The Rancher's Legacy

by Jessica Keller

  “Nothing is stopping you from praying for him.” Sophie winked. “And you’re resourceful so I’m sure you’ll think of other ways too.” They cleared the table and both headed for bed but Sophie caught Macy’s arm before she could turn toward the guest room. “Can I pray for you?”

  “Of course.” Macy took the other woman’s hand. They bowed their heads and both ended up praying for Rhett and the ranch and each other.

  “And thank You for never forsaking us. Never leaving. Thank You for loving us just as we are.” Sophie squeezed Macy’s hands. “Amen.”

  However, even after Macy was tucked away in the guest room for the night she was restless. It wasn’t even late yet but the kids had an early bedtime and Jack had stumbled to his bedroom after tucking the kids in, saying he was running on empty. Macy put on her pajamas and got into bed but turned the light back on a few minutes later. What if Rhett or Shannon had sent an email? She dug through her things for her phone and her laptop.

  She had a missed call but it was from Gabe the intern, not one of the Jarretts. “So, I know things aren’t great right now,” Gabe said in the message. “But I have an idea to help the ranch get back on its feet. Do you still have Clint Oakfield’s number? Call me, okay?”

  It wasn’t late yet, but her throat was sore from talking with Sophie so she decided to call Gabe back in the morning. Gabe’s call and her talk with Sophie worked together to shove Macy’s brain into hyperdrive. Sophie was right; she didn’t have to be at the ranch to help and support them. And she didn’t need Rhett’s approval to help. God had placed Red Dog Ranch in her life and she would fight to rebuild it however she could.

  Macy opened her laptop and did a quick internet search for crowdfunding sites. She let her cursor hover over the top site for only a heartbeat before she clicked it. Do it. Do it before you can think better of it. It took her fifteen minutes to set up a page asking for donations; most of that time was spent typing out a passionate and heartfelt plea in which she detailed the storm’s destruction, as well as all the amazing programs the ranch offered free of charge to foster families. She mentioned Rhett’s desire to train therapy dogs, as well. She prayed her love for her favorite place shined through. When it was done she pressed for the page to go live before she could convince herself not to. With two clicks she linked the donation page to two of her social media accounts and then slammed her laptop closed.

  Macy flipped off the lights and curled back into bed.

  Had she just made another colossal mistake? Would her actions serve to drive Rhett further away? No, she’d done what she knew was right, what God would want her to do, and she could live with that.

  Macy loved Rhett. No matter what happened, she always would.

  But if the past few weeks had taught Macy anything, it was that she couldn’t build her life on one person or one place or even one mission. She could only build her life on God and what God would have her do.

  And that would be enough.

  * * *

  Rhett—

  I’m writing this because Macy keeps insisting you deserve to know and you deserve answers. I suppose if this is in your hands then you moved your mom’s painting and I’m sure you have a heap of questions. Why would your mom and I keep something like this from you? Why did we work so hard to ensure you wouldn’t discover the truth? You have every right to be upset and angry. I don’t blame you for either. I do hope you can find it within you to forgive an old fool.

  You and me have been at odds ever since we lost Wade, and I don’t know how to put that to right. I think if I would have told you the truth about your adoption I might have lost you too, and I couldn’t have borne that.

  Years ago your mother and I were volunteering at a youth group when we met your birth mom. She was scared and alone and she knew she couldn’t keep you, but she loved you with such a protective love. I want you to know that, Rhett—you have never lived a day when you weren’t fiercely loved by your birth mother, by me and your mom and by God. She had grown up in the system and it had failed her. A family had adopted her, but they’d always made her feel secondhand and more as live-in help than a branch in their tree.

  She dreamed bigger for you. You’ve always reminded me of her in that way. When we told her we wanted to adopt you, that you were an answer to our prayers, she made us promise to treat you as our flesh and blood. We would have anyway, but the promise was important to her, and your mom and I are people of our word.

  Perhaps I should own up to a more selfish reason too. From the first day you were in my arms you were my child, Rhett. I never saw you as anything but a Jarrett. I was a sentimental fool who wanted it to always stay that way. When you chose to leave us I told myself that you would have left sooner had you known, so then I guarded the secret even more doggedly.

  For that I’m sorry.

  Now you know our secret, but I can’t go any further. We promised your biological mother if you ever did discover you were adopted, we would still protect her identity. She gave you the red stuffed dog you loved so well. You carried that thing everywhere your first few years.

  If you haven’t figured it out by now, your mom and I walked away from the life we had once we adopted you. We used Grandpa Jarrett’s oil money to purchase this ranch. I didn’t know a thing about cattle! But I did know I wanted to help kids. You opened my heart up to this life—to all of life. Every choice after that was made because of our great love for you. You filled our hearts and our lives with so much joy it overflowed. We wanted to give that joy to others, so we created a safe place for foster children to enjoy—a place that could feel like a second home.

  Red Dog Ranch has been and always will be a symbol of our love for you. You made us parents. You made us a family. We are forever grateful for the gift of you. I’m so proud of you and the man you have become, son.

  With all the love in my heart,

  Dad

  Each time Rhett reread the letter he felt something different. At first it was anger and betrayal but that faded into shades of acceptance tipped with disappointment.

