Rescuing the Rancher

by Claire McEwen

  “It’s about Aidan,” Maya said.

  Oh. Jade just nodded, and resisted the urge to run. She’d never been a girl who wanted to gossip about men, compare notes or share feelings.

  “I’m trying to get him to buy some property closer to Shelter Creek, and I wondered how you’d feel about that.”

  There was no way Jade was capable of explaining the rush of emotions that was flooding her chest, so she went with the cynicism that came easier. “Good luck with that. He’s got some pretty strong emotional ties to his ranch.”

  Maya nodded, keeping pace with her as they left the town square and started down the sidewalk toward the fire station. “I know he does. I know his story...or at least some of it. It’s not healthy for him to be out there by himself. His one neighbor, Nellie, is selling her land. He’ll be all alone with his memories out on that ridge.”

  Jade shrugged, though the information hit like a blow. Nellie was his lifeline, his family. Aidan had risked his life for her sheep. But Aidan wasn’t her business. She’d made that choice after their dinner that night at the fire station.

  “I think it’s nice that you want to help him, Maya. But what does this all have to do with me?”

  Maya glanced her way with a shy smile. “Maybe I’m wrong, but I got the sense you two have some pretty strong feelings for each other. I guess I wanted to know if it would upset you to have him around here more.”

  Years of living with brothers had made Jade an expert at hiding her feelings. “Not at all. It’s fine with me. The guy can live wherever he wants.” Here in Shelter Creek? The thought fluttered through her stomach. What would it be like, running into him at the store, or at town events like this one? Knowing he was close by?

  Maya slowed her steps, and remembering that her friend had to get back to the gazebo and her plans for the day, Jade slowed, too. “Thanks for asking me, though. And it’s nice of you to try to help him out.”

  Maya shrugged. “I like Aidan. I want to see him happier and less alone. The fire seems like a chance for him to start again somewhere where he can have a community around him. But I don’t know if I’ll convince him. He’s pretty stubborn.”

  Jade smiled, remembering how rocky their first several hours had been together. “He is that. But he’s also a good man.”

  Maya stopped and took Jade’s hand in hers. “I know what it’s like to be in a job where you feel like you have to be tough all the time. Before I came back to Shelter Creek, I worried that if I had a lot of feelings, or if I got into a relationship, I’d lose some of the toughness I needed for my work. I worried that I wouldn’t be respected.”

  Jade nodded slowly, amazed that Maya seemed to have lived her own struggles.

  “But I promise you that moving back here, reconnecting with friends and family, and marrying Caleb, has all made me stronger. And a whole lot less lonely, too.”

  This was so far out of her comfort zone. An unsettling earthquake, cracking the barriers Jade had built around her heart.

  “You’ll be strong, Jade, no matter what you do. That’s just who you are. You can be single or not, alone or not, and it won’t make a difference in how tough you are. Except that, if you let love in, it might make you stronger in ways you never imagined.”

  All Jade wanted was to get away from Maya’s words, and all their potential and their challenge. They were words to think about later, in private, to mull over and examine. There wasn’t anything she could say now except “Thanks.”

  “Anytime.” Maya grinned. “One thing that’s changed about me? I’ve gone from trying to stay away from people, to getting all mixed up in their lives. Now I’m even dispensing totally unwanted advice. I blame my grandmother and her friends for that. They are a bad influence.”

  “I know you’re trying to help,” Jade managed. “But I better get back to the station. Good luck convincing Aidan to come down off that ridge of his.”

  “Thanks. I’ll need it.”

  Jade turned toward the fire station, pondering Maya’s words as she made her way up the sidewalk. Maya had always been cool-headed and tough. None of that had changed since she married Caleb. And she’d done great work since then, starting and running the wildlife center, working closely with the ranchers in the area to find ways to coexist with wildlife. She hadn’t lost anyone’s respect by letting Caleb into her heart.

