Rancher to the Rescue

by Patricia Forsythe

  “This is better than a stage play,” he murmured, fascinated by the way she was obviously trying to be firm, yet not hurt their feelings.

  He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest as he watched.

  One of Zannah’s friends unobtrusively placed a couple of vases of flowers in front of the pile of gifts, and he wondered how many not-little-girl-appropriate items were among them. The other women rallied around, got the girls some food and cups of soft drinks, and included them in the conversation.

  It was easy to see who the bride was, because she had a hot-pink veil on her head. It was interesting that she wasn’t the center of attention, though. Zannah was. Maybe it was because they hadn’t seen each other in a long time, but all the guests seemed to gravitate toward her, sitting by her, moving away, coming back. She gave each of them her undivided attention, probably asking questions, but also listening in that way she had, tilting her head slightly and squinting her right eye a tiny bit.

  They were all drawn to her. As he was.

  “This is wrong,” he muttered, straightening away from the wall and heading outside. “I’ve got to get to that poker game.”

  As he walked toward his cabin, he was shaken by the thoughts that were forming, the certainty that Zannah had become far more important to him than he realized.

  And that kiss! It was true that she had initiated it, but he had been a willing and eager participant.

  When she had kissed the scrapes on his face, he’d been overwhelmed with tenderness and a fierce desire to grab her and hold on, but he was afraid it would terrify her. He knew her well enough now to understand that she was a combination of strength and vulnerability. He wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize either of those qualities.

  Everything they had been through since his arrival, every talk, every argument, flew through his mind. The certainty of his plan to win his dad’s challenge, the straight-line path to finish up here and move on, suddenly seemed far less appealing.

  Oh, who was he kidding? He’d known for days that he was falling for her.

  He stopped with his hand on the doorknob as the realization overtook him—he didn’t want to leave Eaglecrest. He didn’t want to leave her.

  * * *

  “BRADY, IS SOMETHING WRONG?” Zannah looked at him with concern. “You’ve hardly said a word all morning.” She smiled faintly. “Did you lose at poker?”

  “Not too badly. You’re right, though. Lucas Fordham is kind of a shark.”

  They were standing by the corral, waiting for her friends who had insisted they wanted to go horseback riding, although she knew at least two of them would be the worse for wear due to the amount of wine they’d drunk the night before.

  Her nieces were there, fairly dancing with excitement as they waited for the women to arrive. Zannah had quickly realized last night that there was no point in trying to keep them away from the festivities. The girls were too enthralled with her friends. Two of them, Abby and Sarah, were her colleagues from her old job, and two, Sandrine and Violette, had lived in her apartment building. They were showgirls who had started a dance and exercise class all of the others had joined. They were great fun and never looked less than gorgeous.

  However, due to the nature of their jobs, they weren’t usually up this early, and none of them had much experience on horseback. This might be a short ride.

  Emma and Joelle were getting tired of waiting. She had given them her phone so they could play some games.

  “Are you okay?” She studied Brady’s face, which was healing nicely. “You seem a million miles away.”

  “Not that far. Over on the main road.” He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it before handing it to her. “I was going to wait to show this to you, but I need to make some calls today about it. We received all the bids for the repair work that’s needed.” He looked grim as he added, “I compiled them into one spreadsheet—lowest bidder at the top—but it’s a moot point since, top to bottom, there’s only a few dollars’ worth of difference.”

  Alarmed, Zannah scanned the paper. She gulped as she stared at it. “Seriously?” she asked in a weak voice. “This isn’t a misprint?”

  “Don’t I wish. Repairs will be much more extensive than repaving. All the contractors say we have to scrape it down to the base and basically start again, not to mention building new bridges over the two washes the road crosses. If we do it right, though, we’ll probably never have to do it again.”

  When she didn’t respond, he went on, “I didn’t want to show this to you until after your friends left, but the surveyors we used recommended Olsen Construction. They can start next week.”

  Zannah’s stunned brain tried to take in what he was saying even as she looked at the numbers and tried to balance them with what was in their bank account. Not even close.

  “We can’t afford this.”

  “We can’t afford not to do it, Zannah. The old road we’re using can’t handle the traffic, and it’s in even more danger of washing out with every rainstorm. The monsoon season is only beginning, which means we could be completely cut off.”

  “I... I know. I get that, but...wow, this is huge.”

  “Yes, but we have to also think about safety. What if we had a disaster, like fire or a medical need? Emergency vehicles couldn’t get in here.”

  Brady propped his forearms on the top rail of the corral and ran his thumb across his chin.

  She appreciated that he was giving her a minute to think, but she couldn’t seem to get past the enormous numbers.

  “Will we have to get a loan?”

  “Maybe short-term.” He turned to look at her. “I’ve got something else in mind.”

  “You mentioned that yesterday. What is it, exactly?”

  Before he could answer, her phone rang, and Joelle called out, “Aunt Zee, it’s Grandpa again.” She touched the green button and asked eagerly, “Grandpa, did you find the treasure yet?”

