“Oh, yeah, so you can win the bet with your brothers.”
Hurt warred with anger in her face. He reached out a hand to her, but she drew away. So he went around the desk and grabbed a handful of papers he’d printed out. He rolled his chair around, then sat facing her. She scooted back. He knew it was personal, but he tried not to take it that way.
“Here are the bids from the road contractors. You can see for yourself that rebuilding the main road and repairing the old one is going to put us so far into the red that we won’t get out in our lifetimes.”
“Oh, that’s an exaggeration,” she snapped.
“Even if we raise prices at the cowboy college, charge more for our cabins, offer more events.” He pointed toward the main house. “More events like bachelorette weekends, maybe even with spa treatments, it will be years before we can dig ourselves out of the financial hole.”
She shook her head. “Bachelorette weekends? Spa treatments?”
“Those are only examples. We have to grow the business. A business that’s not growing is actually failing, which is what Eaglecrest has been doing for quite some time now. We have to turn things around, and selling part of the ranch will do that, establishing financial health for decades.”
“Who do you plan to sell to? Your new friend Lucas Fordham?” Angry tears stood in her eyes. It didn’t matter if they were from hurt or fury. The effect was the same—they served to close her mind.
“Only if he wants a one-or two-acre ranchette.”
“What?”
“Along with developing high-end vacation homes on Hawk’s Eye Mesa, we can divide many acres not used for grazing into sites for more modestly priced homes.”
“But developing all of that will cost us even more.”
“Initially, yes. But our initial outlay will soon be covered by sales. The more reasonably priced our sites are, the faster our sales will grow. If we also offer home maintenance and security, we’ll have another income stream.”
The color that had washed out of her face was beginning to come back. Red stained her cheeks as her indignation grew. She swept more tears from her cheeks. “Maintenance? Security? You’re talking about winter visitors, aren’t you?”
“Retirees want to spend their winters in warmer places like this, and think what a boon it would be to the town of Raymond to have more visitors every year.”
Zannah propped her elbow on the chair arm and put her face in her hand, covering her eyes.
He’d known this would be a shock to her, and he’d spent half the night trying to think of the best way to tell her. Every other discussion—argument—they’d had was tough, but this was worse.
This was different because of how much he cared for her, how concerned he was about how this would affect her.
“You can’t sell off any part of Eaglecrest, Brady,” she said, lifting a stricken face to him. “You can’t!”
He leaned forward and gently asked, “Do you have a better solution?”
“I don’t know,” she choked out. “But there has to be one.”
“What is it you’re so afraid of?”
Tears ran down her face as she said, “You’re putting everything at risk. It’s all I have left of my mother and you’re going to lose it, give it away to strangers, people who didn’t even know her—”
“No, Zannah.”
Full of pity and sorrow, he tried to pull her into his arms, to comfort her.
She jerked away. “You don’t understand. You’ve never been rooted in a place the way I am. Your parents are together and well and happy, and so are your brothers. They’re always there for you. They’re your security. My mother is gone. My father is traipsing around the mountains looking for gold. This ranch is my security.”
“And it will continue to be if we do this.”
She surged to her feet and stood facing him, hands clenched at her sides. “You lied to me. You said you weren’t a corporate raider, but that’s exactly what you are—someone who sweeps in and buys a company then sells off its best assets and moves on, destroying what someone else was trying to build.”
“That’s not true.” Being unfairly accused like this was infuriating. “My family and I always try to build, not destroy.”
“So why have you decided to change your way of doing business by destroying Eaglecrest?”
“It’s not like that.”
Standing up, he crossed the room and pulled a large portfolio out from behind the bookcase. “I took the liberty—”
“Oh, I have no doubt that you did.”
“—of talking to some contractors about this idea. They worked up some renderings for the architecture and the landscaping.”
“Which you hid from me.” Her lips pressed together angrily as she pointed a shaking finger at the bookcase.
“I didn’t hide them. That was the only place to store something this big.” He proved his point by untying the tapes that held the two sides together and opening it on top of the desk.
He chose the one that he thought best depicted what he had in mind. The example was typical of the Southwestern style, with adobe brick and brightly colored tiles around the doors and windows. It was built around an inviting patio with a center fountain.
She gazed at him, trembling as she choked out, “I can’t believe you did this behind my back. I can’t believe you’ve gone this far with it and didn’t even mention it to me.”
He dropped the paper onto the desktop in frustration. “I thought it would be easier to have something tangible for you to look at.”
More tears formed in her eyes. “I’ve seen it and I hate it.”
“Only because you haven’t considered it.”
“And I won’t.”
There was no time to answer, because the door swung open and Sharlene and Juan rushed into the room.
“Have you seen the girls?” Sharlene asked breathlessly. “I can’t find them anywhere.”
“They came to help me for a while,” Juan added. “Then they said they had your permission to go riding on their own and have a picnic.”
“What?” Zannah and Brady both whirled around. Zannah said, “I didn’t give them permission.”
