My Ranch My Way

by Misty Malone

  "Yeah, that's what Dad said. But I'd hate to think he'd be out to get his own family."

  "I agree, but your dad says Ralph's not too ambitious, and he'll have to go get a job unless you sell the ranch. I told him we'll keep our eyes open, just in case he tries to start trouble."

  "Good idea. He thought since he's lived here his whole life he was at least entitled to continue living here, even if I did inherit it, but Dad insisted he move. Just between you and me, I'm glad he's off the ranch," Chase said. "I want to start off running this place the way I feel it should be run. It would be harder with him here giving suggestions. I'd probably be second guessing everything I do."

  "Yes, you probably would, and that wouldn't be right. You deserve a fair chance from the start. It's your ranch, you run it your way."

  "My ranch, my way," Chase murmured. "I'll have to remember that."

  "So where did your Uncle Ralph go?"

  "He talked my Aunt Helen into letting him move in with her, saying a widow needs a man around the house. Dad says she won't let him sponge off her like Grandpa did. He'll have to find some kind of job and help her with the expenses, and he won't like that much."

  "Your Aunt Helen's local," Pete said, shaking his head. "We'll keep an eye out for any problems. Give me a call if you need me."

  "Okay, Pete, I will. Thanks again. Speaking of local family, I didn't know you have a daughter here."

  Pete looked at Chase and sighed. "You've met Cecelia?"

  "Just a little bit ago."

  Pete shook his head. "Do I owe you an apology on her behalf?"

  Chase had to chuckle. "Why would you ask that?"

  "Because I'm not sure what exactly her problem is lately, but she's been in one heck of a mood ever since she got back from college."

  "Is she just home for the summer?"

  "No, she graduated. She had plans for after college, both a job and a man she'd been seeing for several years, and all of a sudden, right at graduation they both fell through." He shrugged. "Or maybe one fell through and she canceled the other. She says she isn't ready to talk about it yet, so I'm not sure what exactly happened. The one thing I do know, though, is she's certainly not the daughter I had when she left for college."

  "I'm sorry to hear that," Chase said. "That does explain our encounter a little bit, though."

  "Was she rude beyond belief?"

  Chase searched for words, but before he found the ones he wanted, Pete said, "The silent pause says it all. I'm sorry, Chase. She's not really like that normally, but she's sure been trying my patience since she's been home. I'm starting to see glimpses of the old Cece pop out now and then, though, so I'm hopeful."

  "Thanks for explaining that to me, Pete. To answer your question, she tried to chase me off my land, saying it was your land and her old swimming hole. I told her I thought there was a misunderstanding, but she didn't see it quite that way. She'll probably be asking you about it when you get home."

  "Uh-oh. That was her favorite spot on the ranch. I had no idea she'd ever move back home or I would have kept it."

  "I told her she was welcome there, but she seemed upset that you may have sold it."

  "Sorry, Chase. I better get home so I can explain it to her. Hopefully she'll see that she owes you an apology."

  "Don't worry about it, Pete, or try to force it. If someone's mistreated her I can understand her mood. Give her time to work through it."

  "You're a good friend and neighbor, Chase McDermott. I better get home and face the music. She's probably waiting for me, mad as a wet hen."

  "Could be," Chase agreed with a grin. "Good luck."

  "Thanks. I'll probably need it," Pete said as he headed out the lane.

  * * * * *

  Cecelia left the handsome cowboy and went back to what she knew was still their land, where they still pastured horses. She had to calm down before she went home. She was angry with her father for selling that part of their land, and for not telling her he'd sold it, and she was angry at Chase. Face it; right now she was angry with the world. When she thought about it, though, she had to admit her father had every right to sell land he wasn't using, and it wasn't Chase's fault that it now belonged to him. She headed back home, needing to talk to her father

  Her mind wandered back to Chase McDermott. He looked to be a big man, at least six feet tall. And he was obviously comfortable on his big gelding, controlling it with ease. He looked muscular, but the type of muscles you get from working, not from a gym. If he inherited the ranch from his grandfather she guessed he'd been working on a ranch somewhere. It wouldn't make sense for his grandfather to leave it to him if he didn't think he could run it.

