Oklahoma Reunion

On a rainy day in the middle of the confusion her life had become, the century-old foursquare house was a haven, the kitchen her favorite room.

Kait inhaled. With the extra moisture in the air, it was possible to smell traces of the past—a hint of yeast and cornmeal mixed with the scent of cooking oil from the old deep fryer.

Elisi was still in this house. Kait had learned the Cherokee word for maternal grandmother when she was a child. In those days, this same house had been a magical place her parents took her to visit once a month. She never imagined she’d end up actually living here after her mother and her grandmother passed away.

Now the house was hers.

If she closed her eyes, she could easily imagine her grandmother standing at the stove stirring pepper pot soup for dinner and preparing traditional Cherokee fry bread.

Kait turned on the kitchen faucet. Water spit for several minutes before releasing a steady stream into the old porcelain sink. She filled a cast-iron pot halfway then heaved it onto the enormous white porcelain gas stove to boil.

Behind her in the pantry, a steady drip, drip, drip echoed into the air. Kait flipped on the light switch and discovered a puddle on the faded linoleum. A glance at the ceiling revealed a yellow circle where moisture dripped through and splashed to the cracked floor below.

“Great. Just great.” She lifted a dented tin kettle from a peg on the wall and placed it beneath the leak. Add this to her plumbing problems in the main bathroom and her list was growing.

Fortunately the dripping hadn’t come close to the shelves packed with jars of pepper jelly, fruit jams and vegetables.

She was grateful for a full pantry and a freezer stocked with home-baked casseroles. They would go a long way toward helping stretch her meager funds until the property sold. How she was going to pay the rent on the apartment back in Philly and manage the repairs on this house would be her next challenge.

Kait laughed. Life was never boring.

As she began to peel carrots for her and Jenna’s own pepper pot soup, her cell phone began to ring. The number was all too familiar, and Kait couldn’t hold back a smile.

Molly Springer.

“Kaitey-girl, you’re back.”

“Oh, Molly, it’s so good to hear your voice.”

“How are you doing? How was the drive?”

“Not bad. Jenna talked for twelve hours straight. That’ll keep anyone alert.”

Molly laughed. “Good. Are you settled in?”

“Getting there. There’s a lot to do around here. My father apparently hadn’t done any repairs since my mother was alive.”

“I’ll help. I have plenty of grandchildren who can give you a hand. No worries.”

“You’ve already done so much. Thank you for filling the pantry and the refrigerator and for getting the electricity turned on for us.”

“My pleasure.”

Kait could almost see Molly’s contagious smile.

“So how are you doing, Kait?”

“Overwhelmed but okay.”

“It can’t be easy coming home to all these memories.”

Kait looked through the kitchen to the front door. Her very last memory of home was her father demanding she get out.

She released a shaky breath. “I’m a coward, Molly. I haven’t even been able to open his bedroom door yet.”

“All in good time.”

“But I wasn’t there for him.”

Molly made a scoffing noise. “The man shut you and your baby out. Remember? Because if you don’t, I surely do.”

“Why do I always think I should have found a way in?”

“Please. Jack Field was bitter to the end. He refused a memorial service just to be stubborn.”

“I know you’re right, Molly. At least my head knows that, but …”

“But nothing. No condemnation. That is not what the good Lord wants.”

Kait took a deep breath.

“Now then, when do I get to see your little girl?” Excitement laced Molly’s words.

“She’s not so little, Molly. She’s grown since you visited us.”

“Have you told Ryan yet?”

Silent, Kait stared at the bubbles rising and sinking in the cast-iron pot.

“You have to tell him. His mother’s threats can’t touch you anymore.”

“I know. And I will.” Kait exhaled. “I will. That’s why I’m here. Finding a segue in a conversation to tell a man he has a child—well, that’s not going to be easy.”

“None of this is easy. But you did the right thing. You kept your baby. Now give your daughter a family. It’s time.”

Kait nodded, though Molly couldn’t see the gesture.

“Oh, and I have the youngest grandkids here for fall break. Does Jenna want to run around with us, maybe later this week? Go to the zoo?”

“I’m sure she’d love to,” Kait said.

“How long will you be here?”

“I only have over three weeks of vacation time accumulated.”

