A Place Of Our Own (Contemporary Cowboy Romance) (Texas Heat series: Book 3, Jim and Maddies story) (2 page)

Maddie Dupont had felt relieved when the summer break began. She needed a rest from the endless demands of the children entrusted to her care at the grade school in Clarendon. She’d seen the children off, grateful to be able to spend some time at home with her grandparents. They weren’t getting any younger and she wanted to help out on their ranch. There were no hired hands anymore and she’d felt relieved, for once, that their ranch wasn’t a huge holding like the Circle O next door.

She was sitting on the front porch with a cup of coffee, looking wistfully across the paddock to the old Circle O cabin. There was a time when she’d spent a lot of time in there with Jim O’Connor, the love of her life. If she was honest with herself, he still was the love of her life and the fact that they weren’t together now was all her fault. She’d thought it was best if they didn’t see each other anymore, seeing as though they would never be able to afford their own place.

At the time, she couldn’t face living with the O’Connors and the truth was, she still felt that way. She and Jim would have been like a fish out of water in their household. She wanted her own place, where she and Jim could be free to be themselves and not constantly involved in the endless squabbles that came with a very large family. Rather than drag it out, she’d thought ending things with Jim was the best way to deal with their thwarted dreams.

But it hadn’t worked out that way and for the last two years, she had been miserable. She knew now that Jim was the only man she would ever love. If she wasn’t over him after two years, odds were she never would be. At the time, she’d had no idea she would still be feeling like this two years later and from her conversations with Jim’s dad, when she saw him from time to time at the Dairy Queen in Clarendon, Jim was not coping either. He was so depressed that finding a solution under his own steam was long gone.

She’d grown up with Jim and they’d been inseparable, best friends, for longer than she cared to remember. When they’d become lovers during senior year of high school, it had seemed like they would be together forever, or that’s what they’d both thought. But she’d gone and spoiled it.

She wanted to be working on the ranch too, not teaching grade school. That was meant to be a stopgap until she and Jim had been able to buy their own place. Now it looked as though she’d be stuck teaching grade school forever just to make ends meet. The Dupont ranch was mortgaged to the hilt and could no longer pay its own way. Small cattle holdings were just not viable anymore and couldn’t compete with huge ranches like the Circle O.

Her grandfather came out to sit with her on the porch. “Another beautiful day, Maddie.”

“Yes, it is,” she answered quietly. “It’s a pity we won’t be able to see to many more of them out here. You know we have to sell up. If we don’t, there won’t be enough money to buy a house in town.”

“Let’s not talk about that on such a lovely day. It’ll all work out.” Her grandfather was ever the optimist and didn’t like to face problems head on. He was a bit like Jim in that respect.

“But it won’t. A run down ranch won’t sell for much. I still wish you’d let me take over. Do you have any idea how much we could make if we changed over to Angora goats? The market is huge and this place is the right size. We can’t make a go of it with cattle anymore, you know that.”

“Oh, Maddie, ever the dreamer. Whoever heard of running goats on a ranch? Ranching’s for cattle.”

“If you’d let Jim and I buy this place two years ago, it wouldn’t be mortgaged any more. That’s how profitable Angora is.”

“So you kept saying. But we’ll never know, now will we? I’ll see out my days with cattle.”

“Not for much longer. We can’t afford to pay the mortgages after the summer. You only have a few short months left to enjoy it Grandad, so make the most of it.”

Maddie stood up and went inside, wishing her grandfather wasn’t so stubborn. She couldn’t make him understand why they had to move away from the type of ranching he’d been doing all his life. There was good money to be made in boutique ranching these days. In fact, it was likely the only way for a small holding to remain viable.

Her grandmother, Jean, was still in bed, so Maddie made a breakfast tray for her and took it in to her. Jean Dupont was pleased to see Maddie, but could tell from the expression on her face that she’d been talking about goats again with her grandfather. “You should give up, Maddie. He’s never going to change his mind.” She accepted the tray gratefully.

