Montana Homecoming

by Jeannie Watt

  He was on his way back to the house to rustle up something so that Lester and Will could have dinner when they got in from the fields, when the landline rang from inside the kitchen.

  He hurried his steps and caught it on the third ring. Reynaldo.

  “Hey,” Reynaldo said. “I’m not calling about a job.”

  That was a first. He and Reynaldo had roomed together in college and worked together as interns during the summer breaks. Then they’d both been hired by Agri-Tech, but Reynaldo had been the only one who’d shown up for the job. Reynaldo had climbed the ranks quickly and whenever a job came open, he called Travis, just in case his circumstances had changed.

  “What are you calling about?”

  “To see if you have a job.”

  Travis sat down at the table. “You’re kidding.” He’d offered jobs as a joking counter to Rey’s requests that he go to work for Agri-Tech, but Rey had always laughed it off.

  “I’m not. My company got swallowed whole by a larger company, and now they’re spitting out the pieces.”

  “You’re one of them?”

  “I will be as of the end of September. And if I don’t get something nailed down by then, well, I’m preparing for the worst.”

  Travis and his grandfather had talked more than once about hiring full-time help, instead of relying on day hands when there was extra work or emergencies, but always tabled the matter. But now that Will would be spending more time in town, maybe it was time to reopen the matter. There was a lot of downtime, but when harvest was upon them, they needed help.

  “I’ll talk to my grandfather,” Travis said. “Let you know.”

  “I’d appreciate it. I might not need a job—”

  “But then again you might.”

  “Exactly.”

  Travis pulled open the fridge after ending the call. If he had taken one of the jobs Rey had asked him to interview for, then he would be in the same boat. But he had a ranch to come home to. Rey had next to nothing as far as a support system.

  He pulled out a package of hamburgers and opened it on the counter, thinking sloppy joes, which could be kept warm until Will and Lester came in. And, once they’d eaten and headed to town, he was going to fire up the swather and cut more hay. They needed to make up for the time lost with the uncooperative tractor.

  * * *

  BILLY WAS SURPRISINGLY skittish when Cassie had first gotten on him, but he’d settled quickly and had an excellent ride over the bridge and along the edge of the Ambrose Mountain foothills—her favorite ride.

  When she got back to the ranch, her mind was finally clear. Not that she had any better answers to any of her questions, but they were no longer crowding to the front of her thoughts.

  She’d just started making a sandwich for supper when her phone rang. Anna Lee.

  So much for serenity.

  “What’s going on?” Cassie asked after a quick hello.

  “I don’t know,” Anna Lee confessed. “But I’m beginning to think I cried wolf and I want to apologize for that.”

  “No problem.” She’d rather be clued in that something might be going on than to be left in the dark.

  “There was an air of tension at the last board meeting, but no one made reference to anything that couldn’t be talked about. And now I notice that the only jumpy department is Accounting, which I don’t understand because they are understaffed. Everyone is safe there.”

  “Maybe some entity has called for an audit.”

  “That’s what I’ve been thinking. The board might be twitchy about that, but they wouldn’t say anything until it was official. And they’d have to get their ducks in a row, so yes. I think that’s it.”

  “Has, uh, Rhonda joked about not retiring?”

  “Yesterday she almost pulled her hair out after meeting with the cadre of upper-elementary teachers who hate the new math program. If you’d offered her retirement papers then and there, I think she would have signed on the dotted line.”

  Cassie laughed, and it felt good.

  “I’m sorry if I got you rattled for no reason. Like I said, there is an air of tension, but I don’t think it has anything to do with personnel or big changes.”

  “Just an audit.”

  “That’s my guess.”

  “I appreciate being kept in the know, Anna Lee, so please, call anytime. It’ll help me do my job better when I get back.”

  “I’m looking forward to that. I like working for you best.”

  Cassie hung up smiling. Ninety-nine problems and her job wasn’t one of them.

  * * *

  “I THINK I’VE done enough in the barn.” Not that he didn’t enjoy spending time with Cassie, but even with the hours he’d put in the previous evening, they were behind schedule knocking down the hay.

  Will gave Travis a look. “Lester and I can handle it. And we have Adam lined up if we need more help.” Yet another of Will’s retired coffee klatch buddies.

  “Adam can’t see.”

  “He can see well enough to drive circles in a field. The ladies need some muscle in the barn, and who better than you?”

  “You?” Travis asked pointedly.

  “I’m the patriarch.”

  Who was about to move to town and wasn’t getting any younger. Maybe this was his last hurrah as far as haying went.

  “Fine. But next haying season, you’re going to do the wedding decorating.”

  Will slowly lifted his gaze. “You think there might be another wedding next summer?”

  Travis managed to refrain from rolling his eyes. His grandfather might be acting more normally, but he wasn’t done with the idea of bringing Travis and Cassie together.

  Neither was he, but he didn’t need help. Not Will’s help anyway. A little cooperation from Cassie would not go amiss.

  “I’m thinking of getting extra cash by renting out the barn as a venue. I found a website where I can list it.”