“Oh, that will never do,” Molly admonished. “We’re going to talk about that.”

Kait was still laughing when she said goodbye and put down the phone.

“Look what I found, Momma.”

Kait turned. Jenna stood in the doorway holding a drenched gray tabby against her sweatshirt. “Where did you find a kitten?”

“Under the porch.”

Kait moved to her daughter and gently pushed back Jenna’s wet bangs. “Jen, you’re almost as soaked as this poor little kitty.”

“I was sitting out there reading and I heard her cry. It took me forever to get her to come close enough to pull her out.”

“She’s bleeding.” Kait wiped her hands on her jeans and inspected the animal’s torn ear. “Poor little thing must have been hiding from her attacker.”

“Can we keep her?”

Moistening a kitchen towel, Kait gently applied a corner of fabric to the animal’s ear. She grabbed another towel to wrap around the kitten. “Jen, why don’t you change into dry clothes?”

“But can we keep her?”

Easing the shivering ball of fur into her arms, Kait looked at her daughter. “She might belong to someone.”

“I can put up signs. If no one claims her, then we can keep her, right, Momma?”

Kait hesitated.

“Please?”

“Maybe.” Maybe? Had she really said maybe? That was as good as a yes to her daughter.

Jenna’s face glowed.

How could she deny this one request? They’d lived in a tiny apartment without so much as a goldfish all Jenna’s life. Kait didn’t have the heart to refuse a simple thing like a stray kitten. For once, she wouldn’t be practical and hoped it wouldn’t become a habit. She’d worry about how they were going to pay for the pet deposit at their apartment back home later.

“Do you think she’s hungry?”

“Honey, go change. We’re going to have to get this baby to a vet. Right away. Then we can stop and get cat food.”

“Ryan is a vet. I heard him say so.”

Yes. He was a vet. Kait slowly inhaled and exhaled. Why was it that she had only been back in Granby a few days and circumstances kept conspiring to put her and Jenna in the path of Ryan Jones?

“Momma?”

“Go change, and I’ll get directions.”

Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Kait inspected the framed certificates on the wall. She smiled, so very proud that Ryan had gone after his dreams.

An unexpected lump of sadness welled in her chest. She’d hadn’t been there to share that journey.

Next to his certificate was that of a Lucas Hammond. So there were two vets at the clinic? That was a good thing since it was so busy. She’d watched no less than half a dozen small animals and their owners come in and out of the front door since she arrived.

Kait checked her watch. That had been quite a while ago.

She approached the counter. “Excuse me?”

The receptionist arched her penciled brows while twisting a strand of fuchsia hair around a finger but didn’t put down the cell phone attached to her ear.

“How much longer do you think it will be?”

“That’s hard to say. Dr. Jones is booked solid, and you didn’t have an appointment.”

Kait bit her lip at the accusation but decided against pointing out that the sign outside said walk-ins were welcome. “What about Doctor Hammond?”

“Who?”

“Doctor … never mind. Perhaps you can give me directions to another clinic?”

The door behind the receptionist opened, and Ryan appeared. Head down, broad shoulders slumped, he shoved a stethoscope into his lab-coat pocket and ran a hand through his hair as he checked a ledger on the counter. His guard was down, and Kait was taken aback by the fatigue and something else—discouragement perhaps—that she saw in his stance.

Ryan rarely showed any emotion, instead putting on his happy-go-lucky face for the world. She knew he must have a lot on his mind. Her heart ached, and for a moment she simply stared. How simple it would be to reach out and smooth the worry lines from his brow and give him a hug of encouragement.

With a small sigh, she turned her face away. Nothing was simple anymore.

“Kait? What are you doing here?”

She swung back at his voice.

When he offered a tentative smile, she froze for a moment. He so reminded her of Jenna.

Any trace of fatigue or stress had disappeared, and his smile, however wary, wrapped itself around her. Suddenly she was glad Jenna had convinced her to come to his clinic.

Kait pointed across the room to where Jenna held the kitten; both were mesmerized by the huge tropical fish tank in the corner.

“You have a kitten.”

“Jenna found her. It looks like she was in a tussle.”

“Who? Jenna or the cat?”

Kait swallowed a laugh at his dry humor. “The cat.”

