The Cain Casey Series

Chapter Nineteen

As Ross stared out at his barn from his living room and sipped his coffee, he thought of the spring they’d brought baby Emma home from the hospital. The ordeal of childbirth had wreaked havoc on Carol’s body, and the doctor had told them it would be risky to have other children. For a man who’d come from a family of ten, it was the hardest news he’d ever had to take.

It had made no difference. He looked out at the yard and in his mind’s eye could see the small blond tagalong hanging from the fence waving to him when he’d ride back from the fields. Emma had filled his heart so completely, Ross hadn’t regretted not having any others. Yet he’d let Carol subject her to the kind of treatment she didn’t deserve. At night when he had trouble sleeping, he’d pray God would forgive him for his weakness. He should have done something about his wife a long time ago. He certainly didn’t miss her right now.

Jerry’s truck pulled up to the house, and as Ross watched Cain get out of the cab and survey the area, he wondered how she’d gotten away from Lou and Merrick. She seemed to be back to normal, and Emma had told him that Cain had a little pain only if she moved too quickly. Grabbing another cup from the kitchen, he carried the pot of coffee out to the porch and sat in one of the rockers.

“It’s a beautiful morning,” Cain said, not taking her eyes off his fields. “Not heading out today?”

“Just spending a lazy morning in for a change. There’s enough feed in those bins to keep until this afternoon. Why, you looking for a job?”

Cain slowly shortened the distance between them and picked up the cup he’d filled. “I actually miss our little rides out to see your lost flock of bovines. And I miss the talks we had when I was here.”

“Cain, am I anything like your father?”

If it seemed a strange question, Cain’s face remained passive and relaxed. “You’re like him in some ways, but overall I’d have to say no. I mean, you love your child, and I think you have a connection to the past and your family’s traditions that would most probably have made you friends, but Dalton Casey was one of a kind. Why do you ask?”

“I wonder sometimes if my child will speak so highly of me as you do of him. I see it in Hayden as well when he talks about you. Lately I’ve felt like Emma got the short end by being born into this family.” He took an interest in the bottom of his cup, not having the courage to face her judgment of him.

“Did Emma ever tell you the story of how we met?”

The question made Ross stare off into the distance, as if the answer would somehow be broadcast on the front of his barn. “She just mentioned you one day. I can’t recall if there was a story of how she met you attached to that.”

Cain launched into the story, not leaving out anything about the night that had changed her life forever.

Ross laughed, trying to picture Cain covered in beer and not getting angry about it.

“Do you know what happened for the next year and then some?”

He shook his head and set his chair in motion. This was a nice way to spend an early morning.

“She got me to court her in a way I’d never dreamed of. It was always dinner, a movie, maybe, or something that we could spend time together getting to know one another. When all those dates ended, I got a kiss and a nice pat on the head before she sent me on my way. At first I thought it was cute, then it got frustrating as hell, but I never pushed her any further than she was willing to go.”

Ross glanced at Cain, feeling better knowing that his little girl hadn’t gone to the big city and run wild.

“You have nothing to be ashamed of, Ross, and you didn’t fail. What you did was raise a young woman with self-respect, who demanded the respect of others. The woman I married was raised by a man who loved her and was enough of a parent to make up for anything lacking in her life.”

“She made you wait?” Ross asked in an amused tone.

“And then some, old man, so wipe that silly grin off your face. You raised a good girl, and it just about killed me.”

Ross finished his coffee, relieved that he hadn’t failed Emma as much as he feared.

Cain set her cup down and stood up. “Take me for a tractor ride, Ross.”

He cranked up the new piece of equipment Cain had bought him during her last visit. For the longest time he really did think it was just about the ride, but at their second bin Cain started talking and asking his opinion on a few subjects. Ross kept quiet until she was done, stunned by the way her mind worked. In the time Cain had spent in the small community of Haywood, she’d considered every consequence to every problem that faced her and the action she’d have to take to fix each one.

“What do you think they’d say?”

“I honestly don’t know, Cain. That’s something the Raths have always wanted, and it was denied them. If it came to pass, then I really don’t see them turning down the opportunity. No one would get in any trouble, right?” Ross took his hat off and scratched the top of his head. This was certainly more intrigue than he was used to.

“Life isn’t always a hundred percent guaranteed, Ross, but I don’t plan mine that way. When I do something like this, I cover every possible angle. Don’t worry. If the heat comes down, I’ll be the only one sitting in the pan.”

Ross put his hat back on and his hand on her shoulder. “You won’t be alone. Emma made you wait, but she did some waiting of her own. If you go down for any reason, she’ll never be happy with anyone else.”

“Thanks for the advice, and I’ll do my best to keep my nose clean. And thanks for hearing me out. I had some doubts, but you helped me through them.”

“Anytime. If you learn to like talking to me, maybe I’ll see my grandchildren more often.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that either. All this fresh air has my mind humming, so I think I have a solution for that little problem too.”

Cain took her time getting off the tractor. She’d seen the doctor in Haywood a couple of times, and he’d said her injuries were healing nicely, but not to push herself. The wound was a little past the itchy stage, and she could get by with a smaller bandage.

Back in the yard, she shook Ross’s hand. If she hurried, she could make it back to Maddie’s in time to have breakfast with Emma and the kids.

Ross waved, feeling melancholy for the opportunities with Emma he’d squandered, but the emotion eased with the knowledge that his daughter had found someone to share her life with who wouldn’t repeat his mistakes.