Rancher To The Rescue

Chapter Two

Despite Frankie’s many questions, Jake couldn’t get Kathryn Stepp off his mind. You’d think no one had ever done that woman a favor before, Jake mused as he wandered around the auto parts store, waiting for the clerk to bring up his supplies from the warehouse. It cost less for the supplier to ship his goods to the auto parts store in Ardmore than to the ranch.

“S’wat that?” Frankie pointed at a rotating display rack.

“Air freshener. It makes the car smell good.”

“I wan’ it.” Frankie reached out his hand.

Jake took the inexpensive air freshener from the display. In the shape of a fir tree, it smelled of evergreen. He scratched the odor patch on the back of the package and held it to Frankie’s nose. The boy inhaled deeply, smiled and nodded.

“Okay, but after it’s opened it stays in the truck. It’s not a toy.”

Nodding, Frankie reached for the package. Jake handed it over. Frankie immediately reached for another. “Ty’er want one,” he said.

Jake picked up another air freshener for Tyler. They continued wandering the store until the clerk signaled them a few moments later.

After loading boxes into the bed of the truck, they stopped for lunch then ran two more errands before heading home. As Jake turned toward the ranch, he thought of Kathryn Stepp again, of the tears she’d tried to hide from him and the worry in her voice.

Without that car, I can’t work, and if I can’t work, I can’t fix the car. I can’t afford to pay you, Mr. Smith.

Mr. Smith.

The contrary woman didn’t like him much, though he was just trying to help her. She did like Frankie, though, and vice versa. That counted with Jake. Besides, how could he not help when he had the skills to do so?

For most of the drive, he mulled over how to convince her to accept his assistance. Maybe Tina could talk Kathryn into letting him work on her car. Or the Billings sisters. The Billingses were a prominent ranching family around War Bonnet, greatly respected for their honesty and generosity. He wondered if he could get Tina to ride with him when he went to pick up Kathryn that evening. It would be an inconvenience. Six was the dinner hour in the Smith household. Why couldn’t Kathryn Stepp just accept his help and let that be that?

Before he could decide how to handle the problem, he came upon her old car. Instinctively, he whipped over to the shoulder of the road and got out. A quick look told him that the little coupe had a standard transmission and the door was unlocked. Jake kept a sturdy chain handy for emergencies such as this. It was the work of minutes to hook up the chain, flick on the flashers and move the car’s transmission out of gear so he could tow it.

“The lady’s car!” Frankie exclaimed gleefully as Jake slowly tugged the little old coupe into motion.

“Yep. The lady’s car,” Jake confirmed, feeling the snap and tug of the chain.

Towing a car like this was risky business, but if he slowed properly he could bring both vehicles to a halt without causing damage to either. He guided the truck and coupe into a slow, arcing turn and made his way to Loco Man Ranch on the outskirts of War Bonnet, where he coasted to a stop in the middle of the compound yard. The coupe came to a rest right behind Tina’s old car.

Tina was driving a brand-spanking-new SUV now, and Ryder was supposed to be driving Tina’s car, but Jake had noticed that his little brother found lots of excuses for driving his brothers’ trucks instead. He couldn’t blame Ryder. All the Smith brothers stood three inches over six feet, and Ryder was by far the biggest, most muscular of the trio. A small car wasn’t a good fit.

Jake took Frankie and their purchases into the house, where Frankie instantly announced, “We got a lady an’er car!”

Tina, who was removing the lunch dishes from the newly installed dishwasher, straightened in surprise. “I need to go shopping more often. What size lady did you get?”

Jake chuckled. “We stopped to help a lady whose car broke down beside the road. I towed it into the yard so I can take a look at it.”

“Oh. Good thing you happened along. Where’s the lady?”

“I took her to work. Gotta go back and get her at six.”

“Ah. I can go get her if you want,” Tina offered lightly. “If you don’t mind eating early.”

He shrugged as if it didn’t matter. But somehow, it did. “I’ll take care of it. Besides, I need to talk to her about her car.” Tina nodded, but for some reason, Jake felt as if he needed to defend himself. “She doesn’t seem to have much money.”

Tina smiled. “Naturally you’ll help her.”

He didn’t know what to say to that, so he changed the subject. “Frankie’s got something for Tyler. To go in the new SUV.”

“Christmas tree!” Frankie declared, holding the two small packages aloft.

“So that’s why you had to have it.” Jake chuckled. “You’re four months too early, pal.”

Smiling, Tina went to take Frankie’s arm. “Tyler’s in his room. Let’s carry it up to him. Okay?”

Frankie nodded happily, and they moved toward the hallway.

“If you don’t mind keeping an eye on him for a little while,” Jake said quickly, “I’d like to get Kathryn’s car into the barn and go over it.”

