by Ashlee Price
There were individual statements to everyone and that was how Kallie learned some of the names. When she heard her name, her eyes went back to the screen and she held her breath to hear the last words she would ever hear from her father again.
“Kallie. I am sorry that this is how we meet for the last time. I should have been there more, I know that now, but I’m sorry I was not and won’t be able to see you go forth. I know that you have been studying business and I would like to give you some land and a business in Texas. I love you Kallie and I hope that you can find happiness in the west like me and Mary did so long ago. Just know that you are always loved Kallie.”
Tears came to her eyes and it was less, but more than she had thought it would be. The only thing that she could do was take the offered tissue and listen to the rest of what Mel Glenn had to say in his final words. He was a man of regrets, but he had lived and that was what Kallie wanted to hold on to.
Then the lights were put back on and most were teary-eyed and squinting to the sudden brightness. As she was leaving, she was given a couple of numbers of relatives that wanted to have lunch when she was feeling up to it. Kallie was also given deeds to her new home and store, though she couldn’t figure out what it was for by the name or the paperwork in her hand. She was exhausted and she told herself that there was no rush.
Going to a hotel, Kallie tried not to think about the video and her father. It was hard though, when all she wanted to do was get some sleep. The next day was a mystery and Kallie finally went to sleep with the possibilities in her mind.
Chapter 2
There was no preparing her for what type of business her father had left her. She had heard that he was in oil and gas, other type of commodities, but never had Kallie heard about his feed stores. It was a small town one no less, but it was a feed store. Kallie didn’t know the first thing about cattle or horses. She knew about crabs and seafood, things that she seen on the coast.
Pulling up in front of the store, her hybrid felt out of place in the row of trucks and trailers. Getting out, she pulled her hair up with a ponytail and looked at the few men watching her from the docking place where they loaded up huge bags of feed. She found herself staring back for a minute, young hard bodies flexing as they threw down the feed to the waiting truck beds. Maybe there were some perks to the business, she thought to herself.
She surveyed the activity and liked the fact that no one seemed to know who she was. Kallie could observe without anyone knowing that she was there to take over. She was enjoying anonymity until an older woman came out of the store. “Well you must be Mel’s daughter Kallie. You look just like him.”
Kallie was surprised to be called out and she noticed the change in the way a few people looked at her. They must have known that she was taking over. Smiling at the older woman, she put her hand out to shake it. “Yes I am Kallie. Nice to meet you and you are?”
“Edith. I am the accountant and I do some of the management duties like orders, payroll and a few other things.”
“Well nice to meet you Edith. I wasn’t sure what kind of business this was when I got the paperwork.”
“You ever worked in feed before?”
Kallie shook her head that she hadn’t. “No, can’t say that I have ever been in one before.”
Edith grabbed her hand and told her they were going to change that. “Do you want me to introduce you today or when you come in Monday for the staff meeting?”
Kallie hadn’t thought about it and she certainly hadn’t thought about a meeting where she would have to meet them all. What was she supposed to say, Dad died so I am taking over?
“Let’s wait till Monday for all of that. I just want to get a feel for the place if you don’t mind.”
“No problem. We heard that you got the store in the will. I am sorry to hear about Mel Miss, he was loved here.”
She shrugged. “I haven’t seen him in fifteen years and I don’t remember him well, but thank you. I hear good things about him everywhere I go here.”
Edith was not expecting that for an answer and it made her uncomfortable. Mel had always been good to his children and she wondered why he hadn’t been around for his oldest. It wasn’t her place to say anything, especially with her to be their new boss.
As they moved into the store, there was a lot more than then just feed for animals. There were chemicals for gardens, plants, medicines, a little bit of everything.
“So you do the inventory?”
Edith nodded. “It is quite a selection. I was going over the numbers last night and you guys have a great turnover for such a big inventory.”
“We are the only place to go to for feed around here and most customers have been with us since the very beginning.”
“I can see, but why here?”
“It was your father, he was loved by everyone. Always helped anyone who needed it.”
“So he worked here?”
“A couple days a week at least.”
Kallie couldn’t imagine it, from what she had heard, he was a very rich man and working at a feed store seemed out of place. Why would he spend all his time there? It made her wonder if there was a reason, a female there that made him want to be there.
She followed the older woman through the place and she smiled at a few people that looked at her questioningly. Taking her upstairs to the office and then to the loading dock where most of the inventory was there. A few of the men she had seen earlier gave her the eye and she heard a few catcalls. “You got to ignore them. It’s all testosterone here on the loading docks.” Edith gave a few of them a dirty look. She couldn’t say she was the new boss, but she didn’t want them to offend her.
“It’s okay. Is there any other kind of guy?”
Edith kind of chuckled. “Not really.”
Her eyes went to one man with his shirt off and she couldn’t help the assessing look her eyes gave him. He was gorgeous, too young for her, but handsome nonetheless. There were many perks, but being the boss made most of the perks off limits.
