It was a long drive. Maggie enjoyed seeing the country and was excited to get back to Texas. She loved the men in Texas. They were gentlemen, first and foremost. And that slow southern drawl made everything they said sound acceptable somehow. It took three days to get down to the ranch to see her father. When she drove in, she had to smile. The ranch was one of the most sought-after resorts in Southern Texas, but driving into the ranch, it looked like it was about to be condemned. This was the perfect place for her father. He was incognito here and happy as pie to stay. Although currently, he didn’t need to hide out and his work with the government was over, but Maggie thought he just felt more comfortable this way. Maggie shook her head many times as she talked about this with her Dad. He had enough money to live all over the world in luxury, but he chose to stay as a ranch manager at a small, out of the way ranch resort for people who wanted to vacation anonymously. The ranch was beautiful once you got inside the tree barrier along the roadside.
She parked her truck over by the stable and got out, looking for her Dad. Timber found him first down by the lake, fishing. She stopped and just watched the two of them greet each other. He looked up and waved her down to him. “Hello, Dad!” Maggie walked down the green lawns under the large Live Oak trees, toward the lake. All the lake toys were lined up along the shore. A great pontoon paddle boat, a small one-man sailboat, and several canoes of various sizes and colors lined the 5-acre lake. One of the trees on the south side had branches hanging over the lake with a rope swing hanging down from the tree fort. Anyone could swing out and drop into the water if they didn’t mind checking the shore for water moccasins first.
Her childhood mare, Stacy, whinnied from the pasture. “Oh, Stacy. Yes, I’m here. Just a minute, Dad, I want to go see Stacy for a second.” She headed over to the pasture. She had raised Stacy and was there at her birth. Since then, Stacy had raised three colts herself.
Maggie reached her hand out to Stacy, who put her head over the fence and her shoulder. “Oh, I love you too, Stacy. What a good horse.” Timber came running over, not wanting to miss out on any loving. “Yes, Timber, I love you too.” She reached down to pet him.
Her dad walked over. “It’s so good to see you here, Maggie.” He gave her a big hug.
“I am so glad to have some time to spend with you. Once I drop off this dissertation, I have a few weeks while I wait for job application responses.”
“That’s great. I could use some help with these new geldings I got for the resort riding stable. I am planning to pick up some mustangs as well.” He headed back up to the truck.
“I would love to help. Sounds like fun.” As she walked back up toward the stable, Stacy followed her along the fence. It pulled at her heartstrings. Having animals to love was a blessing, but it came with pain if you had to leave them, or worse, put them down. She thought of Jack and his dog, Checkers. The pain she saw on his face was real. The joy of animals was far more rewarding than the sorrow of losing them, but still, that sorrow was encompassing and could last a whole life.
“Maggie, you can stay in my spare room, or you can stay at the ranch house. It’s slow over there this time of year.” He looked down at her luggage.
“Well, Dad, that is an easy decision. As much as I love you, your apartment doesn’t have a spa.” Maggie laughed.
“That’s what I thought. Let’s head over and get you checked in.”
“I’ll be over here all day anyway, Dad, and you can eat with me over there so really it’s just sleeping, and I think you value your privacy more than you let on.” She raised her eyebrows at her Dad.
“I’m happy either way.”
Mary came out and gave Maggie a big hug. Mary and her husband Henry ran the Rio Lago Ranch. Henry had been army buddies with Carson years ago. “Maggie, we are so happy to have you here with us for a spell. You know your way around, so make yourself comfortable.”
“How about one of your cookies? I need a snack before dinner. I’ve been eating car food, and my body needs something wholesome.” She laughed.
“You know where they are. Help yourself to that and anything else you want here.” Mary patted her arm.
“Once I get unpacked I can’t wait to walk around the lake.” Maggie followed the bellhop up the stairs to her room. The walk around the lake had graced Maggie’s memories and brought peace many times. She was thinking about how she loved nature and all that God had created to make this world beautiful. Even though she was anxious to teach, she was worried about where to live. I need a place where I can get out into nature and one that would allow Timber. That’s not going to be easy to find.
Jack often looked back to the pivotal moment when he walked out of Maggie’s cabin and her life. What a mistake! She said she wanted him to go, and her father was determined to take him. He also had a crew with him that seemed more like a group of men under his command than roof workers. Why hadn’t he called her? He knew why. This woman was not a woman to toy with. If he went after her, it would be a lifetime commitment. Not only that, he got the impression that nothing less would be allowed by her father. All that being said, Jack did like Carson. He seemed like a man he could relate to, and the truth is, he enjoyed his company. So it was with pleasure that he accepted his invitation to come to the Rio Lago Ranch and check out his herd of exceptional horses. Maybe he could learn more about Maggie while he was there, or at least try to get on the good side of her father.
His limo drove into the Rio Lago Ranch in the early afternoon. He was charmed by the setup. The ranch house sat on a small rise above the lake. A road circled the lake after crossing a covered bridge, which looked very Vermont to him. He was admiring the view when a bellhop welcomed him to the ranch. He had arrived earlier than was expected, so after getting settled in his room, he changed into a pair of jeans and decided to explore. He met Mary and Henry, and could barely get out of the lodge without being persuaded to take a cookie, which he found to be delicious.