Tina shot him a smile over one shoulder. “Sure. And thanks for picking up those things for me.”

“No problem.”

As he headed to the door, Jake heard her say to Frankie, “Kathryn, hmm?”

“Miss Kat’ryn,” Frankie corrected.

Tina’s soft hmm made Jake wince.

Newlyweds always thought everyone around them was trying to couple up. Well, he’d been there and done that already. Besides, even if he dared reach for such happiness again, he suspected that once in a lifetime was all anyone could expect. Maybe it was all he could endure.

* * *

“Where’s Frankie?” Kathryn asked, trying not to sound as nervous as she felt.

“Playing with his cousin.”

The truck engine idling, Jake waited patiently until she buckled her seat belt before backing the truck around and heading it down the dirt road.

Kathryn watched Sandy’s little house recede in the side-view mirror of the truck and wondered if she’d ever be back, and if not, what would become of the gaunt, pleasant old man. Nearly ninety, he got around with the help of a walker and in the average week saw just Kathryn and a rural nurse. With his family far away, he depended on professional caregivers.

Out of the blue, Jake Smith said, “I towed your car to Loco Man.”

She gasped. “You did what? I told you, I can’t afford—”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” he interrupted, shaking a hand at her. “But I couldn’t leave it sitting on the side of the road. It could’ve been hit. And I don’t know where you live, so I couldn’t tow it there. Besides, I can fix it for the cost of the parts. My shop’s not operational yet, but I’ve got everything I need to work on it in the barn.”

Hope welled up inside her. “You’d do that?”

“Sure. I can give you wholesale prices on the parts, too, but it’s still gonna cost in the hundreds,” he warned. “The engine has to be completely rebuilt.”

Her hope of a moment before waned. If only she could find that insurance policy, but she’d looked everywhere she could think to look. The company insisted that they had no record of the changes they’d agreed upon more than a decade ago. Kathryn bit her lips, noticed him watching and stopped. A moment’s thought told her she really had no other choice.

“Put together an estimate then,” she told him uncertainly. “I’ll try to figure out something.” Hopefully, her tax savings would cover it. If not...she didn’t want to go there.

“I’ll calculate the estimate tonight,” he promised. “Now, where am I taking you?”

“Oh. It’s Sixth Street. Number eleven. In War Bonnet, of course.”

They drove along in silence for some time before he abruptly announced that Frankie had begged for air fresheners for himself and his cousin because they came in the shape of Christmas trees. Kathryn had to digest that.

“You mean those evergreen car fresheners?”

“Yep.”

“You know those could be dangerous, don’t you? He shouldn’t put it in his mouth.”

“Relax, worrywart,” Jake said, grinning. “The air fresheners are still in their packages, and once they come out, they’ll be used for their intended purpose.”

“Oh. Well, you can’t be too careful.”

“Really? You mean like accepting rides from strangers on isolated Oklahoma roads?”

She started to say that she hadn’t had any other choice, but suddenly every murder mystery she’d ever read, every cop show she’d ever watched, flitted through her mind.

“Oh, come on,” Jake said. “You’re perfectly safe with me. It was a joke.”

Kathryn caught a swift breath and provided him with a weak smile. “I’m sure I am. It’s just that this has never happened before, and I can’t help worrying. A-about the car.”

“Want me to stop off at the ranch and ask my sister-in-law to ride the rest of the way with us?” he asked, clearly not fooled.

She considered it, but Sandy knew where she was and who she was with. He spent a great deal of time on the phone with his few remaining friends, and word had filtered through the grapevine that the Smith brothers were regular attenders at Countryside Church and friends of the Billings family. Besides, Jake had been very generous with his time and concern thus far. She shook her head, feeling a little foolish.

“No. Thanks for offering, though.”

He smiled, nodded and fell silent again.

It’s just that he’s so handsome, she told herself, and so big.

She was used to standing as tall as most men, or nearly so. Those she met in the grocery store and at the gas station weren’t usually as tall as him. Plus, she knew them, at least by sight or name, and if they spoke to her, she just nodded and moved on. Glancing at Jake’s broad, long-fingered hands, she wondered why none of those other men seemed as strong, capable or dangerous as him. She felt a keen sense of relief—and a puzzling disappointment—when they turned onto Sixth Street.

“This is a lovely part of town,” he remarked, slowly navigating the tree-shaded lane.

“Yes. Our house is the smallest on the street, but it’s so pretty here.”

“Our?” he queried. The word came out sharply.

“It’s my mother’s house,” she murmured, deciding not to mention her mother’s recent death. Of course, he could find out from anybody in town, but why would he? Whether he was a Good Samaritan or merely drumming up business, his only interest would be in her car. He was no threat and couldn’t have any interest in her personally. Still, she owed him no explanations.

