The last letter stopped her in her tracks. It was a plain white, business-size envelope, handwritten and addressed to the owner of the Kendall. Her name was not there. The return address was from Sheldon Kendall in Meadesville, North Carolina.
Kelly moved to lean against the five-bar fence. She stared at the envelope. It was addressed to her—she was the owner. But she knew whatever was inside wasn’t for her. It was for Jace. Should she open the letter? Should she let Jace know that Sheldon was in North Carolina? Turning the envelope over, she stared at the blank backside for a long time. Whatever she decided to do, it would change her and her relationship with Jace. Not that they had a relationship, but Kelly had come to believe in him.
She’d made him part of the Kendall in her mind. But he wasn’t. He had a life ahead of him. He had a son. And she didn’t see him staying around the Kendall for the rest of his life fixing broken pipes and mending fences. The letter might be his ticket out of here.
On the other hand, Jace had told her that Sheldon treated him badly. Was this letter somehow a continuation of that? What would this letter tell him?
Kelly slipped her finger under the flap and slid it along the edge. It opened and she pulled the single sheet of paper out and read it.
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am the former owner of the Kendall. I am trying to get in touch with my brother, Jason Kendall. I haven’t seen him for years and have no idea where he could be. If he contacts the farm, would you please give him my address and ask him to contact me.
It was signed Sheldon Kendall. There was no phone number, only the address in North Carolina.
Kelly swallowed, placing a hand to her chest. Her heart was beating double time. It was him. It was really Sheldon. She knew where he was. And he was seeking Jason, wanted information about him, wanted to find him.
But what about Jason? He’d been angry with her once, mistakenly, over concealing information. But did he really want to suture the riff between them or did he want to start a fight over the loss of the Kendall? Would this information put Kelly in the middle of two feuding brothers? Would this mean the end of any hope for her and Jace?
She refolded the letter, taking her time given its value and importance. She slipped it back in the envelope and pushed it between two magazines. Then she began the return walk to the Kendall. Though, this time the glistening white structure growing larger before her wasn’t what was on her mind.
* * *
“DON’T OPEN YOUR EYES,” Ari said. “Keep them closed.”
“I will,” she agreed, taking a tentative step. The heat of the day hit her full-on as she left the air-conditioned comfort of the house.
Ari’s small, clammy hand was holding on to Kelly’s. Jace’s hand was on the small of her back. The tender gesture didn’t go unnoticed. The two of them were guiding her to the garden outside. It was finally finished and Ari and Jace wanted her to be surprised when she saw it.
Of course Kelly could see part of it from her office window, but she couldn’t see the entire thing. And she pretended for Ari’s sake.
“Wow!” Kelly exclaimed, using Ari’s favorite word, as the blindfold was removed and she saw the garden. The wow wasn’t just for Ari. The spot was beautiful. It was more than she thought it would be. “I love it,” she said.
The two guys beamed. “Come look at this,” Ari said. Taking her hand, he dragged her over to the seating in the center of the square. “Down here,” Ari directed. Kelly went down on her knees. In the corner was a small tile that had the word Ari written into it. The handwriting was little more than chicken scratch, but it was readable.
“Ari, did you write that?”
He smiled widely. “Dad showed me how,” he said. “But I wrote it. All by myself. Didn’t I, Dad?”
Kelly twisted around to look at Jace. She raised her hand to block the sun.
Jace nodded to his son. “All by yourself.”
“Where did you sign it,” Kelly asked Jace.
“I’ll show you,” Ari volunteered. “He signed it twice.”
“Once,” Jace contradicted. “Over there near Ari’s signature.”
Kelly looked at him questioningly, then turned back to the boy. Ari was pointing to a spot on the wall above his name. Jace bent near her and pointed. She looked and saw his name Jason Pharis Kendall. Kelly read it out loud. “Pharis?” She looked at him.
“My mother’s maiden name.”
He’d never told her about his mother. Only that he came to the Kendall after she died. Kelly put her hand on the carved letters. The tile was smooth, coupled with the depressions that formed his name. She felt as if she was touching him. Not the Jace he showed her, but the man he was inside. The vulnerable man who was capturing her heart.
