Rancher to the Rescue

by Patricia Forsythe

  The thought made her feel panicky, so she forced herself to focus on each day and not borrow trouble from the future.

  Gus was busy getting ready for his expedition and had little time for the ranch or the cowboy college. He was present, but it was as if he was already gone. Zannah missed him and, on the rare occasions she saw him, wondered who he had become.

  She was still angry with him for keeping their financial problems a secret and still profoundly hurt by the way he had brought Brady in.

  Part of her wanted to sabotage Brady, turn the staff against him, but that would only harm everyone involved.

  Even if she hadn’t already known it was wrong, all she had to do was recall the kinds of conflicts she’d witnessed in her previous career to stop all such thoughts of sabotage. Someone always lost in that kind of confrontation.

  Her thoughts returned to Gus, who truly would have been gone already if he wasn’t waiting to see Casey, Emma and Joelle.

  She said as much to Sharlene one morning when Brady had been at the ranch for six days. They were taking inventory of the housekeeping supplies.

  “You’re right. He’ll be gone as soon as he’s seen Casey and the girls. He’s become a man on a mission,” the older woman said.

  “Yes, I know.”

  Sharlene placed a box of guest soaps on the shelf and turned to give Zannah her full attention. “You understand with your head, but not with your heart.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He’s always worked hard. That’s why he wanted you and Casey to get college degrees, so you two could have an easier life. When you decided to come back here—”

  “He was disappointed?”

  “No.” Sharlene shook her head vigorously. “He saw it as his chance to turn things over to you and do something else for a while. I’m sure that, since he had provided all he could for you, including your college education, and you had decided to come home, he feels he can do what he wants.” She laughed ruefully. “Silly me. I thought he’d take up a hobby like whittling. I never thought he’d be stricken with gold fever.”

  Zannah considered that as she opened a box of tiny shampoo bottles and placed it behind a nearly empty one. “What if he never wants to be involved with the ranch again?”

  “Then he’ll have the retirement he deserves, and he’ll know you have a reliable partner to help you.”

  Partner maybe, Zannah thought. Reliable, she wasn’t too sure. With Brady’s big variety of interests and ideas, she didn’t know if he’d want to stick around here and shoulder the workload Eaglecrest required.

  “Zannah,” Sharlene said gently, “you’ve reached the point where you simply have to accept what’s happening.”

  With a rueful smile, Zannah admitted, “I know that with my head, but not with my heart.”

  “There you go again,” Sharlene said with a smile. “Throwing my own words back at me.”

  Zannah shrugged. “I understand that he feels like life is passing him by.”

  Sharlene paused in what she was doing and looked at Zannah. “Yes, he’s said as much.”

  “Yeah, to me, too. I don’t think I’d want to be his age, or even close to his age, and feel like I’d never followed a dream or pursued something that was important to me.”

  Sharlene didn’t respond but stood with her hands resting on a shelf for a while. Zannah was going to ask if she was okay when she gave a shake of her head and finished her task.

  Afterward, Zannah walked outside and looked around to see what was going on. Everyone seemed to be busy.

  She saw Brady enter the garage with a couple of men she didn’t recognize. Curious, she followed them and found them loading equipment into the larger of the two four-wheelers, which Brady had put back into working order.

  When she walked in, all three men turned to look at her, but only Brady’s expression grew wary.

  “Oh, hey, Zannah,” he said, attempting to stand nonchalantly before a large case he’d loaded into the back of the quad. “I thought you were helping Sharlene.”

  “I was,” she answered as she walked up to him. She made a big show of standing on tiptoe to peek over his shoulder. “Whatcha doin’?”

  He reached out an arm to block her view. “I’m taking my friends here on a tour of Eaglecrest.”

  One of the men gave Brady a curious look while the other engaged in a coughing fit.

  “Oh really?” Zannah ducked under his arm to see what he was trying to hide. The case he’d put in the quad was printed with words, which she read out loud. “‘Warner and Baker, Surveyors.”” Beside it was what looked suspiciously like a tripod.

  She gave him a level stare and then turned to smile at the two men. “I’m guessing you’re Mr. Warner and Mr. Baker.”

  “Yes, miss.”

  “Well, it’s nice to meet you,” she said far too sweetly as she shook their hands. “I’m Zannah Worth, owner of Eaglecrest.”

  Both men looked at Brady, who responded, “Part owner.” He gave them a hearty smile. “Why don’t you two climb on in? I’ll be right back.” He took Zannah’s arm and hustled her toward the open doorway, where she jerked her elbow out of his grasp and rounded on him.

  “You’ve got some explaining to do, Brady. Why are there two surveyors here?”

  “They always work in pairs,” he hedged.

  “You know what I mean,” she responded in a low, angry tone.

  “They’re going to survey Hawk’s Eye Mesa.”

  “Whatever for?” She drew in a quick breath. “You’re not thinking of building something up there? You can’t!”

  “It might be the perfect place.”

  “For—?”

