Cherished by the Rancher: A Christian Cowboy Romance (Black Rock Ranch Book 1)

by Jen Peters

  Help me, Lord. What do I say? She stroked Adam’s hair lightly, wondering how any seventeen-year-old could cope with his mother’s sudden death without becoming bitter. She knew God was there, waiting to give you solace whenever you asked. Maybe Adam didn’t.

  Maddy scootched around and sat next to him, keeping his hand in hers. She stroked his thumb with hers, marveling at the difference between them. “Adam, God is here, waiting for us to come to him. He doesn’t make bad things happen, but He’s always here to help us when they do.”

  “Yeah, right.” His voice was low and defeated. “So what’s the point of God being all-powerful if He never uses it.”

  Maddy leaned her head against the wall. That was a question that would need some long discussions and time for Adam to ponder. And now wasn’t the time, at least not for the whole thing.

  “He uses that power all the time,” she said quietly. “One of those ways is speaking peace to our hearts. I know He does that anytime I ask, and I know He’ll do that for you, too, but you’ll need to find that out for yourself. I don’t know the other answers, and how I feel about it will take more than a short conversation. What I do know is that right now your father is lying in a bed back there, scared for surgery, scared for the future. And there is something you can do about that.”

  She watched expressions cross his face, watched him go from discouragement to possibilities to determination. He finally inhaled deeply, leaned to kiss her forehead, and stood.

  Maddy stood, too, and took his hand just as Micah rushed in from outside. “How is he? I left the ranch as soon as I could.”

  “Fine. He’ll be fine,” Adam said. He tilted his head toward the door to the unit, and they walked back down the corridor together.

  32

  Dad would be in the hospital for two or three days, so the brothers took turns going down to visit. When he wasn’t at the hospital, Adam buried himself in ranch work.

  He made sure someone was always on the lookout for strangers, staying somewhat close to Maddy, but it seemed hard to talk to her. Hard to deal with her complete faith. Trust God and everything will be all right did little for him right now. Neither did the patient look in her eyes when all he wanted to do was grumble.

  Samuel’s surgery was a success, and Adam thanked God for that, at least.

  “I’m fine,” Dad groused on one of Adam’s visits. “Don’t feel any different, other than having cuts on both sides of my neck. What’s been going on while I’ve been stuck at the hospital?”

  “Nothing you need to worry about; everything’s good,” Adam said.

  Dad turned to him sharply. “I ain’t dead yet, son.”

  Adam sighed. “I know, Dad. I just don’t want you to have too much stress.”

  “What’s happening on the ranch that would stress me out?”

  “Nothing. Really. The spring grass is taking hold, the bulls are still in with the yearling heifers—nothing’s changed in the last two days.”

  Dad gave him a long look. “Don’t know whether to trust you or not. You keepin’ the cows off the grass? It needs time to get established, you know.”

  “I know, Dad. I’m doing the best I can.”

  Dad nodded. “Just don’t keep things from me. It’s still my ranch.”

  It was, and Adam didn’t want to take it away from him any sooner than he had to. But it added one more thing to be concerned about.

  Once his father got home, the best Adam could do was keep a close eye on him. He made sure Dad stayed away from the bookkeeping. He assigned one of the hands to go with him if he wanted to go out with the livestock. And after his father’s admission that he’d gotten lost on the range one time, Adam made sure his dad never rode out alone.

  And Seth. They’d never gotten a straight answer from Captain Carter, so they’d gathered on Tuesday as normal—an hour of terse conversation while they waited for Seth’s chime. It never came.

  He must be out on patrol, possibly in grave danger, and there was nothing they could do except wait.

  All the while, there was a never-ending list of things to do, things to monitor. He shared an occasional kiss or hug with Maddy, but his mind was usually elsewhere. The only thing to do was keep busy.

  He puzzled over Mrs. Evans’ situation. Her total embezzlement was well under the two thousand dollar requirement for a felony, and he’d finally tracked her down in a nursing home. Family Facebook posts had told him she’d broken a hip. Was it even worth pressing charges?

