The Rancher and the Rich Girl

by Heather MacAllister

  “Which I’ve helped earn,” Jessica replied, just as pointedly. Time for a chat with the bank and a new account. “I agreed to pay Matt for housing us here and teaching Sam about ranch life. In turn, he bought his building supplies from us.” She smiled.

  Rachel slowly removed her glasses and looked at her. “The man is broke, Jessica, and clearly stringing you along for all he can get, which is obviously quite a lot.”

  Ignore her. “He didn’t ask. I offered.”

  “And I will not ask the particulars of what it was that you offered.” Back on went the glasses. “I checked into him—”

  “You had Matt investigated?”

  “Of course! Did you think I wanted my only grandchild going off to some place I knew nothing about?”

  “I’m here with him, Rachel.” Jessica was finding it difficult to hold on to her temper.

  “But your judgment is clearly flawed.” Rachel read from the paper. “He came from Lost Springs, but we knew that. However, there is nothing of his life prior to that. He left Lost Springs and came here. Now, this ranch has an interesting history. It apparently passed from the Novak family—lost in a poker game, I believe?—to one Barnaby Schultz, a second-rate magician. Mr. Schultz bequeathed the ranch to Mr. Winston less than two years ago.” Rachel looked at her. “The man is quite good-looking, I give you that, but, Jessica, he came from nothing and he has nothing.”

  Jessica gave her a direct look. “He has everything I want.”

  “Don’t be vulgar.”

  “I wasn’t. You are.”

  Removing her glasses, Rachel slipped them into their case and stuffed the papers back into her purse. “The man is a fortune hunter, Jessica. He is exactly the sort of man the Fremonts have always guarded against. But I don’t blame you. You have been an exemplary daughter-in-law. These men always prey on our weaknesses and I’m aware that you are still young and attractive.”

  “Matt isn’t like that.”

  “They’re all like that.” Rachel snapped her purse shut. “I’ve come to take Sam back with me.”

  “Sam doesn’t want to leave yet. He likes it here. And he likes Matt. They get along great together.”

  Rachel winced as though in pain. “It isn’t appropriate for him to remain here. Surely you realize that.”

  “Now just a minute—”

  “And if you can’t see that carrying on with a man in front of your son is wrong, then I must reevaluate your suitability as Sam’s mother.”

  Jessica’s jaw dropped. What was the matter with her? “I am Sam’s mother. It’s not a position you hold interviews for.”

  “I have only Sam’s best interests at heart, as I’m sure you do. But others might question your judgment.”

  “What others?”

  Rachel’s eyes shifted before looking at Jessica defiantly. “There are laws that protect children in undesirable situations such as this.”

  Jessica barely recognized the woman who clutched her purse with white-knuckled hands. Or rather, she recognized her as the woman who’d years ago tried to keep her son from marrying Jessica. “Are you actually threatening to try to take Sam away from me?”

  “Naturally I hope it won’t come to that—”

  “You’re darn right it won’t!” Jessica stood. “I’m going to get Sam so you can visit with him, but after that, feeling as you do, it would be best if you left.”

  “Not without my grandson.”

  “Rachel, you have no right to—”

  She held up a hand. “Hear me out. Sam will come back with me. You may stay here until...until you have this man out of your system, and I will welcome you home. In the meantime, whatever decisions you make about your personal life, you will not be allowed to mortgage Sam’s future.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I have a court order denying you further access to all Fremont funds.”

  “I have never touched Fremont money! That money was money I earned! I’ve worked for the company for almost ten years.” A court order? Rachel already had a court order? How easy would it be for her to get the same sympathetic judge to give her custody of Sam?

  “Fremont Construction. The company is being held in trust for your son.”

  “I know that. I also know that if I hadn’t found our niche market in providing custom work, there wouldn’t be much of a company to be held in trust.”

  Rachel shook her head sadly. “That’s why I know you’ll thank me for keeping you from throwing it all away.”

  “I’m not throwing any of it away. I agreed to pay Matt for our room and board.”

  “Fine. Call it what you like, but there will be no more ‘room and board’ payments. Much as it pains me to see you disillusioned, I’d advise you to tell your lover that you have no more money to give him and then see how long he finds you irresistible.”

  * * *

  SO THAT WAS RACHEL FREMONT. Matt didn’t like the woman much, but he figured there had to be some good in her if she was Sam’s grandmother and Jessica had lived with her all these years. He understood that they’d had a disagreement, so he decided to spot her an insult or two.

  But only to him, not Jessica or Sam.

  He went looking for Sam and found him in the barn. “Hi, there. Looks like you did a good job putting up Black Star.”

  Sam gave him a quick look and went back to currying the horse. “My gramma’s here.”

  “I saw her.”

  “We’ll probably have to leave now.”

