Kelly wondered if she should broach the subject of Jace’s whereabouts. Maybe Emmett had heard something.
“He’s no longer at the Kendall,” Kelly said.
“Yep, heard that, too. Word is you threw him out.”
“Does word say why?”
“Nope. Is it true?”
Kelly nodded. “He went behind my back and hired a lawyer to try to get ownership of the Kendall.”
Trey whistled. “Guess that’s a good enough reason.”
“I don’t know where he went. He and Ari, that’s the boy’s name, left in Drew and Mira’s borrowed truck and I haven’t heard anything about them since. I owe him a final check and he left two horses with me.”
“I’ve seen the truck about town, but don’t know where he’s staying. Have you tried the motel out on the highway?”
“I haven’t gone looking for him.” Kelly’s first trip to try to find Jace was today. She’d driven through town hoping to spot the truck, but so far her efforts were a bust.
“Well, if I see him, I’ll be sure to tell him you’re looking for him.”
“No.” Kelly spoke too quickly and too loudly. “I mean, I’m not looking for him. I figured he’d contact me sooner or later.” Then she added, “About the horses.”
Trey was nodding his head.
“What about you? I hear the Rinkhards are planning to sell.”
“They are. Not sure when it’ll happen though, or what’ll happen to me when it does.”
“I know. Trey Demerest brought his horses to board at the Kendall two days ago. In fact, we talked about you.”
“Me, why?”
“Trey Demerest recommended you as a groom and I know your work. If you’re interested in a new job, you have one at the Kendall. Any idea when the Rinkhards are going to let you know their plans?”
He shook his head.
“Well, come by the Kendall. We’ll be waiting for you.”
* * *
JACE LOOKED DOWN at Ari’s head resting on his chest. The boy had fallen asleep on him every night as he sat on the worn sofa in the motel room not five miles from the Kendall. Since they’d left the farm, Ari clung to him. He’d done that in Colombia, but since meeting Kelly he hadn’t felt the need.
Ari was unhappy. Jace knew how he felt. Jace must have glanced at the phone a hundred times since he’d driven away from the Kendall. He wanted to call Kelly. He wanted to hear the sound of her voice, smell her hair, hear her laugh and find out how she was doing.
He wanted to be able to explain to Ari why they were no longer at the farm. He wanted to tell him he could go and see Kelly. He wanted to make things right. But he couldn’t. He’d done everything he could to push her away. Now there was no going back.
There was one thing Jace wouldn’t do. He would not contest the Kendall’s sale. Kelly had put her life into its restoration. She hadn’t walked the floors or seen the inside of the building until two years ago, but the place was hers. She’d made it hers when she sat on the fence as a child and watched the horses exercising. Taking it away from her now would be the same as killing her. He understood that.
The day of the open house she was more alive than he’d ever seen her. She loved what she was doing. He and Ari would have to go someplace else. Their lives would begin anew, but not with the Kendall as their destination. It had been a stop along the trail, but they would settle someplace else.
Tomorrow Jace would begin to make plans for where they could go. Maybe he’d look up Sheldon in North Carolina. See if his brother had mellowed in the ensuing years. If he hadn’t, they’d move on, but they wouldn’t be wanderers. Jace peered down at Ari. His breathing was soft and steady. He pulled the blanket up and over his son and kissed his head. It was just the two of them, as it probably should be. Ari would begin school come September. They needed a place by then. A place far away from the Kendall and from Kelly.
Two days passed, but Jace hadn’t been able to find the right moment to talk to Kelly. To let her know his decision to not contest the sale of the Kendall, and that he and Ari were leaving Windsor Heights. He wanted to do all of that face-to-face, and yet whenever he was free, she was busy. He took that as a sign that he was doing the right thing, no matter how much it hurt to be away from Kelly.
* * *
FOR THE NEXT couple of days, Kelly worked nonstop. She knew it was too much and so after she returned several phone calls to schedule future events at the Kendall, she went to the barn. There were saddles, tack, harnesses, horse blankets, even names placed on the stable doors for each of the horses. The animals were quiet, but curious. Every horse looked over the open part of its stall door, checking her out. They wanted to know her smell, her attitude. Was she a friendly human or not? They seemed as if they wanted to know if she had treats for them or if she would walk from entrance to exit and ignore their presence.