  When he wasn’t trying to decide that, Adam doubled checked Micah’s record-keeping, making sure every newly tagged calf was entered with the proper mama cow. He finalized the placement of the solar wells, arranging for well drillers to come when the muddy season was over.

  Everything combined to create a far bigger load than Adam had carried before, but he somehow managed. Except maybe for the time he saw Ty kicking one of the ranch dogs out of the way.

  In an instant, Adam had him by the front of his shirt, pushed up against a barn wall. Adam’s hand had balled into a fist, and he’d been ready to haul back and let loose until he’d realized Maddy and Dad were talking somewhere nearby.

  That had brought him to his senses. He’d shoved Ty away and stomped over to the equipment shed. Maybe Micah had something he could pound on.

  Micah hadn’t, but he’d been watching with worried eyes all week. Caleb, too, who actually confronted Adam when he stopped to check the grain stores at the stables.

  “First,” Caleb said, fire flashing in his eyes. “I’m perfectly capable of keeping track of the horse grain myself. You’re butting in again. Second, you’re stressed and letting your temper get the better of you. You’re trying to be Superman, and you’re not.”

  “I am not,” Adam snapped. “Butting in or trying to be Superman.” He kept counting sacks of sweet feed.

  “You are,” Caleb countered. “Someday you’re going to have to admit you can’t do everything on the ranch single-handed. And you don’t need to.” He pulled Adam around to face him. “Do you hear me, big brother? You. Don’t. Need. To.”

  Adam ignored him and the truth of his statement and headed out to the pastures.

  The sunshine and the motion of the four-wheeler calmed him somewhat as he went from group to group among the remaining cows and calves. They looked good: healthy, well-fed, and well-bonded. He paused long enough to watch several calves frolic, running and bucking with all the energy they had.

  Something tight within him let go, eased off just a bit, and he suddenly felt like he could talk to God again. It feels good out here, Lord. I guess I am a little stressed out, but I’m doing what I can to keep things under control. Won’t you please do the rest? Heal Dad, and help me hang on until he’s back to normal?

  But no matter what he said, God never answered back these days. Not in thoughts, not in feelings. Adam was alone. As usual.

  His brothers weren’t the only ones to pin Adam down on his workload these days. Maddy pulled him aside Thursday morning, a week after his father had come home from the hospital.

  “Do you have a minute?”

  He saw the concern in her eyes and tried to evade. “Accounting stuff or something else?”

  Maddy pursed her lips. Those pretty lips he hadn’t had much time to kiss lately. “Something else.”

  Adam shook his head. “I’m headed out to check the cows again, then on out to see how the fencing is going. And then I need to go into Beaver Falls and get more vet supplies.”

  Maddy was determined, though. “It will just take a minute,” she said, tugging him into her office. She shut the door. “Adam, you’re wearing yourself out. And if you don’t keel over from exhaustion, you’re going to give yourself an early heart attack if you keep stressing over everything.”

  Adam leaned against the wall, crossed his arms, and stared her down. “I’m not stressing, and I’m not going to have a heart attack. And calving season is over, so I’m not exhausted.”

  Maddy’s eyes fl
ared. “Do you even know how much you’re re-doing or re-checking what someone else has done? I would also guess that half of the things you do could be assigned to someone else. You can’t do everything yourself!”

  He pushed himself off the wall. “And less than two months on the ranch make you an expert, Miss I-don’t-know-what-Ivermectin-is?”

  She blew out a deep breath. “I don’t need to be a ranch expert to know when you’re being a control-freak. You have brothers who have as much experience as you do. You have ranch hands who can do their jobs perfectly well. You can—”

  “You can decide that when you’re wearing my boots. Until then, your biggest job is to make sure Dad doesn’t get hold of the checkbook.”

  Her jaw dropped, her eyes filled, and she turned away, probably to keep him from seeing her tears.

  Tears. How had he come to the point where he had reduced a woman—this woman—to tears? “Maddy, I’m sorry.” He took her shoulders and turned her around. No tears, but close.

