Wild Yellow Clover and Honey Wheat Sage Read online

  Wild Yellow Clover and Honey Wheat Sage

  by Paula Freda

  © September 1, 2014 by Dorothy P. Freda - (Pseudonym - Paula Freda)

  Smashwords Edition

  Bookcover photo Licensed

  by Dorothy Paula Freda from iStockphoto

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof. This is a work of fiction; names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental

  Dedication

  With thanks to my Dear Lord Jesus and his Blessed Mother Mary whose strength, guidance, and her Holy Rosary, are my anchor in this troubled world, I dedicate this book to my husband, Domenick, whose love, patience and kindness over the past 44 years have kept my dreams and view of the romantic alive and vibrant.

  Wild Yellow Clover

  and

  Honey Wheat Sage

  by

  Paula Freda

  CHAPTER ONE

  Heavy rain continued to pour from the thick cumulous clouds in the darkened sky. Wet and shivering, Macey huddled behind the empty ticket booth. The old cinema's narrow marquee and small outdoor lobby did little to keep the waterlogged wind from penetrating her soaked blouse and jeans. Her feet and socks inside her boots sloshed in what felt like buckets of water. Comforting herself with the thought that at least she was out of the heavy downpour, she swallowed hard and tried to hold herself rigid to combat the uncontrollable shivering.

  The movie house had closed for the evening around midnight, and wouldn't reopen until two in the afternoon. Her body ached from the long walk from the outskirts to the town proper. She'd had to let her horse go when the weather turned stormy. Paqui, her mare and old friend from her early teen years, knew her way home. Macey didn't have the heart to keep her hungry and thirsty. She mocked herself for her stupidity. At least she should have taken some money with her. Trouble was, she had no money left. Her parents gave her a generous allowance monthly, but she never saved a penny, living by the adage, enjoy today, for you don't know what tomorrow may bring. Well, she was at tomorrow. And what it was bringing, was misery. When would she ever learn not to let her emotions rule her. Anger and getting back at her parents wasn't going to put food in her stomach, or at least a warm jacket on her shivering body.

  At least listen to the weather report before deciding to run away from home, she chided herself further. The events of the past few months had placed her in the dog house with her parents and her friends. And once again she'd been dumped, if gently. Chris was kind. She honestly believed she stood a chance with him. He was one of the few who responded to her feelings, or crushes, as her parents referred to them. True, he'd dated her on the rebound from Lexie, whom he had loved since childhood. When Lexie broke their engagement and his heart, Macey grasped the opportunity to capture his affections. But Lexie regretted her decision and reconnected with Chris, and once again, Macey was out, blonde, slender, attractive curves and all.

  Her mother often warned her that she distanced prospective suitors with her flirtatious over-anxiousness to form a relationship the moment she met someone who fit her idea of the perfect hero and offered her a friendly smile. Her father warned her not to steer away so quickly from the few who fell for her first, but did not fit her image of the perfect physical specimen. She firmly rejected those suitors, though with utmost kindness, flattered by their interest. She did not feel she was better than them, but she refused to alter her image of the perfect man.

  The shivering was lessening now, or was her skin growing numb. Her legs felt so weak. They buckled under her and Macey slid to the ground, her back against the walls of the ticket booth keeping her from sprawling across the floor. She was tired, and sleepy. Perhaps if she let herself doze for a short while, her strength might return.

  "Hey girl, wake up. Come on, wake up."

  Macey groaned, "Leave me alone. Let me sleep."

  "Come on, you're freezing. You have to move. Macey, for heaven's sake!"

  Someone shook her. Wouldn't let her sleep. Pulled her stiff arms through jacket sleeves and buttoned the front up to her neck. Then strong arms lifted her and held her tightly with care, and safely carried her forward.

  "Dad?" Macey moaned.

  "No, sweets. But I'll get you right back home with him and your mom."

  Macey forced herself to hear better. No, it wasn't her dad. But she recognized the voice.