“Well, the least he could do is start thinking about selling the place because we need to be settled in town by the end of summer.”

“You’re right, of course, but he finds it hard to let go. He’s been working this ranch all his life and struggles with doing anything different than what he’s always done.”

“I know that. But time is running out and he needs to begin thinking about what you need too.”

“Well, I’d like to stay here.”

“That’s what we all want but it isn’t going to happen if we keep running cattle. The bank will throw us off as soon as look at you and we’ll have no choice at all.”

“I know what you’re saying about the goats, Maddie. It makes sense and I know you and young Jim would never have suggested it if it wasn’t viable. I could learn to like goats and I know for a fact they’re easier to manage than cattle. All I can do is keep trying to convince your grandfather.”

“He doesn’t want to be convinced, and anyway, it’s not as if Jim and I are together any more. You know, I’ll always regret breaking up with him. But wishing never got anything done and certainly won’t bring him back. What’s done is done.”

“Maddie, do you remember when you were small, you always used to tell me you could make anything happen if you wanted it enough? I think you need to start telling yourself that again. You’re a smart girl, determined too, much more than me. If you set your mind to it, I bet you could think of a way to change your grandfather’s mind. Now, off you go. Go and enjoy yourself for a while.”

“Thanks, Gran. I needed that. I guess I have some serious thinking to do.”

Maddie made her way back to the kitchen. She did have some serious thinking to do because Gran was right. She also knew she couldn’t stay living in the same house as her grandfather for much longer. Loving him and her gran was one thing, but living with them was another and she knew in her heart that they’d never be able to afford two places in town, even if they did manage to secure a reasonable price for the ranch.

Nothing had changed in two years. She and Jim still had the same problem – families they both loved dearly, but couldn’t handle living with. Maddie found herself wandering over to the fence that bordered the Circle O, then climbing through it and heading to the old homestead about fifty yards away. She hadn’t been inside in two years and as she approached, the walls she’d carefully built around herself came crashing down as memories of her time here with Jim washed over her.

******

Maddie had played here with Jim when they were children, playing house as children do. Then when they were older, Jim had moved some old furniture in and they had played out some of their dreams for real. Maddie had always had long blonde hair and vivacious blue eyes, and still did. Jim had loved to run his fingers through it and plait it for her. Her face was heart shaped and her mouth was so generously proportioned, when she smiled, it was as if her whole face lit up. Jim used to tell her that all the time.

She wasn’t tall, but didn’t mind because Jim had always liked to tower over her and she’d always relied on his solid presence. Maddie thought she was scrawny, too thin and wiry to be attractive but she’d filled out over the years until senior year, when Jim had told her how hot she was. She remembered how he had told her he loved the way she filled out a pair of jeans, and how her breasts were exactly the right size and shape to fit perfectly in his hands.

He had loved the way her nose was a little turned up, her face lightly dusted with freckles and the way her blue eyes seemed to twinkle when she smiled. Most of all, she remembered how he had looked at her body with awe, the first time they had come here to the old cabin and explored every nook and cranny of each other’s bodies. She remembered when they’d had sex, the way she had responded to his loving and how he had treated her with reverence, like a goddess.

Maddie still loved Jim and even if another two years went past, she knew in her heart she would still feel the same way.

The old cabin was sorely in need of repairs and the whole place was full of dust but she didn’t care. This had been her and Jim’s special place and she vowed she’d clean it out and keep it like a shrine to the love they’d once shared. When she moved into the single bedroom, she thought her heart would break afresh because the bed was still there, even though it was covered in dust and cobwebs.

Jim had wanted to make it special for her and had even relined and re-varnished the old chest of drawers and an old timber dresser that had been there since old Seamus had put them there. Her quilt was still there too. It was like Jim had left everything and never been back. She could understand why he would feel like that. Standing in the room where they had finally become lovers left Maddie feeling raw.

