Daddy's Girls (22)

“There’s no one to date around here,” she said matter-of-factly, “and I’d probably fall asleep if anyone took me to dinner. I get up at four-thirty in the morning.” She had substituted work on the ranch for relationships for many years. Her father had kept her too busy to date.

“There must be someone,” Caroline chimed in.

“Not that I know of. The boys we grew up with have kids in college. Some of them are grandfathers. Now there’s a scary thought. They either left to work somewhere else, went to college and never came back, or married their high school sweethearts, and have been married for twenty-four years by now, since I went to school with them,” Kate said and didn’t seem to care.

“Jesus, that’s depressing,” Gemma commented. “You should get out of here.”

“I don’t want to. I like it here. I’m running this place for the three of us now. Before I was running it for Dad.”

“Isn’t there a cute cowboy around or something?” Gemma asked, sorry for her older sister. It seemed like a sad life to her, but Kate was happy.

“I’ll have to sign up for the rodeo again,” she said, laughing, “and find me a guy who rides the broncos, or ropes steers.” She was describing their father. The idea of marrying anyone they’d gone to high school with sounded pathetic to all three of them, but it was what most people did. It was a far cry from Gemma’s glamorous life in L.A., or Caroline’s suburban life in Marin. But this was the life Kate had chosen, at first to please her father, and now it pleased her. She was happy here, as hard as that was for them to understand. Gemma had never settled down either, after one very serious romance that went sour, and after that, countless meaningless affairs. Gemma wasn’t desperate to marry either. All she wanted now was a good part, money in the bank, and her career back on track.

    The three of them had a nice weekend together, and Caroline’s children loved it. Caroline and Gemma left on Sunday afternoon. Gemma had a week of shooting left before they wrapped the show, and she had to figure out what to do now. Caroline said she’d think about bringing the kids back for a few days before they left for Aspen, if she and Peter didn’t have too much to do. She wanted to spend time with him before Aspen, but he had already warned her that he had a heavy work schedule all summer. With Peter, his work always came first, but they always got closer when they spent time together. He wasn’t good at expressing emotions, but underneath his cool exterior and serious work ethic, she knew he loved her, and their marriage was solid after seventeen years.

He was at the office when she came home on Sunday, he texted her that he’d be home in a few hours, and suggested that she and the kids go out to dinner in Mill Valley, which they did. It was nice to be back in their suburban life, which seemed a million miles from the Santa Ynez Valley, much to her relief. Everything about their life in Marin was home to her now, not the ranch.



* * *



—

    Thad dropped by to see Kate that night. She had a few of her father’s things put aside for him, some jackets, his roping gear, and his rodeo chaps which Thad had wanted.

“Thank you for being so nice to the kids,” she said with a smile.

“I enjoyed them. They’re so bright. Morgan says she wants to be a writer or a lawyer, and Billy wants to be a soccer star or an entrepreneur. I couldn’t even pronounce that word at his age.” They both knew he had options that Thad had never dreamed of. But like her father, she could easily see Thad having his own ranch one day. He had that kind of determination and drive and was willing to work hard. He was as bright as her father, which was why they had gotten along so well. Jimmy had seen that in him at eighteen, when he was just a kid. “They’re nice children.”

“They are,” Kate agreed. “And Caroline’s a great mom.” She didn’t tell him about Gemma’s financial difficulties. She didn’t want to get his hopes up. Gemma wasn’t ready to sell her share of the ranch. She would only do it in extremis, out of respect for their dad, and she would probably have a starring role in another show in a few months, and she’d be making big money again. She was resourceful, and Kate wasn’t worried about her, yet.

“Do you want to go into town for dinner?” he asked her. It was quiet after her sisters left, and they did that sometimes, went out for a burger, to talk about what they were doing on the ranch. He had an active dating life with the local girls, and he only invited Kate to dinner when he didn’t have more exciting plans. He was a busy guy. It was easy to understand. He was a good-looking man, and had a gentlemanly style with women. It was an old-fashioned way of treating women that some cowboys had. Her father had treated Juliette that way, except that he was more domineering. Thad was more modern than that, but his relationships never lasted long, since he didn’t want to get tied down. He never misled them, and described himself as not being a “commitment kind of guy,” except to the ranch. She suspected it came from the way he’d grown up, being bounced from one foster home to the next, until he was old enough to be emancipated at sixteen. Now he was careful never to get too attached.

    They talked about ranch business all through dinner. He insisted on paying the check, and then he drove her home.

“Are you doing okay, Kate?” he asked when they stopped in front of her house. “I know it’s different without your dad.” She had been missing him terribly and suspected that Thad was too.