  "Cal?"

  "Yeah, it's me, sweets. My pickup's right up the block. Got blankets and a thermos of hot coffee. You'll be warm in no time. I'll call your mom and dad and tell them I found you, and we're on our way home."

  "I don't want to go home," Macey grumbled through sluggish lips.

  "I know, but that's where you need to be right now. Get warmed up and get your strength back. I'd also advise a visit to Doc Jenkins. I wouldn't be surprised if you come down with a whopper of a cold."

  "That's an old wive's tale," Macey murmured. "Getting drenched doesn't give you a cold."

  "Yeah, I know that's what modern wisdom says. But I'm still calling the doctor when you get home. I know your Dad will agree."

  "You know everything, don't you," Macey grumbled unappreciatively."

  "That's a fault I suffer with ... a bad habit, I know, starting my sentences with those two words. I'm sorry, sweets. You just keep reminding me. I'll break the habit."

  They had reached the truck. Cal gently lowered her to her feet, but kept one arm around her waist, and opened the passenger door on the black pickup truck. "Can you feel your legs?" he asked, with concern.

  "Barely."

  "All right, I'll lift you up into the seat."

  Safely cocooned in a large wool blanket, Macey leaned back against the black leather upholstery. She needed sleep and closed her eyes.

  "Stay awake," Cal's voice startled her. "And if you can, flex your arms and legs. Get your blood circulating. I don't want you passing out on me."

  "I'm not passing out. I'm just a bit numb from the cold and the rain. I'll be fine."

  "Yes, you will," Cal said. He turned on the ignition, revved the motor, and started the wind-shield wipers, then switched on the heat. "Better?" he asked.

  Macey nodded. "Yes," she admitted, her legs warming, regaining strength.

  Cal headed out of the town and onto a dirt road, a shortcut that led quicker to Tanner and Linda's ranch. He'd called them before climbing in beside her from the driver's side. "They're heading home, themselves," he said. "They were out looking for you all night."

  Her thoughts were clearing, and her actions of the past hours, seemed more and more foolish. Remorse was setting in. "Not very smart, am I, causing my parents so much worry."

  Rain and wind pounded the windshield, giving the wipers a hard time.

  "Why did you run away?" Cal asked.

  "I want to live on my own. I'm old enough. My parents are constantly picking on me. They're upset with me 'cause I chose not to go to college. I've no interest in higher learning. I graduated high school with flying colors. I'm smart enough. I've no interest in a career. I just want to enjoy life. No more studying, no more homework. No more when are you going to grow up. I am grown up."

  A deer sprinted across the road. Macey cried in alarm. "Watch out, that poor thing."

  Cal slowed and pulled over enough to avoid hitting the animal. "It got across. It's okay."

  Macey nodded, with a sigh of relief. "I hope it finds someplace safe."

  In the distance, a wolf howled. Macey gasped and blanched.

  Cal reassured her, "That howl came from the other side of the hill, way over."
/>   "It's silly of me," Macey said. "This is nature's way. I just don't like to think about it." As an afterthought, she added, "You know what movie I won't watch again."

  Cal glanced at her, amazed at how upset she appeared. "No, which one?"

  "Bambi. I can't watch that movie. I cry. I feel so bad when Bambi's mother is killed. I know the movie is considered a well-loved classic, but I think it's horrid."

  Cal chuckled. "Oh my dear Macey," he whispered tenderly.

  CHAPTER TWO

  The wind and the rain continued to pelt the windows in the truck. From time to time, Macey glanced at Cal as he drove. If only she felt for him, the way she had for Chris.

  Chris was everything she wanted. Tall, kind, strong, smart, with a brooding handsomeness that sent warm tingling flashes up her spine. Those few dates with him had her dancing on air, despite knowing that he carried a torch for his ex-fiancee. Lexie had rejected him because she wanted to experience more of the world. More than the lush meadows and snow-capped mountains of her home.