  Matt figured as much, too. Losing Jessica was bad enough, but he was going to miss working with Sam, miss having someone to talk to while he did chores. Miss seeing the boy grow up. He swallowed and kept his voice steady. “Well, we knew you’d have to go home sometime.”

  “Yeah, but I was going to try to get another week out of Mom.”

  Matt grinned, even though he’d already gone numb inside. He’d deal with the hurt later. Maybe they could come visit again. He almost said as much, but decided he’d better not.

  Sam finished with Black Star. “Are Shelby and Tobias outside?”

  Matt nodded.

  Sam reached into his pocket. “Lita gave me cookies for them.”

  “You didn’t tell her you fed them to the animals, did you?”

  “She already knew. That’s why she makes so many.”

  They couldn’t go through the hole anymore, so they had to walk out front, then around the side of the barn. Sheba was sunning herself against the wall, looking a lot better. She might have a few years left in her after all, Matt thought. The vet had already told him he could halve the medicine he gave her in the injections, which, thanks to Jessica, he could afford. Maybe all the old tiger needed was a couple of good nights’ sleep and some food. The hamburger seemed to do the trick.

  As soon as the zebra and the mule saw Sam, they came trotting over to the fence. He stood on the bottom railing and handed them each a cookie.

  Caesar chattered at them from the roof of the barn. Matt sighed. He was running out of coins for the fool monkey.

  “I don’t suppose your mom gave you any pennies?”

  Sam shook his head. “You don’t need them. Just dance for him.”

  “Dance for Caesar?”

  “Yeah. You know, spin around and hop.”

  Matt didn’t know. “And then what?”

  Sam laughed. “Then you say ‘coin.’ Here, watch.” Brushing off his hands, he hopped down from the fence. As Matt watched, he turned around in a circle, then hopped from one foot to the other a few times.

  Caesar’s head twitched as he followed Sam’s movements. Sam added another spin, then shouted, “Coin!”

  Caesar took off.

  “Where’s he going?” Matt asked.

  Sam gave
him a funny look. “To get a coin, of course.”

  Well, how about that? Sure enough, within a couple of minutes, Caesar scurried up to Sam.

  Sam held out his hand and the monkey solemnly put a coin in it. Then Sam bit the coin.

  Matt laughed and Sam did, too. “I think Caesar likes that part,” Sam said. “Hey, look. This is another strange one.” He handed it to Matt.

  Matt stared. “It’s gold. Where did it come from?”

  “From Caesar.”

  “I meant before that. You say you’ve got others?”

  Sam nodded.

  When Barnaby needed money, he’d just spend a coin. “So when you dance, Caesar brings you a coin?”

  “Yeah. You want to try?”

  Okay, for gold, Matt would dance for a monkey. In front of a giggling Sam, he turned around, then hopped from foot to foot.

  Caesar squeaked.

  “So what do you think? Worth a coin?”

  Caesar took off, returning minutes later with another coin. It wasn’t gold, but it was an Indian Head penny.

  “Sam,” Matt said, trying not to get too hopeful. “What do you say we try to find out where Caesar keeps his stash?”

  * * *

  “WHAT ARE THEY DOING?”

  Jessica and Rachel looked out the front windows as Matt and Sam hopped and twirled their way across the ranch yard. Periodically Caesar would appear, then run away again.

  “They’re playing with the monkey,” she replied just as Lita came into view and said something to Matt.

  When Caesar next appeared, Sam got her to do the dance and Caesar took off. Jessica smiled.

  Rachel’s expression was pained. “The sooner my grandson is away from this place, the better.”

  Jessica faced her mother-in-law. “Sam likes it here. He’s grown up a lot, Rachel. We’ve been babying him too much. Matt taught me that.”

  “You said he’d get tired of playing cowboy. Has he?”

  Jessica shook her head. “Not yet.”

  “His life is back in Lightning Creek, Jessica.”

  “Is it? Or is it the life we want him to have?”

  “He’s too young to know what he wants. It’s our responsibility to guide him.” Rachel stood. “If you will not begin packing, then I will. Where is Sam’s room?”

  Jessica stayed by the front door. “If Sam doesn’t want to leave, then I’m not going to make him.”

  Rachel’s face was rigid. “You’re being irresponsible. Any court will agree with me.”

  “Rachel, listen to yourself. That’s twice you’ve threatened to drag the Fremont name through the courts in a nasty custody fight. Think of the nice, juicy story it will make for the newspapers.” Jessica hadn’t been a Fremont all this time for nothing.

  Rachel changed tactics. “What about your job, then?”

  “I’ve been doing it from here, haven’t you noticed? The only thing I can’t do is inspect sites and make bids. The new catalog is ready to go to press and I found an ironworker and wood carver.”

