The Rancher's Return

by Carolyne Aarsen

  “Depends what you want for it,” Wade was saying, breaking into the memories that Carter had kept stifled. “I know you’ve never been eager to have anyone else living in the valley, but hey, she’s single, attractive, and now that you’re back—”

  “I’m not looking,” Carter said, cutting that suggestion off midstream. “And I’m sure there’s enough other guys who would be interested in Miss Minton.”

  Wade shrugged as he clipped off the ends of the nail protruding from the hoof wall. “Been enough of them trying to ask her out since she came here.”

  “I’m not surprised.” Carter heard the squeal of the metal gate between the corrals and watched as Emma pulled the halters off the horses’ heads then coiled up the ropes.

  He understood why the single men of Hartley Creek and area would be interested. She was pretty and spunky and had a girl-next-door appeal.

  “She’s a great gal, but she’s turned them all down flat. I think she’s been burned too many times.”

  Silence followed his comment. But it was the comfortable silence of old friends. Carter had missed that.

  In the past two years Carter had worked as a ranch hand in Northern B.C., a wrangler for a stock contractor in Peace River and, recently, laying pipe for a pipeline in the Territories. That was where he had been when his grandmother had her heart attack.

  He never stayed in one place long enough to create a connection or to build a sense of community. Which had suited him just fine.

  But standing here, watching Wade work, not talking, just being, he found he missed this place he knew as well as he knew his own face.

  Wade looked up at him, as if sensing his melancholy. “Did you miss the place? The work?”

  Carter bit his lip, not sure what to say. “I missed parts of it. I missed seeing my family. Nana, the cousins. You and Miranda.”

  “I missed you too, man,” Wade said. To Carter’s surprise, he saw the glint of moisture in his friend’s eyes.

  The sight of Wade’s unexpected tears created an answering emotion that he fought to push down. Emotions took over, and he didn’t dare go down that road. Not alone, as he was now.

  “I couldn’t come back, Wade. I couldn’t.”

  “I know, but you’re here now.”

  “You may as well know,” Carter said, taking a breath and plunging in, “I’m not coming back here to stay.”

  Wade frowned, pushing his glasses up his nose. “What? Why not? I thought that was the reason you came back.”

  “My Nana’s heart attack was the main reason I’m here.” Carter held his friend’s puzzled gaze and steeled himself to the hurt in Wade’s voice. “I can’t live here. I can’t come back. I’m going to sell the place. Sell the Rocking K.”

  Chapter Three

  Emma looked up from her Bible and glanced over at Adam, still sleeping in the bunk across the cabin from her. The morning sun slanted across the bed, a splash of gold.

  What was she going to tell him?

  Yesterday, after working with Banjo, she had come to get Elijah when Wade was done shoeing him. Then she overheard Carter’s determined voice say, “I’m going to sell the place.”

  If Carter Beck was selling the ranch, would she still have a chance at getting the acreage? For that matter, would she still have a job? Would she and Adam have to move again?

  Her questions had fluttered like crows through her mind while, on the other side of the barn, she heard Carter make his plans. He was going into town to list the property. Nana Beck was moving off the ranch. It was time.

  Each word fell like an ax blow. She’d prayed so hard to be shown what to do. When she had left her father’s ranch, she had made two promises to herself, that she would trust in God to guide her life, and that Adam would always be her first priority when she made her plans.

  Coming to Hartley Creek and the Rocking K Ranch fit so well with both. Here she had found work she loved, had found community and, yes, some type of family. Nana Beck had taken her and Adam in and Shannon, Carter’s cousin, had become a friend to her.

  And Adam. Adam loved the ranch and everything about it. It was as if he blossomed here.

  So what was God trying to teach her with this? Why had He brought everything together so well only to take it away?

  Sorry, Lord, I don’t get what is going on right now, Emma thought, closing her Bible.

  Adam stirred on his bed, stretched his arms out, then turned to her, his smile dimpling his still-chubby cheeks. His hair, a tangle of blond, stuck up in all directions. “Hi, Mommy. Is it morning? Is it time to get up yet?”

