Her Holiday Rancher

by Cathy McDavid

  “You could always try the feed store.”

  Gabe felt the pressure from all sides. Reese’s eyes bored holes into his skull like twin laser beams. Violet chewed a thumbnail. His brothers spoke to each other in low, conspiratorial voices.

  Refusing to succumb, Gabe reached in his pocket and removed the check he’d brought from the office. He filled in the invoice amount, using the hood of the truck for a desk.

  “Appreciate the business,” the vet said, accepting the check. “Merry Christmas.”

  “Same to you,” Reese replied.

  He saluted the group before leaving.

  Only when he drove away did Gabe notice the wreath attached to the truck’s tailgate and its blinking colored lights. The wreath made a mockery of his earlier feelings when it seemed as if his greatest wish was being granted. What an idiot he’d been.

  Gabe headed for his truck.

  Reese hurried after him. “Where are you going?”

  Wasn’t it obvious? “The feed store.”

  “I could come with you.”

  He stopped in his tracks and glared at her. “Why?”

  She hesitated. “To keep you company.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to chew me out for my bad decision?”

  “You couldn’t know some of the steer were infected with red nose.”

  “But I am the one who convinced my brothers to purchase the herd and you to grant the draw on the line of credit.”

  “Gabe, I just want to help. Let me come with you.”

  Had he been too harsh on her? Misjudged her? “I need to stop at the house first for another check. Unless you refuse to cover it from the line of credit.”

  “I’ll cover it.”

  She waited in the passenger seat while he went inside. They didn’t speak much on the short drive to the center of town. Luckily, Ray’s Feed Depot was open till six on Saturdays, giving them plenty of time. Perhaps they’d caught the spread of red nose before any significant damage was done. Gabe prayed that was the case.

  Chapter Twelve

  At the same moment Gabe and Reese approached the entrance to Ray’s Feed Depot, the door swung wide and Blake Nolan stepped out, lugging a large cardboard box. He stopped, took note of them and nodded curtly. Did he remember seeing Gabe at the bank a few weeks ago?

  “Reese. Gabe. How goes it?”

  “Good.” Reese didn’t hesitate speaking first and, evidently, on behalf of Gabe.

  “All right,” Gabe added despite being far from all right. But Blake didn’t need to know that. “How are your folks doing?”

  “Keeping busy with the holidays. Thanks for asking.” Blake hesitated. “Sorry again about your dad. He was a fine man.”

  “Appreciate the kind words.”

  Blake and his wife, Wynonna, had come to the funeral. Gabe vaguely remembered seeing them among the throng of mourners.

  “Well, take care.” Blake nodded again, then left, the contents of the box rattling.

  “Happy holidays,” Reese said. By then Blake was long gone. She shrugged. “Clearly, he’s still mad at me.”

  Gabe was more interested in what Blake was carrying. He swore the box contained bovine antibiotics. Was it a simple coincidence? Perhaps the vet had spread the news about Gabe’s steer and the red nose outbreak. Yanking open the door, Gabe entered the feed store one step behind Reese. The life-size plastic horse just inside the entrance wore a wreath around its neck and a Santa hat on its head. Ray, the store’s owner, dragged out the same tired decorations every year. Gabe paid them no mind. He was a man on a mission.

  At the counter, he waited for Ray’s niece and assistant manager, Alanna, to finish up with a customer.

  “Hey, Gabe. Reese,” she said when she was free. “What can I do for you?”

  Several years older than Gabe, Alanna was short, plump and one of the hardest workers he’d ever seen. Without her, Ray would have been forced to sell the store when his son moved to Gila Bend last year.

  Gabe leaned his elbows on the counter. Behind him, Reese waited, her booted foot tapping a staccato on the hardwood floor.

  “We need all the bovine antibiotics you have in stock,” he said, naming the brand the vet had recommended.

  “Sure thing.” Smiling pleasantly, Alanna disappeared through a door behind the counter. Gabe and everyone else who ever visited the store knew the supply room contained a large cooler where the medicines needing refrigeration were kept.

