The Rancher's Legacy

by Jessica Keller

  “I like this place.” Rhett plucked the clipboard from the dashboard. “But it isn’t on the list.”

  Macy sighed. “Okay, don’t be mad.”

  Never a good way to start.

  “Why would I be mad?” In response to his tone, Kodiak sat up in the back seat and let out a low whine.

  Macy nervously looked from his dog to him. “I should have said something sooner. We’re meeting someone here for lunch. I didn’t think it would be a big deal.”

  Rhett scooted the clipboard back onto the dash. The metal clip caught the sunlight, sending a prism onto the car’s ceiling. “That someone being...?”

  “Do you remember the Donnelleys?”

  Of course he did. Jack Donnelley was a few years older than Rhett and had grown up in the foster system. Jack had been one of the first kids Brock had ever taken under his wing. Rhett’s dad had probably spent more time mentoring Jack than he ever had Rhett. Jack had gone on to do well in college, marry a great woman, adopt children from the foster system and continue to foster more. In Brock Jarrett’s eyes Jack was as successful as a man could be.

  Everything Rhett wasn’t.

  Rhett narrowed his eyes. He had a hard time believing Macy had forgotten about the animosity between him and Jack. For senior night at Rhett’s final football game, Rhett had begged his father to attend. Just this once, Dad. Please. Everyone else’s parents had come to all the games, but Brock rarely had. I would, son, but I have to meet with this family...this other kid needs me. There had always been a million reasons why he couldn’t be there—good reasons, ones that made Rhett feel bad about himself when he looked out into the stands, didn’t see his dad and tasted disappointment. His dad was tied up with something more important than football.

  More important than him.

  Rhett shouldn’t have been hurt. He was supposed to be old enough to understand that the needs of others were more important than his silly wants and desires. Whatever Rhett was doing was insignificant in his father’s eyes. Always had been.

  Probably still was.

  Rhett rubbed at his jaw.

  The last game? Brock had chosen to help Jack Donnelley pack his apartment and move to Red Dog Ranch instead of attending. His dad had missed the awards ceremony. Missed all the nice things Coach had said about Rhett.

  Not that it would have mattered.

  Rhett’s focus snapped back to Macy.

  “If you did this to try to convince me to reinstate the intern program,” he said, “I already decided to do that.” After talking with Cassidy he had realized she was right. He had sent emails to set up meetings to go over new safety protocols with all the staff members who had been appointed as mentors, and after those meetings took place tomorrow he would send emails to all the student interns inviting them back to the ranch.

  Macy’s eyebrows went up. “You—you did? Why didn’t you say something?”

  “I tried to tell you earlier, but you cut me off.”

  She cringed. “I do that a lot, don’t I?”

  He suppressed a good-natured laugh because he was certain that wouldn’t have been appreciated during the type of conversation they were engaged in. But, honestly, Macy had been cutting him off since she had been old enough to learn to speak. It was a part of her personality—overexcited, passionate, always charging ahead. That was...Macy. It was who she was and he would never want her to be anyone different.

  He shrugged. “You always have. Usually it’s endearing.”

  Her eyes went wide. She opened her mouth to say something.

  But he couldn’t go down that road. He shouldn’t have admitted that he found anything about her endearing. Life was far too complicated at the moment to let anyone in.

  Especially Macy Howell.

  Before she could respond, Rhett hooked his fingers over the handle and pushed it open. “Well, let’s get on with it then. We don’t want to keep them waiting.”

  She rounded to his side of the car while he was letting Kodiak out.

  “You’ll still go in and have lunch?” she asked.

  Rhett forced a smile. “As long as the Donnelleys are good with eating on the patio where Kodiak is allowed.”

  “You’re sure?” she pressed.

  “Listen.” Kodiak stopped when he did. “Recently I asked God to help me get over this...this grudge, for lack of a better word, that I’ve had against the foster programs.” He shrugged. “Maybe this is part of it. A step in the right direction.”