“Ah.” He crossed the room. “Hey, Jenna. Good to see you again.”

She turned at his voice, her face brightening. “My kitty was in a fight.”

He leaned closer to inspect the kitten and then looked up at Kait. “How long have you been here?”

“About an hour,” she replied.

“An hour?” Ryan glanced at the receptionist who kept chatting on her cell, oblivious to the note of disapproval in his voice. “I’m sorry. I can tell you that won’t happen again.” He shook his head. “Let’s go back to an exam room.”

Jenna looked around the small room, her interest focused on the black-and-white framed photographs on the wall. “Oh, wow. This is so cool.”

“They’re all my patients.”

“Even that one?” Jenna pointed to a photo of a lizard sunning on a rock.

“Especially that one. That’s my lizard, Roscoe.”

“You really have a lizard?”

“Absolutely.”

“I love animals,” Jenna said.

“So do I,” he responded.

“Do you like kids, too?”

Ryan chuckled, not the least bothered by the random question from Jenna. He relaxed, open and unguarded as he conversed with the seven-year-old. “Yes. I like kids, too.”

“Do you have any?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t.”

Kait cleared her throat loudly. “Who took all these pictures?”

“I did.”

“I didn’t know you were a photographer.”

Ryan raised a brow in challenge, the caution back in his eyes. “I bet there are a lot of things you don’t know about me.”

Regret washed over Kait, and she turned to the wall, feigning interest in the photos. “So this is your clinic? Yours and Dr. Hammond’s?”

“How’d you know about Doc Hammond?”

“I saw his certificate on the wall.”

“Old Doc Hammond went fishing six months ago and decided not to come back. He says he needs to keep his options open, so there is a slight possibility that either retirement or Mrs. Hammond will drive him nuts and he’ll be back.”

Kait smiled.

“Why don’t you set the kitten on the table, Jenna?” Ryan donned gloves and began to stroke the animal. “Pretty little thing, isn’t she?” He skillfully examined the kitten from head to toe, finally assessing her teeth. Then he pulled out the stethoscope.

“Is she okay?” Jenna asked.

“She’s going to be just fine. This little baby is about eight months old. A little underweight. But your stray is definitely a girl.”

Jenna turned to Kait with a delighted grin on her face. “I was right. She’s a girl.”

Ryan reached for a small machine on the counter. Holding it in his hand, he slowly wanded the device over the cat’s entire body. “I don’t see any microchip, so I’m guessing she isn’t spayed either.”

“What’s spayed?” Jenna’s voice became concerned.

“We do surgery on animals so they don’t have babies. Cats can have a lot of kittens in their lifetime. That’s dozens of homeless, hungry cats.”

“Will it hurt?”

“A little, but I’ll let her stay here overnight. Chris, my technician, will check on her. We’ll take very good care of your little one.”

Ryan grabbed a pump bottle, saturated a few cotton balls and began to clean the kitten’s ear.

“She’s wiggling!” Jenna exclaimed with concern.

Kait reached over to help hold the animal tighter just as Ryan did. His hand covered hers.

Their eyes held.

“Sorry,” Kait murmured. Embarrassed, she slipped her hand away.

Ryan lowered his gaze. “Well, Jenna, looks like the wound isn’t too bad. Probably another cat. I’ll give her antibiotics and put ointment on the ear.”

Reaching to the counter, he grabbed several long cotton-tipped swabs and checked her ears.

“Does she get shots?”

“Yes, a few. Then you’ll bring her back in a few weeks for another shot, and we’ll test her to make sure she didn’t pick up a virus from the bite.”

Jenna nodded as Kait began to nervously tally the cost of today’s visit.

Ryan handed the kitten back to Jenna. “Here you go. Are you ready to be a parent?”

Jenna’s smile widened, and she nodded.

“Well then, congratulations.”

He pulled off his gloves and washed his hands. “Tell you what. You show your kitty the fish tank while your mother and I take care of the paperwork.”

Kait followed Ryan to the front desk where he opened a chart. She noted the strong, mature line of his jaw and the five o’clock shadow on face. In the crisp white lab coat worn over navy scrubs he looked vastly different from the rough-and-tumble carefree cowboy she had known. Ryan had become a man in the years since she’d seen him. Another unexpected pang of regret struck Kait.