  “Things are rough right now, and I guess I’m a bit overwhelmed, but I didn’t need to take it out on you. Forgive me?” He pulled her into a gentle hug.

  And she hugged him back.

  “Forgiven,” Maddy murmured into his shirt.

  Now what? He couldn’t just walk away after this. “How are you doing these days?”

  She shrugged. “Hanging in there. I guess I’m sort of numb right now. Your dad seems much more important than Brock. I mean, we take precautions about Brock, but that’s all it needs. And your father—that’s life and death.”

  “No, just figuring out his life now. No death involved, thank goodness.” Adam smiled and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, letting his fingers trail down the length of it. “I’ll tell you what. How about I let someone else check the cows—”

  Maddy grinned and shook her head in disbelief.

  “—and you come with me to Beaver Falls. We can get the vet supplies and then go to lunch.”

  “Umm…” She leaned into him, resting her head just below his collarbone. “That’s sounds wonderrful. I’ve missed you.”

  He brushed her wayward curl back again and kissed her gently. “I’m here.”

  Maddy’s thoughts were filled with Adam as she tidied her desk and waited for him. He was such a complex man—generous, but still hovering over everyone. Steady and responsible, but also over-protective. Kind and loving, but with a temper he kept mostly under control.

  She knew where it came from—his need to make everything right—but she’d seen it surface again, and not just in his voice. While she’d been talking to Samuel the other day, she’d seen him shove Ty against the barn. Samuel hadn’t noticed, though, and she’d forced herself to continue the conversation. The next time she’d looked, neither Adam nor Ty were in sight.

  Could she write his reactions off to stress? Between his father’s condition and the worry over Brock, plus all the usual ranch stuff, it was a wonder that Adam hadn’t come unglued. But confrontations like that still made her anxious, and she wasn’t sure how to handle that.

  Actually, Maddy was amazed that she wasn’t a walking basket case herself. She had calmed down since the phone call from her sister, partly because of Samuel’s crisis, but mostly from the peace that came from trying to trust the Lord. Her faith wasn’t so strong to take the apprehension completely away, but it seemed rather distant compared to Samuel’s issues.

  “I brought you these,” Adam said, a welcome interruption to her thoughts. He held out a fistful of spring wildflowers.

  Aww. He had never brought her flowers before. And he had picked them himself!

  He continued, “I haven’t been as attentive as I should have lately, so I thought you might like something special.”

  Maddy took the flowers, leaning into him and absorbing the strength of being in his arms. The flitting images of his fighting were pushed out by the gentle sound of his voice, the beat of his heart, the touch of his arms.

  This time they ordered a Meat-Lover’s pizza for lunch.

  33

  Maddy was still buzzing with happiness the next day. Mia was happy at school and waved cheerfully from the school bus every morning. Maddy had satisfying work to do, and maybe Adam would stop by her office this morning.

  Adam poked his head around the door.

  Ask and ye shall receive. “Do you have ESP?” she said, grinning.

  “Only hoping that a gorgeous lady might be thinking about me.” By the time she stood to greet him, he had her in his arms.

  “That’s quite a hello, cowboy,” she murmured when they came up for air.

  “I could leave and come in again for a repeat.”

  Maddy’s eyes sparkled. “I don’t think leaving is strictly necessary for an encore.” She stood on tiptoe, but still had to pull his head down to meet hers.

  A very long moment later, Adam gave her one last, gentle kiss. He lifted her hair with his fingers, and she savored the feeling.

  “We’re not accomplishing much this way,” she murmured.

  “Oh, I think we’ve used our time quite well.” He buried his face in her hair. “But I suppose you’re right. There are other things to deal with.”

  Maddy sighed and turned to her desk. “I have a final tally for Mrs. Evans’ escapades.” She pointed to her findings.

  Adam took the paper and perused the numbers. “About what we figured. I still wish I knew what I should do about it.”

  Maddy paused, holding her comment back.