  “That it is.” Emma smiled and set her Bible aside. She hadn’t slept well and had been awake since five o’clock. She’d been reading, praying, trying to find some guidance and direction for her life.

  If nothing came of her plans for the acreage, then it was up to her to figure out her next move. She took another calming breath. Please, Lord, help me to trust in You alone, she prayed. Help me to know that my hope is in You.

  Adam sat up and rubbed his eyes with his knuckles. Then he bounded out of the bed onto the floor, wide awake, ready to go. Emma envied him his energy, his ability to instantly wake up when his eyes opened.

  “Am I still coming with you and Wade today?” he asked, pulling his pajama top off over his head. “When you go up to check the cows?”

  “I think so. It won’t be a long ride.” Four days ago she and Wade had planned to take a trip to the upper pastures to check on the grass. Wade wanted to make sure they weren’t overgrazing, and she had promised Adam he could come along.

  “Here, let me help you with that,” she said, handing him a clean T-shirt. “Once you’re changed, I want you to go wash your hands and face and get ready for breakfast.”

  Adam tugged the brown T-shirt over his head and yanked on his blue jeans. “Can we have breakfast with Wade and Miranda? She is making pancakes and said I had to ask if we could eat there.”

  “But I thought we could have breakfast here.” Though she knew plain toast couldn’t compete with Miranda’s chocolate chip pancakes, Emma treasured her alone time with Adam.

  “Mom, please?” Adam drooped his shoulders, his hands clenched together in front of him, the picture of abject sorrow and pleading. “I love, love, love chocolate chip pancakes.”

  Adam made the best puppy dog eyes of any child she had ever known.

  “Okay. But don’t ask me tomorrow.”

  Adam launched himself at her, giving her a huge hug. “I love you, Mommy,” he said, his voice muffled against her shirt.

  The clutch of her son’s small arms around her waist sent a powerful wave of love washing over her. “I love you too, my little guy,” she murmured, brushing down his unruly hair with her hand. “Now let’s go brush your hair then see if Miranda and Wade are up yet.”

  Once Adam was cleaned up, they headed out the door and down the wooden steps. According to Wade, they were staying in the cabin that Carter and his grandfather had built for Shannon, Carter’s oldest cousin, who lived in Hartley Creek and worked as a nurse.

  When their mother died, Garret and Carter moved from the little house they had shared with Noelle Beck into the main house with their grandparents. But the town cousins, Hailey, Naomi and Shannon, came up almost every weekend and for most of the summer to stay at the ranch. Bill Beck, Carter’s grandfather, came up with the idea of building a cabin for each of the girls so they could have their own place to stay when they came.

  Emma loved the story, and every time she walked up to the trio of cabins nestled against the pine trees, she tried to imagine five cousins spending time together, staying overnight in one of the cabins as a group, probably sharing stories. She felt a twinge of envy for what Carter had, and wondered again how he could simply walk away from all this.

  Adam clung to her hand, swinging it as they walked. The sun shone overhead. A few wispy clouds trailed across the blue sky, promising another beautiful day.

  “Good morning, Mr. Carter,
” Adam called out.

  Carter stood on the porch of the far cabin, leaning on the railing and nursing a cup of coffee. The fall of dark hair across his face and the whiskers shadowing his lean jaw made it look as if he had just woken up, as well.

  Her heart skipped a little at the sight.

  Then she caught herself. If she reacted to seeing him, it was because he held her future in his hands. Had nothing to do with his looks, because she wasn’t looking. Men were an unnecessary complication she had no desire to bring into her and Adam’s life.

  “Good morning yourself,” Carter said, straightening.

  “Did you hear the coyotes last night?” Adam asked. “I heard them, but I think they stayed away.”

  Carter gave him a nod and then glanced at Emma. For a moment their eyes met and as before, something indefinable thrummed between them—an awareness that created both anticipation and discomfort.

