sorry Rube’s health is poor,” he said.
Her eyes darted away from his and her hands twisted the dishcloth into a tight rope. “Well, at least he’s alive. That’s more than you have.” She turned her gaze back on him and this time there was compassion in the blue depths. “It’s still hard for me to believe that your father is gone. I’m very sorry about that, Seth. He was…quite a character around here. I think everyone misses him.”
A wry smile touched Seth’s lips. “I don’t know that I’d go so far to say that everyone misses Tucker. He could be a real…difficult man at times. But you are right…. I miss my father and so do my siblings.”
She nodded, then realizing she had a death hold on the dishcloth, she tossed it onto the cabinet and wiped her hands down the front of her jeans. All the while, she was thinking how strong and masculine this man looked.
Long years had passed since she and Seth had attended the same high school. Back then he’d been a handsome boy with a quiet maturity that had impressed her. Now he was a striking man with lines of character etching his chiseled lips and hazel eyes.
Even though he was dressed in jeans, boots and hat as most of the ranchers in this area, Seth’s appearance would stand out from theirs, she realized. Not just because he had a long, muscled body that oozed sexuality. There was an air of authority about him that was only multiplied by the knowledge that he was a Texas Ranger.
“I…uh…never expected to see you again, Seth. You’ve been gone a long time.”
He was surprised she’d even noticed. Or had she simply meant the term “long time” in a general way? he wondered. “Eighteen years,” he answered. “But I’ve come home off and on throughout that time. You would have thought we’d have run into each other.”
A wan smile touched her lips in a way that said his being in San Juan County was hardly enough proximity for them to meet. “Well…we don’t exactly move in the same circles.”
He’d never been a social creature, but perhaps she believed he was. People around here had always been quick to put labels on the Ketchum family. Most of them wrong. And he supposed that hadn’t changed since he’d moved away.
“I didn’t know you lived here,” he admitted. “I’d heard that you married and moved away.”
Turning back to the counter, Corrina picked up the lid to the pot she’d just finished drying. As she swiped a dish towel over it, she said, “Matthew’s father and I are divorced. We were living in Colorado at the time and it was easier just to stay there than to make a major move. But then a couple of years ago, Dad began begging me to come back home and I…couldn’t refuse him.” She shot him a quick glance. “What about you, Seth? Do you have a family down in Texas?”
His eyes widened, as though just someone’s asking him such a question was a shock. “Me, a family? No. I’m not a husband or a father. Just a Texas Ranger.”
She wasn’t surprised. Although, looking at him, it made her wonder how he’d managed to avoid the women, who no doubt gave him second and third looks. Yet she sensed that he was a man who lived his job and anything else was put on the back burner.
Realizing she’d been holding her breath, she let it out and reached up to push back the swath of hair that had dipped onto her cheekbone. “Well, having a family isn’t always what you might expect it to be. The main thing is that you’re happy.”
There was a sadness in her voice that struck Seth right in the middle of his chest. Corrina Dawson had been a soft, sweet young girl. He didn’t like to think she’d already been scarred by a man. Especially one who hadn’t appreciated her.
“I don’t have any complaints,” he said. Then, deciding he’d dallied in the kitchen long enough, he added, “Well, I’d better be going, Corrina. It was nice seeing you again.”
She lifted her head and gave him a little smile. “Yes, it was nice to see you, too. Take care, Seth.”
He nodded, then quickly found his way back to the living room, where he let himself out onto the front porch.
“Hey, Mr. Ketchum, want to see my horse?”
Seth looked around to see Corrina’s young son sitting on top of a wooden doghouse just to the right of the front porch. The boy was staring at him expectantly, almost hopefully, and Seth realized there was no way he could turn down the invitation.
“Sure,” Seth told him. “Just show the way.”
Matthew leaped off the doghouse and motioned for Seth to follow him around the house to a beaten path that led to a nearby barn. The white dog trotted at their heels.
At the rickety corral, Matthew climbed upon the top rail of the fence, then jammed two fingers into his mouth and let out a piercing whistle.
Immediately, the black horse Seth had spotted earlier came trotting out of the building and straight up to Matthew.
“This is Blackjack. He’s nice, huh?”
The gelding was a quality animal, Seth realized as he eyed the heavily built quarter horse. No doubt someone had paid a fistful of money for him.
“Very nice,” Seth agreed. “You must be proud of him.”
For the first time since Seth had arrived at the Dawson place, Matthew shot him a smile. “Sure am! I ride him all the time!” he exclaimed. Then just as quickly the smile faded and he ducked his head and mumbled, “That’s about all there is to do around this old place.”
Folding his arms against his chest, Seth rested a shoulder against the corral fence. “You don’t like living here with your grandfather?”
With his head still bent, Matthew shrugged one shoulder. “Pa’s all right. But he don’t do nothin’. Except sit around and drink beer. That’s not somethin’ I want to do.”
Thank God for that, Seth thought with relief. But when would that change? he wondered. How long would it be before Rube’s bad habits began to influence the boy?
“It’s not something you should do, either,” Seth told him.
“Well, Pa says it helps the pain in his joints. Guess that makes it all right,” he muttered.
Seth was trying to decide how to respond to that when Matthew was distracted by a nudge from Blackjack’s nose.
The boy affectionately scratched the horse between the ears, then stroked the blaze down his face.
“Have you had Blackjack long?” Seth asked.
“Pa gave him to me last year for my tenth birthday. But I’m eleven now,” he tacked on with importance. “We used to have another horse, too. A gray mare. But Pa sold her. Said she was more trouble than she was worth.”
So Rube had bought the black gelding for his grandson, Seth mused. A generous gift from a man who apparently lived on little more than a social security check. But then Rube had sold off all his cattle, he quickly reminded himself. Perhaps he’d put a bundle in the bank and was now drawing a respectable amount of interest. However, if that was the case, he certainly wasn’t using any of the money around the homestead.