  Thinking about it, she didn't think he'd simply been one of the hired men on a ranch. As a rule, ranch hands weren't as polite as Chase seemed to be. He took his hat off as soon as he saw she was a woman, and no matter how rude she was to him, he never raised his voice. That got her thinking about her own reaction to him. She had been pretty rude. There was no other way to describe it. But why?

  It didn't take much for her to answer that question. Tom Weiss. She and Tom had been an item for almost four years back in Maryland, where she'd gone to school. They met their freshman year and had become practically inseparable. She and her friends were all sure the two of them were headed for marriage after graduation. But two days before graduation they'd had a long talk. What happened next had totally devastated her, and she'd sworn off men forever.

  She wasn't about to give any other man a chance at hurting her like that again. Especially him, she thought, thinking back to Chase. When she used to dream of men - before deciding they were all scumbags - the man of her dreams was nothing like Chase. She liked men who were handsome, which she had to admit Chase certainly was, but she liked sophisticated and well-dressed. He was too tall and muscular, all brawn and no brains. Then there was that unruly blond hair she longed to run her fingers through.

  Wait … where did that stray thought come from? She shook her head to clear those thoughts. She wouldn't be running her hands through any man's hair ever again. All she planned to do was get along with him as a neighbor, since she was sure they'd be seeing each other occasionally. He talked about her father as if they'd already become friends, which wouldn't surprise her; her father was friends with just about everyone he met. He wouldn't approve of her being rude to him, that was sure.

  By the time she got home she'd decided she would apologize and try to be civil.

  She rode to their barn and handed her horse, Ginger, off to one of their hands, and went to find her father. She found him in the office in the barn, talking on the phone. She waited until he was done with his call before speaking her mind.

  "Did you really sell my favorite spot on this whole ranch?"

  Cecelia's blunt question caught him offguard, and he sat staring at her a few moments. "Did you by chance meet our new neighbor, Chase?"

  "Dad, I can't believe you sold it!"

  Pete shook his head. "Honey, I honestly didn't know you liked that spot that much. And once you left for college I didn't think you'd come back here to stay. If I'd have known either of those facts I would have kept it. But it was right in the center of the land I sold Will."

  Cecelia sighed. "I know, Dad. You had every right to sell it, and I'm sorry for the way I reacted. And you're right, I didn't plan on moving back home. I still don't plan on staying, so it's not a big deal. I guess it just surprised me to see a man on what I thought was our land. Then when he told me it was his land—"

  She let her sentence hang, which Pete picked up on. "Cece, were you rude to our new neighbor?"

  When she still didn't respond, he sighed. "Honey, what is wrong with you lately? My sweet little girl who was full of smiles went off to college and has returned as a young lady with an attitude toward the whole world. What happened? I wish you'd talk to me about it. Maybe it'd make you feel better. Maybe not, but at least I'd know what happened. I feel like I'm walking on eggshells around
you, honey. I never know what to say, or what will set you off. I know something happened with you and Tom. You're obviously not together any longer, but I have no idea what it was, or if that's even what has you in this bad mood all the time any more. I do know one thing, though."

  She looked up at him. "What's that?"

  "You need to either lose the attitude and straighten up, or talk to me about it. I think I deserve that much." Without waiting for an answer he got up to leave. "And I hope you weren't too rude to Chase. He's a nice guy and he and I have the start of a nice neighborly relationship. And if you want to make it in this business, you need to have a good relationship with your neighbors."

  Chapter 2

  Cecelia stared at her father's back as he walked out of the barn. He'd never walked off on her like that before, and she wasn't sure what to make of it. She sat down in the closest chair and thought back over their discussion. Before long she felt tears running down her cheeks. Her father was right; she had been in a horrible mood since she'd gotten home. She was ashamed of the way she'd been acting lately. Her father didn't deserve that, and neither did their new neighbor. She swiped the tears away with the back of her hand and stood up, squaring her shoulders before walking to the house.