  “We’re going to have pancakes at Miranda’s place,” Adam announced. “Are you going to come too?”

  Carter’s gaze broke away from hers, moving to Adam.

  And in that moment Emma caught a look of deep sorrow in the blue of his eyes. His mouth tightened, and she wondered where his thoughts had gone.

  “I don’t think so,” was all he said.

  Emma glanced from him to Adam and then made a quick decision. “Honey, why don’t you go ahead. I’d like to talk to Mr. Carter.”

  Thankfully, Adam just nodded. Then with another wave to Carter, he ran across the yard, his feet kicking up clouds of dust.

  Emma looked up into Carter’s impassive face with its lean, almost harsh lines. She wished she felt more confident. More sure of herself. He didn’t know it, but this conversation would determine her future.

  “Wade said that I should talk to you about an acreage I’m interested in.”

  “I don’t own an acreage.” Carter frowned down at her, and Emma wished she had chosen a different time and place to discuss this with him. Looking up at him placed her at a disadvantage.

  “No, you don’t, but there’s an old yard site on the ranch that you bought before. I know that it’s easier to subdivide a yard site than to create a raw acreage. So…I was wondering if you…if you would be willing to subdivide it off. I would be willing to pay the market price. I have some money left from my father’s ranch for a down payment. I’d have to move a trailer onto the yard—”

  Stop. Now. You’re talking too fast, and you’re saying too much. Try to make some sense. Emma bit her lip and braided her fingers together, taking a breath.

  “So would you be willing to subdivide it?” she asked.

  Carter looked into his coffee cup as he swirled it. “Sorry, Miss Minton. But I’m putting the whole ranch up for sale.”

  “I…I understand that. I mean, I heard that. But would you be willing to subdivide it before you sell the ranch?”

  Carter shook his head. “I’ve already talked to a real estate agent. The place is listed. I’m sorry, I can’t do anything for you.”

  “I see,” was all she managed, each word of his evaporating the faint wisp of hope she had nurtured.

  The thought of making other plans was too much to comprehend. Finding this place had been a sheer stroke of luck and grace. Where else could she live and board her horses? Give Adam the easygoing country life she’d grown up with?

  She looked up at Carter again, wondering what was going through his mind, wondering if he had told his family about his plans to sell. Nana Beck had told her the history of the place, how the family was so much a part of this ranch. She knew how much Nana and Shannon loved the ranch. How could he ignore all of that?

  “What does Nana Beck think of your plans?”

  As soon as she blurted out the words, she wished she could bite her tongue. It was none of her business. How many times did she have to remind herself of that?

  “I apologize. That was uncalled for,” she said quietly. “It’s just this place…” She looked around, letting the utter peace that surrounded the property wash over her. “It’s so beautiful, and I know it’s been in your family a long time. That’s rare.” She thought of her father and how easily he had disregarded his legacy. How he had disregarded her when his life imploded. Why were men so casual with the blessings God had given them?

  “I’m not going to let history dictate my choices,” Carter said, taking a final sip of his coffee. He tossed the remains out. “This place means nothing to me anymore.”

  Carter’s reply held a heaviness that underlined the sorrow she’d seen in his eyes. He sounded like a man who had come to a place where there was no other option. She assumed it had to do with losing his son. “I’m sorry about ruining your plans,” he added.

  Emma gave him a tight smile. “I thought asking was worth a try.” She gave a light laugh as if to show him that the dreams she had spun around owning her own place meant as little to her as the coffee he had just tossed out.

  He tapped his cup against his thigh, his movements jerky. “I’m also sorry about your job,” he said. “Maybe the new owner could hire you.”

  “Don’t worry about me,” she said, holding up her hand as if to placate him. “I can take care of myself and my son,” she added with more bravado than she felt. “Always have.”

  How that would happen over the next few weeks, she wasn’t sure. But she had to put it in God’s hands. She had to trust that somehow, something would come up.

  The jangling ring of a phone sounded from the cabin, and Carter glanced back over his shoulder.