  Will’s eyes went wide, and then his eyebrows crashed together as he realized he’d been played. “Lester’s waiting.” He snatched his gloves up from the counter. “Have fun in the barn.”

  Travis gave a soft laugh. If Rey came on board, could he handle Will?

  He’d yet to bring up the matter, but he would. When the time was right. With Will, you had to choose your moments.

  A car drove over the cattle guard and Travis pushed aside the curtain to ascertain what he already knew. The Callahan women had arrived, and it was time to start tacking doodads around the barn.

  He reached for his ball cap and headed out the door as Will and Lester headed out into the fields.

  Lucky.

  And it was no surprise that when Rosalie outlined the plan for the day, he and Cassie were paired together.

  “Would you two mind handling anything that requires a ladder?” Rosalie asked before she ended the meeting.

  “You bet,” Travis said. He exchanged a look with Cassie, who merely raised her eyebrows—probably because everyone was watching them. But it didn’t seem to bother her one bit.

  “You’re in a good mood,” he commented later as they lay on their stomachs on the loft floor, tacking garlands to the edge. They hadn’t spoken much that morning, mainly because of watchful eyes, which in turn made him wish he was haying, like he should be doing.

  Cassie’s staple gun slipped, and she fired a shot into the air. She tried again and managed to tack the garland to the old floorboards. She swung around so that she was sitting with her legs crossed in front of her. “I got a call from my associate last night.”

  “Must have been a good one.”

  “It was. And I went riding. Nick brought his horses back from the Dunlop ranch and his gelding and I went for a ride along the foothills.”

  “What you guys doing up there?” Gloria called in a playful voice. “Workin
g or gabbing?”

  “Discussing garland placement,” Cassie called back.

  Travis gestured to the straw bales stacked against the wall and they scooted over to them, effectively out of sight from below as they sat side by side, leaning their backs against the bales. “If they want us, they can shout,” he said.

  “Like they won’t. And Gloria isn’t above climbing the ladder to see what’s going on.”

  “We’re taking a break.”

  This was their last day alone together before the families arrived. After that the wedding whirlwind would begin with a cocktail party, followed by a rehearsal dinner and then the wedding itself. One week after that, Cassie was leaving, heading to campus to start taking classes to earn her doctorate in education—and once she was off the ranch, focused again on her career, Travis suspected that despite good intentions, she would slide back into being the Cassie she’d been when she’d first arrived home, which was so different from the woman with her shoulder pressed against his as they leaned against the straw.

  “Tell me about the ride.”

  “What’s to tell?” she asked. “It felt good. Relaxing.” She leaned closer to him and said in a conspiratorial voice, “It had the exact effect I’d hoped for and has convinced me that I need a kitten and a horse...just maybe not the horse I bought.”

  “What are you going to do about that?”

  “I have a proposal for you.”

  Maybe the last thing he’d expected. “Do you?”

  “What would you say to using McHenry’s Gold as a brood mare?”

  “I’d say I couldn’t afford her because someone jacked up the price at the auction.”

  Cassie lifted her chin. “What if I was talking a trade?”

  “What kind of trade?”

  “I would trade the mare for her first foal...if you trained it for me. I’m talking more than thirty days. I’d like a finished, dependable horse.”

  “And I would get all future foals?”

  Cassie nodded.

  “I would definitely consider that. But what will you do for a horse in the meantime?”

  She gave a shrug. “Make do with my kitten.” They sat side by side watching the activity below. Gloria and Rosalie placing floral arrangements and decorating the old hay rake that they’d placed in the far corner. Katie was setting up folding tables while the little girls played hide-and-seek with the kittens, who were becoming friendlier by the minute.

  “Have you ever taken a vacation?” Cassie asked.

  Travis gave her a frowning look. “Where’d that come from?”

  “I’m curious.”

  “My entire life is a vacation. I live on a ranch in Montana.” Sweating in the sun, freezing in the winter. Work that never ended, because the forces of nature were constantly brewing up surprises to deal with.

  “Stop hedging. You said you thought about places you’d like to see, things you’d like to do. Have you done more than think?”

  “Cassie...”

  “Oh, what? It’s not so comfortable to be on the receiving end of helpful life advice? You know, like hearing, ‘Hey, you look really stressed.’”

  “I’m good with my life as it is, Cassie.” Or he had been until she’d walked back into it. Now he didn’t want her to leave, and he was thinking more and more about what he hadn’t done.

  She put a hand on his knee. “Have you taken a vacation? Done any of the things you’ve thought about?”

  His mouth tightened as he gave his head a slow shake.

  “That isn’t healthy.”

  “Maybe I like my life as is.” And maybe he felt as if he’d missed something along the way. Something that Cassie and most of the people he grew up with experienced.

  “Do I have to challenge you to take a vacation?” she asked softly. “Do I have to issue a double-dog—”

  His mouth came down on hers and Cassie’s hand slid up around his neck as she answered his kiss. When he raised his head, she met his gaze in a no-nonsense way. “An excellent deflection, but time passes quickly, and you need to think about this, Travis.”

