“And what’s that?”
Alec glanced at the faded photos on the wall. “It’s a vicious cycle of hard work. It never slows down, and it never stops. And on top of all that, I have the added responsibility of caring for my father, however long he might last.” He paused and looked back at her. “I could never be selfish enough to ask you to take on all of this. Not when you have the freedom to go anywhere you want. And not when you’d be sacrificing a full scholarship to a major university. I have nothing to offer you that would even begin to compare to that.”
*
After the morning shift on Sunday, Rebecca pulled Star out of her stall and hand-walked her through the thick grass. The hollow spaces between her ribs and hips were filling in, and her chestnut coat glistened from daily grooming.
“You’re looking good, girl,” she said, rubbing the white star between her eyes. She figured this was the closest she’d ever get to owning her own horse, so she was trying to soak up every minute of it. Star pushed her face into Rebecca’s chest and sighed, as if sharing the same sentiment.
“How is she?” Tommy called as they passed the corral.
“Getting better every day.”
He set his tools down from where he’d been working on the gate and strolled over to them. “She looks terrific,” he said, gliding a hand down the horse’s back. “At this rate, you should be able to get a leg over her by the end of the summer. I know you’d love to.”
“You have no idea.” She traced her fingers through Star’s mane, her thoughts turning to the upcoming drive. “Actually, Tommy, do you think you could help me?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
“I’m worried about my cattle skills. I just don’t have the ease in the saddle that you guys do, with all those quick stops.”
“Well, that’s only to be expected, Bec. Considering two months ago you’d never been on a horse, I’m amazed at how well you ride already.” He checked his watch. “Why don’t we work on it after lunch?”
“Sounds great. Thanks.”
Her heart skipped a beat when she walked into the barn and saw Alec stepping out of his office. “How is she today?” he called.
Rebecca tried to relax as she clipped the crossties onto Star’s halter. “She’s good,” she replied, filling a bucket with shampoo and water. “I asked Tommy to help me with cutting this afternoon. I’m not as confident as I should be.”
He joined her and dipped a sponge in the bucket. “Cutting cattle is one of the hardest things you can do on a horse. But I wouldn’t worry too much. I’m sure you can handle anything that happens on the drive.”
They worked in silence as they bathed Star, just like the stormy afternoon they’d rescued her. “Can I ask you something?” she said after a while.
“Of course.”
“Why aren’t you taking Star’s expenses out of my salary? I said I’d pay for her board and vet bills.”
“And I appreciate the offer. But it’s not necessary. With fifty horses on the ranch, one more really doesn’t make that much of a difference.”
Rebecca chewed her lip. “Are you selling your property in Idaho? Is that why we’re doing the drive?”
Alec looked at her in surprise, and she stopped mid-motion, hoping she hadn’t overstepped her bounds. He glanced briefly down the aisle to make sure they were alone before turning back to her.
“I have an interested buyer,” he said quietly. “But I only have a couple weeks left to close the deal. Getting all the cattle off the property is the first step. And the easiest one.”
“What do you mean?”
He hesitated long enough for her to rethink her question. “I’m sorry,” she added. “I didn’t mean to pry. You don’t have to–”
“No, it’s alright,” he assured her. “I’ve just never really talked about it, that’s all. The land is deeded in equal shares to me and my mother, and I can’t sell it without her signature. I’ve been trying to contact her for the last six months, but she won’t return calls from me or my attorney.”
“Where is your mother?”
“Las Vegas, of all places. Any normal person would be happy to get their half of the money, right? Not her. She’s remarried to some high-profile attorney and she already has more money than she knows what to do with. So she doesn’t care in the slightest that selling this land would give me the means to cover my father’s expenses for another two or three years.”
Rebecca grimaced. “So she’s doing it just to spite you.”
He nodded and leaned against Star’s rump. “I take on more and more guests every summer, but it hardly makes a dent in the medical bills–not to mention the property taxes, the animals, and salaries for my staff. I’m starting to run out of options.”