  She stopped by Pete's office on her way to the kitchen. "Dad, I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "You're right, again. Can we talk tonight after supper? I think I would feel better. I'm going to make you a good supper right now, and I'm going to make an extra dish to give Chase when I go apologize to him."

  Pete got up and went to hug his daughter. "Cece, that sounds like a wonderful idea, but don't make supper for me. I'm meeting someone in town tonight. We're going to talk about a possible trade of a few horses to get some new bloodlines."

  "You won't be here?"

  "No, but I think it's an excellent idea to take something over to Chase. Maybe he'll invite you to eat with him and you can get to know him a little bit. He really is a nice guy."

  "I don't know," she hesitated. Then, seeing the pleading look on her father's face, she gave in. "Okay, I'll take a dish over to him as a peace offering. If he insists, I'll stay, but don't ask me to offer on my own."

  "Fair enough," Pete agreed.

  Two hours later, Cecelia kissed her dad as he left to meet his friend, while she headed to the next ranch over to see Chase. She was nervous, though she wasn't really sure why. If he didn't accept her apology it wouldn't be any skin off her nose, she mused, except that she knew her dad would be disappointed in her. She'd done that too much lately. She hoped the evening turned out well.

  * * * * *

  Chase had just come in to wash up for supper when the doorbell rang. He dried his hands quickly and went to answer the door, shocked at what awaited him. Standing on his porch was what looked to be a little girl, her face obscured by the armload of things she was holding in front of her. Taped to the front of it was a sign that said, Welcome to the neighborhood. Do you accept peace offerings?

  He looked down and recognized the same cute little pink cowboy boots from earlier this afternoon. Reaching for the top two layers of things she held, he smiled. "I love peace offerings. Let me get some of this for you." He ushered her inside as he lightened her load. "Come on in, Cecelia. What is all this stuff?"

  Cecelia relaxed a bit when she saw how gracious he was being. He had every right to be upset with her, but he was a real gentleman about it. Maybe she'd been too quick to judge him.

  "Mr. McDermott, I'd like to apologize for this afternoon. I was in a bad mood and I didn't realize Dad sold my favorite spot on what I thought was our ranch. I realize that's no excuse, but it's all I've got. I brought you something for supper, kind of my way of showing you I'm sorry, and to welcome you to the neighborhood. If you've already eaten you can put it in the refrigerator and just heat it up when you're ready for it."

  "Boy, that was a lot to take in in a short amount of time," he said, grinning. "First off, I haven't eaten supper yet, and this smells delicious. Have you eaten?"

  "Actually, no, I haven't," she admitted.

  "Good. Would you stay and eat with me, please? It might be nice to get to know each other a little bit. We are neighbors, after all. I'd like to think we could be friends, as well."

  "Friends would be nice," she said, trying to convince herself such a thing was possible.

  "Good. Let me set the table while you put out whatever smells so good. Do you need to heat anything up?"

  "No, this should still be warm. I took it out of the oven and came straight over here."

  Ten minutes later they sat down to eat. Cecelia had fixed chicken with stuffing, and mashed potatoes and gravy, along with homemade dinner rolls, green beans with almonds, cole slaw, and a peach pie for dessert.

  "I have some iced tea I made today," Chase offered. "Do you like tea?"

  "I love iced tea, unless it's that instant tea," she said. She quickly added, "If it's instant, water will be fine."

  Chase chuckled. "I like a woman who speaks her mind. I can't stand instant iced tea, either, so don't worry about that."

  "Oh, good. I didn't mean to sound picky, it's just that most men—"

  He chuckled again. "And I'm not a chef, either, but I can make sun tea. Put a jar of water in the sun, put a few tea bags in it and a lid on it to keep the bugs out. When I come in for lunch I just have to add the sugar and ice. That I can manage." He grinned. "Then I go out to the bunkhouse and eat with the men so I get some decent food."