  “Rhett, that’s—it’s huge.”

  He jerked his chin toward the restaurant. “Let’s go.”

  Jack and Sophie Donnelley welcomed Rhett and Macy with hugs. Their children, Ashton, Ella, Will and Vicki, were instantly enamored with Kodiak.

  “Can we pet her?” Ella’s gap-toothed grin reminded him of his nieces.

  “Sure.” Rhett gestured toward Kodiak. “She loves kids.”

  After quickly eating, the kids took Kodiak out to a large grassy patch that ran alongside the restaurant. The patio overlooked the area so the four adults were able to keep an eye on them. Sophie had unearthed a tennis ball from somewhere in the recesses of their minivan and Kodiak was living the retriever’s dream with four kids willing to play fetch with her.

  Jack leaned back in his chair. “I have to tell you, we were worried about what would happen to the ranch after your father passed. You know, I always thought of him as my father figure too.”

  Rhett worked his jaw back and forth. He forced out a breath. “Yeah, I hear that a lot.”

  “Oh, I’m sure.” Jack’s smile was genuine. He had always been kind, which only made Rhett feel worse about himself for ever having disliked the man. “I haven’t seen you in a while, but it feels like we haven’t missed a beat. I guess that’s because your dad spoke about you all the time.”

  Rhett caught Macy’s eye. “He—he did?”

  Jack nodded. “I know he loved all his kids equally, but you held a special place in his heart.”

  “He was so proud of your dog business,” Sophie chimed in.

  Rhett’s throat felt raw.

  Was it all true? Rhett had a hard time wrapping his mind around the idea. When Brock had given him the ultimatum and Rhett had chosen to leave, Brock had been red-faced, yelling. Brock had been the complete opposite of proud. Even after they had patched their relationship back together for Mom’s sake, Rhett and his father had forged a tense truce at best.

  Not once had Brock looked him in the eye and said he was proud.

  Not once had he showed up for a competition that included one of the dogs Rhett had trained.

  Rhett let his gaze drift to the field where the kids were playing with Kodiak. His heart twisted. Seeing their joy, their innocence—no, he couldn’t harbor a grudge against the foster programs any longer. The kids were blameless in all that had happened to him.

  “Ashton’s looking forward to his first year at Camp Firefly.” Jack rose from his seat to lean on the patio’s railing. “We were worried you might end some of the programs your dad had started. New leadership sometimes has different priorities.” Jack almost sounded like he was apologizing for judging Rhett incorrectly.

  If only he knew how close he had come to striking the truth.

  Rhett sighed. The Donnelleys were good people who deserved honesty. “Programs remain the same for now, but we are looking at possibly cutting back.” Rhett rushed on, “These things are expensive. Take the egg hunt for example. We’ve been all over town this morning soliciting donations—and we did well—but it will probably need to be downsized.”

  Jack turned to face them. “If you still need one, I could probably get you a helicopter for the candy drop, free of charge.”

  Macy had been reaching for her sweet tea and now her hand froze. “Are you for real?”

  Sophie looked as if she might bur
st with pride. She leaned toward Rhett and Macy. “Jack just got promoted to sergeant in the Aircraft Operations Division. He’s one of their pilots now.”

  Rhett had forgotten Jack was an officer with the Texas Department of Public Safety. He certainly hadn’t known the man could fly a helicopter though. “If you’re sure, I won’t turn down an offer like that.”

  “It shouldn’t be a problem,” Jack assured them. “My department encourages us to participate in charity events.”

  There were hugs when everyone finally decided to part ways. Rhett invited the Donnelleys to stop by the ranch whenever they wanted to, and Sophie promised they would take him up on the offer.

  Sophie laughed. “Now that the kids have met Kodiak you know they’re going to be begging to see her again.”