She stretched out on the dusty bed and let the tears come, grieving for the love she still felt for the man she’d sent away. In her heart, she knew she had to try to bring him back. She would somehow have to find out if he still loved her the way she still loved him. There was no way she was going to allow herself to feel like this for the rest of her life and that included letting the bank take away the Dupont Ranch.

She knew how to make it viable again and she would ask Jim to help her. First though, she would need to ride out to the north-west boundary of the Circle O to seek out Jim, without Andrew knowing. Andrew wanted to buy the Dupont ranch and absorb it into the Circle O to make it even bigger. She would die before that happened.

The man was a cattle baron and didn’t care for small holders. It was only a matter of time before Andrew made her grandfather an offer and because he thought cows were the only animals worth raising, he’d suffer no qualms about selling it to Andrew.

Jim’s father might understand her point of view though. He’d been kind to her and knew how much Jim had loved her. Once she had it clear in her mind what she had to do, it felt easier somehow. The two problems were separate parts of a bigger problem. Solve the two smaller ones and the big one would disappear, or so she hoped.

She wanted the Dupont ranch and she wanted Jim O’Connor back, although not necessarily in that order. She got up and decided to clean up the old cabin. Even though it wasn’t hers, it had been special to her and Jim. She decided to call Red and arrange to see him in town in the next day or two. Then, she’d ride out and see Jim this afternoon.

Andrew had a dream to make the Circle O bigger and better than it had ever been. He didn’t own the ranch and even though he was supposed to be managing it jointly with his brothers, in reality, it had never worked out that way. He felt he was a natural leader and to him, doing the best job of managing the ranch was the one and only way he could do his best for his father.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have the people skills necessary to be a good boss. There was more to it than increasing profits and increasing the size of the ranch. It still rankled with him that Jim had had the gall to suggest buying a piece of the Circle O for himself a couple of years ago. In Andrew’s mind, it harked back to the ancient Irish tradition, where small holdings were divided up into ever smaller pieces as the sons took their own piece of land to support their new families

Andrew wasn’t having any of it. This Irish family would not be going the way of so many in Ireland, who had either starved or had been forced to emigrate in the nineteenth century. No. The Circle O would be staying in one piece and under his guidance, it would continue to grow from strength to strength.

Andrew loved his father and hoped he’d never have to have a conversation like the one he’d had a couple of years back about keeping the ranch as one holding. He also didn’t understand why Jim had spent the last two years moping about. Bad stuff happened. A man had to brush himself off and get over it, not spend the rest of his life as a hermit riding boundary fences when there was more important work to do. He’d never understood why his father insisted it was important. It didn’t figure large in his ideas of modern ranch management.

No, he’d done the right thing in docking Jim’s wages. It wasn’t fair to the other brothers, who were pulling their weight. And if Jim wanted to be a hermit, it was fine with him and better than having to look at a depressed killjoy at home all the time. And really, raising Angora goats with Maddie was just about the dumbest idea he’d ever heard. Andrew was firmly of a mind, just like old man Dupont, that ranches were for raising cattle and horses.

As he drummed his fingers on the desk in the study, he thought that it was almost time to make an offer to old Dupont. The place was mortgaged to the hilt and run down. He could pick it up cheap. The phone rang and he was surprised to find it was Maddie when he answered. “Hi, Maddie. What a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?”

“Hello, Andrew, I’m well, thank you, and enjoying the summer. I was hoping to speak to Red, if he’s there, please.”

“Now, you know I’m running the place now, can I help you instead?”

“Thanks for offering, Andrew, but it’s more of a personal thing.”

Red stuck his head around the door of the study. “Is that someone looking for me Andrew? I’ll take it, thanks, lad. You don’t own the place yet.” Red covered his annoyance by keeping his tone light, almost as if he was joking.

“Sure, Dad, I didn’t mean it like that.” Andrew got up from the desk and handed the phone to his father, before moving into the hallway outside. He held firmly to the belief that a good manager needed to know everything, so decided to wait in the hallway to see if the call from Maddie was something he needed to know about.

