“I found that in the shop today.” He spoke quietly as Lexi looked at the writing and tears formed in her eyes.
With a brief nod, she hurried from the bunkhouse, running back to the security of her home. In the family room, she sank onto the couch, wishing she had someone she could talk to about her feelings for Ty, about the things her father had done.
The idea that she could be falling in love with Ty was insane. The smart thing to do was to forget about him. To ignore the way being near him made her heart pound and her palms grow clammy. To block out the dreams of his big, strong arms holding her tight and those tempting lips caressing her own.
Abruptly sitting up, she pushed thoughts of Ty from her head and looked at the envelope in her hand. After months of searching and wondering, would this finally give her some idea of where her dad hid the money, what he’d been thinking?
Carefully slitting the envelope with her fingernail, she pulled out thick folded sheets of paper.
The smell of her dad’s aftershave drifted around her, making her heart catch. She missed him so much.
Slowly unfolding the letter, she took a deep breath before reading the words he’d written.
My darling Lexi Jo,
If you are reading this then I’m either dead or nearly so. I know I should have told you much sooner about the cancer, but I didn’t want you to worry. I didn’t want you to feel obligated to come home.
You’ve built a great life for yourself in Portland and I’m so proud of you. I’ve always been proud of you, even if we didn’t always see eye to eye.
You are every bit as beautiful as your beloved mother. I’m so glad all her lessons in how to be a lady weren’t wasted. She would be so pleased to see the wonderful woman you’ve become. Although you look so much like her and your Grandma Sunny, I know you inherited your ol’ dad’s stubbornness, sense of humor, and love of cars if that sporty little thing you drove home last time you came is any indication.
I feel confident leaving the ranch in your very capable hands, Lexi. You know and love every inch of this place. If, at some point, you decide you’d rather sell it than live here, do it with my blessing. I only want you to be happy.
From what the doc tells me, my mind won’t be my own when this thing ends so in the event I do something completely crazy before anyone can stop me, I’m leaving you some money that won’t be in a bank account.
I could draw you a treasure map and turn you loose, but I want you to work for it a little. My pop always said the harder we work for something, the more we appreciate it.
You’ve been good about appreciating all your many blessings, Lex. Always be that sweet girl and know I love you.
Dad
P.S. Your first clue… The Raven
Lexi stared at the letter in her hand, swiping at her tears before they dripped on the page and smeared her father’s precious words. She needed so badly to have his approval, to feel his love. Tonight it was there, wrapping around her as comfortingly as the blanket draped across the back of the couch.
She’d worry about the money and clue tomorrow. For now, she just wanted to remember all the wonderful things she loved about her dad.
Saturday was a bright and beautiful day with unusually warm temperatures.
As Ty walked toward the shop that morning, he listened to cattle mooing, horses whinnying, birds chirping. He stopped a moment to absorb the sounds.
Without much effort, he had grown accustomed to country living. Although he was usually so busy he thought weariness might overtake him before he finally dragged himself to bed, life moved at a slower, less hectic pace. For the first time in his life, Ty took time to notice the smells, sounds, sights and tastes that encompassed his days. He loved living on the ranch.
The other thing he loved, all too much, was watching Lexi. She could ride the hands into the ground, wrestle animals into submission, and still look lovelier than any other woman he’d ever met.
Ty had yet to see her dressed in anything but boots, jeans and work shirts, other than the night he saw her in a tank top when he helped pull the calf. Lexi made whatever she wore look good.
Way too good.
He cast a quick glance at the big ranch house. Surprise melted into delight at the sight of Lexi’s perfect posterior sticking out of Baby’s doghouse. Although the dog rarely used it, she did have a nice doghouse in a corner of the backyard.
Mindful he should get to work in the shop, Ty instead made a beeline for the doghouse. Entranced by the view as Lexi’s fanny wiggled back and forth while she dug around in Baby’s domain, he was in no hurry to announce his presence.
