Her stylish khaki slacks and simple print blouse were more suited to a boardroom than a tack room, and Tracy’s knitted brow as she scanned the horse stalls spoke for her uneasiness on his turf.
He took a currycomb from a shelf and started grooming Buck. “You wanted privacy, you got it. So talk.”
She let the messenger bag slide off her arm and thud onto a nearby bench. “There wasn’t anyplace...closer?” she panted.
He shrugged. “Sure there was. But I figured if I could groom ole Buck while we talked, I could get a jump on my to-do list for the day.”
And if he kept himself busy combing Buck, maybe he wouldn’t be as easily distracted by her lush lips and doe-like blue eyes. Her fragile, china-doll appearance made her seem vulnerable, and until he knew what she was after, Jack didn’t want to feel any weakness or sympathy toward her.
She dabbed ineffectually at her damp cheeks and brow, then flapped the front of her blouse, trying to cool down. “Okay, so...I wanted to talk about Seth.”
Jack tensed, his gut filling with acid. He squeezed the currycomb with a death grip and grated, “No.”
“I... What do you mean, no? You haven’t even heard what I want to—”
“I don’t need to hear. My son is off-limits. Nonnegotiable.” With an effort, Jack loosened his grip on the currycomb and continued stroking Buck’s beige hide.
Tracy was silent for a moment, shifting her weight and swatting at a horsefly that was as drawn to her perfume as Jack was.
“All I want is the opportunity to get to know my cousin’s son. I want Seth to know things about Laura that he might not know.”
Jack shook his head and aimed the currycomb at Tracy. “He knows all he needs to know, and I won’t have you filling his head with information that will lead to questions best left alone, or truths about his mother that will only hurt him.”
Tracy straightened her spine, her expression affronted. “I have no intention of hurting him. I... What would I say about his mother that would hurt Seth?”
“The truth. She abandoned him when he was a baby.”
“Abandoned?” Tracy chuffed a humorless laugh. “She did no such thing!”
Jack paused from the grooming to face her, cocking his head. “Really? What would you call it?”
“Laura loved Seth!” Tracy clapped a hand to her chest, pleading her case with wide, earnest eyes. “She did what she thought was best for him. She saw that he’d have a better life here on the Lucky C with you and your family than she could give him as an unemployed single mother. She never forgot a birthday, always sent Christmas presents—”
He scoffed. “You can’t buy a kid’s affection. Presents are no substitute for being there.”
“I know that. And...so did she.” Tracy looked at the ground as she said the last, not sounding at all sure of her claim.
“Doesn’t matter. I didn’t give him her gifts or cards.”
Tracy’s chin jerked up. “What? Why not?”
“It would have only confused him.”
Now she tilted her head to the side, her eyes suspicious. “Confused him why?”
“I told Seth his mother died when he was a baby.”
Tracy gasped in outrage.
Jack turned back to Buck and patted the gelding’s neck. “I thought that would be easier for him to handle than knowing she chose to walk away.”
“She didn’t— You shouldn’t—” Tracy sputtered. “You had as much to do with her leaving as she did! You knew she wasn’t suited to ranch life. You encouraged her to go her own way when you saw how unhappy she was.”
Jack gritted his back teeth, feeling a knot in his stomach. The failure of his marriage was the last thing he wanted to rehash today...or ever. Seth was the only good thing that came out of his years with Laura. He took a slow breath and swallowed the bitter taste at the back of his throat. “Water under the bridge,” he said in a low, even tone.
He raised the currycomb to continue his work, but Tracy strode over and caught his wrist. “Would you stop that long enough to hear me out? My cousin was not the monster you’re making her out to be!”
He heaved a put-upon sigh and tossed the currycomb aside. “No one said she was a monster,” he said under his breath. Then, only a little louder, he added, “I wouldn’t have married her if she were a monster. She had her good points, and at one time, I thought I loved her.”
He angled a look over his shoulder at Tracy. She was swiping at the sweat on her face with her wrist, her pale skin flushed from the heat. He stepped over to the shelf where he kept his personal tack equipment and fished a bandanna out of his saddlebag. He held it out to her, and she eyed it suspiciously. “It’s clean. I promise.”
With a murmured thank-you, she dried her face and neck, and ambled closer to a fan so the current of air blew in her face. “As I was saying...I want the chance to spend time with Seth, to get to know him. After Laura died, I promised her...” Tracy paused and swallowed hard. To his dismay, Jack thought he saw tears fill her eyes. God, no tears! Please! He hated seeing a woman cry. Tears were worse than splinters under his fingernails, and he’d do anything to avoid them.
After a slow breath, Tracy seemed more composed—thank the Lord—and continued. “I promised Laura that I would make sure her son knew how much she loved him, the kind of woman she was and everything she did for me. She deserves that.”
Jack folded his arms over his chest and leaned against a wall. “What she did for you?”
Tracy nodded. “The day of the car accident that killed her...”
“Yeah?”
“...she was helping me. I was in the car with her when she died. She’d saved me from a really bad situation, helped me escape...” Tracy wet her lips and glanced away for a moment before continuing. “The man who ran us off the road was my husband.”
Clenching his jaw, Jack recalled what he’d been told about the accident. “He was arrested for vehicular manslaughter. Right?”
She nodded.
“So he’s in jail now?”
“He was. But...he was shanked the second night he was in jail and died on the way to the hospital.”
Jack arched one eyebrow. He hadn’t known that tidbit. “I’m sorry.”
A sad smile tugged the corner of her mouth. “I’m not.”
Jack stared at her. Read between the lines. “He abused you.” It was a statement, not a question. Abuse would explain a lot of the vulnerability he sensed with her.
She said nothing for a minute. Finally, her shoulders slumped, and she nodded. “Verbally. Mentally. He was spiteful and mean. Loved making me cry for sport.”
Jack