“So what do you think? You are very quiet. Your father was quite loud, so you will have to learn to have a voice here. We are used to hollering and fussing.”
Kallie had to laugh. “That I do remember about him, always so loud and jovial. But I take after my mom I suppose, more quiet and reserve. I was always told that you didn’t have to raise your voice to get the point across.”
“No, with a face like that I bet you don’t have to talk very loud. When you get older you have to raise your voice to get a rise out of these guys.”
“Are there any other females that work here?”
“No, it will be just us. Are you going to hire a manager or are you staying here for a while?”
Kallie still wasn’t sure, but she was thinking of staying a while. If this is what he had given her, she had to find a way to make it work. That it was a steady running business helped, as it looked like it was already running pretty smooth.
“I will be staying here a while. I still have to go look at a house a few miles from here.”
“The old one on Johnson Road?”
“Yeah, I think that was the name on the address. How old is it?”
“I’m not sure, but it has been in this town for a long time. There have been people trying to buy that house for a decade now, but Mel wouldn’t sell.”
Kallie didn’t want a property that was going to cause problems. It made her wonder why he wouldn’t sell, business man that he was. If the price was right, you always sell. That is business 101.
“Why not?”
“Because they want to drill there. They will pull the house down and turn those acres into a drilling operation.”
“Sounds like he could have made a pretty penny on that deal, why wouldn’t he take it?”
“He was raised here and doesn’t want to destroy the town. Once an oil rig goes in, a place will boom for a while, but eventually it will bust and most towns don’t make it. All across Texas there are gho
st towns because oil was found. Same thing like in California with the gold. They come in and take all the resources, strip the ground and leave. Mel didn’t want to see his hometown done that way.”
Kallie nodded. It made sense and she felt that the last thing she should do is turn around and do the very thing he was trying to avoid. She saw it as a way to honor him and his wishes. “I have no desire to sell either then. If he wants to keep this town the same, I won’t do anything to change that.”
It was a good answer if she went with the way Edith looked at her. “I think you are going to like it here Kallie. You already belong.”
Chapter 3
“Charlie, did you get the feed for the horses while I was gone?”
The young man shook his head embarrassed. “I forgot all about it boss. Sorry about that.”
“Well it’s your day off, so I will get it this time.”
“Thanks boss.”
Caspin nodded his head. It was Sunday and he didn’t make anyone work on Sunday, but if something didn’t get done, it was his responsibility to get it done. On a ranch, the animals came first and the people were the slaves to them.
Sighing to himself, he pulled the strap off of the horse he had been brushing. The ranch was his second job, the family business the first. But it was in those moments of quiet in the barn, that he was happiest. If his father hadn’t left him everything, he would only work with horses and spend his days as he wanted.
He watched the young men load up in one of the trucks and head to town. They would go out to eat and then drink most of their night away at a local bar. Caspin sometimes he wished he would go, but at thirty, he was getting too old for the bar scene. It wasn’t to say that he didn’t go sometimes, find him a woman for the night, but it was not near as often as he would like. The woman was never the same in the morning and although they would promise to keep in touch, they never did.
Caspin finished with Thunder and moved on to his own horse, brushing him down before he too, loaded up to go to town. Since the guys had taken both trucks that pulled the trailers, he figured he would just go down there and have it delivered. Mel’s was always open on Sundays, so it was where he headed in his day car. It felt weird to get into the small sports car when he was wearing jeans and a cut off shirt, but it was the way it was. The car had seen more dirt than most and he made a note to have it cleaned when he got back.
Pulling up to small feed store, he pulled over to the dock and waved to a couple that he knew. Everyone knew Caspin, especially when he tipped as well as he did. When they got older, many would come to work with him on the ranch. Caspin was always looking for good ranch hands, but he didn’t think they were ready until early twenties at least. Mel would hire then in high school and train them up for a few years, sending them his way when he thought they were ready.
Caspin got a faraway look in his eyes for a moment. He was going to miss old Mel and even going to his funeral the week before didn’t seem to make it real. Moving up to the doors, he took in the earthy smells of hay and different feeds. It reminded him of the first time he had been in there as a child. It was Mel that had nurtured his love of horses and now he was gone.
“Hey, Mr. Caspin. How are you today?”
“Hello Edith. I didn’t know you were working on Sundays.”
“I don’t usually, but we have a new owner coming in tomorrow for her first day.”
“Her?”
“Yeah, his daughter from New England got it in the will. Did you go to the reading?”
Caspin shook his head. He hadn’t for many reasons, but mainly because there were going to be people there that he didn’t care for. The fact that the Wheelings were even called there left a bad taste in his mouth.
“No, I skipped it. Had some things to deal with at Comston Corp.”
“Well, it’s always good to see you, but I have some paperwork to get together.”
