“But you’re here now, so you must care or you’d still be in California.”
Gil didn’t like the challenge in her eyes. Some people didn’t know when to leave well enough alone.
TWENTY-ONE
THE MCCRAY MEN’S PERSONAL LIVES WERE NONE OF MATTIE’S business, and she knew it. But how could she stand around and watch Gil and his dad destroy each other with their hardheaded behavior? What kind of friend would she be if she didn’t at least try to help them make amends? “Did you and your dad always fight like this?”
Gil hopped off his horse and pulled the fence pliers from the saddlebag. “When I was a boy, Dad and I understood each other. We accepted our differences. I guess when Frank and Mama died, the peacemakers in the family died as well.” He bent down to retrieve the broken wires.
“Is that why you didn’t come home when your dad was in the hospital?”
Gil’s back straightened, and she could tell by his expression that she’d hit a nerve.
“Nobody told me about his heart attack. And even if I’d known, we were at the end of the season, so it would have been impossible to get away. He wouldn’t have welcomed a visit from me. That’s why he didn’t call.”
“Maybe he didn’t want to worry you.” Even as she said this, Mattie wondered if Gil’s words might be true. Would John have been pleased with his son’s return? She wanted to think so, but had witnessed a few of his unkind remarks. “He’s been happy to have you back at the ranch.”
“I wouldn’t call it a welcome party. If you’ll recall, he didn’t open his arms or offer to roast the fattened calf.” Gil attached one end of the fence clip to the broken wire and pulled tight to bring the two loose ends together.
Mattie watched as his neck muscles tensed and flexed. Though physically strong, part of him was as insecure as a little boy. “So, you and your dad have issues. Work them out and start over. He’s not getting any younger, and whether he lets on or not, he needs his family. You’re all that’s left.”
She climbed up on Tulip, needing to return to Dusty and her work at the clinic. Staring down at the man, she noted how the brown tufts of hair curled above his coat collar, and how his long nose crooked in the middle, probably broken in a football game.
Or during a fight with his older brother?
She admitted to herself that she wanted to know more about Gilbert McCray. “Thanks for coming to my rescue with the bull. You probably saved my life.”
“All in a day’s work.” Gil tipped his hat to her but didn’t smile.
BACK AT THE BARN, MATTIE LED DUSTY INTO THE YARD TO GET SOME sun. Her little beagle followed and stretched out on the ground for a nap. The outside air quieted her spirits. Who was she to try and settle the McCrays’ dispute when her own family suffered many of the same symptoms? In high school, Jenna fussed with Mom and Dad about not getting to date the boys she wanted, and Bridgett never cared to do chores. Both her sisters had left home right out of high school, eager to be on their own.
Mattie ladled warm Epsom water over Dusty’s wounds to ease his discomfort and remembered her own unease when she’d struck out on her own. She’d enrolled in vet school when her family thought she ought to be a teacher or nurse, and her return to Diamond Falls became fodder for even more criticism. By that time, her parents had moved to the city, so the disapproval went both ways.
Her spine bristled thinking about the arguments they’d had at family get-togethers. It hurt to know her parents and sisters didn’t understand her. She supposed that’s why she’d latched on to Clara and John. They didn’t find her way of life strange, and neither seemed concerned about her marital status.
Pouring another cup of water over Dusty’s limb, Mattie watched the milky droplets trickle down his leg.
Not that she wasn’t interested in men.
An image of Gil on his father’s horse came to mind. She considered the way his mouth tilted when he grinned, and her stomach twitched with uncertainty. She and Gil were alike in many ways, but also very different. Mainly in that his dreams carried him far from the isolated hills she loved.