“Have a craving for a well-chewed bone?” Ty finally asked.
Caught off guard, she smacked her head on the doghouse. She scooted out and sat on her heels, rubbing her head. “Hey,” she said, giving him a narrowed glare. “You startled me.”
“Sorry about that,” he said, offering her his hand so she could rise to her feet. “Did you lose something in there?”
“Not exactly,” Lexi said, still rubbing her head. She wasn’t sure if she should tell Ty the truth, but decided he’d more than proven himself trustworthy. The clue about the raven her dad left behind led her to his collection of literature where another clue was stuck in a book of Edgar Allen Poe’s poems.
My Baby
Assuming her dad referred to the dog, Lexi decided to look through the doghouse first. The doghouse, unlike many slapped together projects, had siding painted the same buttery shade of yellow as the house with green and white trim. It also boasted a wood floor. Baby had a big pillow on top of an old blanket to snuggling into when she chose to stay in her abode.
“Need any help?” Ty asked, holding on to Lexi’s fingers while she rubbed her head with her other hand.
“Maybe.” She released a deep breath and Ty’s hand. “My dad, he …um… well, he wasn’t himself for a while before he died and he hid some money somewhere on the ranch. That letter you gave me the other day confirmed my suspicions of what he’d done. Instead of telling me where it is, he made a series of clues I’m supposed to find and decipher. No one else knows about this, even Swede, and I’d really like to keep it that way.”
“Sure, Lexi, I understand,” Ty said, and he did. The thought of finding buried treasure could bring out the worst in some people as greed overrode sense. “One of the clues brought you out to Baby’s house?”
“Yeah. The first one was ‘The Raven,’ which led me to dad’s book of Poe’s poetry. The clue I found there said, ‘My Baby.’ I assume he’s referring to the dog,” Lexi said, hoping she hadn’t made a mistake in trusting Ty.
He squatted down and removed everything from the dog’s house including chewed up toys, bones and things he didn’t want identified. There wasn’t any place inside Lex could have hidden a clue. When he realized the doghouse was moveable, Ty tipped it up while Lexi looked beneath it, but didn’t find anything. He ran his hands under the edges of the frame and still found nothing.
Lost in thought, he stared at the doghouse for a while. Finally, he turned to Lexi with a knowing smile. “Did your dad have a favorite photo of you?”
“Yes, he did.,” Lexi walked across the yard and up the porch steps with Ty right behind her. “He kept it on his desk. I shoved it in a drawer when I took over the ranch.”
Lexi stepped into the office and sat down at the desk. Rummaging in one of the drawers, she pulled out a framed photo of her sitting on her dad’s lap in his car, looking into his face with adoration.
Reverently running her fingers across the frame of the photo, she stared at it a moment before turning it over and removing the back. Taped to the back of the photo was another clue.
1969
“Is that a significant year?” Ty asked, glad they found the next clue.
“My dad graduated from high school that year. A box of yearbooks should be around here somewhere. Guess I’ll have to find it before I can discover the next clue.” Lexi placed the back on the photo
and set the frame on a corner of the desk.
“If you need any help, just let me know.” Ty moved to the office door, followed by Lexi.
“Thanks, Ty. I really appreciate it.” She placed a warm hand on his arm that made them both jump when heat snapped between them.
“You’re welcome. And don’t worry. I won’t say anything to anyone. Cal and Jimmy would start digging holes all over the ranch looking for a treasure if they found out.”
“That they would,” Lexi said with a grin as Ty walked out the door. He stopped in the yard long enough to put all of Baby’s stuff back in her house before returning to the shop.
An hour later, his focus remained on Lexi and the vision of her digging around in Baby’s house. Annoyed with himself, he shook his head to clear his thoughts. He turned his attention to the part in his hand just as Gus popped his head inside the door.
“The boss is making lunch for us today. Said to be at the house at noon, dude,” Gus said then hurried on his way to the barn.
