So now Jaxon was going with, “I was just joking around about Landon using you.” Well, that was a better explanation than the “You ought to know him better than that” angle. Certainly, the studio audience of that future talk show would be completely understanding if she ran back to Landon now.
She returned to the stall without commenting. When she came out the second time, Jaxon was shaking his head. “I remember a time when your grandpa jumped to the wrong conclusion on a cattle drive and wouldn’t listen to either of us. In fact, I don’t know if he ever believed me about what happened that night. He had a stubborn skeptical side. Guess you take after him in some ways.”
That stung. She felt as though Jaxon had slapped her.
He tipped his hat in parting. “I’ll let you get back to your work.” He turned and marched toward his horse, his scuffed boots kicking through bits of scattered straw.
She watched him go, wondering if he was right. Was she being stubbornly judgmental like her grandfather had been about the cattle drive? Only her mistrust was worse, because she was in love with Landon. She’d allowed herself to imagine a future together. If she refused to trust him now, she was as good as throwing everything they’d had away.
How could she know the truth?
“Jaxon,” she called.
He paused and turned back around, waiting for her to say more.
“I’m sorry for being rude to you,” she said. “I’ll call Landon.” Even as she said the words, she wasn’t sure whether she believed Landon or whether she just wanted to believe him. She couldn’t trust her own judgement any more.
It seemed like there was a fine line between love and stupidity. But at least she would hear him out.
Chapter Nineteen
Landon was diggingpost holes in an attempt to work out his frustration when his phone rang. Kitty’s ringtone. He took off his gloves and pulled out the phone but didn’t answer it. All morning he’d wanted to go to Coyote Glen and convince her she was being ridiculous. Every time those thoughts came to him, he reminded himself that he had no way of proving anything. If she didn’t trust him, he couldn’t do anything but let the whole relationship continue its downward spiral into the dust.
If things had been different, if the ranch wasn’t an issue, the two of them could have worked out so well. He could almost taste that future, sweet and bright and full of laughter—the taste of happiness.
So, as he held the phone, he wasn’t sure which eventuality to prepare himself for: brightness or dust. Finally, he answered. “Hello?”
“Hi, Landon,” her voice was quiet, tentative. “Jaxon came over to explain about the things Audrey said.”
“Did he?” Landon hadn’t known, but it didn’t surprise him. Landon had told his brothers what happened this morning, and Jaxon felt particularly bad.
“I’m sorry for storming out and yelling that my parents were right about you.” She sounded embarrassed but also cautious. “I should have given you a chance to tell your side of the story.”
“I don’t blame you for jumping to the wrong conclusion. It wasn’t very far to leap. Audrey is too young to understand nuance or sarcasm. She got the meaning of what I said all wrong.”
A pause. “I can see how that could happen.”
“Good.” The weight that had pressed against his chest since last night lifted a little. It didn’t disappear, though. Something was off about Kitty’s voice. It was still guarded.
After another moment, she said, “I believe you about Dewayne.”
“I never thought you didn’t.” At least not until now. Before, when he’d accused Kitty of buying in to her parent’s suspicions, he hadn’t really meant it. He’d expected her to deny the claim. But the caution in her voice and the way her assurance was measured meant that yeah, she’d obviously had her doubts. And that thought bothered him. He’d helped her out on her ranch—to his own disadvantage—and never given her a reason to question his honesty.
“I’m not sure where this leaves us,” she said.
“That’s the problem, isn’t it?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re not sure about me anymore, and that didn’t happen just because of the things Audrey said.” He almost laughed at the irony of it, because all of this had started when he’d turned down Dewayne. By refusing to cheat, by refusing to hurt Kitty that way, she was now questioning both his integrity and his feelings for her. “Must have been some phone call you had with your parents.”
“I… It’s not about what I think, Landon. I have to be careful for my parents’ sake. It’s their ranch.”
For once, he didn’t let her get away with that statement. “It’syourranch, Kitty. Your parents never wanted it or cared about it. That’s why Cal left it to you.”
Perhaps it was pointless to make that distinction. She only sighed. “You asked me to understand about your brothers; you’re going to have to understand about my parents.”
He did understand. He understood that her parents were always going to be a problem. They thought Landon was a con man. If Kitty ended up losing Coyote Glen, they’d suppose he’d done something to make that happen, and they’d never forgive him for it. He could live with that perhaps, but he couldn’t live with Kitty suspecting the same thing. “You say it’s not about what you think, but it is. As long as the ranch is an issue, you’ll always wonder about my motives.”