  “That’s my cell phone. I should answer it.” Then he was gone.

  Well, wasn’t that a scintillating conversation. Emma spun around on her heels and strode back to Wade and Miranda’s house.

  Don’t count on men. Don’t count on men.

  The words pounded through her head in time with her steps.

  She would be making her own phone calls this evening. Maybe she could take tomorrow off and go into town to look for a place for her and Adam to stay. Look for a job.

  Her steps faltered at the thought, but she suppressed the negatives.

  Help me to let go of my fears, Lord. Help me to trust only in You.

  “Carter? You won’t believe this, but I think I got a buyer for the ranch.”

  Carter leaned against the wall of his cabin, his hands tightening on his cell phone as the words of the real estate agent sunk in.

  “Already? I just talked to you yesterday.” He tucked the phone under his chin as he made up the bed. He had turned down Miranda’s offer to move into the house, choosing to bunk in Hailey’s cabin. If he had known that Emma and her son were staying in Shannon’s place, one cabin over, he would have rethought his choice.

  Seeing both of them coming out of his cousin’s cabin first thing this morning was an unwelcome jolt. He had assumed they were staying in the main house.

  “Tell you the truth, I had a guy from Sweden, Jurgen Mallik, who came to town about six months ago, looking for property in the valley,” Pete said. “We went touring around and ended up at your place. He loved it and said, as a joke, if the place ever came up he was interested. So when you came in yesterday, I called him. He definitely wants to sign up something immediately. We can do that by fax if you want. He’s very excited, very interested and very well financed.”

  “Wow. That’s quick,” Carter said, surprised at the lift of panic Pete’s words created.

  “Quick is what you wanted.” Pete was quiet a moment, and in his hesitation Carter heard again all the warnings Pete had given him yesterday. How he shouldn’t rush into this. How he had to talk it over with his family. But two years of holding on to the past and waiting was hardly rushing into things. And now that Nana, one of the main reasons he had held on to the ranch, was moving, it was all the incentive he needed to get rid of the place and move on.

  “So you’re sure none of your cousins are interested?” Pete continued. “Not even your brother, Garret?”

  Carter threw t
he blanket over the bed and sat down, easing out a sigh. “He said no. And he’s the only one that can come close to affording it.” After talking to Nana Beck yesterday, he’d made some phone calls to his brother and cousins about the ranch.

  Garret wasn’t interested at all. Their cousin, Naomi, was still dealing with her fiancé’s cancer and didn’t have enough money. Hailey would have loved to buy the ranch, but she was swimming in student loans and was desperate to pay them off. Furthermore, she knew nothing about running a ranch.

  He had expected to get the strongest protest from Shannon, but when he told her his plans, she said she understood. When he asked her what Nana Beck would think, Shannon said that he had to go ahead with his own plans. Nana needed to live in town, closer to a hospital.

  Which left Carter with no recourse but to go to Pete and list the property.

  “So what’s the next move?” Carter asked, dragging his hands over his face.

  “I’ll need you to come in as soon as possible and sign up a basic agreement for sale. I’ll fax a copy to Jurgen, and we’ll take it from there.”

  “Do I need to stick around for all of that?”

  “Once you sign the agreement, we can do a lot by email and phone. You don’t need to stick around after the initial paperwork, though it might be helpful.”

  An image of Emma and Adam drifted through his mind, and he shook his head as if to dislodge it. “No. I’ll be leaving. The sooner I can get away from here the better.”

  “Let me know when you can come in to sign, and we’ll be well on our way.”

  “One other thing,” Carter said, feeling as if he owed Emma at least this. “There’s a woman who works here, Emma Minton.”

  “Oh, yeah. I know Emma. She’s a good-looking gal.”

  Which made Carter wonder if Pete was one of the guys who had asked her out.

  As if that mattered.

  “She’s asked me about subdividing an acreage off the property for her and her kid. When you talk to Jurgen, could you run it by him? See if he’d be willing to subdivide it?”