  She looked at him curiously. "Are you serious? I just assumed you had someone who cooked for you and took care of your house. Running a ranch is a full time job plus some. You can't have much time to be cooking or cleaning a house." Without realizing, she gave a cursory glance around the kitchen.

  Chase broke into a laugh. "I do have someone," he clarified, "but she's visiting family this week. I'm sorry; I should have said that better. Normally I eat in here with my foreman, Ty, but this week while she's gone we've been eating with the men." Laughing again, he said, "I can only imagine what you were thinking. I wouldn't have wanted to eat in any kitchen I was responsible for keeping clean, either."

  Cecelia couldn't help but giggle. "Oh, I'm sure it wouldn't be that bad," she said politely.

  "Oh, yes, it would. I may know my way around horses and cattle, but I know nothing about keeping a house in order. I would be totally lost in here without Stella."

  "It's nice that you let her visit her family. I'm sure you're extremely busy right now since it's spring, but you're also trying to familiarize yourself with a new ranch and hired hands. Were most of the hands here with your grandfather?"

  "Several of them were, but there's a few new ones. Ty, my foreman, came here with me. None of the men have worked with him before, so we're all kind of learning together."

  "Well, a year from now you guys will be working together like a well-oiled machine," she said.

  "I hope so. I hope I can show my family Grandpa didn't make a mistake leaving the ranch to me."

  "I'm sure you'll do fine," she encouraged.

  "I hope you're right. I know one thing you're right about," he said, smiling at her.

  "What's that?"

  "You're a right good cook. This is delicious."

  "And the iced tea's right good, too," she returned.

  "The tea I can make. Now coffee, on the other hand—"

  "Do you want me to make some coffee to go with the pie?"

  "Coffee and pie sounds wonderful, but I honestly don't know how to make it."

  "Let me look at your coffee pot. Maybe I can teach you how to make it."

  "You can look at it, but not until after we finish this wonderful meal."

  She couldn't help but smile at the heartfelt compliment. Half an hour later they both took a piece of pie and cup of coffee outside to enjoy it on his patio. Before they knew it, two hours had passed, and they were still talking and laughing.

  Cecelia looked up and saw the clock on the side of his pool house. "Oh,
my goodness, Chase, I had no idea I'd kept you so late." She quickly jumped up to gather their dishes and headed for the kitchen.

  "Please don't apologize, Cecelia. I've really enjoyed this evening and had no idea it was this late, either. I'm glad we got to know each other a little bit. And thank you so much for supper."

  "You're welcome. I obviously enjoyed the evening, as well, or I wouldn't have stayed this long. I've got to let you get some sleep. I know morning comes early on a ranch."

  "That it does," Chase agreed, "but it doesn't seem so early if you've got pleasant memories from the night before." She flashed him another smile, which he was really coming to enjoy.

  "I put the rest of the meal in the refrigerator for you, and I'll put the pie there, too. When you want more you can heat it up in your microwave." She turned to look at him and asked, "Do you know how to use it?"

  "Barely," he admitted with a grin, "but I do know how to heat up leftovers. If you're sure you don't mind leaving them I can assure you not one bite will go to waste. It was all delicious. I'll return your containers when they're empty."

  She'd moved to the sink, and he told her, "And don't worry about the dishes. I noticed you already rinsed the plates off, and they'll be fine. I'll just add more to it tomorrow, and washing dishes is something I do know how to do. My mom made sure of that."

  "Your mom taught you how to wash dishes?" she asked.

  "Absolutely. And to be sure I had it down, I had to wash them every other night."

  "Seriously?" Cecelia was a little shocked. She couldn't picture this big strong cowboy washing dishes every other day as a little boy. Actually, it was hard enough trying to picture this big strong cowboy as a little boy.

  "My sister and I had to take turns," he said. "She'd rather have been working outside like me, so Mom and Dad said it wouldn't hurt us to take turns."

  Chase watched Cece's face. "You look a little surprised," he noted with a chuckle.

  "I guess I am," she answered. "But I'm impressed with your parents."

  "I am, too," he said with a grin. "Why are you impressed with them?"