  She returned a few minutes later, hugging five bottles to her chest, which she then set on the counter. Swiping her hands together, she asked, “Will that be all?”

  He stared at the five bottles. “Where’s the rest?”

  “This is my entire supply.”

  “You’re joking.” He must have misheard, or she’d misunderstood him.

  “Sorry. Blake Nolan bought up all our inventory but this. He heard there’s been an outbreak of red nose in New Mexico and Texas and was stocking up before it traveled further west.”

  Gabe didn’t clarify that the virus had already made its way to Mustang Valley. “What about a different brand?” The vet had mentioned other, less effective antibiotics that would do in a pinch.

  Alanna shook her head. “Sorry. We’re clean out of every kind.”

  “When will you get more in?”

  “Next week.” She then echoed what the vet had said. “Antibiotics are in short supply. Red nose is one of several respiratory outbreaks. This winter has been bad for cattle back East and in the Midwest, what with all the storms.”

  It was like a terrible dream from which there was no waking up. Buck Sadoski should have, but hadn’t, mentioned the outbreak when he’d sold Gabe the steer. Buck had likely suspected, hence the low price.

  Dammit! Gabe should have done his homework before agreeing to the sale. He’d heard about the storms. Who hadn’t? It just hadn’t registered. His oversight.

  “Do you know where I can buy some?”

  She scrunched her mouth to one side, thinking. “Let me call Rio Verde. They might have a supply.” Alanna trotted over to the register and picked up a portable telephone handset. A minute later, she returned, her face saying it all. “Rio Verde is down to eleven bottles. If you want, they’ll stay open an extra half hour.”

  Eleven bottles, plus these five, for thirty head of steer. That wouldn’t last long. Nowhere near long enough to complete the number of days the vet had recommended Gabe treat the steer.

  “You could always order online,” Alanna suggested. “Might take a few days, assuming you find a supplier with enough product in stock.”

  What other choice did he have?

  “Do you mind calling Rio Verde and letting them know I’m on my way?” He removed the check from his pocket.

  “Tell me you aren’t driving all the way to Rio Verde,” Reese said, censure in her tone. They’d reached Gabe’s truck, and she was opening the passenger door.

  “I’ll drop you home first,” he said.

  “I can ride with you.”

  “What about your dad?”

  “He’s resting. And Enrico’s there.”

  Gabe handed her the paper sack of vaccine bottles to hold. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

  “That’s not the reason, Gabe.”

  “I’m going to save the steer. We won’t lose the ranch.”

  “I know you’re trying your best.”

  He bristled. More than censure, she was chastising him. “This could have happened to anyone.”

  “You’re right.” She adjusted the bottles more securely on her lap. He no sooner sat behind the wheel when she added, “But they may not be operating on a shoestring like you.”

  Here it comes, he thought, the lecture. Gabe jammed the key i
n the ignition.

  “There’s enough money left on the line of credit for the antibiotics, right?” he asked.

  “You still have the artificial insemination to pay for. That’s scheduled in a few days.”

  “We may have to impregnate fewer cows.”

  “May?” she asked.

  He hastily threw the truck into Reverse and backed out of the parking space. “Don’t patronize me.”

  She blew out a breath. “I deserve a share of the blame. I authorized the steer purchase even though I had my doubts.”

  “Except your livelihood’s not on the line.” And if it was, she still had her father and the Small Change to fall back on.

  “It could be,” she said, this time with noticeable worry in her voice.

  Was it true? Could her job really be at stake? If so, Gabe would have more guilt to bear.

  “Are you going to tell your brothers?” She glanced at him from across the seat.

  “Yes.”

  “Today?”

  “I’m well aware of my responsibilities, Reese. You don’t have to keep nagging me.”

  She looked chagrined. “I’m sorry. I’m worried is all. Red nose is highly contagious.”