“Thanks,” Ty called after him. The day was getting better and better. Aware of Lexi’s culinary talents, he looked forward to the meal.
At a quarter of twelve, he took off his coveralls and washed up. In the small bathroom, he looked in the mirror and combed his hair that had grown too long again. He stopped at barbershop in Burns last week to have it trimmed, but the guy that cut it assured him women went wild over hair like his and didn’t cut it as short as he wanted. Ty didn’t feel like arguing with him, so he resigned himself to getting it trimmed again in a few weeks.
After making sure he didn’t have any grease on his face, Ty decided he looked presentable. He whistled to Baby as she lounged on her bed in the corner. The dog followed him to the house where she plopped down on the back porch.
Lexi was outside grilling burgers. An assortment of chips, dip, fruit salad, buns, and all the fixings needed for a great hamburger spread across the checkered cloth covering a big picnic table in the yard.
As the rest of the crew ambled into the yard with clean hands and faces, they all tipped their hats at Lexi and thanked her for inviting them for lunch.
“It’s too nice a day not to barbecue something,” Lexi said with a laugh. “I’m not quite as handy with the grill as Ty, but I think I can make an edible burger.”
“I’m sure it will be dandy,” Swede said, fishing a bottle of pop out of a cooler Lexi had left near the table. “Ya didn’t need to go to extra work for us.”
“It’s my pleasure,” Lexi said, flipping burgers. “You have all worked so hard. Let’s just call this a little thank you.”
The conversation was lively as they sat down to eat. Ty thought he might actually give in to his desire to kiss Lexi when she brought out a huge chocolate cake with ice cream. None of the cowboys were good at baking, so his sweet tooth had been extremely deprived.
“This is so good,” Ty said as Lexi offered him a second piece of cake and he gladly accepted it.
The men helped clean up the dishes and leftovers then sat around the yard resting in the sunshine and enjoying a rare mid-day break. Lexi told them to relax as long as they wanted before she disappeared into the house.
Ty opened another bottle of soda, teasing Jimmy about something he’d done the previous day. Jimmy didn’t pay him any mind as his gaze focused on the back door of the house.
Ty followed his stare as he tilted the bottle of soda upward, missed his mouth, and slowly poured the sticky drink down his shirtfront before he realized what he was doing.
Lexi strode across the porch looking like she stepped out of a photo shoot for a fashion designer. Her long black hair floated around her in glossy waves, her lips were ruby red, and trendy sunglasses covered her eyes. She wore a black sequined cocktail dress that hugged her curves to perfection and hit her a few inches above her knees. Her legs, her crazy long legs, carried her toward Ty one swaying step at a time on a pair of heels that made his thoughts spin out of control. All the while, ZZ Top’s song Legs played loudly in his head.
Abruptly realizing soda soaked into his shirt, Ty set the bottle down next to his chair and jumped to his feet, along with the rest of the crew.
“Land sakes, boss, where in tarnation are ya’ headed?” Swede asked as Lexi stopped by him.
“Portland. I promised a friend I’d attend a fundraiser tonight, so I need to get on the road if I’m going to be there in time. You guys enjoy your afternoon. I’ll be back tomorrow before dark.” Lexi adjusted the overnight bag on her arm as she addressed the group, although her attention was centered on Ty. “Mind helping me with the garage doors?”
“Sure thang,” Swede said, following her out the back gate. With the rest of the crew looking at their boss like she’d grown a second head, he called to Ty. “Dude, come help me with this door.”
Ty managed to engage his brain just enough to run over and help Swede pull the two big garage doors open. Lexi backed out in a cute little sports car, waved her hand, and zipped down the driveway.
Aware that Ty couldn’t take his eyes from her departing car, Swede slapped him on the back and cackled. “Whooee! She plumb threw ya for a loop, didn’t she?”
Ty didn’t pay any attention to Swede. He was watching Lexi drive away in her sports car – a sexy car for a very sexy woman.
“If ya like that car, I bet ya’ll love the one in the garage,” Swede said and tugged on Ty’s arm.