  “Homes, vacation homes, condos. We’re not sure yet.”

  She slapped her hands onto her hips and leaned closer to him. “I’m sure that it’s not going to happen. Where did you get such a crazy idea?”

  “We’ll talk about this later.”

  “We should have talked about this already.”

  “There’s a good reason we haven’t, Zannah, and you’re demonstrating that reason right now.”

  “Which is?” she asked, her voice tight with anger.

  “Your unreasonableness.”

  Furious color washed into her face at the unfairness of that statement, and she sputtered. “Un...un...unreasonableness? I...”

  “According to my agreement with Gus, I can explore any further moneymaking possibilities before we actually sign the papers. I have to know this place will turn a profit.”

  “Not by building on Hawk’s Eye!”

  He jerked a thumb toward the quad. “It has to wait, Zannah. I’m paying these guys by the hour.”

  Sucking in a quick, furious breath, she said, “Fine. I’m coming with you, but don’t think this discussion is over.” Turning, she stomped away.

  “I wouldn’t dare,” he responded in a dry tone.

  The trip to Hawk’s Eye Mesa was made in an awkward silence with all three men sending wary glances at the angry woman accompanying them.

  When they reached the top of the mesa, the surveyors got busy with their task while Zannah grabbed Brady’s sleeve and dragged him far away from them.

  “Start talking,” she snapped.

  “I didn’t tell you about this idea, because it might come to nothing.”

  “Well, I could have saved you the time and trouble by saying it’s guaranteed to come to nothing.”

  “Why?”

  Zannah threw her hands wide to encompass the mesa. “This is an unspoiled area that needs to be left alone.”

  “I repeat. Why?”

  “Because that’s—”

  “The way it’s always been done?”

  “Stop interrupting me,” she insisted. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

  �
�I already said, it’s because I knew you wouldn’t listen—at least not until I had a lot more to share. Right now, I’m only gathering information.”

  “I can give you information. What do you want to know? How important this place is to my family? The priceless memories we have of times here with my mom?” Along with her anger, she felt betrayed because she had shown him this wonderful place, so precious to her, but he saw it only as another money-making opportunity.

  “We can’t pay the bills with happy memories. Zannah, you’ve seen every unpaid invoice that I’ve seen.”

  “Well, yes, but we haven’t even begun the conversation about how to pay everything off.”

  “We’re starting it now.” He took a deep breath. “We’re going to need much more than I had anticipated.”

  Zannah stared at him. “Am...am I going to lose Eaglecrest?”

  “No,” he said quickly. “No, but we have to be practical about how we can raise capital.”

  “And you think developing Hawk’s Eye Mesa is the way to do it?”

  “Right now, I think it’s the only way.”

  “There are other areas on the ranch.” She turned in a circle. “Look at it. It’s untouched, pristine.”

  “Which is why it’s perfect.”

  She shook her head, trying to form words for an argument at the same time she forced back the tears she could feel starting.

  “Look, Zannah. People would certainly buy property anywhere on the ranch to build a summer home or weekend place, but we could ask premium prices on lots up here because it is pristine and untouched.”

  “It will be ruined.”

  “Not if we—”

  “No. We’re not doing this.” She turned away, scooping her cell phone out of her pocket as she did so. “I’m calling my dad. He’ll back me up.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  She glanced down at the screen. “Ha,” she exclaimed, waving the phone at him. “This will kill your plans right now. That cliff over there doesn’t just block the wind, it blocks cell phone service, but don’t worry about that. Maybe you can put up a lovely cell phone tower, too.”

  * * *

  SHARLENE FINISHED CHECKING the guest rooms and turned to her newest employee, Lauren Blake. She had been recommended by a friend in town, who had told Sharlene the young woman was new in the area and in need of steady employment and a place to stay for herself and her young daughter, Rebecca.

  “You did an excellent job today, Lauren. I loved the way you fashioned the hand towels and washcloths into little cowboy hats. Did you think of that yourself?”

  Lauren nodded shyly. “It came to me, so I tried it. It looked like a blob until I used the washcloth to make the crown of the hat, then put a crease in it.”

  “Very clever. It adds a nice touch.”

  “Thank you.”

  As Lauren took her cart of cleaning supplies and moved on to the next room, Sharlene gave the younger woman a critical look. She was tall and far too thin. Her little girl was seven but small for her age. Although Sharlene knew only a few sketchy details, she knew two of them had come from Los Angeles in a car far older than Lauren herself, and they had experienced rough times. She was glad to give them a safe haven.

  She started toward her tiny office on the ground floor, thinking about the number of people who had found Eaglecrest to be a safe haven. A big believer that hard work was more valuable than coddling a new employee, Gus had always been willing to give people a trial period, working with them until they learned the ropes and often watching in annoyance as they took their fresh skills and went to work for someone else. She had received many an earful about the ingratitude of some people.

  On the other hand, he didn’t want people around who didn’t want to work here. Pride of place had always been uppermost in his mind.

  Until recently.

