Page 16 of Saving Texas

“Wait, your family has a ranch, don’t they?”

I nodded, pleased that she’d remembered.

“I take it that this is it?” she asked.

“Yes ma’am.”

She looked around curiously, taking in the rolling landscape.

“Who lives here now?”

“My parents live in the main house, and my brother lives in another house on the property.”

I shot her a look of apology. “We’re gonna need to stop and say hi to my folks or my mama will skin my hide.”

“Of course.”

I was surprised she agreed so quickly. I wondered if that meant she was just the tiniest bit curious about me and my background, the way I was about her.

My parents were both in their late sixties, but they were still active. We found them repairing a section of fence on the north side of the property not far from the house.

“Let me get that,” I said, practically shoving my mother away from where she was helping.

“Mama, Pop, this is my friend Clara,” I said over my shoulder. “Clara, my parents Mary and Lionel.”

“Lovely to meet you both,” Clara said politely.

“Wait, is this the doctor lady?”

My head whipped around so fast I dropped the piece of wire fencing I was holding for my dad. Clara sent me a teasing look that was so much like her old self I caught my breath.

“I am a doctor lady yes, but I’m not sure if I’m THE doctor lady.”

“You’re the doctor lady,” I grumbled as my father and I finished making the repair to the fence.

“Well Clara we’ve sure heard a lot about you. Will you join us for a lunch after your ride? We usually eat around one.”

Clara looked between me and my mother then said, “Yes, that would be nice. Thank you.”

My father nailed the section of fence into place, and I grabbed Clara’s hand and gave her a little tug. “Shall we head out?”

“Sounds good.”

I led her to the stable and we both picked out horses. I helped Clara saddle up her horse, then gave her a boost up into the stirrup. Once we were both settled, we headed for the wooded area on the far side of the property. We rode through the trees for a while before Clara broke the silence.

“You talked to your mama about me?”

I couldn’t tell what she thought about that.

“Kind of.”

At her curious look I continued, “I told her about you years ago, back when you were here for Rita. I was pretty smitten with you, and I think it’s maybe the only time since I left home that I talked so much about someone, so it stuck with her I guess. I mentioned to her in passing that I’d run into an old lady friend at the hospital. She must have put two and two together when I showed up with you today.”

We rode for a while longer before we came to a river that separated our property from the neighboring ranch. After dismounting and letting the horses have some water, we tied the reins around a tree and settled on a flat rock overlooking the river.

“This is beautiful out here,” Clara said, her voice sounding more relaxed than I’d heard it since we found each other again. I was glad I’d brought her out here. Nature was incredibly restorative.

“You’re beautiful,” I said softly.