AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No, thank you. I’m not craving margaritas.” Or arrogant cowboys. She turned to leave, but he stopped her.
“Come on, Lucky. Give me another chance.”
She spoke without turning around. “Cloe. Only friends and family have the right to give people nicknames.”
When she reached her car, Casey came out of the house. He seemed as good at reading her moods as Rome was. “So I guess you found my brother. Just like our daddy, he excels at running women off.”
“Thank you for letting me ride Lady Grantham.”
He nodded. “Anytime.” She opened her car door, but before she could get in, he stopped her. “Don’t give up on him, Cloe. He might be inept with women, but he really is a good man.”
A good man, my foot, she thought as she backed out and drove away from Remington Ranch.
By the time she got to the house, the sun was setting. Its tangerine rays spread around the two-story farmhouse like the marmalade jam her mama canned every summer. The orange sunset highlighted the soft green the house had been painted. Mama had spent hours picking out the color from the samples she brought home from the hardware store. She said it reminded her of her family’s eyes when they were happy and content.
Cloe wasn’t happy and content now. She was angry and hurt. She didn’t know why. She hadn’t even given Rome one thought before Sweetie and Decker’s wedding and now suddenly she felt like she’d lost her best friend. It was foolish. They weren’t friends and they never would be.
Another foolish thing was putting up with her grandmother’s stubbornness. Mimi needed to accept that the ranch had to be sold. Climbing the porch steps, she mentally prepared herself for battle with her grandmother. At the door, she took a deep breath before reaching for the screen door handle.
“Bad news?”
She lowered her hand and turned to see her mama sitting on the porch swing. With her thick black hair and green eyes, Darla Holiday was an extremely attractive woman. Petite and energetic, she had always reminded Cloe of a bumblebee—always working and never sitting still for long. Of course, with six daughters and a demanding husband, you had to have energy just to keep up.
But she seemed to be still now.
“Hey, Mama. What are you doing out here in the cold?”
“Just enjoying the sunset.” She opened the throw blanket she had wrapped around her and patted the swing next to her. “Come join me.” As soon as Cloe sat down, her mama pulled her close and wrapped the blanket around her. “So what’s the bad news? And don’t tell me that there isn’t any. You look like you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.”
“I’m worried we’re not going to be able to talk Mimi into selling the ranch. She just can’t seem to realize that the ranch will be foreclosed on if she doesn’t.”
Her mother’s chest rose as she took a deep breath and slowly released it. “I think she’s holding out for a miracle.”
“Or one of her granddaughters to marry a Remington.”
Mama hesitated. “I noticed the broken trellis and Mimi told me what happened. Is there something going on with you and Rome?”
Anger reared its ugly head again. “Nothing. He was just interested in buying the ranch and thought I could help him convince Daddy to sell to him.”
“Ahh. That’s too bad.”
Cloe sat up and looked at her mother with disbelief. “Don’t tell me that you were hoping I’d get with Rome too. I just broke up with Brandon.”
Her mother shrugged. “I’ve always liked Rome. And just because you broke things off with Brandon, that doesn’t mean you can’t find love again. I did.”
Cloe stared at her. “You were in love before Daddy?”
“I was. I fell in love in high school. At least, I thought it was love. But I discovered the difference when I met your daddy.”
“Was it love at first sight?”
Mama huffed. “Young people today. Y’all think everything should happen in a blink of an eye. I didn’t love your father at first sight. In fact, I’d known him for years and never once even considered him as a boyfriend. But then he came into Crawley’s General Store one day when I was working. It was right after I’d broken up with my boyfriend. We started talking and discovered we had a lot of the same values and beliefs. But it wasn’t until he brought me here to the ranch and I met his family that I started thinking of him as more than just a friend. When I saw your father in his element that was when I saw the real Hank Holiday.” She smiled softly as she stared off. “Lord, he loves this ranch. I don’t know how he’ll survive losing it. Or Mimi for that matter.”
Or you. Cloe thought as she studied her mama’s sad face. But Darla Holiday had never been one to wallow too long in self-pity. She shook her head and got up from the swing.
“Enough dawdling. I have supper to make.” She leaned down and took Cloe’s cheeks in her cold hands and gave her a determined look. “You will love again, Clover Fields Holiday. All you have to do is keep your heart open.” She kissed her forehead before she released her. “Now let’s go in. It’s much too cold to be out here.”
Cloe shook her head. “You go on in, Mama. I’ll be in to help with supper in a few minutes.”
