I'm On a Ranch?

by Misty Malone

  He helped her down from the SUV, but she didn't make any effort to move. She stood, frozen, looking all around her. “I can't believe I'm on a ranch. This is so cool.”

  “Tomorrow I'll take you for a little tour, if you'd like.”

  “I'd love that,” she said, bouncing up and down on her heels.

  “Then that's what we'll do. Now, come on inside. Let's get you settled into your room.”

  “Bryce, you take her upstairs and show her to her room and where things are. I'll finish up supper and get it on the table,” Lena directed.

  “Come on, sunshine. You heard the lady. I have to show you to your room.” They both smiled as he led her into the house. He gave her a quick tour of the downstairs before leading her upstairs. “I know you'll want to explore the house more, but you can make yourself at home and look all you want tomorrow. Right now let me show you your room.

  She was very impressed with the lovely room and was a bit overwhelmed when she looked in the closet. There were three more pairs of jeans and four shirts, and another pair of shoes. A quick peek in the drawers revealed all the undergarments she would need, as well. The bathroom off her bedroom was completely stocked, as well.

  She thanked both of them for everything she'd found in her rooms, but Bryce changed the subject. “You're welcome, but we were just trying to make you comfortable. Now, enough about that. Let me go over a few ranch rules with you.”

  “Ranch rules? Like I'll get to work on the ranch?”

  “No, I mean rules for living on the ranch.”

  “Oh.” He heard the disappointment. “After you've been here awhile and become more familiar with a ranch and the work that goes on here, we'll see. If you still want to do a little bit around here we'll talk about it, but first I want you to rest and recover. But while you're doing that there are certain things you have to do to be safe around here. Those are the things I want to talk to you about now.”

  “Okay,” she agreed amicably.

  “First, no wandering off alone. If you want to go for a walk, tell Lena or me where you're going before you leave. Then stay close enough that you can see the house. That way you won't get turned around. I got you a phone and I want you to keep it with you, especially anytime you leave the house. I've already put my number in it, and the number here at the house. If you need anything, call me, or Lena.”

  “You bought me a phone?”

  “Yes. I want you to be able to get in touch with us. And likewise, if you're out walking somewhere and you've been walking for a little while I want to be able to make sure you're okay.” He looked up and saw a far away look on her face. “Are you okay?”

  She looked back at him. “You bought me a phone?”

  “Yes. Why is that – wait a minute. Does that remind you of something?”

  She still had a far off look in her eyes as she nodded her head. “Someone else bought me a phone.” Her look turned to total frustration. “But I can't remember who or why. I just seem to remember someone else telling me they bought me a phone. I'm sorry.”

  “Honey, there's nothing to be sorry for. And don't be discouraged. That's the second time in the last hour or two that something's jogged your memory. That seems like a good thing to me. I know it's got to be frustrating, but look at the bigger picture. It's a good thing.”

  She seemed to come out of the fog and looked at him and smiled. “Yeah, I guess you're right. Overall that's a good thing.” She was lost in thought for a couple more seconds, before looking back at Bryce. “I'm sorry, I wasn't listening to what you said. That was rude, and I apologize.”

  “This time I totally understand you thinking of something else. I was telling you why I bought you a phone. I want you to keep it with you, especially anytime you leave the house. And always keep it charged.”

  “Okay,” she said tentatively. “Keep it with me if I leave the house. Is that a ranch thing? I mean, why would you care if I have it or not?”

  “Yes, it's a ranch thing. Honey, in my mind I'm responsible for everyone on this ranch, and I do what I can to keep them safe. If you leave the house I want you to always stay close enough to where you can see the house. Now, that's going to give you a lot further than you think. This is a big house, and it overlooks some pretty good-sized valleys, so that will give you plenty of room to wander if you want to go walking. But anytime you leave the house I want you to take your phone. If I think you've been gone for a good while I may worry about you, and a quick phone call will assure me you're fine, just out enjoying the weather.”

