The Rancher's Redemption (The Millers of Morgan Valley Book 2)

by Kate Pearce

  “I’ve finished at college now, so I suppose it doesn’t matter about the house that much.” Rachel picked up another cookie. “I don’t think I would’ve found an engineering job in Humboldt.”

  “Probably not. What do you plan to do with that fancy degree of yours?”

  “I’m not sure.” Rachel considered. “I could go abroad and work in the mining industry, or I could stay here. There’s always a demand for engineers. It just depends what comes up first.”

  Some part of her longed to travel, but the new uncertainty of her adopted father’s unexpected marriage had shaken her complacency. After the first years of her life when it had just been her and her mom moving constantly around she’d always craved stability. When her mom had married Paul she’d been in heaven.

  “Well, while you’re here you can start looking for new opportunities,” Ruth said. “Chase knows everyone, and I’m sure he’d be happy to help.” Ruth finished her coffee and got to her feet. “I’ve just got to make this pie. Would you slice the apples for me? I need them really thin, mind.”

  Rachel gratefully took on the task while Ruth retrieved her pastry from the refrigerator and rolled it out on a floured board. Soon the kitchen would be filled with noisy Morgans and other family members. Rachel still felt like something of an outsider, but as she planned to stay awhile she hoped to remedy that.

  “January and Chase are in San Francisco, and Blue’s at the marine base in Bridgeport teaching horsemanship, so we won’t have everyone,” Ruth observed as she cut out a lattice top for the pie. “Chase says he’s buying me a bigger table, but I’m not sure where he thinks I’m going to put it.”

  Rachel handed Ruth the bowl of sliced apples and watched her work her magic with sugar, spices, and all things nice.

  “HW’s here?” Rachel asked.

  “Yup. Driving everyone mad as usual—especially Ry.”

  Rachel had liked Ry on sight, but getting to know his twin, HW, had taken longer. He was as wary of her as she was of him—for very good reasons. She sometimes suspected that he felt like an outsider in his own family as well.

  “I feel like everything in my life is up in the air right now,” Rachel blurted out.

  “That’s because it is.” Ruth covered the pie with pastry and added egg wash. “Change can be painful you know.”

  “Yeah . . .” Rachel tried to smile. “I’m really lucky to have somewhere to go while I sort myself out.”

  “Take as long as you need,” Ruth said as she added the pie to the bottom shelf of the oven. “Fresh air and hard work can help you think things through. Or, to put it another way, you’ll be so tired that you won’t have time to worry about anything before you fall asleep.”

  “I’ll need to work on my riding before I can be much help around here.” Rachel sighed. “Ry said I’m getting better but I’ll never—”

  Ruth smacked her gently on the arm with her wooden spoon. “How about you start by thinking more positively about yourself, young lady?”

  “You’re right,” Rachel said, grinning. “I’ve got to stop putting myself down.” She flung out her arms. “I’m young, I’ve got great prospects for a fulfilling and interesting career, and I have a family who loves me.”

  “You filming a commercial for the guest ranch, Rachel?”

  She turned her head to find Ry Morgan smiling down at her. She never had any problem telling him apart from his identical twin.

  “Nope.” She stood up and accepted the hug he offered her. “Just giving myself a pep talk.”

  Ry kissed her cheek. “I was worried that you were going to burst into song or something.”

  Ry had the same blond coloring as she did, but his eyes were hazel while hers were exactly the same blue as Ruth’s and Billy’s.

  “Mirrors crack when I sing, Ry. How are you, and how’s Avery?”

  “I’m good.” He kissed his grandma, and then took the seat next to Rachel. “Avery’s doing great. We got engaged.”

  “That’s awesome!” Rachel squealed. She really liked Avery, who was low-key like Ry and had a dry sense of humor that appealed to Rachel. “Is she living here now?”

  “Nope.” Ry grimaced. “She’s still at the Hayes Hotel where she says she’s staying until we get married. She says I need to find her a house to live in, and I’m working on it.”