  Macey had no such desire. She loved the wide expanse of the plains, and the rolling hills, and verdant forests and dark buttes. Montana, was among the most beautiful states in the U.S.A.. Winters were harsh, but nothing beat the look of the land covered in white satiny snow, the forests trembling with snow feathered conifers, and the deciduous trees, devoid of leaves, veiled in lacy icicles — a bride, awaiting the caresses and warmth of spring and summer, the fields to fill and rustle with wheat, and the smell of sweet clover and pungent sage, and Engelmann Spruce cloaking paths on which to stroll and hold hands. It had taken Lexie two years to realize what she'd given up along with Chris' love.

  Fortunate for Lexie, Chris had never stopped loving her. They were married now. And word had it that she was expecting.

  By the time they arrived at the ranch, Macey was feeling her old self enough only to need Cal to help her down from the pickup. She walked by herself to the front porch. Cal had phoned her parents again as he neared the main house, and Tanner and Linda waited by the door.

  Macey noted Linda's eyes were red-rimmed. Her mother had definitely been crying. Her father's face was drawn, his expression grim. She could not bring herself to meet their gazes head on. Once again she'd caused them pain. She moved past them into the living area.

  Burning logs crackled in the fireplace and filled the large room with a warm woodsy aroma that complemented the dark brown leather sofa and recliners. The room held many memories for her. As the youngest of four siblings, she had barely started her teens when her parents purchased the horse ranch. It was an exciting time, moving from their house on the Bar LB cattle ranch owned by Cal's parents, along with the Triple R Horse Ranch. Her father had worked as foreman of the Bar LB for a long time. All that time he'd saved from his earnings to make his dream of owning and operating his own horse ranch, a reality. The Driscolls were a generous family. They paid Tanner well for his work, and backed his mortgage with the bank to assure the purchase. The two families went way back.

  Seth Driscoll might have been her father, and Cal and Tom, her brothers if he hadn't met Leatrice. In those early years, her mother and Leatrice had been rivals. But in the end, Linda was glad she never married Seth. It would have turned out an unhappy marriage. With Tanner, she found love to its fullest. Over the years that followed, she and Leatrice grew to be good friends.

  Dryer, but still damp to the bone, Macey went toward the rear of the L-shaped ranch, to her bedroom. She showered, dried her hair and changed into her nightgown. It was nearing dawn, but physically done in and having come close to hypothermia, all she wanted to do was sleep.

  The heavy knocking on her door, followed by her father's no-nonsense voice calling her name, made it clear she wasn't getting that sleep as yet, and had some serious explaining to do.

  Macey swallowed hard. Tanner was a good man, capable of great tenderness, but he wasn't one to take harebrained behavior lightly. Especially behavior that caused everyone concern and grief. He had never abused his wife or his children, but his strong voice, height, and sinewy torso was enough to send his children hiding under their beds when they had been particularly mischievous. Linda could hold her own and be firm when necessary, but it wasn't easy with three well-built rambunctious boys and one pampered, common sense perverse, obstinate baby sister.

  Macey was well over the age for grounding, or for a whack across her backside to keep her on the straight and narrow, but she still stiffened with alarm at the sound of her father's voice, ordering her, "Out now, in the kitchen!"

  Her voice trembled as she answered, "Okay, Dad, just throwing on my robe."

  When she walked through the living area and into the kitchen, both her parents and Cal were seated around the rustic rectangular table. And they all wore grim expressions. Two of her brothers were away at college, and the oldest was in the army, deployed overseas.

  Macey felt as though she had entered a court of law, to await sentence. As was often the case with her, fear turned to resentment. The small hairs at the back of her neck under her silky blonde hair, bristled. Her mouth clenched. Her hands formed small fists. Risking worst, she told them, "I intend leaving home and settling on my own. I'm nearly twenty-one, and have every right to my own apartment and my own life."

  Surprised at her own lack of temerity, she was even more surprised when no one raised their voice to object, or to recite reasons why she shouldn't move on her own. A sliver of fear made itself felt. Were her parents so distraught with her that they no longer cared what she did or where she went.

