“We’re sort of, kind of, maybe seeing each other,” Lizzie said.
“Okay.” Gabby gazed at her. “And you’re sort of kind of okay with that?”
“Yes. Very much so.” Lizzie finished her tea. “He’s a good man.” She rose from her seat and looked out toward the backyard. “Now, I’ll go and fetch Roman and leave you in peace.”
“Hardly that.” Gabby chuckled. “Unless you want to take the other two rascals with you.”
* * *
Adam did his rounds at the Cortez ranch, and then spent the rest of the day out with Ben rounding up the sparse number of cattle Carlos had kept and bringing them closer to the ranch. He heard from Ines that Carlos was stable and breathed a little easier. There was no word on whether they’d be moving Carlos to the specialist hospital yet.
He took off his boots and jacket and washed his hands in the mudroom at home before going through into the kitchen where he was brought up short by the sight of Leanne cooking at the stove.
“Hi, Adam.” She smiled at him. She was wearing jeans and a flowery blouse over a pink T-shirt, and had taken off her shoes to reveal yellow striped socks that Adam thought might belong to his father. “Ruth gave me a huge leg of pork. Jeff decided I should come and cook it for you all for dinner tonight.”
“Did he?” Adam wasn’t sure how he felt about seeing her there. The kitchen was usually his domain and roast dinners were his specialty. “I could’ve done it.”
“So I hear. But it just seemed like a nice way to thank you all for being so kind to me.”
Adam still wasn’t feeling particularly kindly toward her when she was messing up his head so he didn’t say anything.
“There’s iced tea in the refrigerator and coffee brewing,” Leanne called out to him as she spooned hot spitting fat over roasting potatoes and returned the pan to the oven. “I hope I made them right.”
Adam helped himself to coffee and sat at the table while Leanne fussed around with the pots on the stovetop. Eventually, she came to sit opposite him, her cheeks flushed from the heat. With her hair less styled and her clothing informal, she looked more like the mother Adam remembered.
She flapped a hand in front of her face. “Phew, I’d forgotten how hot you have to get everything when you roast pork.”
Adam nodded and sipped his coffee, letting the jolt of caffeine seep through his tired bones. Ben had gone to have a shower, but Adam had needed coffee first.
“Ruth Morgan looked well,” Leanne commented.
“Yeah, she’s a strong woman.”
“She always was.” Leanne got the pitcher of tea out and set it on the table. “One of my role models.”
It was on the tip of Adam’s tongue to ask her why she hadn’t stuck it out like Ruth had, but he kept his mouth shut.
“You don’t say much.” Leanne looked up at him.
“Nothing to say,” Adam demurred.
“That’s not it. You’ve got plenty you want to say to me.” She half smiled. “I can see it in your eyes.”
He shrugged. “No point in stirring things up when you’ve just come to visit, is there?”
“But I came because I wanted to set some things straight.” She fidgeted with her glass. “Ben, Kaiden, Evan, and Danny have been more than willing to listen to me, but Daisy’s never available, and you”—she eyed him cautiously—“just don’t choose to engage.”
“As I said, I’m not one to get into unnecessary fights.”
“But why do you assume we’d end up fighting?” Leanne asked.
“Because maybe I don’t think walking out on your kids and husband when things get tough is okay.”
Leanne looked at him for a long moment. “You weren’t a kid when this happened, Adam. You saw how things were, the way your father was never around—the way he spoke to me, and ignored all my pleas for help—the way he always put himself and the goddamn ranch first. At times, you were the only one who stood up for me. What happened to that boy?”
“Maybe that boy grew up to become a man who values people who stick around.”
Leanne sat up straighter. “How much did Jeff really stick around, Adam? How long before he drafted Rae in to do all the jobs he hated so he could go back to doing exactly what he wanted? And this time he didn’t even have to attempt to explain himself or apologize because Rae already knew what he was like and took on the task willingly.”