“It’s great to hear from you, Maddie. What have you been up to lately?” asked Red, wondering why Maddie would be calling him. “Could you just wait for a sec – I’ll be right back.”

Red knew Andrew better than Andrew thought he did and moved to close the door.  Personal business and ranch business were two separate things and if this was personal, it didn’t concern Andrew.

“Okay, Maddie, I’m back. Now, what can I do for you?” Red got comfortable to listen to what Maddie had to say. It didn’t take long.

“Ok, Maddie. I’ll meet you in half an hour for a coffee so we can talk some more.” He replaced the handset in its cradle and wondered what Maddie could possibly want to talk to him about, but secretly hoped it was Jim.

His first instinct was to seek out Penny because if there was a ghost of a chance of Jim and Maddie getting back together, Penny would want to know. As he’d expected, Andrew was outside the door and although he didn’t want to keep things from Andrew, he certainly didn’t want him meddling in anything that concerned Jim and Maddie.

“Everything okay, Dad?”

“Sure, son, and it’s a fine day when a beautiful young woman invites an old man for coffee.” He slapped Andrew on the shoulder as he went past. “You should be so lucky when you’re my age.”

Andrew enjoyed the banter but couldn’t help wondering what was going on. One thing was for sure though, he would sure as hell find out.

******

Maddie hung up the phone and went to change into a comfortable summer dress before saying goodbye to her gran.

“I won’t be long and I’ll bring back something for dinner too.”

“Thanks, Maddie, I’ll be fine. You enjoy yourself now.”

It didn’t take long to complete the short drive into Clarendon and Maddie mentally ran through how she was going to approach the conversation of her life with Red. This was a turning point and she needed to get it right. She pulled up outside T J D’s Steakout, noting Red was here already. That was good because it meant he was keen to talk to her. She went inside and saw him at a table in the corner, taking delivery of the coffees he’d ordered, noting that he’d already ordered for her as well. She gave him a wave and headed over to the table.

“Hi, Red, you got here fast. It’s great to see you. And look, you remembered how I like my coffee.”

Red stood up as she greeted him.

“Course I remember, how could I forget? Now, sit yourself down and talk to me about what’s on your mind, girl, and I sure as hell hope it’s what I’m thinking it is.”

“Well, that depends on what you’re thinking, doesn’t it?” Maddie looked him squarely in the eye and then continued with what she had to say.

“The thing is, Red, I’ve made a terrible mistake about Jim. If I live to be a hundred, I’ll still love him.”

Red smiled at her. “That’s music to an old man’s ears, Maddie, and just so you know, Jim is as miserable as a hog taking a bath. You’re his girl, Maddie, and always will be. You two belong together.”

“But what can we do about it, Red? Nothing’s changed in the last two years except Jim and I being miserable. Oh, and the fact that my grandfather is digging himself deeper into an already bottomless hole by insisting on running cattle on a small holding. He can’t see how the industry has changed and can’t move with the times.”

“Well, I can see how that is a problem, but I can also understand where he’s coming from. Our families have always run cattle but the business side of things has changed, that’s for sure. That’s why I’m glad to have Andrew managing the Circle O these days. He understands the business ways of modern cattle ranching.”

“Which is why, if you don’t mind me saying, I’m expecting to hear from him real soon with a lousy offer to buy out Grandad. It’s no secret Andrew wants to absorb our place into the Circle O. Surely you know that, Red.”

“Well, I know he’s mentioned it a few times but as far as I know, there’s nothing concrete happening about it.”

“He’s just waiting until foreclosure is imminent, which will be before the end of the summer.”

“So it’s that bad, eh?” said Red quietly.

“It's worse,” answered Maddie. “With the ranch run down like it is, a low offer won’t cover all the mortgages on it and leave anything left over for Gran and Grandad to buy a place in town. They don’t want to move into town anyway. My salary from school is enough to raise a loan for a small house in town but not enough for a house for them as well.”