“I saddled two horses for them and they took off.” Juan glanced at his watch. “It’s been about two hours since they left.” He looked up, sick with dismay. “I’m so sorry. I should have checked with you.”
“They came in here, too,” Brady said. “It was a couple of hours ago. They were looking for something in the desk, but they wouldn’t tell me what. They didn’t find it, though, and left after a few minutes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Zannah asked angrily.
He tried to sound reassuring and not defensive. “It didn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary. They come in here just about every day.”
Zannah shook her head as if she couldn’t accept his explanation and looked at Sharlene and Juan.
“They’ve never wanted to go off on their own before,” Sharlene said. “They like being here where all the action is.”
“What did they take with them, Juan?” Brady asked.
“They each had a saddlebag. I assumed it was their lunches.”
“Lunches, dinners, maps, whatever else they think they’ll need to get up into the mountains and find their grandpa,” Zannah said.
Brady could tell that she was trying to quell the sense of panic that threatened to choke her on top of the distress she was already experiencing from his news.
“I think you’re right,” Sharlene said. “They were showing me the map that Gus left behind. They’ve gone to find him.”
“Against my specific orders,” Zannah fumed.
“Yes, but we can deal with that when we get them back,” Brady said. “Juan, put in a call to the sheriff’s office. Tell them we’ve got missing kids.
Again. But we’ll begin looking for them right away. Ask them to be on alert if we need help, but we have a good idea where they went and we’re going to follow them.”
Juan swung around the desk and grabbed the phone.
“I’ll call Dad,” Zannah said, but when the call didn’t go through, she shook her head. “He’s probably out of range.”
“What can I do?” Sharlene asked. “I mean besides think up a list of odious chores for them to do for the next week as punishment.”
Zannah answered with a weak smile, appreciating her attempt at humor. “Keep your phone with you and make sure everything goes smoothly here. We’ll get Phoebe to help us track them. Could you call her and ask her to meet us at the stables?”
Sharlene nodded and scooped her phone from her pocket, then looked up. “What about Casey and Vanessa?”
“Let’s wait a little while,” Zannah answered. “No need to panic them unnecessarily.”
Brady appreciated that Zannah seemed to be including him in the search party. “Should we take the quad?”
“No, the terrain is too rough.” Zannah made the statement firmly, but then her voice broke. “Certainly too rough for a couple of inexperienced kids. I don’t know what they were thinking. We’ll have to follow them on horseback.”
Juan hung up and said, “Deputy is on his way.”
“I’ll meet him,” Sharlene said and hurried out the door.
“We have to get going,” Zannah said. “The sheriff’s office knows that Phoebe is the best tracker around. They’ll trust us to start the search on our own and keep in contact with them.”
Brady fought the urge to take her into his arms. This wasn’t the time, and even if it was, she wouldn’t welcome his comfort.
“Sounds good,” he said. “Let’s go.”
* * *
ZANNAH RUSHED TOWARD the stables with Brady and Juan. Once there, they saddled three horses, including Phoebe’s favorite, Winnie.
Having something to focus on, getting ready, grabbing supplies and gear was a blessing, and in spite of her profound disappointment and upset at Brady’s plan to carve up her land and sell it off, she was glad that he was going to help her find her nieces.
Phoebe arrived in record time, double-checked everything they had prepared, then examined the ground to find the girls’ tracks.
“How do you know which ones to follow?” Brady asked.
“I know which horses they took. Luckily, one of them has a little nick on the bottom of the shoe on his right foreleg. Once we follow that track out of the corral, it should be easy to keep it in sight.” She turned to Zannah. “Do you have any idea where they were going?”
“Dad said he’s on Anvil Peak, and he told them where to find a map so they could see exactly where he is. But he also said he’s going to check out Two Horse Canyon, so they could be headed to either place.”
“Good grief,” Phoebe said. “Do they even know how to read a map?”
“They must think they can.” She shook her head. “I can just about guarantee you that this was Emma’s idea.”
After one final check of their gear, they mounted up and started toward the foothills.
The three of them rode in silence for several minutes, making sure to keep sight of the prints they were following. Once they were well away from the ranch and sure of their direction, they picked up speed.
When they reached the foothills and the trail leading up to Anvil Peak, Zannah paused to call her father and was finally able to get through.
She told him what was going on, then asked, “Where are you now? Still on the peak?”
“No. I’m about an hour from there, headed home.”
“Already?” She glanced at Phoebe and Brady. “Did you find gold?”
“No,” he said. “But I found what I needed to find. Listen, Zannie, I’ll go back to where I was camped in case they actually find the place. I’d recommend keeping on the path you’re on now.”
“We will. We’ll let you know if we find them, but you’ll have to stay up where you can get cell service.”
He agreed and hung up.
Immediately, Phoebe asked, “Did he find the treasure?”
Zannah shrugged. “He said he found what he needed to find.”
“Don’t know what that means, but we’ll know soon,” Phoebe said. “In the meantime, we’ve got two kids to find.”