“Do you still rodeo?” The question popped out before she realized she’d spoken aloud.

“What?” He looked up, brows knit.

“Rodeo.”

The corners of his lips twitched, and his green eyes flashed as he leaned against the counter. “Ah, rodeo. Don’t I wish? Lately my horse has become a pasture ornament, and my saddle doesn’t even know my name.”

His gaze wandered to Jenna, and he gave a puzzled frown before turning back to the chart, his professional mask back in place. “We’ll do the surgery late tomorrow afternoon. Is that okay with you?”

She nodded.

“If it’s more convenient, you can just leave the kitten here, and I’ll drop her off when she’s ready to come home.”

“Oh, I don’t want to bother you with—”

“It would be my pleasure. Let me do this for your daughter.”

Your daughter.

Kait inhaled sharply at the words.

“All right. Thank you.” She glanced down at Ryan’s scribbles and cleared her throat. “How much do you think this is going to cost?”

“There’s no charge.”

She blinked. “Of course there’s a charge. You examined her, treated her ear, gave her shots and she’s going to have surgery.”

“There’s no charge.” His lips became a firm line, and his taut stance brooked no discussion. “Kait, I’ve never stopped being your friend, even if you don’t believe that. You’re like family. And I don’t charge family.”

Speechless, she searched the depths of his gaze.

“But,” he continued, “we have to talk.”

She took a ragged breath. “Maybe you could stop by the house? I mean, well, I don’t know your schedule or anything.” Kait looked pointedly at his left hand.

“Not married, if that’s what you’re asking.” His expression softened a fraction. “Who’d have a guy who lives at the clinic 24/7, and when he does make it home, he sleeps with two cats and a hundred-pound mutt?”

Kait resisted the very strong urge to respond. Instead, she fiddled with the chain at her neck, struggling for nonchalance.

Ryan raised his brows in question. “And you, Kait?”

“Me?”

“No ring?”

“I’m not married.” She quickly glanced over at Jenna and moved the conversation along. “We have an appointment later today. But Jenna goes to bed at nine. Maybe …”

“After nine, then. I’ll be by,” Ryan said.

Kait swallowed, silently praying she had the courage for what was about to unfold.

Chapter Three

Ryan pushed open the door to the clinic’s back room and headed to the sink.

“Hey there, Doc. What’s got you looking like an agitated barnyard rooster?”

He leveled Chris LaFarge, his vet tech, a glance. “Excuse me?”

“Come on. No use denying it. You’ve been cranky all day. Will Sullivan pull another one on you?”

Scrubbing his hands, Ryan narrowed his gaze. He couldn’t help comparing people to animals. Short and stocky with thick brown hair and a flat nose, Chris, the full-time vet tech, had always been a tenacious bulldog in Ryan’s mind.

“I was hoping your attitude might improve so we could discuss all this overtime.”

“You have a problem making money?”

“Naw, I like taking your money, Doc, but I’ve been thinking.” Chris tore off a fresh plastic bag for the trash bin.

“I’m in trouble now.” Ryan reached for a paper towel and dried his hands and forearms. He stepped back from the stainless-steel sink to stop the water from flowing.

“It’s time you hired more help around here. Since Doc Hammond retired, it’s only getting busier and busier.”

“I’m not complaining, am I?” Ryan asked.

“No, but you don’t have a life, either.” He sprayed the counters with disinfectant and wiped them down, then glanced up. “Why, I think you’d even work Sundays if Pastor Jameson hadn’t finally lassoed you into ushering at first service.”

If Ryan thought his friend was done railing on him, he was wrong. Chris just kept talking, all the while efficiently restoring the counters and supply cupboards to order.

“You’re going to have to let go of the past, Doc.”

“What?” Ryan’s head jerked up at the comment.

“I’ve heard the stories.”

“Are you kidding me? What stories?”

“Something about a broken engagement and your true love running off.”

Ryan groaned loudly. “Sounds like the lyrics to a bad country song. Where do you get this stuff?”

“Will Sullivan, I expect.”

“Sullivan again? He’s feeding you a load of cow pies.”

“You telling me none of it’s true?” Chris scratched his head.

“There might be a grain of truth buried somewhere in that malarkey but not enough to be recognizable.”