  Was it possible to track down his birth mother?

  Did he want to?

  Rhett hardly knew.

  Folding the paper back up, Rhett tucked it into the pocket on his shirt where it would be close to his heart. He rested his hands on the edge of his belt as he looked out the newly installed floor-to-ceiling windows of the family room. Moonlight rippled over the large lake that sprawled behind the Jarrett family home. They had dredged the last of the debris from the lake yesterday morning and Rhett found he was glad he had moved that task up the prioritized list. The lake was a special place for him.

  Red Dog Ranch has been and always will be a symbol of our love for you.

  A lump formed in the back of Rhett’s throat. He rubbed a fist over his collarbone to try to dispel the feeling, but it lingered. Maybe it always would.

  He had been so bitter over this place, so wrong.

  His phone vibrated in his back pocket and as he fished it out he wildly hoped it was Macy. Rhett owed her an apology. He was still upset about her keeping such a huge secret from him, but he shouldn’t have pushed her away.

  When he asked her to go, he had meant he needed a few hours to himself. When Shannon told him Macy had left the ranch, Rhett had figured she had wanted some space too and he had respected that by not bothering her with calls. But when her car hadn’t appeared today, Rhett had started to worry. Had his words driven her away?

  Rhett didn’t know where she was staying. The few times he had worked up the nerve to call her today, her phone had been off and her voice mail was oddly full.

  He would find her at some point and he would ask her to come home. He couldn’t run the place without her. He wanted her around, near him.

  He glanced at his phone screen: Boone.

  Boone blinked at him over the face-to-face connection p
rogram on their phones. Rhett had talked with most of his family about being adopted, but he hadn’t been able to catch his brother yet.

  “How’s the ranch doing?”

  “It’s a mess.” If only he was exaggerating.

  “The pictures you sent of the damage turned my stomach. We wish we were there to help,” Boone said. “Oh, and before I forget, I’m supposed to tell you June and Hailey say hi.”

  Rhett’s brother Boone had met his wife, June, in high school. They had always joked about their names rhyming and had teased that they would pick their kids’ names to rhyme, as well. When Hailey was born there was speculation about what her name would be... Thankfully they went against the rhyming scheme.

  Rhett’s watch showed that it was after eleven in Maine where Boone and his family lived. He chuckled softly. “I’m sure they’re both long asleep by now so tell them hi in the morning for me.”

  “We keep late hours in seminary.” Boone’s yawn followed quickly.

  Rhett glanced over at his mom asleep in her recliner and Kodiak snoozing near his mom’s feet. “There’s something I need to tell you.” Rhett plunged right in and told Boone about discovering the shoebox in their dad’s office and explained what he had found inside.

  Boone was quiet when Rhett paused, but finally he let out a low whistle. “Wow. That’s a lot to deal with all at once. How are you holding up?”

  “Boone.” Something had been bothering Rhett since he had learned about being adopted and he had to get it off his chest. “You’re technically the oldest Jarrett. Dad’s will names you as the heir in the event that something happens to me or if I’m unable to serve as director.” Rhett heard Boone make a disgruntled noise on the other end of the line so he rushed on. “This inheritance... I know you said you don’t want to run the ranch, but if that ever changes, if you ever want to take this from me—”

  But it wasn’t Boone who answered Rhett first. It was their mom.

  “Why, that’s the daftest thing I’ve ever heard you say.” His mom pounded her hand on her armrest. Evidently she hadn’t been sleeping all that deeply after all. Kodiak’s head swung up. She sleepily blinked in Rhett’s general direction.

  Rhett turned up the volume on his phone. “Mom’s on with us.”

  Their mom curled her finger, a silent command for Rhett to draw closer. He obeyed. He crossed over to her and knelt at her feet.

  She cupped his cheek in her weatherworn hand. “You are my firstborn son. It doesn’t matter that someone else bore you—you were my first child, my first little love.” She ran her thumb in a light caress over his skin. “God knew you were the brother Boone, Wade and Shannon needed. And He knew you were the son who would first make me a mother. No secret, no hurt can make any of those things untrue.”

  Rhett swallowed hard.

  “This family has loved you and prayed for you and cheered for you since before you were even born. You are ours, child. Ours,” his mom continued more firmly. “And you always will be.”

  Boone’s face lighted up Rhett’s phone screen. “I’m one hundred percent going with Mom on this one.”

  “Smart boy.” Their mom beamed at both of them.

  The front door opened and Shannon tiptoed in. She started when she spotted them in the family room. “Way to scare a girl silly! You guys are still awake?”

  “Join us.” Rhett motioned for her to come over. “We’re on with Boone.”

  “Aww, Boone! My favorite middle brother.” Shannon shrugged off her purse and skidded across the wood floor to sit beside Rhett. She tossed an arm over his shoulder and reached to hold her mom’s hand in her other. Rhett eased back so he was sitting on his ankles. He kept the phone so Boone could see all three of them.

  Rhett took a deep breath. “Since I have most of the family here I’d like to ask for some advice.” They were missing Cassidy, but she and Piper had their own house on the property and they would be asleep by now.

