Lori hurried through her shower but didn’t have time to dry her hair before the doorbell rang.
“Mom, it’s the cowboy,” Mackenzie called up the stairs.
“Do you mean the Ranger?” Lori asked.
“Yes, him.”
“Let him in, please, and tell him I’ll be right down.” Lori glanced in the mirror and saw she was smiling. She’d forgotten what it felt like to be happy. Ever since last night when Justin had promised to help her, she’d felt almost light-headed with relief. She’d slept like a baby, and Mackenzie had had to wake her up, which was highly unusual. And now the mere thought of the man waiting downstairs excited her. She knew there was no chance of anything ever happening between them, considering the circumstances, but it felt so good to be alive again.
She pulled on a pair of shorts and a tank top, then let her hair fall loosely around her shoulders so it could air dry. Almost like a schoolgirl, she skipped down the stairs, then paused to compose herself before she went into the living room.
Mackenzie was sitting on the floor and Justin was standing over her, looking down at the picture of a horse she had drawn.
“That’s amazing,” he said, sounding sincere. “My brother is an artist.”
“That’s what I want to be when I grow up. Or a horse trainer. Or maybe I can be a barrel racer.” Mackenzie looked up at him with adoring eyes.
Like mother, like daughter, Lori thought. “Hi. Did Kenzie offer you something to drink?”
Mackenzie jumped to her feet. “I was showing Ranger Archer my drawing. He’s thinks it’s amazing.”
“I heard. Why don’t you run and get us a couple glasses of lemonade?”
Mackenzie trotted off to the kitchen, all childish energy and joy. Lori was only thirty, but she felt like her own childhood was light-years ago. She turned to Justin and smiled nervously. The feel of his arms around her was still fresh in her mind. “Hi. How did it go with Terri?”
“Fine. I don’t think she had anything to do with it, but she’s not too fond of you.”
“Probably not.” Lori picked up the remote control and turned the volume down on the TV where Mackenzie had been watching cartoons. “I don’t think she believes it, but I didn’t steal Mark away from her. He and I didn’t meet until a couple months after they broke up.”
“Have you had a chance to talk to your attorney?”
“We spoke this morning. There’s been a steady stream of reporters here all day. I didn’t see it, but apparently, it hit the newspaper and the Internet last night. That’s why I escaped on the tractor.”
“Good idea.” He stood, his hat in his hands, and seemed uncharacteristically quiet.
“Do you want to sit down?” she asked.
“Sure.” He waited until she sat before he took a seat on the couch across from her. He placed his hat on the cushion next to him. “About last night…”
Mackenzie returned with two glasses of lemonade, which she handed out before flopping back down on the floor and resuming her artwork.
Justin gave Lori an apologetic smile over Mackenzie’s head. It made her doubt any kind of connection she thought they had had. It wasn’t like they had actually kissed.
“So, how’s the crushing going?” he asked.
“Good. We’re filling up the vats. It will take the grapes seven to fourteen days to ferment, then we rack it until it’s clear.”
“Sounds complicated.”
“Not really. But it has to go through each step.”
“I’m going to help them bottle this year,” Mackenzie announced cheerfully. “I want to learn how to do everything.”
“I’m sure that will be a big help to your mother.”
“If we can make more money, maybe I can get a pony.”
Justin chuckled. “She’s kind of one-track-minded, isn’t she?” He leaned toward Mackenzie. “My grandmother has a couple ponies. My nephews ride them, but they’re getting fat and lazy. Maybe you’d like to come for a visit sometime and give them some exercise?”
Mackenzie jumped to her feet and was practically vibrating as she said, “Really? I’d love to do that. Can we, Mommy? Please, please, please?”
Lori rolled her eyes at him. He’d left her no easy exit. But then, she wouldn’t mind letting her daughter live her dream. “Sure, baby. We’ll see if we can find a day that works for all of us.”
“How about Sunday?” Justin suggested casually. “Nick’s two boys will probably be there, and Grammy certainly won’t mind adding a couple plates on the table.”
Mackenzie whirled from one to the other. “Can we, Mommy? I’m not busy Sunday. Please, can we go?”
Justin threw up his hands. “It’s up to your mother.”
Mackenzie spun back around.