  “No, but I know I’m in the right place,” Gus answered. Joelle put the phone on speaker, and his voice boomed out, “Where’s Zannah?”

  “Here I am,” she called out, then gave Brady a regretful look.

  “I’ll catch you later,” he said, then glanced over his shoulder as he heard her friends approaching. “I’ll take care of them.”

  “Thanks.” Feeling frazzled, she hurried to the phone, but Joelle and Emma were peppering their grandfather with questions.

  “No, you can’t join me, girls, but if you’ll look in my room, on top of my desk, you can see a map of exactly where I am, on Anvil Peak. That way, you’ll see where I am the next time I call. Sorry I didn’t think of that sooner.”

  Neither of them seemed to like the idea of looking on a map instead of going to help him, but they grudgingly agreed, talked for a few more minutes and handed the phone to Zannah.

  She glanced up and experienced a moment of humor as she saw Brady surrounded by her friends, including Sandrine and Violette, who wore jeans the way they were intended to be worn.

  * * *

  “SO YOU’RE HER new partner, right?” the one named Sarah asked him.

  “That’s right.” Brady looked at the half circle of women before him. A couple of sets of eyes were decidedly bloodshot, but all were laser focused on him. He was grateful they didn’t comment on his still banged-up face.

  “This place means everything to her,” a statuesque blonde pointed out. He didn’t know her name at all but thought Ms. Gorgeous would fit both her and her friend. They looked as if they wouldn’t put up with any nonsense. Good thing he didn’t plan to give them any.

  “Yes, it does.”

  “She’s a really strong woman. She had to be, with what she went through.”

  “Yes,” he agreed, wondering where they were going with this. “Her mother’s death—”

  “That
was only the start.” The one named Abby, who was still wearing her veil, stepped forward. “She went through years of torture in her job. It’s the kind where you have to work hard to separate yourself from it, but she was stubborn, so she stuck it out long after she should have left.”

  “Not stubborn,” he found himself saying. “Maybe conscientious?”

  All four women exchanged pleased smiles.

  “And this place means everything to her,” Abby added.

  “I know.” He looked from one to the other of them and decided they weren’t exactly suspicious. More like cautious. She was lucky to have friends like these. “It’s her refuge.” He hadn’t even known he understood that until he said it out loud.

  The women’s smiles went even broader and were filled with satisfaction.

  “He gets it,” another of the majestic ones said. “She’ll be all right.”

  To his complete amazement, she gently patted his cheek as if he was a toddler, then turned toward the saddled horses and asked, “So how do we get on these beasts?”

  To his relief, Juan arrived right then, and he was more than happy to help these beautiful ladies. Zannah ended her call and returned to the group, but there was no time for them to resume their talk. He knew it would have to wait until after her friends left.

  He had a few more clues as to what her work life had been like in Vegas. He was deeply grateful that these women had been there to support her, and then wondered when or if he’d ever had a thought like that about a colleague.

  Once the group left on their trail ride, he returned to the office and the tough decision they needed to make. An uneasy feeling was growing that it would either make or break them.

  * * *

  “WE HAD MAP-READING in class last year,” Emma informed her little sister. “Mrs. Gomez said we can’t always depend on GPS and phones. She even taught us how to use a real compass. It’s called orienteering. She talked about it for days, and we had all kinds of activities and then we had a test.”

  They were standing in their room, staring down at the map their grandfather had told them about. Joelle frowned at the squiggly lines she still didn’t understand. She gave her sister a dubious look. Emma was always so sure of herself, so full of ideas that sometimes got them into trouble.

  “So, with the map and a compass, we can find Grandpa?”

  “Yes.” She pointed. “See, here’s Anvil Peak, and here’s Two Horse Canyon. He’s in one of those places and he needs our help.”

  “Do you have a compass?”

  “No, but I’m sure we can get one. I’ll bet there’s one in Grandpa’s room or his office. He would want us to use it,” she said with complete confidence.

  “But we’ll get in big trouble.”

  “Not if we help him find the gold. Then everybody will be too happy to be mad at us.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Emma clapped her hands onto her hips and faced her little sister. “Listen, Jo. We’ve heard Zannah and Brady and Grandpa talking about money like a million times. If they had the gold, they’d never have to worry again. I’ll bet they would even share with Mom and Dad.” She paused, obviously liking that idea. “We could get a pool.”

  She started to fold up the map, then stopped and looked up like a great idea had hit her. Uh-oh. Joelle knew that look all too well.

  “What?”

  “We could be famous,” Emma said in a reverent tone.

  “We could? How?” This was beginning to sound a little bit better.

  “We can make a video. We can film our whole trip, especially the part about us finding the gold, then we can put it online. I bet we could have our own channel and everything.”

  “Do you think Mom and Dad will let us?”

  “Sure, we’ll be rich. You want to be rich, don’t you?”

  Joelle thought about that. “I didn’t know we were poor.”

