She should have expected the question, but still it took her by surprise. “The weather.”
“We have the same beastly heat in the summer as Dallas.”
“Actually, my aunt died and left me her small ranch. I came to sell it and decided to stay.”
“You don’t miss the big city.”
“Cimarron City is big enough for me. Besides, I’m a country gal at heart, and even though there are eighty thousand living here, it doesn’t seem that way when I’m out on my ranch.”
“But it’s still a far cry from Dallas.”
And for that Tory was thankful, but didn’t say it out loud. Her memories of her hometown of Dallas were laden with sorrow, which had nothing to do with the city itself. But if she never went back, that would suit her just fine. “Do you have any other family here?” She wanted to take the focus off her and Dallas.
“I have an uncle in a retirement home in Tulsa. His son moved away when he went to college and hasn’t returned except to visit a few times. My younger brother lives in Chicago and loves the big city. My father died ten years ago and Mom decided to live in the southernmost tip of Florida where it’s warm all the time. So I’m the last Donaldson here in Cimarron City.”
Mindy tugged on his arm. “Me—too.”
“How right you are. Mindy and I are the last Donaldsons here. How about your family?”
Tory finished another huge onion ring, then washed it down with a swallow of raspberry-flavored tea. “All my family lives in Texas.”
“Do you see them much?”
“They visit the ranch every summer for the Fourth of July.”
“You don’t go home?”
“It’s hard for me to get away because of the horses. Someone has to look after them and I can’t afford help. I’m stuck, but I don’t mind.”
“Are all the horses at the ranch yours?” Slade took a bite of his hamburger.
“No, I stable some. That brings me some needed income to do what I love.”
“The therapeutic riding program?”
Tory nodded. “I’ll need to get back to the ranch before dark. I still have some chores to do.”
“Are you through, Mindy?” Slade tossed his napkin on the table.
The little girl gulped down the rest of her chocolate milk.
“Yep,” she said, displaying a creamy brown mustache.
Slade took her napkin and wiped her mouth. “We’d better go. You have a big day tomorrow. You’ve got physical therapy in the morning.”
Mindy pouted. “Do—I—have to?”
“It won’t be long, sweetie, before you won’t have to. But for now, yes.”
After paying for the dinner, Slade escorted Mindy and Tory to his car. Twenty minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot at the speech therapist’s office.
He glanced at Mindy in the back seat and smiled. “She still falls asleep riding in the car when she’s exhausted.”
“She worked hard today at the barn. She also rode.” Tory pushed her door open and was surprised when she saw Slade get out of the car, too. “I’m only parked a few feet away.”
“I know,” he said, coming around the front of his car. “But I felt I owed you an explanation about what happened earlier with Mindy. And I don’t want her waking up and overhearing.”
The spring air cooled Tory’s cheeks and the soft wind blew stray strands of her hair about her face. She brushed them behind her ears, the scent of freshly mowed grass lacing the breeze. “You don’t need to explain anything.” She moved the few feet to her truck door, aware of Slade’s presence in every fiber of her being. She clutched the handle.
“After the accident, I couldn’t get Mindy to ride in a car for months. Finally she does, now, but any mention of a car wreck and she falls apart. I try to shelter her from hearing about any accidents, but sometimes I can’t.”
“Like today when she was listening to the radio.”
“She loves to listen to music. She usually listens to CDs.”
“But I turned the radio on before you could put a CD in. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I was just trying to help since you were focused on driving.”
He took a step toward her. Her heart skipped a beat. She plastered her back against her door, her hands tightening into fists.
“We’ve always listened to the radio while doing the chores in the barn,” she said, needing to talk to take her mind off his nearness.
“I’m not telling you to make you upset. I just wanted you to know some of the things that Mindy is still coping with.”
“Is there anything else? I don’t want to be the cause of any more anxiety.”
“She still wakes up from nightmares. Thankfully not lately. I’m hoping those are behind her.” He raked both hands through his hair, a look of anguish on his face. “Because frankly I have a hard time coping with seeing my daughter like that.”
“From what I saw back there, you did a wonderful job of reassuring her. That’s all you can do.” The hammering of her heart eased as the conversation centered on Mindy.
“Is it? There should be something else I can do to make things better for Mindy.” Rubbing one hand along the back of his neck, he rolled his shoulders to relax the tension gripping him.
But Tory saw its continual grasp on him in his taut stance and the grim lines craving his expression. “Being there for Mindy is the most important thing you can do.”
“The wreck should never have happened. If only—”
Instantly, without thought, Tory started to lay her fingers over his mouth to still his words. She froze in midaction, her eyes widening. His gaze riveted to hers. For a few seconds everything came to a standstill.
Dropping her arm to her side, she said in a strained voice, “It doesn’t do us any good to think about the what-ifs. We can’t change the past. We can only influence the present.”
“Live for today? Forget about the past?”
“Right.” If only she could heed her own advice. She was trying, but there were times it was so difficult.
“Have you been successful doing that?”
She forced a smile. “I’m working on it.”
“In other words, no.”
Tory yanked open her truck door. “I’d better be going. I still have a lot of things to do before dark.” She escaped into the quiet of her pickup, determined to keep her eyes trained forward. But even though she didn’t look at Slade, she felt his probing observation delve deep inside, seeking answers about her past, something she guarded closely and never wanted to relive. And above all, certainly didn’t want to share with anyone.
Quickly she backed out of the parking space, and as she pulled out into traffic, she chanced a glance at Slade. He stood where she had left him, a bewildered look on his face. After that evasive move, she wondered if he would bring Mindy tomorrow to the ranch.
Out on her front porch Tory eased herself into the old rocker and raised her glass of iced tea to press it against her heated face. The coldness felt wonderful after Tory had spent most of the day doing the work of two people. She needed to hire someone to help her, but that just wasn’t possible at the moment, especially after the notice she’d received from the bank today.
Resting her head, she