  Ruth got up to check the pie, and Ry lowered his voice. “I’m getting pretty sick of creeping around here and the Hayes place at night, so I’d appreciate any help you can give me on the house building front.”

  “It’s not really my thing, but have you thought about buying some kind of modular house to speed things along?” Rachel asked. “You can always replace it later or use it as an office or a guesthouse when you build your real home.”

  “That’s a great idea.” Ry sat back. “All I’d have to do is get the services in, lay a flat foundation, and stick the house on it. Avery doesn’t want stairs, and she’d love something new, seeing as she’s had to put up with that historic hotel her whole life.”

  “I suspect it’s a little bit more complicated than that,” Rachel said. “But Chase has offered you land on the ranch to build on so you’ve got that covered.”

  “I’ll talk to Avery and see how she feels about that idea.” Ry grinned at her. “Thanks, Sis. I don’t have a lot of rodeo money stashed away like HW does. I was thinking I’d be offering Avery a tent to live in for the next ten years.”

  “I can see why she might prefer the hotel.” Rachel shuddered. “It gets so cold out there in the winter.”

  “Yeah. Mom hated it.” Ry’s smile faded, and he gave Rachel an awkward glance. “You probably knew that already, right?”

  “She was never happy when she was cold,” Rachel answered as diplomatically as she could. The subject of their mother was never going to be an easy one when Annie had walked out on her family after trying to drown her own baby and then five-year-old Ry in the bathtub. “I think that’s why she preferred the coast of California.”

  Ruth opened the oven, and a cloud of steam rose up. “The pie’s not done yet. Everything else looks good to go.”

  Rachel jumped to her feet, eager to get away from poor Ry, who looked as if he wished he hadn’t started down that particular path of conversation. If she was to make any real progress getting to know the Morgan side of her family, Rachel was going to have to keep probing those difficult subjects. Part of her wished she could just walk away from it all, but what would that accomplish? The Morgans were good people, and part of her desperately wanted that honest connection with them.

  As Ruth said, sometimes life wasn’t easy, and compared to most people in the world Rachel had nothing to complain about. A burst of laugher in the hallway alerted her to the fact that more Morgans were approaching, and she braced herself for impact. After her small family of three, the size of the Morgan family was sometimes overwhelming.

  “Rachel!” HW came over and clapped her on the shoulder. “Good to see you again. Are you staying for Christmas?”

  “I already told you that three times, HW.” Sam, HW’s better half, rolled her eyes as she came up beside them. “You never listen to me, you big dope.”

  HW side-hugged his girlfriend and winked at Rachel. “The thing is—ninety-nine percent of what Sam blathers on about I can take it or leave it. There’s just that tricky one percent when I should be paying attention.”

  Rachel found herself grinning back at them both as Sam thumped HW, and allowed herself to relax a little more. She could do this. They all wanted her here. Now she just had to convince herself to believe it.

  Chapter Two

  It was even worse than he’d imagined.... Cauy shook his head as he looked up at the leaden sky through what had once been the roof of the pigsty. He was good with his hands and could repair the outbuildings eventually, but it was going to take him a long while to bring the ranch back to what it had once been.

  He picked up some of the wooden planks and stacked them against th
e door, as if that would make a difference. He’d grab a coffee and take the truck out to check the perimeter fencing. It was a job all ranchers hated, but was also the most important one. Not that he had anything to keep within the boundaries of the property except some old memories. But he had plans for the place, and some money set aside for stock when he needed it, which was why the fence had to work.

  The sound of an engine laboring up the hill made Cauy step out into the yard. As far as he knew, no one was expecting him, but that didn’t mean his arrival hadn’t been noticed. Small towns were the same wherever you lived.

  The white truck belonged to the sheriff’s department and he relaxed his stance. He’d forgotten how to look friendly, so concentrated on looking like a dependable citizen as the uniformed man got out of the driver’s seat.

  “Hey,” Cauy called out. “Can I help you?”