“Okay, okay, we’ll go as long as Ranger Archer makes sure it’s okay with his family.”
Justin nodded his agreement, and Mackenzie squealed and hugged Lori’s legs.
“We were just about to eat dinner. I put a roast on hours ago,” Lori told him. “I can set an extra plate.”
“I smell it.” Justin sniffed the air like a bloodhound catching a scent. “I’m sure it’s delicious, but I already ate. I’ll take a rain check.”
The timer in the kitchen went off, and Justin stood. “I’ll try to get back out here tomorrow.”
“I’m dying to hear what you found out.”
“Nothing helpful,” he told her.
“By the way, I’ve got the memorial set up for Saturday. It’s going to be more of a wake.” Lori followed him to the front door while Mackenzie went to set the island for dinner. “You are coming, aren’t you?”
He nodded. “Of course.”
“Uh, could I ask you a favor?”
“Sure.”
“Could you come as a friend…you know, not in your Ranger uniform? That is, if you have normal clothes.”
He put his hand over his heart and pretended to be wounded. “I don’t sleep in this uniform. I’m sure I can find something appropriate.”
She smiled. Her fingers itched to touch him, to feel the solidness of his body and recapture the sensation of him being her protector. But she resisted.
“I’ll call you,” he promised vaguely and gave her that little polite hat tip before he left.
Mackenzie could talk about nothing else but the planned pony rides all through dinner. Lori let her chatter on. It was a better thing to look forward to than her father’s service on Saturday. Lori had already made arrangements for Mackenzie to leave the memorial early and spend the night with a girlfriend. She didn’t want her daughter to be there in case people started sharing colorful stories and reminiscing about “the good times” with Mark.
They played a couple of games before it was time for bed. Mackenzie took her bath while Lori walked over to the winery to make sure everything was locked up and turned off. She returned to the house and repeated the routine, checking all the doors and turning out the downstairs lights before going up to Mackenzie’s bedroom.
She found her daughter already tucked in, her nose buried in Misty of Chincoteague.
“That was my favorite book when I was your age,” Lori told her.
The little girl’s eyes were wide. “They rescued the baby horse from the water. She almost drowned.”
“It’s sort of a true story. The fire department does a roundup of the ponies on Assateague Island every summer and has an auction to raise money.”
“I want one,” Mackenzie cried.
“So do I,” Lori agreed. “Now, it’s time for bed.”
“Aw, Mommy.”
“Okay, finish the chapter, then turn out the light.”
Lori leaned over and kissed her daughter. Mackenzie leaned up and gave her mom a big hug. “I love you, Mommy.”
Lori held her daughter against her. “I love you too, Munchkin.”
Lori stood up to leave and glanced back, but her daughter was already buried back in her story of paint ponies and happy children. Lori smiled, her heart filled with love for the little girl. She could have forgiven Mark for almost any transgression, because he had left her the most precious gift of all. Lori was constantly amazed that this brilliant, amazing creature was her child, and she would do anything in her power to protect her. Quietly she slipped out of the room.
Lori got ready for bed, trying not to feel disappointed that Justin hadn’t stayed longer. Silly girl, you’re just another case, she chided herself. For all she knew, he was hurrying back to Austin for a hot date. She put her toothbrush back in its charger, rubbed a little moisturizer on her face, arms, and legs, and turned out the lights.
There was a book on the nightstand she had started a couple days ago, so she switched on the bedside lamp and slid under the covers, intending to read a couple chapters.
She didn’t remember dozing off, but it was well after midnight when a terrified scream woke her. Automatically, her adrenaline brought her to her feet and down the hall to Mackenzie’s room. She flipped the overhead light on and her daughter shot out of bed and clung to Lori, crying hysterically.
“What happened, Kenzie? Was it a nightmare?”
The little girl’s whole body was shaking as she looked up with wide, frightened eyes. She pointed to the area at the end of her bed.
“It was standing right there. I saw it.”
The hair on the back of Lori’s arms rose. She tried to keep her voice soothing. “Maybe you were dreaming.”
Mackenzie shook her head adamantly. “No, Mommy. The thunder woke me up, and then it lightninged, and there it was.”
“Who was there?”
“It was a ghost!”