  He pressed his lips into a flat line. He knew about time passing quickly. It wasn’t long until Cassie headed off to work on her degree, and he wanted things more settled than they were.

  “I can’t think of anything specific that I missed out on. And more than that, the company I was going to work for has been taken over by a conglomerate. My friend there is being let go in a couple of months. I’d probably be doing the same.”

  “Cassie!” Cassie jumped as her sister bellowed from below. “Are you playing hooky?”

  “We’re discussing important stuff.”

  Travis gave her a what-the-heck look, but she merely shrugged as she rose to her feet. “Trust me. That will make them leave us alone.”

  Travis also stood. “No doubt.” He shook his head as he looked down at her. “We make our choices, Cassie. I chose family, you chose work. Neither of us is totally right nor wrong.”

  “And that leaves us without much of a middle ground.”

  “I think—”

  But he didn’t get a chance to tell her what he thought because a crash, followed by a cry from one of the girls, had them on their feet, heading for the ladder. He headed down first, then caught Cassie by the waist as she missed a step on the way down. They’d secured the heavy panels with wire and there was no way they were coming loose, but there were other things that could fall...like a box filled with glassware and florist marbles that had been set on a low step stool. As near as Travis could tell, one of the little girls had hit it while chasing a kitten.

  “It’s okay,” Rosalie crooned as she stroked the hair back from Bailey’s forehead. “But please be more careful.”

  “Thank goodness these things are sturdy,” Gloria said as she picked up a vase that had rolled close to her feet unharmed.

  Yes, the thick glass vases were okay, but there were pieces of rounded glass everywhere that were meant to hold flowers in place.

  They’d barely gotten things cleared up when Lester came into the barn, holding his old-school flip phone in one hand. “Travis? I hate to do this, but I gotta head to town. Mavis’s car broke down and she’s blocking one of the entrances to Hardwick’s.”

  “It’s okay,” Rosalie said to Travis, tucking an errant gray curl behind her ear. “We have this under control. Go cut hay.”

  Travis gave Cassie a quick look.

  “Be right back,” she said to her grandmother and walked with him and Lester to the door.

  “I hate to abandon you guys,” Lester said after unnecessarily pointing to the swather parked in the field.

  “We’ll be fine, and Hardwick’s and Mavis will thank you,” Travis said.

  “Right. And I’ll be back tomorrow.”

  After Lester started across the driveway to his car, Travis turned to Cassie. “We’ll pick up this discussion of middle grounds later. I have some thoughts on the matter.”

  And since Cassie hated unfinished business, he could see that she’d like very much to hash it out then and there. “Later,” he said softly before leaning in to give her a light kiss on the lips.

  “Later it is.” She smiled ruefully. “If we get a minute alone after the families arrive.”

  “We’ll find the time.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  “THERE THEY ARE!” Kendra pointed toward the staircase that led from the security level of the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport to the area near the baggage claim. Bailey gave a happy holler and both girls launched themselves at their grandparents almost before they’d stepped off the bottom stair.

  “Come on, loves, let’s step out of the way,” Frances said in her delightful accent, while Pete leaned down to scoop a girl up in each arm.

  “I’ll get these guys to safety,” he said, maki
ng Bailey giggle. He handed Bailey off to Frances, then held out his arm to Cassie, who stepped in for a hug.

  “Long time, Dad. I’m sorry about that.”

  “Don’t be. We’re staying longer this time to make up for it.”

  “What about your vet practice?”

  “We’re training the couple who are going to buy it from us,” Frances said. “We’ll work together for a year, then Pete and I will start phasing ourselves into retirement.” She looked around. “And then I guess I’ll get used to living in Big Sky Country.”

  “We’ll visit back home, honey,” Pete said, and it struck Cassie that her dad thought of Australia as home. She’d never really thought of Wisconsin that way, despite living there for over a decade.

  “Katie, get over here,” Pete said as he set Kendra on her feet. “So good to see you, hon,” he said as he enveloped her in a bear hug.

  “You’re going to sleep in Katie’s bedroom,” Kendra said. “You have to share with Tigger.” Katie’s big ginger cat.

  “I’m sure we’ll all enjoy that,” Frances said with a laugh.

  The baggage claim buzzer sounded and Frances set Bailey on the floor before they made their way closer.

  “My bag always comes out last,” she said, “so I don’t get too excited.” She smiled in the direction of her husband, who was toeing up to the carousel. “Pete has a different philosophy.” She adjusted the strap of her travel bag. “Is the order of events the same as the email from last week?”

  “It is,” Katie confirmed. “We’ll have the wedding rehearsal tomorrow, followed by drinks and hors d’oeuvres. The next day is the wedding, and then we’re free to do some visiting and maybe see some sights if the rain lets up.”

  “Yes,” Pete said from over his shoulder. “What is it with this rain? I came home to see some blue skies and mountains.”

  “Like we don’t have those back home,” Frances sniffed.

  Cassie watched the interplay between Frances and her father with a smile. It was wonderful to see him so happy. When he’d had to make the hard choice five years ago as to whether or not to marry Frances and emigrate, he’d made the right one. Compromise in action.