  Chapter Six

  Rhett left the office early the next day to check on the interns. Yesterday, after he and Macy had returned home, they had made quick work of the phone calls on his to-do list and had been able to meet with all the staff mentors before dinner, making it possible for the interns to come back today.

  Gabe and a few of the others had been assigned to help on the maintenance crew, so Rhett drove one of the four-wheelers out to the fence line where the crew was trimming the long grasses and weeds. Staff had to keep them short so gates between pastures would be easier to use.

  Normally he would have walked out to the spot, but at the last minute Rhett had decided to strap a cooler filled with ice-cold water bottles to the back of the four-wheeler. It was only March, but the afternoons got hot.

  Rhett found Gabe and the others were working hard under the direction of an aged ranch hand. After confirming with the older man, Rhett had to admit Gabe was a good kid.

  Gabe used the back of his wrist to swipe sweat from his brow. “Boss, if you don’t mind me asking, how’s Piper doing?”

  Rhett handed the youth a fresh water bottle. “Nothing fazes that little girl.” He pointed at the teenager. “Speaking of, make sure you swing by the mess hall and sign her cast before you leave today.”

  Gabe saluted him.

  “And, Gabe?” Rhett cleared his throat. “I know you have your heart set on becoming a veterinarian.” The teenager nodded. “Come see me after you’re done here and we can talk about putting you on rotation with everyone who works with the animals so you get a chance to see all sides. I’d be happy to show you what I do for dog training, as well, if that’s something you’d be interested in.”

  Satisfied that the teenager was in good hands, Rhett headed back toward the house. Kodiak happily bounded beside his vehicle the whole way. He left the four-wheeler in its usual place near the pole barn and was about to make his way to the ranch house to see how his mom was doing when he spotted Shannon crouched where they stored the hay bales.

  As he entered the barn his boots crunched on gravel, alerting Shannon to his presence. Her head snapped up and her blotchy red cheeks gave her away. Rhett’s stomach clenched. She’d been crying, sobbing by the looks of it. Seeing her that way made his heart feel wrung out.

  What had he missed?

  “Hey.” He hastened his steps. “What’s wrong?” He sat beside her, his arm instinctively going around her shoulders. Every protective impulse flared inside of him. Were the tears because of her boyfriend, Cord Anders? And if so...was it horrible that Rhett would be happy if they had broken up? Rhett had noticed Shannon changing, shrinking into herself ever since she had started dating the man. If he had his way, he would ban the guy from the ranch. He shoved the thought away. Right now all that mattered was Shannon was upset. He needed to be empathetic no matter the reason for her tears. His sister deserved nothing less.

  She dropped her head into her hands and her shoulders shook a few times. “Nothing. I don’t know.” Her voice pitched higher. “Everything.”

  Not knowing what to say, he rubbed his hand in a circle against her back.

  “I’m so stupid,” Shannon breathed out.

  “Shh.” Rhett pulled her to his side in a hug. “No one talks about my favorite sister like that. Not even my favorite sister.”

  A watery laugh escaped her lips. “I’m your only sister.”

  “What’s wrong?” he whispered the question again.

  She shoved her blond curls away from her face. “I’m losing everything.” She looked away, out the barn doors. Her eyes focused on something far in the distance or maybe nothing at all; Rhett couldn’t tell.

  His gut clenched. He had never seen his sister despairing.

  Help me, Lord.

  “First there was Wade—” her voice strained over her twin’s name “—then Dad.” She wiped at another tear. “Now it’s Mom.”

  Rhett’s fingers tightened over her shoulder. The Jarretts had experienced their share of losses over the last few years, but they would weather them together. Shannon had to know that. He would always be there for her, no matter what happened.

  “Mom’s still here,” he said. “We still have time with her.”

  Shannon’s head swung back around, her gaze latching onto his as if he could save her from drowning. “Not really, Rhett. You and I both know that. She’s not usually there. Not anymore. I can’t go talk to her. I can’t—” Her face crumpled. “I feel like I’m losing myself. I’m so—” A sob broke from her chest. Loud and full of long pent-up pain.