  Jade pictured Aidan lounging on the gazebo steps just now, so relaxed compared to the man she’d first met. The pang that radiated through her stomach might actually be jealousy. She wanted to be the person who helped him relax, who got him to leave his ranch for parades and fun events. But she didn’t have time for all that. Or was that just her need to prove that she was strong? Maybe Maya had been trying to deliver some clarity, but Jade felt more muddled than ever.

  Irritated, she stomped through the open garage door of the fire station and headed for Mitch, who was inventorying some of their medical supplies stored in the big cabinet in the back.

  “I was just about to send a search party out for you,” he said, taking the cup she offered with a smile. “Everything okay?”

  For a moment Jade was tempted to tell him about Aidan, Maya, the whole thing, but what was she thinking? She was at work and she had to be professional, especially with her boss. “Just really crowded. Not a good day to go on a latte run.”

  He nodded. “Guess we should keep that in mind for the future.”

  “Where are Travis and Ian? I’m sure they’re ready for their caffeine.”

  “Out back with a couple of the interns.” Suddenly Mitch’s eyes got a little wider and he set his coffee down. “I’ll deliver those for you, Jade.” He took the tray from her. “Looks like someone is here to see you.”

  Aidan. Jade’s heart jolted into her throat and she turned around. But it wasn’t Aidan. It was her father, standing at the entrance to the station, dressed in his old uniform, his hat in his hands.

  “Whoa. Okay, hang on.” Jade turned back to Mitch and grabbed her own coffee cup. She’d need caffeine for this. Mitch gave her dad a quick wave and disappeared out the back door. Jade took a big gulp of the warm, sweetened coffee and walked toward her father. “Hey, Dad.”

  Her father’s mouth was compressed into his usual firm line but his white hair was different today, smoothed back with pomade. “I don’t have much time,” he said with his customary abruptness. “I have to go get on the float for the parade.”

  Jade’s nod masked her relief. If he was going to give her a lecture, at least it would be short. “Yes, you can’t be late. Are you ready to smile and wave to the crowd?”

  “No. Not until I say something to you.”

  And so it began. The lecture on how she should never have stormed out of dinner. That she was emotional, ungrateful and so on. “Okay, shoot.” She squared her shoulders, refusing to let him know how intimidated she’d always felt in his presence.

  “I’m sorry.”

  There was no way she could have heard him correctly. “You’re sorry?”

  “I didn’t realize you felt so criticized by me.”

  Jade opened her mouth, but couldn’t find any words, so she shut it again. She’d never heard her father say anything like that before, not even to her brothers or her mom. She closed her eyes for a moment, but when she opened them he was still standing there, twisting his hat, looking supremely uncomfortable. She needed to say something. “Thank you for coming here to tell me that.”

  He swallowed audibly. “I guess I like to share my opinions more than I should.”

  Jade nodded. “You’re a hard act to follow as it is, Dad. When you add in your take on my various shortcomings it can feel pretty overwhelming.”

  He nodded, averting his gaze for a moment. Jade studied him, noticing his thinning hair and the deep lines around his mouth and eyes. He’d always seemed so much larger-than-life to her, but for an
instant she saw him differently. As a man who was desperately trying to communicate, but didn’t know how. Suddenly she wondered about his own childhood. He’d never spoken of it much. Had his own father berated him for his faults?

  When her father met her gaze, she was surprised to see unshed tears in his eyes. “You’re my only daughter. And you tried so hard, your whole life, to follow in your brothers’ footsteps. And to follow in mine. I have some idea how hard it can be for a woman to make it in this career that has always been dominated by men. I guess in my mind I was toughening you up. I was trying to make you strong, and ready to face all the flak that would come your way.”

  Jade thought about Maya’s words earlier. “You definitely made me tough, so that part worked.” Maybe it had worked too well. Now she couldn’t let anyone in. Not even Aidan. Not even after they’d shared so much in the fire.

  “I know you’re angry at me. And disappointed that I haven’t been the parent you needed. If you tell me what it is you want me to do, I’ll try my hand at it.”