  “What?” he asked.

  She began to shake her head, then said, “No. I should say what I think.”

  “Of course you should. And that is?” His eyes gleamed.

  “Let it go. Forgive her and move on.”

  Adam looked like a cartoon character whose jaw dropped completely to the ground. “Let it go?”

  Maddy took his hands in hers, rubbing her fingers lightly over his callouses. “Adam, look at it from further away, okay? What Mrs. Evans did was wrong, but the ranch isn’t terribly hurt. It’s you that’s being eaten alive by it. Do you really want to keep feeling this way? If you press charges, you’re going to be wrapped up in it even longer.”

  His stormy eyes turned thoughtful. “You might be right,” he finally said. “The only one that’s hurt by this is me. Right now, anyway.”

  “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive others,” Maddy murmured.

  Adam gave a rueful chuckle. “It will be hard enough to let go of this. Actual forgiveness might take quite a while.” He pulled her to him and held her close.

  She soaked in his warmth, then said, “You probably ought to talk to your dad about this. He and your brothers have a stake in it too.”

  “Dad’s not there all the time, remember?”

  She leaned back and looked up at him. “Yes, but a lot of the time he is. And he probably has some wise counsel to give, as well as the right to be part of the decision.”

  Adam stroked her hair away from her face. “You’re right, of course.”

  Maddy grinned. “Aren’t I always?”

  He sighed, gave her a tender kiss, and headed out.

  Adam finally found his father out at the stables, grooming Cobbler. That was okay—talking about serious things would be easier with a horse to work on than it would be in the office.

  “You’ve got him looking good, Dad. His white spots are as bright as if you used baby powder.”

  Dad glared at him. “I did not! That’s good old elbow grease you see. No shortcuts for Ranger, here.”

  Adam sighed. “It’s Cobbler, Dad. Ranger was twenty years ago.”

  Dad looked at Cobbler, then back at Adam. “Of course, Cobbler. But you can’t judge a man for getting two Paints mixed up.”

  Adam smiled along with his father. How would they cope when they couldn’t make a joke of it?

  “Dad, you remember our problem with Mrs. Evans?”

  “Mrs. Evans, sure. Gray hair, glasses, short, and ruled the accounts payable with
an iron fist.”

  Adam grimaced. “That’s her, but don’t you remember talking about it last week”

  “Not really.” Dad turned back to brushing Cobbler’s tail out. “Remind me again.”

  Dad didn’t remember. Dr. Abernathy’s words kept coming back. The damage was irreversible.

  Adam set aside the grief that again threatened to knock him down and replayed the situation for his father. “It’s not horrible,” Adam reassured him. “Maddy’s gone through everything now, and it totals about fifteen hundred dollars. Not enough to screw us up too badly. And there are some weird amounts that had Maddy wondering what was up.”

  Dad shook his head. “Mrs. Evans seemed a good, Christian woman.”

  “Everyone gets tempted. The thing is, I’m not sure what to do now,” Adam admitted. “I was ready to throw the book at her, but it’s not enough to make it a felony. And she’s in a nursing home with a broken hip now, so it’s not like she’s carrying on with someone else. So do we prosecute? Maddy thinks we should just let it go.”

  “It’s not like she murdered someone,” his father said, “and some things we’re just supposed to forgive. Turn the other cheek, and all that.”

  Just what Maddy had said. “Thanks, Dad.” He turned to go, pondering what to do.

  Before he got far, Micah appeared in the stable doorway. “Hey, Adam, you in here?”

  “Back here with Dad,” he called.

  “Ty hasn’t shown up at all today,” Micah said. “I went out to the cabins, and he’s still half-drunk.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  Micah gave a harsh laugh. “Nothing. Dealing with personnel problems is your pay grade, not mine, bro.”

  One more problem. This one was easily solved, though. “Dad, you got any problems with me firing Ty?”

  Dad shrugged, but kept grooming his horse. Micah hung back as well. “Have fun,” he said, slapping Adam on the back and chuckling.