  He should be the one apologizing to her. “I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

  “And I didn’t mean to tell you what to do.” She placed a hand on his leg. “We’re in this together. Not just as business associates. I’m also your friend.”

  He had thought they were more than friends. He now realized they hadn’t talked specifics, other than asking her to wait. His plans, his dreams, were simply that. His.

  They reached a fork in the road. To the left was the Small Change. To the right, the road leading out of town and to Rio Verde. Unable to make a decision, Gabe stopped, letting the truck idle.

  “Tell you what,” Reese said, giving him an out. “Drop me at home. While you drive to Rio Verde, I’ll find a supplier online and place the order.”

  After the way he’d treated her, that was far more than he deserved. “Thank you.”

  “I’ll call when I have some information. Maybe I’ll come by tomorrow and pick up Dad’s horse.”

  Gabe would see to it General was fed and given a clean stall for the night.

  He took the left fork. Moments later, he dropped off Reese at her doorstep.

  “I can be there when you talk to your brothers,” she offered almost shyly. “Give them the bank’s perspective on the situation.”

  His first inclination was to utter a resounding no. On second thought, her presence might show his brothers that the bank supported Gabe and the purchase of the steer.

  “I’ll let you know when.”

  He wanted to kiss her. Heck, he always wanted to kiss her. But now, more than ever, they needed to maintain the professional boundaries they’d set. If things went badly and more steer contracted red nose, he didn’t want either of them or their actions to come under question.

  Apparently, Reese had fewer concerns than him, for she leaned across the seat and kissed his cheek tenderly before hopping out of the truck.

  Gabe drove to Rio Verde as fast as the law allowed. Daylight was disappearing, and he needed to get there before the store closed.

  As the desert scenery blurred by, he realized he was fighting for more than full ownership of Dos Estrellas. His future with Reese was also on the line and that was quickly becoming the most important reason to fight.

  * * *

  A THIRTY-SEVEN-MILE round-trip, practically wasted. Gabe sat at the kitchen table, drinking his midmorning coffee and fuming about his drive to Rio Verde the day before. By the time he arrived at the feed store, only five bottles were left. Ray’s niece must have forgotten to call and say he was coming.

  “I’ve never seen a shortage like this in all my fifteen years,” the clerk had commented while ringing up the sale. “The weather back East is a killer.”

  Last night’s news had shown the results of another record-breaking storm—film footage of homes, cars and landmarks unrecognizable under piles of snow. Shipping services, hindered by the volume of holiday mailing, had stopped. Like Ray’s Feed Depot, the store in Rio Verde wasn’t getting a new supply of antibiotics for a week to ten days, if then.

  Neither was Arizona immune from the harsh weather. Snow hammered the northern parts while heavy rain drenched central and southern areas. This morning, rain pelted the roof, causing a loud racket to fill the house. Sheets of water poured off the roof and flooded the courtyard, forming huge puddles outside the doors. The livestock pens and pastures had become muddy messes.

  Gabe had been hoping and praying for just such a deluge. Now, he needed it to stop. The sick steer suffered worse in the cold and wet, and the healthy ones were more susceptible to infection.

  Could his luck be any worse?

  He, Violet and the two hands remaining at Dos Estrellas had risen at sunrise, donned their rain gear, and treated the infected steer. After that, they’d inspected the remaining herd for symptoms. They’d found three steer infected and moved them to section four.

  As of late last night, Reese had yet to locate an online supplier. It was the same story everywhere. No antibiotics available until after Christmas. Perhaps not until the New Year. Since it was Sunday, most of the businesses were closed. The hunt had officially been put on hold.

  Gabe briefly entertained the idea of delaying telling his brothers. They had some inkling of what was going on despite Gabe’s efforts to keep them out of the loop. They weren’t stupid.

  Cole had gone to the Poco Dinero Saloon and Grill again last night, something he’d casually mentioned at breakfast. He’d heard the locals talking about the red nose outbreak in Texas and its swift move west to Arizona. If he’d said one word about the vet’s visit yesterday, then half of Mustang Valley already suspected Dos Estrellas was in possession of infected steer.