  Kodiak pranced nearby, her low, sharp whimpers joining Shannon’s tears.

  Rhett gathered his sister to his chest. If only there was something he could say to make everything better for her. But he knew words didn’t have that type of power. In his life words had always caused far more pain than healing. Only actually being there for a person helped, and if he was being honest, he had failed Shannon in the past on that count. He hadn’t been around to support her during the most difficult days at Red Dog Ranch.

  He refused to fail her now.

  She clung to his arms and shoved her forehead into his collarbone. “Nothing makes me happy. Nothing makes me smile anymore. Everything keeps changing and I hate it, and I hate that I can’t handle it.”

  His sister’s words gutted him completely. Rhett wrapped his arms more securely around her. “I’m here,” he whispered over and over.

  She slammed her palms against him and scooted away. “For how long this time?” Her eyes blazed. “You’d sell it in a heartbeat and leave us again if you could. Walk away and never once look back. Never check on us. Never call. Just like before. The only thing keeping you here is Dad’s will. We all know that.”

  “That’s not true.” His words came out quietly. He would never walk away from his family again, but he couldn’t blame her for making a logical jump based on his past actions. He had left her to bear the burden of their mom’s illness and deal with their parents alone after Boone and his family left for seminary. She had been the one the police made a death notice to—alone. How secluded she must have felt, entirely deserted by all her brothers. Rhett could never repay her and now it was evident how much it had taxed her, how much he would forever be indebted to his sister. The knowledge hollowed out his chest.

  “You don’t care about me. Not really.”

  “I love you. You know that. I’m sorry for—”

  She shot to her feet. “You’re trying to get out of the will. I know you are.”

  “Shannon.” Rhett slowly rose to his feet. He put his hands out, the same way he would have approached a scared animal. “When I left? That was an issue between me and Dad. I had a beef with him—no one else.” He took a step closer. “You have no idea how sorry I am about the past. I ask your forgiveness for not being here, not supporting you better in all the ways I should have.”

  “Cord’s right.” Shannon crossed her arms. “None of you care. Not really.”

  Cord. Of course.

  Rhett’s movement stilled.

  “Is that where t
his is all coming from?” he asked, hoping for the truth. Praying he could get through to her about her boyfriend. “That guy is bad news. You’ve been hurting ever since you got with him. That’s not love, Shannon. Love heals people—it doesn’t destroy them. I don’t think he’s right for you.”

  “He’s the only good thing in my life right now.” Her voice rose. “And now you’re trying to take that away from me too. He warned me this would happen.”

  “That’s absurd.” Maybe not his best, most caring word choice. Rhett started again, more kindly. “There are so many people here who love you. If this guy has made you think differently then—”

  She let out a derisive laugh. “Cord was right. The whole family is against me. I should have known better than to even bother to try to get you to understand.” Shannon turned.

  Rhett followed after her. “We’re not done.”

  She sliced him with a glare. “Do you think you’re Dad now? Because that’s hilarious, Rhett.” Her voice was ice. This was not any version of the Shannon he knew. It made a creeping sensation go up his back. “You don’t have the right to step into our lives and think you can solve all our problems or be some makeshift patriarch now. If you think that’s what we want, well, you’re wrong. You could never fill Dad’s shoes. Not even close. So don’t even try.”

  “I know that,” he said quietly. “I’m not trying to be Dad, but I do want to do the best I can by you. By me. By God. I can’t undo the past but I can promise that I will never walk away from you again.”

  She left and this time he didn’t follow her.

  While he stared after Shannon’s retreating form, Kodiak shoved her nose into Rhett’s hand. Shannon was right—Rhett had failed them in the past. All of them, but especially Shannon. He pushed his fingers into Kodiak’s coarse fur. Resolve forming.

  He had a chance to right the wrongs both he and his father had committed.