“You weren’t jilted at the altar?”

“No.”

“She didn’t run off in her graduation cap and gown?”

“No.”

“Hmm.”

Ryan leaned back, enjoying the fact that for once Chris was at a loss for words. It didn’t last long.

“All the same, how many times have Joanie and I tried to get you over for dinner?”

There was no point responding. They both knew that if it was merely a home-cooked meal he’d been invited to, Ryan would have probably shown up more often than not. Generally, however, what appeared to be an innocent invite to supper was actually a clever matchmaking scheme.

“And here’s the other thing, Doc.”

“The other thing?”

Chris nodded and motioned to the front room. “You’re going to have to do something about that sorry excuse out there answering phones.” He shook his head. “Trouble with you is you only see the good in folks. That’s why you haven’t noticed she spends most of her day talking to her boyfriend and polishing her nails. You need someone who can handle billing and vendors. Not just a warm body who occasionally picks up the phone.”

This time Ryan paused at Chris’s words. He frowned and remembered Kait and Jenna’s visit. Ryan liked to think he was focused. Generally, however, it was simply tunnel vision. While he loved to work with animals, and he liked people, he wasn’t real good at the business end of things at the clinic. And Doc Hammond’s sudden retirement also meant he’d taken Mrs. Hammond, their one-woman office staff, with him.

“Okay. Let me think on this a bit.”

As much as he hated to purposely hand Chris a free ride to another “I told you so,” the vet tech was right.

“While you’re at it, maybe you could start thinking about dating and settling down.”

“Whoa. Why does a conversation with you have more ups and downs than a bull straight out of the shoot? Mind telling me what dating has to do with the conversation?”

“Simple. Make some changes at the clinic and you’ll have time to court a woman. Why, I bet you don’t even have a date for Will Sullivan’s wedding.”

“I’m the best man. I thought all I had to do is show up and make a speech.”

“Are you hearing anything I’m saying?”

“I don’t remember you telling me that particular piece of information.”

A date for a wedding? Who knew? Ryan ran a hand through his hair. While Chris’s logic was skewed, Ryan had to admit it had occurred to him on odd occasions that he just might indeed be running out of time. After all, he sure didn’t want to find himself alone in his dotage, with only a mismatched menagerie of pets for company. He loved kids and wouldn’t mind a few of his own. A daughter like his niece Faith, or …

An image of a dark-haired little girl flashed through his mind.

Chances were he had already run out of time.

Kait dried her hands on a towel and leaned against the screen door looking out at the front yard. The huge sugar maple near the street was barren of leaves, the naked branches dead and the bark peeling. It would have to be cut down which meant one more problem to solve, one more thing to do and much too much to think about.

“Oh, Lord.” She closed her eyes for a moment and prayed. “Right now I ask for wisdom and guidance as I prepare to talk to Ryan and make decisions for the future. Amen.”

When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was an ancient, mud-colored pickup coming round the corner. The Ford’s aged muffler vibrated loudly in the silence of the evening.

Illuminated by the glow of the street lamp, she could see every last rusted dent in the old truck. The rear bumper was gone, and the front bumper looked like it would be tempted to fall off with very little encouragement.

When the pickup stopped across the street, she realized the driver was Ryan.

Obviously he could afford a new vehicle yet he chose one with more dents than not. What did that say about him? Perhaps this was Ryan’s way of rebelling against his parents’ affluence.

He hung his head for a minute then looked up at the house before turning off the engine.

Slipping out the screen door, Kait ran a quick finger under her eyes and smoothed back her ponytail. She walked to the rail.

Ryan’s gaze swept the yard before he made his way to the front steps. His hands were shoved in the front pockets of his worn jeans as he stood, one boot on the rough cement of the sidewalk and one on the porch steps. The blue cotton shirt he wore was unbuttoned; with the sleeves rolled up, it hung loose over a navy T-shirt that stretched across a broad, muscular chest.

Kait swallowed, and averted her eyes. Ryan was always bigger than life—clearly the stuff women’s dreams were made of.

She frowned. This had to stop. There was no time for dreams in her life.

“When you first moved to Granby, I used to drive by your house on a regular basis.”

The simple statement surprised her. His face revealed nothing.

“I never saw you,” she said.