  “Oh, okay, I see,” she said as she nodded.

  “But if you need one of us, you call. If you trip and fall and hurt an ankle, don't try to walk back on it. Call me and I'll come check it out and help you back to the house.”

  “Okay.”

  “Next on the agenda is meals. My foreman, Landon Snyder, generally eats meals here, so we can discuss what got done and what still needs to be done. Lena and I wanted to wait and eat later tonight so you could eat with us, so he ate with the men at the bunkhouse. But normally it's the two of us cowboys,” he said with a grin for her, “and Lena. Now you'll be joining us.”

  “Which will be wonderful,” Lena said. “Maybe we can finally talk about something other than the ranch.”

  “But the ranch fascinates me. I want to hear all about it.”

  “Oh, don't worry,” Lena soothed. “I'm sure you'll hear plenty. But now maybe we can also discuss other things once in awhile, as well.”

  Bryce smiled at Lena. He knew she was attempting to make their guest feel welcome. “Breakfast is after Landon and I get the morning chores done, around 7:00. If you're not used to getting up that early, that's fine. I would appreciate it, though, if you'd fix yourself some breakfast if you get up later, though. Lena fixes breakfast once, and she's busy. I don't want to ask her to start fixing a second breakfast every day, too.”

  “I wouldn't dream of asking her to fix me breakfast,” Jane said in a hurt fashion. “I honestly don't know when I'm used to getting up, but I'm quite capable of fixing myself some breakfast.”

  “Do you like to cook?” Bryce asked hesitantly.

  Jane looked at him a few seconds. “Good question. I don't know. Although I'm sure I must have done it because it doesn't sound at all daunting to me. Not like ranching. Nothing about that sounds at all familiar.”

  “This will be an adventure for both of us then,” Bryce said with a little grin.

  Chapter 4

  Bryce's grin was rather ominous, and Jane felt like she should be alarmed, but she wasn't sure why. She added that to the list of things she'd think about later, when she was alone and had time to think. That list seemed to keep growing.

  She pulled herself out of her thoughts, as Bryce was talking again. “Now, lunch is at roughly noon, and supper's at 6:30. I say roughly because we aim for that time, but if we're in the middle of something and can't stop right then it may be ten or fifteen minutes later. But the point I want to make is we all eat together. That's another way I have of making sure everyone is safe. We eat together, and we visit. So if something comes up and you won't be there for a meal, let me know ahead of time so I don't worry about you.”

  “Okay.”

  “If we're all ready for lunch and you're not here, I'll call you. And you better answer,” he added in a stern manner. “If you don't answer I'll worry, and we'll be out looking for you. And when we find you, you'll have some explaining to do. So to avoid all that, be here for meals on time, and keep your phone charged and with you all the time.”

  “Yes, sir,” she said in a joking manner. The look on his face surprised her, though. He didn't seem to take it as a joke, and he seemed to somehow like hearing it. How odd.

  He quickly recovered, and they finished their meal with lighter conversation. When they finished Lena stood up and gathered a few dishes and went to the kitchen. Jane did the same and followed her. “You don't need to do that,” Lena insisted. “Why don't you go in the front
room and rest? You've had a busy day.”

  “Please, Lena, let me help. You two are doing so much for me, I'd feel a lot better if you'd let me do a little something around here to help.”

  “You don't need to,” Lena insisted.

  “Thank you, but I have to admit I have an ulterior motive.”

  “Oooh, that sounds interesting. What did you have in mind?”

  “Nothing that interesting,” Jane said with a chuckle. “I was just hoping we could talk a little bit while we work.”

  “Oh, absolutely. But you don't have to work for us to talk. You can sit right down there and rest.”

  “No, I'm fine. I've been lying in that bed for four days. I'm plenty rested.”

  “Suit yourself,” Lena said as she brought more dishes to the kitchen. “How about you rinse them off and I'll put them in the dishwasher?”