  To say the ranchers wouldn’t be happy with Gabe was an understatement. If they suffered any losses because of red nose, he’d be vilified.

  “Morning, mijo.” Gabe’s mother came up behind him and kissed the top of his head.

  He absently patted her hand. “Hi, Mom.”

  “I thought, if you don’t mind, I’d run into town and do some Christmas errands.” With her brother Lorenzo definitely visiting for the holidays, she wanted to make sure they were well-stocked with his favorite foods.

  “Of course I don’t mind.” Gabe drained the remainder of his coffee. “Where’s Cara?”

  “Visiting her mom. I hope Cara doesn’t get stuck on the way home. You know how terrible traffic gets when it rains like this. Maybe I should call Leena’s and tell Cara to stay the night.”

  Cara’s mother had been a daily visitor at Dos Estrellas until she’d remarried and moved to Mesa a few years ago. Leena was more a sister than a friend to Raquel, and the reason Cara and her young son had moved to the ranch when she separated from her husband and stayed after the boy’s death.

  Gabe had contemplated asking Cara to be in on the talk with his brothers. Guess that wouldn’t be happening now.

  “Are you all right, mijo?” His mother sat down beside him, her smile a combination of affection and concern. “You seem distracted.”

  “I’m worried.”

  “It has been a difficult time for us.”

  “We’re going to run out of antibiotics by tomorrow.” Which was hardly his biggest problem. Feed remained in short supply, and they had almost no money for more.

  “Something will come up. Reese is very smart.” His mother’s features softened. “I’m glad you two found each other.”

  Gabe tried to hide his reaction. “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m your mother. I can see how you feel about her. And because I’m a woman, I can see how she
feels about you. I approve. And your father would, too. He was right to pick her as his trustee.”

  “Wait a minute. Are you saying Dad picked Reese because he wanted us to hook up?”

  “Of course not. He picked her because she was Theo’s daughter.”

  “That makes no sense.”

  “Ah, but it does.” She tapped the side of her head and winked. “Think about it. Your father wanted his will carried out to the letter and knew Reese would work extra hard to ensure there wasn’t the slightest deviation.”

  “Because she’s Theo McGraw’s daughter.”

  “And because she’s very good at her job. She wouldn’t want to be accused of any... What is the word? Yes, improprieties.”

  Gabe could see the logic, though it was slightly skewed, in his opinion, and hurtful. “Dad trusted a person he hardly knew, a person who could well ruin the ranch, more than me.”

  “No, no, mijo.”

  “Funny thing is, I’m not sure Dad was wrong.” Gabe thought of himself purchasing the sick steer, rushing headlong into a decision and thinking only of himself. “He was a lot wiser than any of us gave him credit for.”

  “He was worried his sons would fight.”

  “He had good reason to worry.”

  She sighed, more wistful than sad. “Your father and I made mistakes. We were young and in love. Even so, it wasn’t fair to his wife. I don’t blame her for being angry and for passing her anger on to her sons.”

  She rarely spoke of his father’s ex-wife. Now that Gabe thought about it, the two women must have crossed paths. Both had lived in Mustang Valley for a number of years. Surely, they’d run into each other at the market or the Holly Daze Festival. How would his father’s ex-wife have felt, confronting her husband’s mistress?

  For the first time in his life, Gabe felt sorry for Josh and Cole’s mother. She must have been deeply wounded by his dad. Which didn’t justify her turning her sons against their father, but it did explain a lot.

  Was that why Blake didn’t acknowledge Celia? To protect his wife, their marriage and their sons?

  “Your father’s last wish was for you and your brothers to reconcile.” His mother’s voice penetrated his thoughts. “It wasn’t possible while he was alive because Josh and Cole’s mother refused to allow it. Now there’s a chance. If you are willing.”