talking about retiring, and I’m not so sure I’m ready to do this all on my own.”
“Was the vet practice you worked at very big?”
“Six vets, and two who were large animals only.”
Her eyes went wide. “Wow. I take it you were one of the large-animal vets?”
“Not exclusively, but if the other two vets needed help, I’d step in.”
“Are you looking forward to going to a smaller practice?”
I chuckled. “It may be smaller, but it’s going to be a lot busier. Dad really should have brought in another vet years ago.”
She smiled softly. “Maybe he’s been waiting for you to come home.”
Sitting back against the seat, I let out a small sigh. “Probably. I know he was upset with me when I decided not to come back to River Falls to work with him. It was what I’d intended, but…”
“Life happened.”
“Yes, it did. Not exactly what I’d planned.”
“What were your plans?”
“School, which I can’t believe we never saw each other.”
She smiled. “I know.”
Sighing I said, “After school, the plan was to go back home to work with my dad. Then, of course, Caroline got pregnant and everything changed. She wanted out of River Falls and longed to live in a big city.”
“Would you have gotten married, had she not been pregnant?”
“Your brother asked me the same thing earlier. Honestly, I’m not sure if we would have or not. I loved Caroline once. But we had different ideas about how we wanted our lives to go, and I shelved my dreams so she could have hers. I wouldn’t go back and change anything though, simply because it got me Rhett and Brooke. Caroline never told me why she wanted out of River Falls so badly. I think she thought I was the only ticket out, though. And I suspect she was jealous.” I shrugged.
“What do you mean, her only ticket out? Anyone can move if they want. And what or who would she be jealous of?” Emeline asked.
“Everything,” I said with a frown. “My family, my friends. The fact that my parents were so supportive. You know her father well, so I’m sure you’re aware that he was really upset when she wouldn’t go into the family business. He refused to support her lifestyle if that was the case, so I think she saw me as a way to get out, and as someone else who’d take care of her. She stayed home and took care of Rhett after he was born, but then worked at a law firm as a paralegal.”
Emeline leaned forward, her voice lowered. “Levi…are you saying she got pregnant on purpose? To trap you?”
I nodded slightly. “She did.”
“That’s terrible! And what a dishonest thing to do.”
I sighed. “It is.”
“I never did like or trust her.”
My brows shot up. “Is that so?”
Emeline studied my face, then looked away and shook her head slightly, as if clearing her thoughts. “But…it’s all in the past, and you’re here now. That should be your primary focus. Helping Rhett and yourself heal from the loss of Brooke and focusing on starting a new life. I think Rhett will love it here.”
Smiling, I replied, “You always were positive about everything, Em.”
“I try,” she replied with a shrug. “It doesn’t do me any good to focus on the negative. Besides, I think everything happens for a reason. Maybe you needed to work in a larger clinic to prepare you for working for your dad’s practice. And even though you didn’t have Brooke for very long, I’m certain she brought immense happiness and joy to your family.”
I nodded. “She did. I just hope Rhett adjusts to everything else. He’s having fun right now, but he’ll be going to a new school, trying to make new friends. He loved kindergarten, but first grade’s going to be a whole new thing.”
Emeline reached across the table and took my hand in hers. “Levi, everything’s going to work out. Rhett will be able to meet kids at the summer camp. He can even go to more than one session if he likes it.”
“That’s nice of you, Em. I don’t want to take up any spots meant for others.”
“You won’t be. Trust me. Plus, you’re doing us a favor by volunteering for the camps. The least we can do is let Rhett go to more than one camp. If he doesn’t like it, he doesn’t have to, of course. He can always hang out with me or Mom. Hell, even Caden will put the little guy to work.”
I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat. This was what I’d missed for the last seven years. Friends who would do anything for you, just to help you feel safe and happy. Now, Rhett was going to be able to experience that. If only Brooke had been able to as well.
The sudden feeling of guilt crept up on me, and I pushed it back.
It wasn’t my fault she died. It was an accident. An accident.
“Thank you for that, Em. I’d always missed everyone, but I hadn’t realized how much. It’s good to be home.”
Emeline smiled. It wasn’t lost on me that she hadn’t let go of my hand. When I glanced down, she quickly took it away and looked around the restaurant…probably to see if anyone else had noticed the small gesture of intimacy.
“So, I should get you the dates for the camps, and our current activities. The first one is next month, June. I always leave some open time in the schedule for things that pop up last minute, so it won’t be hard to work in your visits with the kids. You can basically do whatever you want.”
“It might be nice to just introduce myself and answer questions first, and then maybe throughout the week, I can bring in some animal bones and X-rays. The kids would probably really like that.”
“That would be great! I’m assuming you mean of the animals?”
I laughed. “Yes, of animals.”
“Why don’t you bring Rhett to the ranch one of these days before camp starts, if you have the time. That way he can get the lay of the land and meet everyone, and it won’t seem so new to him when camp starts. I know sleepaway camp for the first time can be a bit scary, so if he knows us, it might not be so bad.”