  “Good morning.” The guy came toward Cauy. He looked slightly familiar. “I’m Nate Turner, the deputy sheriff. I had a call that lights were seen up here, and came to check it out.”

  Morgan Valley was obviously still not a crime hot spot if the sheriff had time to investigate every call he received. Cauy stuck out his hand. “I’m Cauy Lymond. Mark’s son.”

  Nate shook his hand. “I thought you looked familiar. Long time since you’ve been around here though, right?”

  “Yup, about fourteen years.”

  “Where were you based?”

  Cauy didn’t normally like answering so many questions, but Nate Turner was the law around these parts.

  “Texas. I worked in the oil industry.”

  “Yeah?” Nate smiled. “I just came back from a wedding over there. It’s beautiful cattle country.”

  Cauy didn’t allow himself to get distracted and focused on the present. “I think we were at school together.”

  “Possibly, or it might have been one of my siblings. We’re a big family. Like the Morgans.” Nate looked around at the dilapidated buildings, his expression dubious. “You planning on staying here?”

  “I came to take stock of the place. My dad left the ranch directly to me. I’m not sure whether it’s worth saving right now.”

  Nate took off his hat and scratched his head. “Yeah . . . it looks like you have a bit to do.” The deputy sheriff was obviously a born diplomat, which probably helped in his job. “I thought the Morgans offered to buy it from your father, but I might be wrong. You should check in with Chase. He’s the one with all the money these days and he’s a great guy.”

  “So I hear.” Cauy kept his opinion of the Morgans to himself. “Thanks for letting me know.”

  “No problem.” Nate handed Cauy his card. “If you need anything, or have any problems with vandalism, or pot growing on your land let me know.”

  “People grow weed out here?” Cauy asked. “And I thought this place was still living in the past.”

  “You’d be surprised.” Nate grimaced. “It might feel remote, but we’re not that far from some of the biggest cities in California. We don’t get a lot of violent crime, but it’s definitely on the increase.”

  “Good to know.” Cauy nodded. “Thanks for stopping by.”

  “You’re welcome.” Nate hesitated. “If you ever fancy having a drink there’s a group of us old-timers who meet up in the Red Dragon Bar every Friday night. You’d be more than welcome to join us.”

  “I doubt I’ll have much time to socialize, but thanks for the information.”

  He didn’t drink anymore either, but that wasn’t something he shared with just anybody. He’d managed to sound like a regular human being for at least a few minutes. His mom would be proud....

  “You’re welcome. Have a great day.” Nate got back into his truck, backed up, and set off down the road again, leaving Cauy to the blessed silence. He watched the truck until it disappeared from view, and wondered who’d ratted him out. His only neighbors were the Morgans. Seeing as they were after his land he wouldn’t be surprised if they were already keeping tabs on it.

  He decided to carry on with his plan to inspect the fence line. After that he’d probably be forced to go back to Morgantown for more provisions and gas, which meant two interactions with other people in one day.

  “Whoop-dee-whoop,” Cauy murmured as he found his truck keys. “Next thing you know I’ll be hosting a ball.”

  * * *

  “You sure you want to do this, Rachel?”

  Blue Morgan checked the horse’s saddle girth for the fifth time and turned toward her, a frown on his face.

  “Yes. I can take a picture of anything that looks broken and text it to you.” Rachel put on her gloves and allowed Blue to boost her up into the saddle. She gathered the reins and looked down into her brother’s worried blue eyes. “Seriously, I’ll be fine. You and Roy have enough to do today dealing with the last of the guests without having to check out those fences.”

  He still looked concerned, and she carried on talking.

  “I’ve got my phone, my backup phone, and more warm gear than I’d need to climb Everest. It’s a straight ride up to the mine, and if I follow the fence line I can’t get lost.”

  “As long as it doesn’t snow. That can turn you around real quick,” Blue countered, and then sighed. “Just call me if there is even the slightest problem, okay?”

  “Will do, Big Brother.”

