Landon nodded, eyes on the road. “Well, that story is a tad better than the kissing-learner-permit one, but still a might hard to swallow.”
She gritted her teeth. He was so annoyingly certain of himself. “Just do me a favor and never speak to me again.”
“Fine,” he said. “I always do my best to oblige a lady.”
“Oh, I’m a lady now. I guess that’s better than beingthat girl.”
“Um, what?”
He probably didn’t even remember what he’d said last night. Why should he? It wasn’t burned into his soul like it was hers. “You told Jaxon to stay away fromthat girl.You don’t even remember my name, do you? You don’t care about anyone else’s name because everyone’s beneath you.” She was angrier at her grandfather than at him, but Landon was the one here, and he’d started the problem by ratting her out.
Landon only raised an eyebrow in reaction. “Well, well, Kitty has claws.”
“My name isn’t actually Kitty.”
He pulled his attention from the road to give her a blue-eyed gaze. “True, but ‘Kate has claws’ doesn’t have near the ring to it.”
So he did know her real name. Surprising, since no one on Coyote Glen ever used it.
“I know you get straight As,” Landon continued, “and you’re in track. I know all sorts of things because Cal likes to brag about you. You might not feel it right now, but he loves you.”
She used to think he did, but not anymore. You didn’t yell at someone you cared about the way he’d yelled at her. You didn’t kick them off a cattle drive. The truth was that her grandfather had only ever treated her with cheerfulness when he was in a good mood and strained tolerance when he wasn’t. He didn’t actually love her.
Kate stared firmly out the window again and refused to say anything else to Landon. Fortunately, he didn’t give her any more advice on how to redeem her fallen life.
When Landon pulled up to her grandparents’ house, her grandmother was outside picking apricots. She met Kate’s arrival with the forced cheer a person uses when trying to avoid awkwardness. “I’m glad to see you. I can use some help turning these into jam.”
And thus began Kate’s lifelong hatred of apricot jam. Bad association. From then on, the flavor tasted like tangy sweetness mixed with disgrace.
Kate had called her mother, told her what had happened, and threatened to hitchhike to Washington if her parents didn’t bring her home immediately. She flew back to Seattle the next morning.
When summer came, Kate got a job near home instead of going to the ranch. Ditto for all the following summers. Her grandfather never apologized, and Kate wasn’t about to pretend, like he did, that none of it happened. But still, as the years went by, Kate had hoped for a reconciliation. She’d hoped he’d grow softer and more caring in his old age. She should have known better. Her grandfather had been as unrelenting as the Arizona rock that lined his ranch.
And now she was sitting in a pew at his funeral and nothing could change between them. Any words either of them wanted to say would be left unsaid.
She wiped at the tears that ran onto her cheeks. It was best to leave all the memories of Coyote Glen here in the desert, best to let the past stay here with the cacti, the mesquite, and coyotes. She belonged in Seattle.
Chapter Four
After the funeral,Kate’s family went to the graveside service. Her father had been an only child, so the group was small. The sky was pale blue and endless. Even though it was the second of September, the temperature was still in the high eighties—part of Arizona’s perpetual summer. All the sunshine seemed a discordant contrast to the somber mood and black clothing.
Her father took hold of her mother’s hand, and his gaze drifted to the headstone that was inscribed with both his parents’ names. “At least they’re together again. I’m sure Mom has missed him.”
Grandma had been the only one that could soften Grandpa, who could tease him into better moods or change his mind. Things might have been different if she hadn’t succumbed to her stroke. If only Grandpa had found her sooner or been able to get her to the hospital faster. He’d been out checking on fences, though, and Coyote Glen was a twenty-five-minute drive from Bisbee.
The stupid ranch. It had caused nothing but problems for her family.
When the graveside service finished, the family drove back to the church where the entire congregation held a luncheon. One more thing to get through before Kate could go back to the house and help her parents sort through her grandfather’s things.
While the family sat at their table eating, Libby leaned over to Kate. In some ways Libby was a younger version of Kate. She had the same strawberry blonde hair and green eyes, but she was never awkward or unsure of herself the way Kate had been at her age. “Don’t look now, but Mr. Hot Cowboy is checking you out.”
Kate doubted that. She ventured a quick glance. Landon was indeed looking at their table. She was so used to him in jeans and a cowboy hat with two days growth on his jaw that it was odd seeing him clean-shaven and in a suit. The clothing transformed him from rugged and windswept to sleek and sophisticated.
Kate finished up her last bite of potatoes. “Landon probably just wants to talk to Mom and Dad about the ranch.” She’d told her parents he’d stopped by and offered to buy Coyote Glen. She’d also told them about the Wyle Away Ranch’s water issues. As she expected, her parents were sympathetic, but not sympathetic enough to change their plans.
Her mother’s gaze flicked over to the Wyles’ table. “Landon is the blond one, right? I can never keep all those brothers straight. Is he the oldest?”
“Ethan is the oldest,” Kate said. “When he went to college, Landon took over the ranch.” Ethan, Kate noticed, hadn’t come home for the funeral.