Ty followed as Swede led the way into a building that originally served Lexi’s ancestors as a carriage and sleigh house. A cloth-covered vehicle piqued his interest.
Swede pulled off the cover to reveal a machine that made Ty grin from ear to ear. In need of a paint job and no doubt a complete restoration, Ty couldn’t stop from running his hand along the fender and over the hood of a black 1969 Mustang Boss 429.
A soft whistle blew from his lips as he opened the door and allowed the musty air to escape before sitting in the seat. The interior needed some work, but nothing that wasn’t manageable.
“Is this her car?” Ty set his hands on the wheel and imagined driving the car down an open road.
“Nah,” Swede said, leaning on the doorframe. “This was her daddy’s car. Lex bought this brand-spankin’ new back when he was a young feller. He was gonna restore it but jes never got around to it. Lex Jr., says it reminds her of her daddy and plans to get the car fixed one of these days.”
Ty climbed out and popped the hood. Suddenly, he wanted to fix this car. Not just for the challenge of fixing it, which was plenty of motivation for him, but because it would make Lexi happy.
“Ya know anything about this vehicle?” Swede asked, watching Ty as he continued to examine the car.
“A little. They only made 859 of these cars in 1969. Ford wanted to develop a Hemi engine that could compete with Chrysler in a NASCAR race, so that’s how this car came to be. They contracted an outside company to create the Boss 429 by making extensive modifications to the Ford Mustang,” Ty said, warming to the subject. Cars that looked good and went fast were among his most favored hobbies. “They rated the cars at 375 horsepower with 450 pounds of torque but the actual output was well over 500 horsepower. Imagine how this baby could rip up the road.”
“Don’t have to imagine,” Swede said, giving Ty a grin. “Lex let me ride in it a few times and I even drove it to Bend once.”
“No way.” Ty stared at the weathered foreman.
“Yep. And yer correct, she rips right on down the road,” Swede said with another cackle. “Thet’s more words than I’ve heard ya string together since ya been here. If I ain’t careful, I’d get the idea ya have a things for sports cars and purty girls.”
Ty snapped his head up at Swede’s observation. He could deny it, but that would be lying and directly violated rule number three on the cowboy code Swede gave him. Instead, he offered the older man a grin.
“Guess that might be true.” Ty appeared only mildly guilty. “I may be out in the sticks but I’m not blind or dumb.”
“I never thought she was. Not even for a moment.” Ty narrowed his gaze and glared at Swede. “She’s a lady and my boss. I haven’t forgotten that.”
Swede nodded his head and finished closing the door. “Good. Glad we’re ridin’ the same direction on thet subject. Jes so ya know, I don’t think a little lookin’ will cause any harm.”
“Right.” A little looking had already caused Ty a great deal of harm. He was in complete danger of losing his heart to the alluring and enchanting Lexi.
In the midst of making a chocolate cake after inviting the guys for lunch, Lexi was surprised when a friend called to remind her about the fundraiser she promised to attend that evening. With all the spring ranch work, it completely slipped Lexi’s mind. The last thing she wanted was to make the long drive to Portland, socialize with a bunch of snobby, stuffy people nibbling on overrated food, spend money on something she didn’t really want, and act like she enjoyed the entire experience.
Months ago, she told her friend to count on her being there to offer support and she wouldn’t go back on her word. However, she didn’t want to disappoint her ranch crew after asking them to lunch. Quickly deciding on a picnic lunch, she could feed the men and still have time to get ready and on the road.
While the men lingered, eating more cake and swapping stories, she curled her hair, and did her makeup, then dressed. By the time she returned downstairs wearing the black dress with a smattering of sequins, she’d warmed considerably to the idea of being dressed up and feeling like a woman instead of one more hand on the ranch.
The opportunities for her to wear cocktail attire were extremely limited in Harney County. For one evening, it might be fun to pretend she was a trendy urbanite.
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