  She grinned down at him. As a retired marine he hated things happening out of his control. If she’d known him growing up she figured she would never have had a boyfriend because he would’ve scared them all away.

  He returned her smile. “Yeah, I know I’m a mite overprotective. It drives Jenna nuts. I’m working on it.”

  Rachel blew him a kiss as he untied her sweet-tempered horse, Petunia—named by Roy—and stepped back.

  “I’ll be careful, BB. I promise.”

  She headed out into the weak winter sunshine and followed the ranch road upward toward higher ground. She could’ve gone by the creek, but the water was freezing and picking her way through the boulders while worrying about falling off would not have made her journey very pleasant. It was nice to be out of the house in the crisp, clear air.

  Roy thought someone had been tampering with the fence surrounding the abandoned silver mine so Rachel had volunteered to go and check it out. The fence had only recently been put in so there was no reason to suppose it had simply fallen into disrepair. Chase was terrified that someone would get into the old mine and end up dead, which Rachel knew wasn’t exactly unheard of.

  She was dying to take a closer look at the mine works herself, and had added her hard hat and safety gear to her saddlebags when Blue wasn’t looking. Chase had already asked her advice about the structure and safety of the place so she wasn’t trespassing or anything. She had a map of where the family thought the shafts were located, and of each branch of tunnels, but no one was really sure what was down there.

  Chase said it was too dangerous and was checking into new technology that could go down the shafts, and allow him to take a look without human involvement. Although Rachel knew he was right, she still wanted to see the place for herself. It was part of the town’s history. Most of the families who settled in Morgantown had been involved in the mine at some point, and local interest in the place was high. Which was probably why people constantly tried to break in....

  Determined not to get lost, she obediently followed the fence line up to the high plateau where the mine buildings had once stood. There wasn’t much to see anymore in the barren landscape. The original pioneers had stripped out the forest, losing the topsoil and creating their very own California dust bowl in the process.

  From what she could see so far, the new fence looked fine, but there was at least another half a mile of it to examine on the far side of the mine.

  When she reached the boarded-up entrance with its huge DANGER DO NOT ENTER signs she couldn’t resist stopping and dismounting. The door was still padlocked and appeared in good shape. Rachel closed her eyes and
tried to imagine what the place had looked like a hundred years ago. She’d have to ask January if there were any old photos.

  She walked around to the left side where the foundations of a building remained and stopped. There was an almighty crack in the ground, which she was fairly certain hadn’t been there when she’d visited in the spring. It was about two feet across at its widest and stayed that way as far as she could see it. The valley did have the occasional earthquake so it was possible the shake had unsettled things down below.

  “This is not good,” Rachel murmured as she followed the zigzagging line toward the boundary fence she was supposed to be checking. The crack was narrowing rapidly. “I guess this might be why the fence is down.”

  She considered going back for her horse, but it wasn’t raining, and she wasn’t planning on going farther than the fence. She’d take some pictures, text Blue, and leave it at that. Keeping her gaze on the fracture she walked through the thin grass toward the wire encircling the area of the mine. The crack was definitely getting smaller, but it was still worrying.

  “Ah. There it is.”

  One of the fence posts had collapsed sideways into the fault, pulling the coils of wire down with it. Rachel dug out her cell phone and took a few quick pictures, stepping over the fence to where the fault line continued off into the next field.

  “Hey!”

  Rachel almost dropped her phone as a shadow fell over her. She clutched it to her chest and glared at the idiot who had shouted at her.

  “Who the hell are you?” Rachel gasped.

  The unknown cowboy raised an eyebrow. “You’re trespassing.”

  Rachel glanced down at her booted feet. “I’m about a yard over the boundary line, and I’m obviously checking out the damaged fence.”

  “You’re still on my land.”

  Rachel took a step back and elaborately climbed over the downed wire. “Happy now?”

  “Yeah.”

  She still couldn’t see much of his face under the brim of his brown cowboy hat and upturned collar. Not that she wanted to as he obviously had the major grouchies.