Caspin watched her walk up the few steps to the few offices. He never knew Mel had a daughter, so his interest was piqued. But he was there for feed and after making an order, he had it planned to be delivered the next day. There wasn’t enough staff on hand then, so after loading a couple bags in his trunk to tide him over, Caspin drove back to the ranch and the many chores that still awaited him. It was days like that, with the sun beating on him that he regretted the work he did the rest of the week in the office. Men weren’t made to work under fake lights.
***
The next morning he was getting ready to go to the office when he heard a truck pulling up by the barns. He noticed a tall blonde get out of the truck and he went outside to see who it was. There was no decal on the side to tell him who it was for, what company, but there was a moment when he met her blue eyes that he knew.
“Hi, Mr. Comston, right?”
He nodded as she approached him. She stuck out her hand to introduce herself and he took it into his large palm. “Kallie Glenn, nice to meet you. We are here for the delivery, but they seem to know where you keep it, so you don’t have to worry about anything. We’ll be out of your hair in a minute.”
Caspin watched her turn around and his eyes roamed over her backside. He knew that it was Mel’s daughter, she had the same light in her eyes, but there was nothing to take away the attraction he felt for her. She was not like any other woman he had seen there. Her skin was still pale, her features more refined, as well as the full curves.
Swallowing hard, he moved to help her with one of the bags. She managed to grab another one, but he could tell she was not used to that kind of work. “So you took over the feed store?”
She smiled at him as she stacked another 80 pound bag of feed in the far end of the barn. “Yeah, not really my thing, but it is a sound business.”
It didn’t sound like she was going to mention her father and it made Caspin wonder how well he knew her. He had never heard of her before and it was strange considering how much time the two had spent together over the years. Who was this mysterious woman that showed up out of nowhere with eyes like the sea?
“I am sure you will do great Kallie.”
She looked over at him and smiled another disarming smile that made his heart pound in his chest. “Thanks Mr. Comston. Now stop helping. You are ruining your clothes.”
He looked down and shrugged, not being able to care less. Caspin was helping because he wanted to look at her, no other reason than that. She took the bag out of his hands, already adapting to the weight better as the truck bed unloaded slowly. He looked down at his watch and grimaced. He was already late and he did have to go.
“I have to get to work, but I hope to see you again real soon Kallie.”
“If you need anything, I will be at Mel’s in the mornings.”
She turned around and left him staring at her back. He had the urge to spin her around and kiss her. He left wondering why she didn’t seem as changed with their meeting than he was. Didn’t she feel the tension between them?
Chapter 4
Kallie could feel the man’s eyes on her as he left and she couldn’t help staring back at him. Caspin was very muscled for a business man, but the suit had molded to him in all the right places. To see him walk away, she bit her lip when she saw his butt.
“Don’t even think about it Kallie.”
Kallie looked over at Andre and smiled. “I am not thinking about anything.”
The young man nodded, though she could see the gleam in his eyes. “Does he bat for your team?”
“I wish. He is just known to be a heartbreaker. I’ve heard things.”
She wasn’t usually one for gossip, but since that morning, she had learned more about most people in the town then she ever would be able to on her own. Andre knew everyone and he had a theory about them all. “So what have you heard?”
“That he never sees a girl twice. Ever.”
That sounded rough. She could almost believe it. Why would he stay with one person, when there were going to be so many vying for his attention?
“Well that isn’t always bad.” She turned pink with the thought and Andre gave her a hard time as they got back into the truck. The bed was empty, but there were several deliveries for the day and she wanted to get them done before lunch. After lunch she had several meetings that she had to go to, one in particular she dreaded. It was about the house on Johnson that she had only been by once. While Kallie had been hoping to stay there, it was going to need some work before that was going to be possible.
“I’m just saying be careful. You are too nice to get hurt by that guy.”
“He seemed nice enough.”
“Caspin is nice, but none of his lady friends seem to feel the same way. I just wanted to give you a heads up. I saw your knees go weak.”
She laughed, but he was right. Kallie had been instantly drawn to the man and her mind had gone to places that it shouldn’t have. All she could think about was how he would feel against her, kissing her. Kallie wasn’t going to admit that to Andre, he seemed to know from experience. Caspin was too old for both of them, but men like him were what made a girl like her think about older men in such a way. There was something about a man that was just a bit older, the muscles from use instead of a gym. What she wouldn’t give to see him like the men on the docks, shirtless and sweaty.
“I can see this is not going to end well.”
Kallie nudged him, but she could feel her cheeks getting red. There was just something about him.
She ignored the innuendos the rest of the morning and she had about fifteen minutes before the meeting with Wheeling Industries. Having gone over previous offers in the paperwork that she had requested, Kallie knew they were there to see if she would sell. She had no intentions to, so Kallie hoped that it would go quickly.
Changing in the small bathroom off of her new office, she found a stray piece of hay in her hair. She didn’t want to look like a country bumpkin when they got there, so she tried to look presentable. Pulling her blonde hair back, Kallie noticed that she was already getting color and the start of a few freckles.