He brought the big truck to a halt in the narrow drive, glancing around. “This is really nice.”

Kathryn couldn’t help smiling. She was proud of her flower beds, and she thought the green trim, which matched the shingles on the roof, made a pretty contrast to the white siding.

“About the car,” he said, abruptly switching subjects. “When should I drop off the estimate?”

She didn’t stop to wonder why he didn’t offer to call with the estimate. “I have to be at a client’s house every morning by ten and don’t get off until six.”

How she was going to get to her clients, she had no idea. Sandy had suggested she rent a car from a facility in Ardmore, but a quick telephone call had revealed that even a few days’ rental fee would consume more of her income than she could afford, and it wouldn’t fix her car. Maybe the agency for which she worked could offer a solution. Hopefully, one other than firing her.

Jake nodded. “I see. Okay, then.”

She grappled for the door handle, found it and let herself out of the idling truck. “Thank you so much for your help.”

Smiling in acknowledgment, he nodded again. She shut the door and stepped back. Within moments, he and his truck had disappeared the way they’d come. As Kathryn turned toward the house, she spied old Mrs. Trident glaring at her from the front steps of the house next door. Kathryn waved, but Mrs. Trident simply turned and went back inside.

She’d avoided the Stepp household since Kathryn’s father had stumbled up the wrong steps, drunk and belligerent, one night more than a decade ago. Soon after, realizing that Mia Stepp was never going to recover from her accident, he’d abandoned his handicapped wife and seventeen-year-old daughter, but that didn’t seem to matter to Mrs. Trident. In all those years, Kathryn hadn’t heard from her father until about six months after her mother’s death, when he’d sent a letter demanding that Kathryn sell the house and split the profit with him.

Kathryn started toward her own front door, sighing heavily, but as she traveled along the walkway flanked by daylilies and Shasta daisies, she felt a familiar sense of peace and belonging settle over her. This place had always been her sanctuary, the one safe spot in the whole world. She loved this old house. Living anywhere else seemed unimaginable. Somehow, she had to keep her father from forcing her to sell it. If only she could find that missing insurance policy.

Shaking her head, she pushed aside such thoughts and went indoors to telephone her employer and inform them of her changed circumstances. It wasn’t as if that insurance money could save her house, after all. She simply would not think of everything else it could do.

* * *

“Pretty!” Frankie declared the next morning, pointing to the wreath hanging on the front door of the Stepp house.

Frankie had said the word half a dozen times since they’d pulled into the driveway. While they waited for someone to answer Jake’s knock, Frankie gestured toward the prim white wicker rocking chair on the porch. The ruffles on its flowered cushions fluttered in the breeze.

“I know,” Jake said wryly, smiling down at his son, “pretty.”

The door opened, and Kathryn Stepp gaped at him with obvious alarm. “What are you doing here?”

Wearing a loose, flowered dress that hung almost to her ankles over slender bare feet, she folded her arms, trying—and failing—to fix a stern expression on her face. She looked like a girl playing dress up, a very pretty if somewhat bedraggled girl.

Jake removed his shades, tucked them into his shirt pocket and doffed his pale straw cowboy hat. “Morning.”

Frankie, who knew nothing but exuberance, lurched forward and threw his arms around her, bellowing, “Mording!”

After shooting a shocked, puzzled glance at Jake, Kathryn softened. She leaned forward slightly and returned Frankie’s hug as best she could, shuffling her feet to keep her toes from being squashed by his athletic shoes.

“Good morning. What brings you and your daddy here today?”

“We’re here to give you a ride to work,” Jake answered. Wasn’t it obvious? He removed a folded sheet of paper from his hip pocket. “The ride will give you a chance to look over this estimate.”

Her rosy lips turned down in a frown. “I’m not sure I have a job to go to. It depends on if they’ve found someone to replace me already.”

“Shouldn’t you find out?” Jake asked.

She turned her head, glancing into the room. For the first time, Jake looked past her. The living area was larger than he’d expected, with gleaming wood floors and a painted brick fireplace set against a sage-green interior wall. Colorful throw pillows and a basket of flowers in the center of the coffee table gave the room a cheery note. Clean and bright, the room felt peaceful and welcoming.

Frankie broke free of Kathryn and ran to climb up onto the sofa. “Look, Daddy! Pretty.” He patted a throw pillow.

“Very pretty,” Jake agreed, chuckling.

Kathryn waved a hand absently. “Uh, come in while I... Come in.”

She waited until he stepped inside. Then she closed the door and rushed off down a hallway on the right, calling, “Have a seat! Won’t be long!”

