Daddy's Girls (50)
“You look happy, Kate,” Caroline said quietly. She looked as troubled as she had since she arrived and they all knew why. Peter had gone silent on her, and she was beginning to think it was just as well. She was determined to wait to hear from him, and not chase him, which was agony for her, but seemed like the strong thing to do. If it was over, she needed to face it and couldn’t run away from it. It wasn’t what she wanted, but it was the hand she’d been dealt. She wasn’t going to run away from what he’d done, turn a blind eye, let him get away with it, or pretend it wasn’t happening. It was, and she was willing to face it head-on, if he reached out to her. And if he didn’t, she would move on, and find the strength to do it. “I’m happy for you and Thad,” she said, and Kate could tell that she meant it.
“We both are,” Gemma seconded it. “Somebody has to be happy around here and it’s definitely your turn.” Kate had played handmaiden to their father for twenty years, which was more than enough. And he had left her the legacy of Thad, almost like his blessing of their union, if she needed that.
He came back with the beers then, and sat down with the three of them. “If I eat any more ribs, I’m going to pop.”
“Me too,” Gemma said with a groan. “I may have to get my fancy trainer up here if I keep eating like this. I’m starting a biking program with Morgan tomorrow. But I might have another piece of the apple pie first, with vanilla ice cream.”
“I always forget how good the food is at our barbecue,” Kate said with a smile and leaned over and kissed Thad. He looked like the happiest man on earth. They were signing the papers for his new land in two weeks. A contractor in town was working on plans for the house, modeling it on JT’s, only slightly larger, with more bedrooms, and he was in love with the love of his life.
They went back to the dance floor after that, and led the next round of line dancing. Scarlett and Roberto joined them for a last dance before they left, and said they’d had a great time. She asked Caro quietly if she’d heard from Peter yet and she shook her head.
“You will,” she said confidently, and hugged her. And Caroline felt safe in her mother’s arms.
The party lasted until two A.M., and all three sisters stayed until the bitter end. As the party finally wound down, Thad held Kate in his arms and looked into her eyes.
“Thank you for making me so happy.” He didn’t ask her when they were going to get married. He didn’t want to rush her, but it was all he could think about now.
When the party was over, they walked up the road to her house hand in hand, for everyone to see, and up the front steps into her house. It was where he belonged now. The owner and the foreman, proud to be together. Gemma watched their bedroom lights go out a little while later and smiled. And wherever their father was, she hoped he was smiling too.
Chapter 11
After the big summer barbecue, the days just seemed to roll by with bright blue skies and hot weather. Thad and Kate together everywhere on the ranch became a familiar sight, more than ever. She gave him her old office, next to her father’s, which she was using now, and they were always consulting each other about something, or working on a project together. Their breeding barn was busier than it had been in a long time. And their livestock and Thoroughbred auction almost doubled in size because of Thad’s bulletins about it ahead of time on the internet. He was good about using social media to increase their business. They worked hard all month, while Caroline went on outings with Morgan and Billy, and Gemma went to L.A. for auditions several times, but nothing had borne fruit so far. She felt lazy on the ranch and spent hours reading in a hammock Thad had set up for her. And whenever they got the chance, one or all of them visited their mother in Santa Barbara.
It was in many ways a perfect summer, although different. It was their first without their father. Juliette was away, and sent postcards from all over France. And Scarlett and Roberto came to lunch several times on Sundays when Kate and Thad weren’t working. Caroline had heard from Peter a few times, and he met Morgan and Billy in Santa Barbara for a weekend. Caroline had Thad drive them there to meet him. She didn’t want to see Peter.
Roberto and Scarlett had been to the ranch for the day in early August, it was Saturday, and Kate and Thad were lying in bed that night at her house, talking about them, and Kate said how nice it was to suddenly have a mother at her age. She had just said that to Thad when he sat bolt upright in bed, sniffing the air and listening. And before he could say a word to her, he had leapt out of bed, jumped into his jeans, grabbed his boots and pulled them on, put on a T-shirt inside out, and grabbed his denim jacket as she watched him intently.
“What’s wrong?”
“Fire…I’m sure I smell something.” She got out of bed just as quickly, and pulled her clothes on. She was heading for the stairs when he was already at the front door, and as soon as he opened the door, she could smell it. They ran outside, and the night sky was lit up in the distance. It was bright orange. It wasn’t close yet, but that could change in an instant. There was a light breeze, and he left her at a dead run to sound the alarm. Kate called both her sisters on her cellphone, while she ran to the old fire bell they still used as backup. The sirens came on less than a minute later when Thad turned on the alarm, and within minutes men came running from everywhere, the bunkhouse and the barn. They grabbed hoses and started hosing down the roof of the barn and the other structures. Thad had called 911, and was waiting for them, ready to head to the fire with them in his truck.