  Mom’s brow bunched together. Her gaze darted around the room as if she was searching for a lost item. “Where are Brock and Wade? Do we need to wake them?”

  Boone’s focus went to Rhett and Shannon. “I, ah, I think this is plenty of us for an opinion.”

  Rhett had worried that the family gathering might confuse his mother. He needed to be more careful with how he phrased things.

  “As everyone here knows, the ranch suffered heavy damages. Besides our barns, Camp Firefly—mainly the cabins—was the hardest hit part of our land.” Although that didn’t mean a whole lot. The tornado had carved a path from one end of his property line to the other. As if the storm had wanted to wage a war on Rhett specifically. Much of the ranch looked like it had been walloped with a meat tenderizer. “Now we need to decide what we’re going to do.”

  Shannon’s fingers tightened on his shoulder. “Wait. You’re not planning to rebuild?”

  Rhett looked away from them and worked his jaw a few times. “We don’t have enough money. Insurance only helps to a point and even if they end up helping more, it won’t be quickly enough to host camp.” He spoke slowly, evenly delivering the information so everyone understood what they were facing. “At the least, I think we need to consider cancelling this summer.”

  “We can’t.” Shannon sat up a little more, letting go of their mom’s hand in the process.

  “If God wants our mission to continue, He will find a way.” Their mom rested her hands in her lap. “You’ll see.”

  Rhett rubbed his jaw. “Everyone made it through the storm safe. I think we should be grateful with that huge blessing from God and not expect a bunch more.”

  “Do you think there’s a cap to how much love God can shower on us?” Their mom laughed gently. “Do you think He ever says, ‘Oh, that’s enough, I’ll stop showing them my love’?” Mom leaned forward and whispered, “God delights in loving us. Don’t forget that.”

  Shannon bit her lip and sought Rhett’s eyes. “What about the family holdings?”

  “That money is for the family to live off of.” Rhett sliced his hand through the air. His heart had changed toward the foster programs, but he was still firm in his belief that the business account shouldn’t mix with the family’s personal money. “That’s the legacy I want to leave to my nieces.”

  Boone spoke up first. “Legacy isn’t money—you know that, right?”

  “Boone’s right.” Shannon’s fingers drew across his back as she leaned away from him. “The Jarrett family legacy is this ranch and what this ranch stands for.”

  Rhett knew that. He did. But he also knew that he had some tough business decisions ahead of him.

  “Your nieces don’t need you to worry about leaving them with a nest egg.” Boone straightened in his chair. Rhett had to bite back a smile because he could tell Boone was about to launch into what they called his pastor mode. Boone had always been the bookish one in the family.

  “The Bible talks a lot about treasures in heaven,” Boone said. “Meaning we should be doing things that please God instead of amassing things here on earth.” His hand came into view. “Now, I don’t think that means that we don’t take care of our family or make sound business choices. But I do think when we use the word legacy, as Christians it should only ever be in the realm of a legacy for the Kingdom. What are we devoting our time and energy and resources on earth to? Things that matter in eternity or not?”

  “You do know you’re not a minister yet, right?” Shannon teased.

  They laughed and the conversation turned to catching up, but Rhett was unable to keep his mind from wandering. It wasn’t the first time he had considered how people would remember him after he was gone someday. As morbid as it sounded, it was something that had crossed his mind often since his father had passed away.

  How did Rhett want to be remembered?

  As a man who took care of his family or someone who ran a successful
business? Why couldn’t he be both? But as the voices of his family—the family God had chosen for him—drifted over him, Rhett knew his answer was neither of those things. It didn’t have to be one or the other.

  Rhett would choose God.

  He would trust God with the ranch and with his family.

  He would hand it over. All of it.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Rhett!” Shannon pounded on his bedroom door. “Rhett Jarrett, you need to get out of bed this instant and come downstairs.”

  Rhett groaned and sat up slowly. After they had hung up with Boone last night Rhett had headed outside to pray and clear his head. He had ended up staying up until past two in the morning and was not yet ready to handle any amount of his sister’s exuberance.

  Although it was nice to catch a glimpse of the old Shannon again. She was still dating Cord, and Rhett was praying about how he should deal with their relationship. Rhett knew for sure that Cord was no good for his sister, but his sister was an adult and he couldn’t force her to break up with someone either.

  He glanced at his clock and discovered to his embarrassment that his family had let him sleep until noon.

  “Open up now, Rhett. I mean it.” She kept knocking. “Or I’ll barge in and pour water over your head like when we were kids.”

  “I’m up,” he muttered. He raked his hand down his face then rose. “And if I remember correctly, you got in trouble for that.”

  “Worth it,” she called through the door.

  Rhett grinned and crossed the room. Good thing it was only his sister because he usually wouldn’t wander out of his room in his old sweatpants and undershirt. He pulled open the door and had to shield his eyes against the sunlight streaming into the hallway through the wide glass panels in the window seat. “So where’s the fire?”

  Shannon latched onto his wrist and tugged him over the threshold. “The place is swimming with reporters. They’re all asking for you. I tried to hold them off but they keep showing up.”

  Reporters?