  It was a tough question. Jade had spent so much time thinking about what she didn’t want when it came to her dad, it had never occurred to her to consider what she would prefer. She sipped her coffee to give herself a moment to think. “I guess I’d like you to notice when I succeed. Maybe even mention it now and again. And when I mess up, you have to understand that I don’t need you to point it out. I’m perfectly capable of seeing my own shortcomings. I know, better than anyone, when I make mistakes.”

  He put a hand to her shoulder, not an embrace, more of a manly squeeze. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He glanced down at his watch. “I’d better go. Can’t be late. Have a good shift.”

  “Will do.” It had been the strangest shift of her life. First Monique’s thought-provoking comments, then Aidan, then Maya’s heart-to-heart and now this. “Enjoy the parade, Dad.”

  But he’d already turned away and was striding down the street toward the town square. She watched him until he turned right at the corner, toward the elementary school where the parade would start.

  Jade walked back into the station, glad that her break was over. She was ready for chores, to clean and organize. She’d even cook if it would give her a break from the emotions spiraling and tumbling through her mind. Sparks in a wildfire that she had no idea how to control.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  AIDAN THREW ANOTHER log on the fire burning in the pit he’d dug several yards away from his trailer. “It still feels a little weird to build a fire.”

  Caleb’s big laugh boomed into the quiet night. “Think of it this way, there’s nothing left around here to burn. It should be the most carefree fire you’ve ever built.”

  Aidan glanced around at the three men seated on the sections of log he’d placed around the firepit. It wasn’t luxury living, but it was great to have somewhere to entertain outside of the trailer.

  “I wonder how long it will be before fire seems normal?” Jace took a sip from his beer. He was a friend of Caleb’s, and he and Liam, the man Aidan had met at the parade the other day, had come up to Aidan’s ranch with Caleb. The three of them had spent the day helping Aidan build a storage shed near the barn. Since most of his outbuildings had burned and the trailer was small, Aidan needed somewhere to keep supplies.

  To thank them, Aidan had grilled some burgers, handed out beer and bottled water, and built this fire. It was about all he had to offer these days.

  Liam had been a little quieter than the rest of them this evening. “Visiting your ranch today has made it all hit home,” he said. “I’d read about the fires out here, back when I lived in Texas, but it’s another thing entirely to see the damage a wildfire can do up close.”

  “Gotta be prepared,” Caleb said. “You can ask one of the local firefighters to come by and inspect your ranch, Liam. They’ll help you to get ready.” He paused, and Aidan didn’t miss the way his buddy glanced at him in apology before speaking again. “Ask Jade to do it. She’s probably the best person for the job, since she went through the fire with Aidan up here.”

  Sometimes Aidan wished he hadn’t needed Maya to take care of his livestock so he could go down to Shelter Creek to make dinner for Jade and the other firefighters. Because now she and Caleb knew he was sweet on her, and that she’d rejected him. They felt sorry for him, and he didn’t want that. He’d been through so much. If Jade didn’t return his feelings then so be it. It might hurt, but he could live with loss. He’d prefer to live without the pity, though.

  Sensing his discomfort, Chip got up from the blanket he was lying on and shoved his nose into Aidan’s hand. Ever since the fire, Chip had been a little uneasy, sticking close and lacking his usual confidence. Aidan couldn’t blame him. He hadn’t quite gotten his legs under him either.

  “I’ll ask her,” Liam said. “I appreciate the advice.”

  “Hey, Aidan, finish telling us that story,” Jace said. “What happened when you saw that mountain lion on your porch?”

  Before he’d got up to fix the fire, Aidan had been telling them about a particularly bold mountain lion that had napped on his back porch one evening, staying there for a few hours.

  “Chip here was going nuts, barking at it through the window. And that big old cat was just looking at him like, ‘I dare you to come out here.’”

  “Weren’t you concerned for your livestock?” Liam leaned forward on his stump, his water bottle in hand. Neither he nor Caleb had wanted a beer when Aidan offered.