Jake removed his hat, but instead of sitting he waited until he heard a door close, then he glanced into the open doorway of what might have been a den but was now a bedroom. Curious, he walked past the hallway and through a dining area filled with dark, ornate furniture. Peeking into the kitchen, he saw Formica countertops, worn white in places, and rusty chips in the enamel on the sink. The appliances had certainly seen better days, and a few of the stenciled doors on the cabinet hung at a tilt that made him want to reach for a screwdriver and hammer. A vase of daisies stood on the windowsill above the sink.

Jake suddenly thought of his mom, how she had placed feminine little touches all around their Houston home. Those delicate, homey traces had gradually disappeared over the years after her death. Jake walked back into the living room and sank down in the easy chair, his hat in his lap.

“Mizz Kat’ryn gots lotta flowers.” Frankie pronounced flowers as flou-hers.

“Yes, she does.”

“I like flowers.”

“Me, too.”

“Mizz Kat’ryn gotta dog?”

“I don’t know.”

Frankie had been lobbying for a dog of his own ever since Tyler had gotten his pup a couple months earlier. Recently, Stark Burns, the local veterinarian, had shown them a promising litter. Anxious to acquire his own dog, Frankie didn’t understand that the puppies still needed weeks before they could be weaned.

A door opened and footsteps sounded, growing louder until Kathryn appeared, dressed in comfortable blue jeans and a filmy, flowered blouse worn beneath the familiar scrub suit top. Frankie flew toward her and threw his arms around her hips, knocking her back a step.

“Whoa.” She still looked sad and worried, though she patted his back.

Frankie beamed up at her. “You gotta dog?”

“Uh, no, afraid not.” She looked to Jake and changed the subject. “I can work today. They haven’t reassigned my clients yet.”

Yet.

“Sounds like you could be out of a job.”

“I’m afraid so. At least until my car’s fixed.”

Jake got to his feet. “Ready when you are.”

She went to a closet, opened the door and removed the familiar fabric bag.

Meanwhile, Frankie ran and hopped on the couch again, bouncing slightly. “S’let stay here, Daddy.”

Jake shook his head. “Can’t. We have to take Miss Kathryn to work.”

Leaning back against the pillows, Frankie whined, “I wanna stay.”

Nodding, Jake glanced around again. “I understand. It’s very nice.”

Kathryn closed the closet door. “Thank you, but it’s just homemade, secondhand stuff.”

“Homemade?”

She shrugged. “Doesn’t make good sense to throw away things when a little time and effort can turn them into treasures. A torn sheet makes a fine slipcover or set of throw pillows.”

“You made all this?” Jake asked, swirling a hand to encompass the room.

She ducked her head shyly. “I even hooked the rug.”

Impressed, Jake lifted his eyebrows. This was a woman of immense talent. “I suppose you painted the cabinets in the kitchen, too.”

She looked a little taken aback that he’d seen her kitchen, but after a moment she said, “Who else? There’s no one here but me.”

Surprised, Jake tilted his head. “I thought you lived with your mom.”

Kathryn dipped her chin, dropping her gaze. “I—I did. She passed ten months ago, and before that she was far too handicapped to stencil cabinets. Or do much of anything else.”

Jake let that sink in, frowning at the implications. After a moment, he lifted a hand, muttering, “We ought to get on our way.”

Nodding, she followed him and a reluctant Frankie from the house. As he got Frankie settled in the truck, Jake mused that if things went well with the shop, maybe he and Frankie could find their own place and hire Kathryn Stepp to decorate it.

Hire Kathryn Stepp.

An idea sprang into his mind. What if he could convince Wyatt and Tina to hire Kathryn? Tina could certainly use the help getting the ranch house ready for guests. She’d intended to open a bed-and-breakfast in the ranch house from the beginning, and they were already turning away those who wanted to visit relatives in the area. Even if they would only agree to take on Kathryn part-time, that would give her some income.

Realizing that he could say nothing to Kathryn until he’d prayed about this and talked to his brother and sister-in-law, Jake began to marshal his thoughts and put together his arguments. Excited to think that he might have found a solution to Kathryn’s problems that would also help Tina prepare the ranch house for guests, he bit back a smile.

He would benefit from this, too. One way or another, he had to fix Kathryn’s car. Donating his labor was no issue, but paying for the parts himself would take a bite out of his savings, if she would even let him do it. He doubted she would accept that much charity.

At least that’s what he told himself.

It was a far more comfortable thought than the idea that he might like having Kathryn Stepp around the ranch.

Chapter Three

Kathryn folded the list of parts needed to repair her car and slipped it into the bag at her knee, biting her lips. Jake drove in silence for several moments, waiting for her to comment.

“I—I can cover some of this,” she admitted shakily, “but I’d have to pay out the rest.”