She swallowed hard as she realized the gravity of his plight. “And I assume that putting your father into a nursing home is out of the question?”
Alec remained silent, robotically running his sponge over Star’s flank. “When my mother left, it would’ve been real easy for him to send me off with her. Or he could’ve shipped me out to a military academy, like my grandfather did to him. But he didn’t take the easy way out. He took care of me without question, and I always loved him for that. So how could I not do the same for him now?”
*
The following morning, two minibuses full of guests arrived at the ranch. Most of the Holloways were from Maryland, joined by a few family members from New York and New England.
“Ted Holloway,” said the first man off the bus, vigorously shaking Alec’s hand. “Pleased to meet ya.”
The introductions went on for several minutes as Ted’s extended family stepped down off the buses. “A fellow Chowdahead!” said a woman named Theresa, giving Rebecca a friendly hug when she discovered she was from South Boston. “I’m from Woburn. We’re practically next-door neighbors!”
The entire staff pitched in to show the Holloways to their respective cabins. They were a cheerful bunch, and Rebecca found herself eagerly anticipating the week ahead. As much as she loved the laid-back nature of the folks in Wyoming, she had to admit that part of her missed the energetic buzz of everyone back east.
After a banquet-style lunch in the lodge, Rebecca and Tommy led the first group out for the canyon trail ride. From the front, she shared interesting facts she’d learned over the summer–that the black stripe on the face of Mount Moran was once molten lava, that the graceful pronghorn antelope could run seventy miles an hour, that a male grizzly bear could tip the scale at nine-hundred pounds. She led them back to the corral two hours later, where Roger and Allison geared up to take the second half of the family for the river trail ride.
She and Tommy were putting their horses away when Alec appeared in the aisle. “Rebecca, could I see you for a minute?”
She could tell from his tone that something was wrong. “What is it?” she asked as she entered the office and closed the door behind her.
Her stomach lurched when he handed her an envelope. “I was hoping it had stopped.”
Over a week had passed since the last one, and she’d almost managed to forget about it. Now it came crashing back to the forefront of her mind as she sank into the closest chair.
“I was, too,” she whispered as she forced herself to open it.
I love watching you.
Panic seized Rebecca as she clutched the armrest of the chair. Wordlessly Alec knelt beside her, giving a sharp gasp himself. She turned the envelope over and felt her blood run cold when she saw the perfectly clear, legible postmark.
The letter had been mailed yesterday from Jackson, Wyoming.
“He’s here,” she choked. “He’s back.”
“I wonder, Rebecca, if you shouldn’t just get out of here.”
“And go where?”
“Back to Jeff’s. Or even back to Boston. Somewhere safe, where Kevin wouldn’t know where to find you.”
“That’s absurd. I’m not going to let him scare me away from here.”
&n
bsp; Alec gave her a pointed look. “I don’t want you to be alone for one second, not even in your cabin. If Alli is out, go to the lodge or over to Tommy’s, or come up to the farmhouse and stay with us. Will you do that for me?”
“I will. I promise.”
He touched her cheek before rising to his feet. “I’m going to get Tommy, okay? Wait here.”
When they returned, Rebecca handed Tommy the letter. He frowned as he read it, then his eyes widened as Alec filled him in on the events of the past week.
“That’s why you want her on the drive with us,” he said.
“Exactly,” Alec replied. “And I’ve just asked her to make sure that she’s not alone at any time, day or night.”
“Absolutely,” Tommy agreed, glancing down at the letter again. “Does your brother know about this?”
“No!” Rebecca cried. “And please don’t tell him, Tommy. He’ll be worried sick.”
“I won’t say a word.” Tommy dropped a strong arm around her shoulders. “We’ll watch out for you, Bec. You’re in good hands.”
She managed a wobbly smile. “I know I am.”
*
Tuesday was a crash course in roping and cutting for the Holloways who were going on the drive. Rebecca and the other wranglers spent hours with the individual members of the family, teaching them everything they needed to know about working cattle. True to their word, all the ones joining the drive were experienced riders at ease in the saddle.