  “We’re not, but finding the gold, helping Grandpa find it, will mean we won’t ever be poor, and Eaglecrest will be here forever.”

  Joelle loved the ranch so that statement sent her over the edge of agreement. “Okay. What do we need to do?”

  * * *

  ZANNAH WATCHED AS her friends drove away. They’d all had a wonderful time, but now she was exhausted. She waved until they were out of sight down the bumpy road and then went to sit on one of the porch chairs.

  Eagerly, she looked at her camera, flipping through her photos, delighting in the candid shots, decided which ones she would send to her friends to solidify their memories of the weekend.

  Emma and Joelle had skipped away, saying they were going to help Juan in the stables and corrals. Zannah was thrilled that they were actually volunteering to help out, though she doubted it would last very long. They would tire out and return to their room, probably to study the map their grandfather had pointed them to and dream of how they would spend the gold when he found it.

  She smiled. That was one of the best things about those two—they had absolute faith in their grandpa.

  Leaning forward, she propped her chin on her hand and gazed the way her friends had gone.

  That road.

  She drew in a long breath and then released it. Brady was right. Even with the basic maintenance that needed to be done, this road couldn’t stand up to the amount of traffic that needed to use it every day.

  Getting a loan and raising their fees would help short-term to cover the cost of the repairs, but it wouldn’t be enough. Brady had said that he had an idea of what to do. She only hoped she liked the idea.

  She would have to talk to him about it, but right now, there was maintenance to be done on some of the empty cabins. Sitting for a few more minutes, she planned her day, then got up to locate her toolbox and get started on loose curtain rods and leaky faucets.

  By late morning, she had finished her chores, so she went to find Brady.

  “Oh, hey, Zannah,” he said when she walked in. Looking up from the computer screen, he rubbed his eyes, then his face and stood up to stretch. “Did your friends get off okay?”

  “Yes.” She picked up a pile of neglected mail and began sorting through it but paused to watch as he twisted from one side to the other, then lifted his arms above his head as far as he could. The front of his shirt pulled up, exposing a hairy tummy and belly button. Then he lowered his arms and began rolling up his sleeves with quick, efficient tucks of his fingers.

  It was such an unconsciously masculine gesture, Zannah found herself mesmerized. She had a vivid recollection of how those arms had felt around her. And she had a soul-searing memory of what it had been like to kiss him. She knew she should feel embarrassed about it, but she didn’t. In fact, she wanted to do it again.

  When Brady finished stretching, he placed his hands at his waist and stood staring down at the screen.

  He seemed to have forgotten she was there, but that was okay, because it gave her a minute to study him.

  She had been looking at him for weeks now. Every day he’d been here, they had talked. Sometimes they came to an agreement, but more often not. He was determined to make her see things his way, and she was equally determined to have him see hers. Most of the time they were able to come to a solution that worked for both of them but, best of all, worked for Eaglecrest and its future.

  Compromise was becoming a way of life for her. For them. It was something she hadn’t expected when he had first arrived, her reluctance made even tougher by the way her dad had brought him there.

  She admitted compromise was a good thing, and it was such a surprise that it had come about so quickly.

  After all, compromise was something you did with someone you respected—or with someone you loved.

  Loved?

  That thought jolted her so much that the mail in her hand slid to the floor.

  When she stooped to pick it up,
Brady came around the desk to help her.

  “Hey, butterfingers,” he teased, crouching beside her. His smile faded when she looked and met his gaze. He must have seen the stunned look in her eyes because he immediately asked, “Hey, are you okay?”

  “Uh, um, yes—”

  Urging her to her feet, he said, “Forget the mail. Come sit down.”

  She felt too weak-kneed to argue, so she leaned on him as he helped her to the chair, then turned to the small refrigerator in the corner and grabbed a bottle of water.

  As he twisted off the cap, he said, “Too much partying, maybe? I’ll bet you’re dehydrated.”

  She took the bottle and drank deeply. She knew being well hydrated was necessary for brain function, and hers had obviously short-circuited.

  Love? That wasn’t possible. He wasn’t going to stay. She knew that, so how could she have allowed her heart to make such a foolish mistake?

  “Better?” he asked, sitting on the edge of the desk.

  “Yes. Thanks.” She drank some more, then set the bottle down beside her. She couldn’t think about this right now. They had ranch business to discuss.

  Straightening, she cleared her throat and said, “Okay, what is your idea for funding the road?”

  He gazed at her for a few seconds before answering, but finally, he gave her a faint smile that seemed almost sympathetic.

  “We need to sell off part of the ranch. Maybe a large part.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “SELL—? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Are you crazy?”

  The shock on her face made him feel sick to his stomach, but he ignored it and tried to sound businesslike and reassuring.

  “It’s the only way, Zannah.”

  “No. We’re already selling off Hawk’s Eye Mesa as homes for the rich and famous. What more do you want?”

  “It’s not what I want, Zannah. It’s what will ensure the long-term financial health of the ranch.”