When he reached the bridge, he sat down to enjoy the view. Looking back at the ranch house, he admired the wrap-around porches and the fruit trees planted on either side of the circular drive. This ranch looked like a fun vacation spot. The stable pasture was lined with whiteboard fencing. The stable was painted the same color as the main house, which was country blue and white, of course. Both sides of the main house were forested but cleared of underbrush, and were very inviting. He noticed a high swing on one side and a bench swing and hammock on the other. The pool sat between the house and the lake, with a volleyball court adjacent.
He decided to take a road that veered off to the right into the forested river bottom. The bellhop had mentioned the property ran adjacent to the San Bernard River. He wanted to see the river first. The mostly grown over dirt road led him into a thickly forested wonderland. Large stately wild pecan trees towered over the smaller scrub oak. They were only challenged in their beauty by the wide-spreading Live Oak trees that seemed to grow in a cluster, making the breadth of the tree at least 30 feet. He saw plenty of oak saplings. He had to laugh. They looked like they would be easy to transplant, but he vividly remembered trying to do the same thing. After he had dug down at least 5 feet and still had not reached the end of the root system, he gave up and left the oak to grow where it would.
He climbed through a barbed-wire fence to get to the river’s edge, and as he was coming around another pecan tree, he ran right into Maggie. She yelped and looked ready to defend herself. “You scared me, what’re you doing here?”
“I came down to see the river.” He wondered what in the world she was doing here. Did Carson have anything to do with this?
“I can see that, but what are you doing at the ranch?” They turned and started walking along the river’s edge. They were only about ten feet above the water as the river had been cutting a path deeper and deeper through the property.
“Your father invited me to come and take a look at his horses. I had no idea you would be here, but I’m so glad that you are.” H
e stopped and looked down at her, feeling his heart rate increase significantly as he looked into those beautiful, intelligent eyes and those inviting lips which he constantly thought about.
Maggie turned away to continue their walk along the river. “I’m here to hand in my dissertation in Houston tomorrow and will most likely stay a few weeks while waiting for a job offer.” She brushed the hair from her face. “I love it here and plan to enjoy a nice peaceful rest after a lot of work accomplished.”
“Congratulations, that’s quite the accomplishment. Is Timber here too? I’m wondering if I’m going to have to behave myself?Maggie laughed. “Yes, you are, but let me show you something. He’s not as scary as you think.” She got out her phone and scrolled through some pictures before handing her phone to Jack.
Jack burst out laughing. “I wondered why my pillow smelled like a wolf. Could you send me a copy of that?” So that wolf must like me a little if he got on the bed with me and shared my pillow.
“Sure, give me your number.” Jack handed her phone back pleased with himself because now he would have her number.
“So, does this mean he liked me a little?” They walked over to the water’s edge and jumped across a little stream to an island in the middle of the river.
“That was after your nightmare about Checkers. I think he felt compassion and wanted to keep you safe, or he was tired of sleeping in your doorway and wanted to share the comfy bed.” Maggie laughed, enjoying the memory.
They walked along the river, not saying too much but just enjoying the beauty. Jack hadn’t really spent any time with a woman long term other than someone named Meredith, who was a good friend. They had a good working relationship. She was on the board of his oil and gas company and had a small oil company of her own. She was a wonderful person, but there was nothing between them other than friendship. They did spend a lot of time together and usually went to the oil conventions and other meetings together. It was just more convenient for the both of them to not have to get a date. He wasn’t sure what it was about Maggie, but he felt like he needed her to be happy. The magnitude of his attraction to her was something he’d not experienced before. He had plenty of women who were happy to date him, but he always kept it to a maximum of one date, or the tabloids would have him married. The question with Maggie was, would she welcome his pursuit? He didn’t think so.
“So, what type of job are you looking for?”
Maggie seemed lost in her thoughts. “Oh sorry, what did you say?” She looked up and smiled, which captivated him.
“I was wondering where you want to work?”
She looked at him speculatively, and it made him nervous.
“I thought it would be fun to teach at a university and try to pass along some of the things I have learned to a younger generation. I might get into research as well.”
“You know, the oil industry spends a lot of money on research. We have a large R and D department.” He wanted to put some plugs in for the industry as it seemed like she wasn’t too impressed with their record so far. “We also give grants to universities for this purpose.”
“Well, that is good. The more we know about our influence in the world, the better it will be for everyone. Planting trees is one of the best, most efficient ways to get rid of the CO2 in our atmosphere.”
“Yes, who doesn’t like more trees?”
Maggie stopped and sat on a large fallen tree log that spanned the river. “This isn’t an accidental meeting, Jack.”
Jack smirked. “Did you plan this?”
“No.” Maggie rolled her eyes. “Look, it’s nice to see you, but it is not just a coincidence that we are both here. For some reason, my father wanted you to be here at this time, while I’m here. So, what did you two talk about the last time I saw you? My father never does anything without a plan.”