The Holloways were a much-needed diversion, but still, paranoia gnawed at Rebecca’s gut. She constantly looked over her shoulder, swearing she saw shadows move between the buildings. She reacted like a skittish horse, jumping at the quietest noise or tiniest movement. If she was out of sight for more than ten seconds, even in broad daylight, one of her co-workers would come rushing to find her. And at night she lay awake, waiting for Kevin’s face to appear outside her window.
After a quiet dinner in the staff hall on Tuesday night, everyone shuffled to the barn to pack the equipment for the drive. “Fifteen of everything,” Alec said, handing each of them a checklist. “That should make it easy.”
Rebecca collected fifteen bridles, halters, lead ropes, and sleeping bags. Then she helped Allison gather the cooking utensils and the food for horses and riders. Tommy and Alec hauled the heavy saddles and drink coolers to the trucks, while Roger inspected the horses to ensure none of them had loose shoes.
“Breakfast is at four-thirty,” Alec said when they’d finished. “We can eat in the main lodge with the Holloways. Everyone clear on what they’re doing in the morning?” Four heads nodded. “Good. Girls, would you do me a favor and stay in your cabin until I come to get you? I don’t want you wandering across the ranch in the middle of the night.”
Sure enough, just before four-thirty, there was a gentle tap on their door. Alec greeted them and escorted them through the darkness to the lodge. The Holloways slowly trickled in, yawning as they downed massive amounts of coffee to prepare for the long day ahead. As dawn approached, each of the wranglers filed out to their respective locations.
Over the next twenty minutes, they loaded the first six horses into the large open stock trailer. “We’ll be right back,” Roger said as he and Tommy climbed into the cab of the truck. Allison followed behind with the first load of guests.
Alec and Rebecca stood in the parking lot, watching them depart. “They’ll be almost two hours there and back,” he said. “Let’s pull the other trailer around and get it ready to go. Then I need to get inside and make my father a quick breakfast.”
She was touched by the notion that he made his father breakfast in the mornings, figuring Lucy would handle that task. “I’ll come with you.”
He grinned. “I wasn’t giving you an option.”
They hiked to the back of the farmhouse and down the steep hill, where a red gooseneck trailer was hitched to yet another pick-up truck. “How many trucks do you own?” she asked.
“Too many,” he confessed with a laugh. “Though technically two of them belong to Roger and Tommy.”
They climbed into the cab of the truck and pulled the trailer around to the staff barn. “Can you get three hay nets and hang them in the back? And throw a couple water buckets into the bed.”
“Got it,” Rebecca said, already making her way towards the loft.
She returned with the hay nets and tied them in the trailer for the horses to eat during the ride. As she stepped onto the grass, she saw Alec place a long, slender object behind the driver’s seat.
“Is that what I think it is?”
He glanced up at her as she approached. “You mean this?” he asked, retrieving the intimidating Winchester rifle.
Rebecca stopped dead in her tracks. “You’re taking that on the drive?”
“Yeah. Tommy’s bringing his, too.”
“Do you guys plan on shooting anyone?”
He shrugged. “Don’t plan on it. But wouldn’t hesitate if I needed to.”
When he saw her panicked expression, he softened his tone. “It’s just a precaution, Rebecca. We always carry on a drive in case we run into a bear or a mountain lion.”
“Or a pack of wolves?”
He gave a gentle smile. “You were really frightened that day, weren’t you?”
She nodded. “I didn’t know you then.”
“Well,” he said as he replaced the rifle behind the seat, “you do now.”
When the trailer was loaded, Alec and Rebecca went up to the farmhouse. He disappeared into the back of the home to get his father out of bed, leaving her alone in the foyer. It was unsettling to be in his home in the early morning hours, listening to the quiet tick of the grandfather clock. Her eyes drifted to the staircase as she wondered where Alec’s bedroom was and what it looked like. Then she scolded herself and pushed the thought from her mind.