  Sharlene entered her office and located the list she’d compiled of the housekeeping supplies they needed, then called her supplier and placed an order. She had a dozen things that needed to be completed, but she did none of them, instead sitting at her desk and looking out the window at the beauty of the mountains in the distance. That was one of the best things about living here—there was a gorgeous view from every window.

  She had loved living and working here, but things were changing. Her conversation with Zannah weighed on her mind.

  Before she could become too lost in thought, the door opened and Gus strolled in, his arms laden with those blasted charts he’d been studying for weeks.

  “Hey, Sharlene, look at this,” he insisted, dropping the maps and charts onto her clean desktop. One of them rolled toward her, and she put out a hand to stop it.

  Somehow, seeing his single-minded focus, as well as the heedless way he’d dropped the dusty papers onto her desk, hardened something in her.

  “I’m really not interested.” She pushed the documents away. “This is your project, your obsession, and you’re welcome to it.”

  He looked up and blinked. “What?”

  “You’ve become obsessed with finding that blasted mine, and you have a perfect right to do that, and I have a perfect right to not hear a word about it.”

  His face crinkled in puzzlement. “Huh?”

  “You heard me.”

  He took off his hat and resettled it on his head in the characteristic gesture he used when gathering his thoughts. “But you’ve listened to me every time I’ve talked about it.”

  “Not anymore.”

  “So you’re against me now, too, are you?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Oh, of course not. But I am against the way you’ve handled all of this.”

  He took off his hat again, but this time he tossed it onto her desk. “Has Zannah been talking to you?”

  “Not much. She’s too busy trying to stay afloat in the lake of selfishness you’ve dropped her into.” Sharlene picked up his hat and smashed it against his chest.

  His mouth dropped open as he stared at her. “Well—I—I—what—what’s the matter with you?”

  “Not a blessed thing that a break from you won’t cure.” Angrily, she snatched the maps and charts from her desk and shoved them back into his arms, causing him to take a step back and view her with growing alarm.

  “Are you leaving? You—you can’t.”

  “If you can, I can.”

  “But—but I was counting on you to be here to take care of things.”

  “Like I’ve been doing for ten years?”

  “What’s gotten into you?”

  “I’m suddenly seeing things clearly.” She clapped her hands onto her hips and tilted her head to the side as she studied him. “I spent ten minutes this morning convincing your daughter that she simply needs to accept what you’re doing and that if it doesn’t work out, you can retire and enjoy the rest of your life.”

  “Um, thank you?” he said uncertainly.

  “But now I realize I’ve given you far too much credit in this. It’s a terrible habit I’ve developed over the years, because I felt like I had no choice. I was bound by a promise.”

  “And that’s bad?”

  “Not entirely. Esther was the best friend I’ve ever had in my life—from grade school to her deathbed.”

  “Yeah, I know that.”

  “Before she died, she made me promise her that I’d look after you and Zannah—Casey, too, if need be—and I was happy to make that promise.”

  “And I was glad you made that promise, ’cause it made her last days easier.”

  “I guess I’m a little slow, because when I first realized that your plan was to go off into the mountains and chase after a fairy tale, I thought it would be all right, that you’d come to your senses, but that isn’t going to happen, is it?” She tapped a finger on the rolls of paper she’d shoved back into his arms. “You’re actually
going to do this.”

  “Well, yeah. I haven’t made any secret of it.” His face flushed. “Okay, I’m not making a secret of it any longer.”

  “So, maybe I want to do something like that, too.” Sharlene turned to pace the small room, coming back to stand before him once again.

  “You want to look for gold?”

  “No. I want to do something different, like you want to. My promise to Esther has kept me here, but I’m reaching retirement age, and I need to think about my future. There were things I wanted to do, places I wanted to go, but I’d promised Esther I’d look after you.”

  “But you’re not leaving, are you?” he asked again.

  “I don’t know yet. I don’t know that I would want to do that to Zannah, but be warned. Once she and Brady get their partnership worked out and things are going smoothly, you might come back from your hunt for gold and find me gone.”

  Gus gulped in a lungful of air as if someone had jerked a rug from beneath his feet and he’d landed on his backside. “Now, don’t be hasty, Sharlene.”

  “Like you? I already said I won’t leave Zannah in the lurch, so don’t worry.” She waved a dismissive hand at him. “And, by the way, if you keep treating your hat like that, you’ll have to take it into town to get it steamed and reshaped so you’ll look spiffy for your trip to nowhere. Now, run along. I’ve got work to do.”

  She strode to the door and held it open while he scooted past her. Once he was outside, she closed the door and walked away with the sharp, firm steps of an angry woman.

  Behind her, she could hear him mutter, “What did I say?”

  CHAPTER SIX

  “THE NEXT STEP is to get the Environmental Protection Agency out here,” the surveyor named Tony Baker was saying. He looked from Brady’s intent face to Zannah’s rebellious one. “Actually, that should have been your first step. I’m guessing you two have never been involved in a project of this magnitude before.”