  “Works for me. So, you've worked here since before Bryce came?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Did you know Bryce before then? Did he visit his grandfather?”

  “His parents brought him and his sister here to visit as often as they could. They came several times a year. The grandparents always had each of the kids, one at a time, stay here for a week during the summer. That gave them time alone with just that child, and they were wonderful with them. They spent the week getting to know them, what they liked to do, and they did it. Bryce was interested in the ranch. They stayed right here during his week, and he followed his grandfather around all day, asking questions, and learning a lot.”

  “He liked the ranch even when he was little?”

  “Oh, he loved it. As he got older he'd talk to his grandfather about things he did differently from how Bryce and his dad did on their ranch. They had some good discussions about different methods. Bryce was really interested in different opinions. He listened and considered them carefully. He was very astute, even when he was younger.”

  “Very impressive.”

  “He's grown into a fine young man,” Lena agreed. “He's very intelligent, and he doesn't miss much.”

  “Why isn't he married?”

  Lena looked over at Jane and had to laugh a little. “That's a good question. When Bryce told you at the hospital that he's protective of people that are important to him, he was very serious. He's also very protective of women in general. His father was, too. They believe they're bigger and stronger than women, and they both tend to be very protective of them. With that in mind, he would never use a woman. In his mind, stringing a woman along just for female companionship would be using her, and he'd never do that. Therefore, he only dates women he's genuinely interested in.”

  “I like that.”

  “Yeah, me, too,” Lena agreed. “I respect him for that. There aren't too many men out there that can say that, though. Anyway, he's had lots of women trying to get him to date them, but unless he sees something in them that he thinks may be what he's looking for, he won't ask them out. And if he does take a lady out he's good to her. He's a good judge of character, though, and if he takes a lady out and she's not the kind of lady he's interested in, he doesn't take her out again.”

  “So he's pretty picky?”

  Lena chuckled again. “I guess maybe you could say that. He just knows what he wants and he won't settle for less. He says he's got the ranch to keep him busy until he finds that perfect match.” Lena turned to look at Jane. “Why do you ask? Are you interested?”

  Jane could feel her face turning red, and she was suddenly very nervous. She stammered out, “I can't be. For all I know, I'm already married.”

  “True,” Lena said. “Although I think all three of us have noticed there's no ring on your finger.”

  “Yeah, but you can't go by that alone,” she said, still shaken.

  Lena put her hand on Jane's to calm her. “I know. I know you're in a very difficult spot right now because there's a lot you don't know. And you're smart in trying to guard your heart, just in case. But if it turns out you're not already attached, follow your heart. Bryce is a good man. He has his quirks, but you won't find a better man, in my opinion.”

  “He has his quirks? Like what?”

  “I don't want to say too much, especially this early. Let me just say he means what he says. Those rules he gave you earlier?”

  “Yes.”

  “He's very serious about them, and you should be, too. Listen to him. He's very protective. He cares about the people on his ranch, and to him, part of caring about them is protecting them. That's why he makes the rules, to protect you.”

  “Okay, but I'm confused. How is caring about people a quirk?”

  Lena sighed. “His rules are meant to keep people safe. If you don't follow one of his rules, you're opening yourself up to being hurt, and he won't allow that. That's why there are consequences for not following his rules.”

  “What kind of consequences?”

  Bryce came into the kitchen just then, and the women quit talking. He looked from one to the other. “Boy, did it get quiet in here all of a sudden. If I didn't know better, I'd swear you must have been talking about me.” He grinned and said, “But since I don't allow gossip in my house, that can't be it.” He turned to Lena. “Are you about done, or do you mind if I steal your helper? I'd like to show her around a little bit, maybe take a walk outside.”

  “That's fine,” Lena said. “We're almost done anyway. Thank you for your help, Jane.”

  Bryce had her hand in his and was leading her out of the kitchen before she knew it. She turned back to look at Lena, who was smiling in understanding, and waived.