“So why are you telling me all this? Do you need me to loan you some money to hold the bank off for a while until you can sort it out?”

“That’s kind of you to offer, Red, but no. I’ve done some thinking this morning and I have two problems I need to come at from a different angle. I want Jim back and I want the Dupont Ranch to stay as the Dupont Ranch, not part of the Circle O. That’s what I want, Red, and I need your help to figure out how to do it.”

Red looked at Maddie and couldn’t help but admire the determination of the girl. It was clear she didn’t want a handout, but rather, a solution to a broader problem. He signaled to the waitress, who came over and he ordered more coffee and some pie to go with it.

“Maddie, the first part of what you want is easy. You go home, saddle up your horse, and ride on over to the northwest corner of the Circle O. Jim’s staying in the boundary hut there.  I don’t think he’ll take too much convincing to hook up with you again. If you are both sure about your future together, I think we can come up with something to solve the other problem.”

The coffee arrived and Red was thoughtful for a few minutes, wondering how to broach the subject of the Dupont Ranch, but Maddie beat him to it.

“You know, Red, I’m not sure you fully understand how determined Andrew is to buy my grandfather’s holding. I mean no disrespect when I say this, but Andrew went to a lot of trouble a few years ago to make Jim look incompetent and it rankled with my grandfather. Did you know Andrew hired someone to go around and open the gates that time when your cattle got loose and almost ended up in Clarendon?”

“No, I didn’t, but how can you know something like that, assuming there’s a grain of truth in it?”

“I was asleep in the old Circle O cabin – I used to go and sleep there sometimes after I’d argued with my grandfather about changing how the ranch is run. I woke up when I heard voices outside and I could hear a couple of guys arguing about whether or not to cut the fence as well as open the gates. They settled for opening the gates after deciding Andrew would be pissed off if they cut the fences too.”

Red looked embarrassed, remembering how he’d berated Jim for forgetting to close the gates. And it had happened on more than one occasion. Andrew had generously passed it off as understandable, seeing that Jim was forever thinking about Maddie, young love and all.

“I didn’t know, Maddie, and would never have thought Andrew capable of doing something like that.”

“Well, he did. I’m sure he thought it was for the best and a good way of showing my grandfather that Jim was not the ideal prospect for buying the Dupont Ranch. And you know how Jim and I were always keen to raise Angora goats? Well, I can tell you for sure that the thing with the goats and letting the cattle out convinced my grandfather like nothing else could, that selling to Jim was a bad idea.”

“And you think Andrew’s been biding his time until your grandfather has no other options?”

“Bluntly, yes.”

“Well, it’s starting to add up now. I found out by accident a few months ago that Andrew has been shortchanging Jim’s wages by around half. Says boundary riding is not proper ranch work and there’s nothing wrong with the Circle O’s fences. I was just talking to Jim about it this morning when I rode out to visit him.”

“I need to think about what you’ve told me, Maddie, because Jim has been very depressed and I’m starting to think that breaking up with you is only a part of it. When I saw him this morning, it was like he just doesn’t care anymore and he doesn’t have the drive to drag himself out of it.”

“Red, I don’t think Andrew is a bad person. He just doesn’t have a grip on how people feel and he puts making a profit above everything else.”

“That’s what motivates him, for sure, Maddie, but that doesn’t give him the right to play games with people’s lives. I know he thinks he’s doing the right thing, making the Circle O as good as it can be, but this is going to affect your grandparents, not just Jim and yourself. I’m glad you decided to trust me enough to tell me about this. I know it couldn’t have been easy for you.”

“Like I said before, Red, I want Jim and I want the Dupont Ranch. And yes, you’re right. It affects my grandparents now, too. I’m going to take your advice and ride out and see Jim, today. I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed him. And to think, I broke up with him because I wanted to live in a place of my own. I still want that and I just hope Jim does too.”