As Rebecca was pulling a frying pan from the drawer, Walter’s cheerful voice echoed through the room. “Nice to see a woman in my kitchen again.”
She laughed and turned to see Alec wheeling him up to the breakfast table. “Good morning, Walt.”
The old man looked exhausted, but he managed a grin. “Morning, Rebecca.”
Alec locked the wheelchair in place and made his way over to the stove. “I’ve got it from here,” he said, touching her back as he squeezed by her. “What would you like to drink, Pop?”
“Some orange juice, I think.”
“I’ll get it,” Rebecca volunteered.
“There are straws in the cabinet up there,” Alec said as he retrieved a carton of eggs.
She poured three glasses of juice and pulled a straw out of the cabinet. Then she paused and glanced at Alec, unsure if he wanted her to help Walter with his drink. He gave an encouraging nod as she carried the juice to the table and knelt beside his father, holding the straw to the old man’s lips. She smiled as Walter sipped his juice, but in reality, she was shaking in her boots. With each passing day, she gained a clearer understanding of the responsibility Alec had accepted in choosing to care for Walter at home. In a strange way, too, she was starting to feel like part of their family, even though Alec had made it clear that it wouldn’t happen.
“Thank you kindly, Rebecca,” Walter said when he’d finished. A dribble of juice leaked out of the corner of his mouth, and without even thinking she took a napkin off the table. The old man’s eyes were very soft as she gently wiped his chin.
She could sense Alec’s gaze, as well, and she glanced at him briefly as she rose to her feet. Even though he was the one who’d insisted she join them for breakfast, she could tell that her presence was pushing him past his comfort zone. The ambiguous nature of their relationship wasn’t any easier for her, though. It was almost as if she and Alec were yoked together in the day-to-day routines of life, minus the intimacy that an actual couple would share.
Chapter 14
By eight o’clock, fifteen horses, twelve Holloways, Rebecca, Alec, and Tommy were in Idaho, surveying the he
rd of three-hundred cattle they’d be moving over the next two days. Roger and Allison waved goodbye as they backed their empty vehicles to return to the Flying W. Rebecca stood at the crest of the hill, taking in the expanse of grassland they’d soon be riding across. Like everything else that summer, it didn’t feel real.
“Gotcha something,” Alec said, breaking her train of thought.
She turned and gasped in surprise when he handed her a long black drover coat, identical to the ones he and Tommy wore. “So you don’t look like such a Yankee,” he added.
She gave him a playful shove and slid her arms into the coat, which fit her perfectly. “I love it,” she said, fingering the sturdy fabric. “You didn’t have to buy me this.”
“I didn’t,” he confessed. “I outgrew it when I was fifteen.”
Rebecca laughed, secretly thrilled by the idea of wearing something that belonged to him. “Well, thank you. This almost makes me feel like a real wrangler.”
He gestured towards the herd of cattle. “Hate to break it to you, but you are a real wrangler. Speaking of which, I have something else for you, too.”
The smile dropped off her face when he produced his leather holster and revolver. “Do you know how to use one of these?”
She instinctively took a step back. “Alec, I don’t want to carry a gun.”
He raised a brow. “That’s not what I asked.”
A month ago, Rebecca would have bristled at his tone. Now, though, she knew him well enough to know that he was simply expressing concern, not trying to start an argument. She swallowed hard, thinking of the collection of guns that Sean had in his apartment. He’d rectified her fear by taking her to a shooting range in Dorchester, and in the end, she wasn’t a bad shot. Must have been in her Southie blood.
She nodded reluctantly. “Yeah. I do.”
“I’m not asking you to use it, but I am asking you to carry it. We’re in the middle of the wilderness, and anything can happen out here. You need to be able to protect yourself in case you get separated from me and Tommy. I didn’t want to press the issue earlier, when I saw how uncomfortable you were. And I wouldn’t ask you now if I didn’t feel it was necessary.” He extended the gun towards her. “Will you do this for me?”
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