  "You're right, Macey,” Tanner said. “You are old enough to be on your own. Maybe not wise enough, but old enough. Before running out into a storm and causing us all grief, and risking not only your life, but ours as well while we searched for our harebrained daughter, you might have simply told us you wanted to live on your own. True, your mother and I would have tried to dissuade you. You don't have a job, no money put aside, and, except for Cal, here, you habitually end up with the wrong crowd. Our opinion of your choice of friends this year, I believe that's what got you ticked off at us this time. My threat to go to the authorities for what went on during their last get-together."

  He paused to await her reaction. But for once, Macey didn't respond. What was the use of rehashing yesterday's argument, when she had firmly decided to move on her own.

  Tanner opened his mouth to say more, but Linda touched his arm, the tilt of her small chin and limpid brown eyes silently asking him to let her speak. He nodded. Across his features, resignation vied with intolerance of his daughter's lack of wisdom.

  Linda gazed at her daughter with understanding. "I think you should move out. But running away, with no money, and nothing planned to sustain yourself, is not a sign of maturity. I have a suggestion I'd like you to consider, calmly, and without feeling oppressed.

  Since Macey had entered the kitchen, Cal had sat there quietly, keeping his eyes downcast, his attitude that of non-interference. Now, his gaze settled on her as he listened to her mother's suggestion.

  Linda said, "I understand your need to move on your own, to feel free and self-sufficient. Your Dad is against your leaving. With your disposition, he's afraid you'll self-destruct."

  Macey shifted uncomfortably. Were they going to enumerate her faults again?

  Her mother must have sensed her readying for a rebuttal. She added quickly, "While you were inside, Cal made us a proposition. His sister has friends in the East, New York particularly. JoAnn and Jim Nelson. They're in the legal profession. Jim is partner with his father in a well-established lawyer's firm, and they can offer you a job in the clerical field. You don't need any special education. Just a simple command of the language ... which you have. Filing and other simple clerical duties you can learn on the job."

  Tanner interjected, "I'd listen to your mom. And if you're thinking, I have no money, your mother and I are willing to make you a loan ... that I expect you to pay back." He glanced at his wife. "Right?" />
  Linda nodded, gratitude showing in her smile.

  Cal finally spoke. "The Nelsons are a good breed. Lexie assures me they'll offer you their hospitality. You can stay with them until you're settled in your own apartment. And they will be there for you, if you need their advice."

  Linda asked, hopefully, "So what do you think, daughter?"

  It was a lot to absorb, but it offered her the freedom she craved — New vistas and a chance to be on her own. She leaped at the opportunity.

  "Yes ... yes, I like the suggestion. It's a solution I can accept."

  Cal exchanged glances with her parents, then nodded his approval as well. "I'll call my sister in the morning so she can let the Nelsons know you're okay with the idea."

  Macey felt a touch of resentment flare. Apparently, he and his sister Lexie had already discussed her mother's suggestion with the Nelsons in New York. But it would be foolish to let that resentment interfere with her first chance at real independence. She reined in her pride, temporarily. "Okay, sounds good."

  Her father added, "I've asked Cal to accompany you on the flight to New York, and to stay nearby until you're settled and comfortable. I would have asked Lexie, but as we know, she's carrying, and near term."

  Ugh, she bristled, they really had discussed her and planned everything ahead of asking her. All right, she thought, again pushing the resentment aside. She wouldn't say or do anything to risk her one chance at freedom."

  Cal asked, "Are you okay with the plan so far?"

  He must have guessed what she was thinking. He had a talent for that. She wanted to glare at him, but again she controlled her pride, easier now, with the outlined prospects. And also, with the sincerity she read on his face. No gloating, no we gotcha expression. Lord, she thought, feeling guilty, that man really loved her. She couldn't remember a time that he hadn't. If only he'd sparked her interest, like his brother Tom.