Jack was taken back by her comment. “Look, I think this is great, but as far as our conversation at the cabin went, all I can say is I told him everything. I couldn’t help it. I gave him a complete family history back to my grandparents.” He raised his palms.
Maggie started laughing. “I‘m sorry. My father has a skill in that area which I’m afraid he has used on all my boyfriends since I was fourteen. Consequently, I haven’t had many boyfriends after about the first date.” She shook her head.
“So, what else does he know about me?” Jack was getting a little worried now.
“He gave me a nice summary of your affairs and holdings, back to your Eagle Scout award, which was impressive, by the way.” Maggie raised her palm in a shrug. “He has gotten us together for a purpose, I’m sure.”
“Well, if you’re still talking to me after getting his report, then it couldn’t have been too bad.” Jack leaned back and stretched, thinking. “So, what’s our plan then?”
“Oh, you are in for it if you think we can go up against my father. Truly, I have never seen anyone who was able to do that, ever.”
Jack wondered if he was the one to do it. He had seldom met a man he couldn’t successfully compete with.
“I just want to know where we stand before we launch into any plan.” He waggled his eyebrows at her and smiled his most charming smile. At least now his face wasn’t all banged up and swollen.
Maggie laughed. “You want to kiss me to see if we still have that magic?”
Ah, so she admits there was magic there. He liked the direction of this conversation very much.
“Yes, let’s just test the waters, so to speak.” He leaned over and put his arm around her. He then pulled her into his arms and waited to see if she would agree to this ploy. She looked up into his eyes and gave him a very sly smile.
“Well, you are much cuter now; I might want to kiss you.” She waggled her eyebrows at him, smirking.
That was all the permission he needed, and he leaned in and kissed her. Yes, the magic was there. In fact, they kissed for much longer than he expected. He never wanted to stop kissing her, but they were both out of breath and had to stop.
Jack took a breath and knew his face was flushed by the heat coming off his forehead. “What do you think?” He gave her that knowing look. He could see she too had a very flushed face.
“I’ll be totally honest with you, Jack. After my father’s report on you, I know everything there is to know about you, I think. There’s a lot you don’t know about me and the fact that we just enjoyed a very impressive kiss together is not going to influence any decisions I make about my future.” After that, she looked up at him and gave him a sweet smile. She was so coy, and he wanted to kiss her very sweet smile away. Nevertheless, he did get her message. If he thought winning her over was going to be easy, he was highly mistaken.
Jack raised his eyebrows, thinking this girl is more like her father than she realizes. He loved a challenge, however, and liked her even more because of it. It was a nice change from women throwing themselves at him everywhere he went. “I guess the first thing we need to do is figure out why your father brought us together. Then we can take steps to thwart his plan.”
Maggie shook her head. “We can give it our best shot.” He could see she didn’t think they had much of a chance, but he had never met a man that had bested him. This visit to the Rio Lago Ranch was going to be full of challenges, and he loved it. Jack stretched as he stood up and reached his hand down to help Maggie up.
They walked back toward the river. The shade underneath the tall pecan and live oak trees felt wonderful with a small breeze blowing in from the gulf. “I do love it here. I’m going to have to find a teaching situation where I can live in the country and keep Timber.”
“That will be easy if you know the right people.” Jack wondered if she would allow him to be a part of her life. They looked up and saw her dad riding down the river road in a new utility vehicle. He drove up to them and stopped.
“Hey, Dad, what do you have here? This looks cool.” Her dad got out and opened the door for them to get in after shaking Jack’s hand and welcoming him to
the ranch.
“So, Dad, how interesting the three of us are here together.”
“Yes, come on. I’ll take you for a ride.”
Jack climbed into the back, and Maggie got in the front with her father. He drove them around the entire property, first up the side and around the lake, then up to the highway along the RR tracks. He stopped by the stable and went in and came out with a few sodas. “I want you to see some new horses I just had delivered last evening in the back pasture.” Her dad handed the sodas to Jack and Maggie.
“Thanks, Dad, I needed a drink. So, are they broke?”
Jack started feeling a bit uncomfortable as he began to see a theme here. He was going to have them break those horses. That’s fine, but it’s a lot of hard work, and he got the feeling her dad will be putting him through a test of some kind. Jack had no worries as he had broke horses many times before, but it had been about ten years since he did it. They drove down the river road and crossed the bridge, driving until they reached the other side of the river bottom where a nice green pasture awaited them. The horses ran to the far side when they saw them. “Oh wow, Dad, those guys are wild.” Maggie took off her sunglasses and looked harder. “Wait, Dad, isn’t that Jingles out there?”
Carson smiled. “Yes, and look at those new colts. We are going to have some very fine mustangs.”
“How in the world did you finagle this?” Maggie was smiling excitedly.
Jack was intrigued by what her dad was trying to do. Jack had been breeding horses at two of his ranches but had never considered the mustangs.
Carson got out of the vehicle and walked toward the fence line. “Jacobs has mustangs running on his ranch, so I put Jingles in there with them.”
Maggie and Jack walked over to get a closer look. “What’re you going to do with them?”
Discovered by Her Billionaire Page 5