* * *
THE EIGHT-YEAR-OLD Ford 150 ambled down the long driveway. Kelly’s heart beat faster as she saw the truck coming. Jace was driving and he’d reach the Kendall’s front circle soon. Ari stood by her, holding her hand.
Frowning, Kelly realized there was a horse trailer attached to the back of the Ford and he was pulling it toward them. Why would he need a horse trailer? They had no horses.
“What’s he got?” Ari asked.
“I don’t know, honey,” she said softly.
Jace smiled and waved as he went by them and continued around the house. Kelly didn’t hear anything coming from the trailer, but her jaw dropped open when she saw the backside of two horses.
“Dad!” Ari shouted. Kelly kept a firm grip of him before he bounded down the steps in pursuit of the truck.
“We’ll go around the back,” she told Ari. The two went through the house and exited through the patio door. Jace had parked the truck and was opening the trailer.
Kelly let go of Ari’s hand. He flew toward his dad. Kelly took a little longer.
“What is this?” she asked when she reached the pair. Jace backed a horse out of the trailer. It was a red mare. And she was beautiful. Kelly couldn’t help admiring her color and the proud way she stood. Putting her hands on Ari’s shoulders she held him a safe distance from the horse.
“I bought us some horses.”
Kelly gulped. “You what?”
“We have a horse barn. This is a horse farm. We have to have horses.”
Kelly wanted to react. However, she wouldn’t argue with him in front of Ari. Her parents argued in front of her, usually about her father’s drinking. Still Kelly knew how it made her feel. And while she wasn’t one of Ari’s parents, she wouldn’t put him through that.
“Whose are they?” she asked, hoping she hadn’t heard him say he bought them.
“Ours. They’re for the farm.”
“Wow. Really?” Ari said. “We can keep them?”
Jace nodded. His smile was wide. Ari squirmed out from under her and jumped up and down.
“We have a barn,” she said, “but we don’t have any feed.”
“I bought some.”
“On a continuing basis,” she whispered. “How are we going to continue to feed them?” Kelly was living on the memory of money now. Her hopes were on the mansion opening in a couple of weeks. If they didn’t make any money starting that day, she would be one step away from eventually defaulting on the mortgage loan. And Jace went and bought horses.
“We’ll make it,” he said positively. “How long has it been since you’ve been on a horse? Don’t you miss it.”
Of course she did. She smelled the animals and all the good feelings about riding came back to her.
“Is it okay, Kelly?” Ari asked. “We can keep the horses.” He was so innocent and so positive.
Kelly looked at Ari and then at Jace. How could he put her in this position? She didn’t want to disappoint the child, but she was practical. And it was impractical to house horses she couldn’t afford to feed.
“I found a couple of saddles in the attic. I guess they were left behind when the horses were sold,” Jace suggested. “Why don’t you go for a ride?”
“Yes!” Ari jumped at the idea.
Kelly shook her head. She wasn’t going to let him suck her in with a horse ride.
“Hold on to these.” Jace handed her the reins. Kelly took them and Jace lifted Ari up and set the boy on the mare. The horse had no saddle. Jace looked at her. “You sure? I can bring the other one out.”
She shook her head again.
He walked the horse several feet away, then turned in a circle, all the while keeping one hand on Ari.
“Kelly, you should come. This is fun.” Ari laughed and kicked his feet, obviously like he’d seen someone on television doing.
“Don’t do that, Ari,” Jace cautioned. “We’ll have to get you the right boots and saddle the horse.” Ari laughed and Kelly thought her heart would burst.
* * *
IT HAD BECOME routine for Kelly to spend time watching Ari and Jace riding the horses from her office window. The horses became an unspoken addition. Jace kept them in feed and she didn’t demand they be returned.
Lifting her cup, her arm hit the copier lid and it fell down. Kelly would swear it was closed when she left the office yesterday. She hadn’t copied anything the day before. Maybe Mira or Drew had used it.
Turning back, she smiled at the antics of Ari and Jace. Jace got down from the horse and let Ari sit alone. He looked so small on the giant animal, but Ari wasn’t afraid. He took the reins the way his father had done. And just as Jace had shown him, Ari moved with the horse, not against it. Kelly wouldn’t say he was a natural. No one was. Everyone had to learn. She’d been around horses all her life and she knew no one took to the saddle on lesson one. But seeing the two of them every day proved that Ari would be an accomplished horseman soon.