  He took her to the library first. “I don't know if you like to read, but my grandmother did. She read all kinds of things. She has mysteries, romances, historical books, just about anything you'd want. She had a couple books on the history of this area, if you're interested.”

  He showed her where those were, and she picked one up and looked at it. “I'll read these first. I'd love to learn more about this area. Thank you, Bryce.”

  “Make yourself at home here, sunshine. If you like to read, help yourself. If you'd rather watch movies, I can accommodate that somewhat, although I admit most of these movies are older. We had them all converted to CDs now, but most of them are older movies.” He'd led her into the den now, where he showed her the cabinet with an extensive collection of movies.

  “You're welcome to go anywhere in this house you want and help yourself to anything, other than my office. All my records and things for the ranch are in there and I'd rather you not go in there. I can't afford to lose or misplace something.

  “Okay.”

  “Now, what would you like to do this evening? Would you rather stay in and watch a movie and rest, or read a little, or would you like to take a walk outside?”

  “I'd love to take a walk.”

  “Sounds perfect. It's a great evening for a walk.

  Before long they were walking along a lane that went behind the house. He pointed out different buildings, like the main barn, the equipment shed, the bunkhouse where the hands slept and ate, and the smaller house where he said his foreman lived.

  “Can we go in the barn?”

  He looked at her, as if studying her before reaching a decision. “We can tonight while I'm with you, but I don't want you out here alone.”

  “Okay. Why?”

  “I want to see how you are around horses and cattle first. If you've never been around them, there's a lot you need to learn. I can teach you if you want to learn, but it will take time.”

  “Are you saying it's dangerous to go in a barn?”

  “Not necessarily, but it could be. If you don't know anything about the animals and you go in and spook them, yes, it could be a bad situation for you and the animals.”

  She had a skeptical look on her face. “You'll just have to trust me on this, sunshine. I'll take you over there tonight, though.”

  Soon they were walking through the barn where most of the horses were kept. There we
re stalls on each side of the main aisle, and Bryce stood back and watched very contentedly as she went from stall to stall, stroking the animals on their neck, or petting them at their ears. She talked softly to them all and didn't seem afraid of them. He was glad of that. He was also happy to see how the horses responded to her. They all came up to her and readily accepted her and allowed her to pet them. That told Bryce a lot. He knew animals were a good judge of people, quickly picking up on their fear.

  He let her go from horse to horse, talking to each of them as she went. He followed along with her, but stayed back to allow her to interact with them herself. He was very pleased with what he saw.

  When they reached the end of the barn he asked, “Do you want to go to another barn?”

  “Sure, but I don't think anything could compete with this one. These horses are fantastic.” As he led her to another barn she asked, “What's in this barn?”

  “This is where we keep our animals that have been hurt or need medical attention.”

  “Ahh, the poor things. How are animals hurt? What happens to them?”

  “Lots of things. Sometimes a cow or mare has a problem giving birth, and we have to help them. We keep them in here for a couple days then to make sure mama and baby are both okay before we let them go out to pasture. Sometimes a cow will trip on a hill and fall. If it's limping we bring it up and check it out. If an animal gets cut by scraping up against a fence or a tree, the cut could get infected. There are also wild animals that occasionally will attack an animal. For whatever reason, if it's hurt and we see it, we bring it here.”

  “So this is your ranch hospital?”

  Again Bryce had to chuckle, but agreed. “I guess it is at that.” They went into the barn and she again went from pen to pen. At each one she asked what happened and what was wrong. She petted the animals that were willing and able to come see her, and said a few encouraging words to all of them. Bryce was very touched by her obvious concern for the animals.

  They walked around outside awhile, and he answered numerous questions. She was very curious about the ranch, questioning why cattle and horses were in different pastures, and why do you switch them from one pasture to another. He patiently answered all her questions, glad she was showing so much interest.