They went up the trail single file until it leveled out on a small mesa, where it split in two. They rested the horses for a few minutes while Phoebe crouched on one knee and studied the faint marks on the hard ground.
“I think they got a little mixed up here,” she said. “Whatever map they had probably wouldn’t have shown the way this splits off.” She walked several yards each way and came back to them. “They went to the south, but, from what I can tell, Anvil Peak is north.”
Zannah felt sick. “There’s no telling where they are now, or where they might end up. Maybe they thought they were heading into Two Horse Canyon. They would have seen it on another one of their grandfather’s maps.”
“We’ve still got tracks to follow,” Brady pointed out. “We’ll find them.”
“Absolutely,” Phoebe agreed.
The two of them sounded so sure that Zannah couldn’t doubt them. She smiled. “Then, let’s go.”
The going was slow, but they made steady progress.
At one point, Brady said, “I guess I don’t know much about how kids think, but how did they expect this to turn out?”
“With them riding home triumphantly dragging a load of gold behind them. Don’t forget who their grandfather is, the big treasure hunter. And they know we need money.”
In spite of the urgency she felt, and worry about her nieces, Zannah’s mind circled back to the soul-deep betrayal she felt over Brady’s plan to carve up Eaglecrest into ranchettes. How could she be in love with someone who would do that?
“Ranchettes,” she muttered. “What in the world is a ranchette?”
“Did you say something?” Phoebe asked, glancing around, then seemed taken aback by the grim look on her cousin’s face. “Zannah, don’t worry. We’ll find them.”
“I know,” Zannah said, avoiding Brady’s curious gaze. “I have faith in you.”
Her belief in Phoebe was well-placed when they rounded a rough curve in the trail and found themselves in a small, dead-end box canyon where they spotted two horses and two crying little girls.
“Aunt Zee!” Joelle yelled when she spotted them. She jumped up and ran over to them. “Emma’s leg is hurt. We need to call nine-one-one.”
Zannah hopped down and caught the frantic child as she barreled into her, then hurried to Emma’s side. “What happened?”
Brady and Phoebe were right behind her. All three adults gathered around Emma. She lay on her back with her left leg stretched out before her and her right leg crumpled at an unnatural angle.
“Whoo,” Brady whistled softly through his teeth. “We’re going to have to be really careful here.”
“I’ll get the first aid kit,” Phoebe said.
Brady pulled out his phone as Phoebe went through the saddlebags. “I’ll call emergency services and then call the ranch to let them know we found the girls.”
Seeing the concerned adults caused Emma to begin crying hysterically. “Is it broken? Will they have to cut it off?”
“It’s almost certainly broken,” Zannah answered in a no-nonsense tone. Now that the girls were found, she could stop imagining the worst and deal with reality. “But they won’t have to cut it off. You’re going to be fine. We have to figure out exactly what to do.”
Phoebe returned with the kit, and the two women gently probed Emma’s leg to see the extent of the injury.
“There’s no blood,” Phoebe said, opening the first aid kit and removing a roll of gau
ze. “But I’m sure it’s broken in more than one place. We’re going to need to splint it. I’ll find something to use.”
“That shouldn’t be hard,” Zannah said. “That big storm we had must have flooded here and washed in all of this debris.” She pointed to a massive tangle of uprooted bushes, broken branches and rock. “We’ll have to be careful, though. There are probably snakes in there.”
Phoebe nodded and strode toward the tangle.
“Everyone has been notified and help is on the way. Sharlene is going to try to call Gus.” Brady put his phone away and asked the girls, “How did this happen?”
Joelle wiped tears from her eyes as she answered, “We thought we were going to the right place to find Grandpa. We had a map and a compass and everything, but when we got here, Emma’s horse fell, and she fell, too, and then it rolled on top of her when it got up.”
Brady looked at the ground around them. “The horse must have stepped in this hole,” he said, pointing to a deep depression in the ground. “Fortunately, they landed in soft sand or it could have been much worse.”
“Is Pancho okay?” Emma asked.
“I think so. He and his buddy Belinda found some grass and they’re busy having lunch, but I’ll take a look at him.”
Phoebe returned with two pieces of wood, which she placed on the ground, as Brady came back to report that Pancho was in good health.
Phoebe said gently, “We’ll have to straighten out her leg to splint it.”
“Will it hurt?” Emma asked, her voice shaking.
“Yes, it will,” Brady answered. “We’re not going to lie to you and let you think that it won’t.”
“So you’ll have to be brave,” Zannah added.
“No! I’m not brave,” Emma wailed. “I knew we shouldn’t go after Grandpa, but I talked Jo into it, and then I couldn’t let her know I was scared.”
“We’ll talk about all of that later. Right now, you have to stay completely still while Phoebe bandages your leg. Do you think you can do that?”
“I...maybe.”
The three adults exchanged a look. Brady nodded toward Emma’s head and Zannah gave a nod of her own before she knelt beside the uninjured leg. Leaning over, she held her niece’s hips in a firm grasp with one arm, leaving her other one free to help Phoebe.
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