  “They were pretty secure. I’ve left the horns on some of my cattle and they were with the sheep, pastured closer to the barn. I also had motion-sensitive lights around that area, so I figured they were safe.”

  “Are those cattle the same ones Caleb is babysitting for you right now?” Jace said. “Those are some cool-looking animals.”

  “They remind me of the longhorns we’ve got back home in Texas,” Liam added.

  Aidan nodded. “Caleb has all my cattle right now, which I appreciate. I’ve got some help coming starting next week, to get my fences repaired. Then I can take them back.”

  “But you’ll have to buy hay,” Caleb said. “Why not leave them at my place for a little longer? I’ve got plenty of pasture for them.”

  “I don’t want to overstay my welcome,” Aidan said.

  “Chances are we’ll have a fire around Shelter Creek one of these days. Then you can take my cattle for me.” Caleb was staring out into the night like he could see the fire on the horizon. He was an interesting guy. Generous and welcoming, but a little dark and brooding, too. Aidan wondered what his story was, then remembered what Maya had told him. Caleb’s sister had been killed in the same crash Maya was in during high school. So the guy certainly knew what trouble felt like.

  “The fires sure are getting bad,” Jace said. “Vivian and I just had a big talk with our kids about what we’ll do if we need to evacuate. It’s our new reality, I guess.”

  “The trickiest part is getting the livestock out,” Aidan told him. “I’m lucky that so many folks from Shelter Creek could get up here and haul out my cattle and horses. But I still had all those sheep, and the livestock haulers I called were completely booked. I’d suggest keeping at least one pasture well irrigated, with extra sprinklers ready in case you can’t evacuate them.” He paused, remembering that night, the way he and Jade had worked so hard to get ready before the fire got to them. They’d been lucky to have those few hours to prepare. “In a way, the fact that my ranch is so isolated was good, because when I’d thought about fire, in the past, I’d never counted on having any help to deal with it.”

  “You are out in the middle of nowhere,” Caleb said. “Have you thought any more about moving a little closer to civilization? A new ranch has come on the market close to Shelter Creek. It’s just southwest of town and it’s a pretty big spread. I’ve known the owner my whole life. He runs sheep and cattle now. He�
�s retiring, and none of his kids want to carry on the business.”

  Aidan wondered if Maya had put Caleb up to this. She was on a mission to bring him closer into town. He knew why. After the confidences they’d shared, she saw herself in him. She wanted the town to fix his loneliness, just like it had healed hers. But he didn’t know if he could leave this land, no matter how lonely he got. “I appreciate the suggestion, but I’ve got a great piece of property here. I’ve worked hard to make it what it is.” He corrected himself. “Was.”

  “I get that,” Caleb persisted. “But you’re a pretty good distance from town. Relocate and you can still ranch, but be close to friends.”

  “Like us.” Jace grinned. “Our wives have a book club. We can have a beer club.” Then he glanced at Caleb and Liam, both holding their water bottles. “Or a pool playing club. Or a hiking club. Or something.”

  “Team roping,” Liam said. “I’ve been thinking about trying it. Any of you cowboys up for the challenge?”

  “I might be.” Jace grinned and looked at Aidan. “Did you know that I used to work on Liam’s family’s ranch? And we both had a pretty good run in bull riding in our day. Until I got the kids and Liam got a bull with a killer streak. In fact—” he skewered Liam with a shrewd glance “—have you mentioned your roping aspirations to your wife? With your leg held together by hardware, I doubt she’s going to approve of your plans.”

  Liam’s grin was completely unapologetic. “I haven’t mentioned it, no. I’m just waiting for the right time to bring it up.”

  Jace busted out laughing. “I’ll need you to come down and rope, Aidan. Caleb’s got too many injuries from his combat days, and there’s no way Trisha is going to let Liam get in the arena.” He leaned over and clapped Liam on the shoulder. “You can be our coach.”

  Aidan grinned at the banter between the two men. “I’ve never done any rodeo. But I grew up on a cattle ranch and I know how to rope.”