  At that moment, a familiar mufflerless rumble heralded the arrival of Frank’s truck. Who would be driving it was anybody’s guess.

  Jessica looked outside, not at all surprised to see Frank emerge, turn around to help Carmen out and, finally, Katya. They spoke with Lita, who was gesturing animatedly toward the house. After a moment, they proceeded up the path.

  “Some of Matt’s friends are here to meet you.” Jessica faced her mother-in-law. “Please remember that you are a Fremont and behave with all due civility.”

  Rachel’s mouth dropped open at the same time the little group arrived at the door.

  Carmen was in her best black, Katya was bedecked with gold and Frank wore a suit and had slicked back his hair.

  Jessica introduced everyone and stepped back as they sat down.

  “So you are young Sam’s grandmother,” Carmen said, the leather sofa hissing under her weight. “He is a fine boy. So polite.”

  Frank nodded, his mustache quivering.

  Katya added, “And my Krinkov says he’s a smart one. He is very quick with the cards.”

  “Cards?” Rachel inquired with an ominous look at Jessica.

  Carmen clutched both her throat and Katya’s arm. “Katya, the muddiness of her aura...the mustard-yellow. Do you see it?” Carmen winced. “Such pain.”

  Making a tsking sound, Katya took Rachel’s hand and studied it. “Oh, my dear,” she said, covering her mouth and shaking her head. “Such a loss.”

  Rachel looked completely nonplussed.

  “Which teacup is yours?” Carmen asked.

  A bemused Rachel pointed, and Carmen had her swish the cup around before looking into it. “Yes, I see the loss...it has been in the past but affects you still. A husband?” she guessed.

  “A child?” Katya asked.

  Rachel’s mouth quivered. “Yes!” she cried. “Yes!”

  Katya patted her hand sympathetically. “Which?”

  “My husband and my son.”

  Both women gasped, then moved closer to her, murmuring words of comfort. Rachel burst into tears.

  “Old fish and crying women should best be left alone,” Frank said, and gestured for Jessica to come with him outside.

  She was relieved to escape.

  “I believe I saw Matthew in the garage.” Frank pointed. “Me, I am going to enjoy an afternoon nap under the tree.”

  Jessica heard chattering long before she saw Matt and Sam. The door to the garage was open and a folding ladder extended from the loft. Jessica climbed a couple of rungs and called, “Matt? Sam? Caesar?” The last was a whimsical addition.

  “We’re up here, Mom! We found Caesar’s treasure and lots of other cool stuff.”

  Jessica climbed up the ladder and entered the world of The Amazing Molvano.

  * * *

  MATT COULD HARDLY BELIEVE that the best and worst days of his life were the same one. His relief at finding the source of the money Barnaby had used to keep the ranch going was tempered by the fact that Jessica would leave, if not within hours, then soon.

  They had almost certainly made love for the last time.

  According to Lita, that mother-in-law of Jessica’s was throwing around some pretty heavy-handed threats. Matt was desperate to talk with her about it all, but not while Sam was here.

  “There’s an armoire in my room that looks like this stuff,” Jessica said as she climbed up.

  “It’s all part of Barnaby’s act.” Matt reached out to help her up the last steps, letting his fingers linger on hers. “I used to love it when he showed me how his ‘magic’ worked. He didn’t like to very often. Once he got the ranch, he decided he was a rancher, not a magician.”

  Stored in the garage attic were boxes and crates and huge props, all with The Amazing Molvano scrolled on them. When he’d been younger, before he’d decided to be a rodeo champion, Matt had thought about bringing The Amazing Molvano out of retirement.

  “Matt, I’m ready to take the first load down,” Sam said.

  “Yes, come see what we found, thanks to your son.” Matt led Jessica over to a divided trunk with holes at the ends. “This is used for sawing assistants in half,” he told her, then opened one end to reveal a huge pile of money. “And by monkeys who want to hide coins.”

  “Will you look at that.” Jessica stared at the monkey. “Caesar, you’ve been busy.”

  Caesar gave a mournful screech.

  Matt and Sam had been filling silk scarves with the coins so Sam could carry them down to the office for sorting. “Barnaby would always talk about spending a coin, and I never realized what he meant,” Matt explained. “The circus people collected these over the years and gave them to him to cover food and expenses for the anima
ls. I’ve had letters from coin dealers asking if I had any more of the collection to sell, and I figured it was all gone.”

  “Do you think he knew these were in here?”

  Matt shook his head. “I don’t know. He may have, or maybe Caesar took them from where they originally were. At any rate, I’m sure glad to have them back.” He tied two scarves together and draped the load around Sam’s neck. “Too heavy for you?”

  “Nah,” Sam said, and climbed down the ladder.

  Matt peered over the edge until Sam made it all the way down, then asked Jessica, “So how did it go with Sam’s grandmother?”

  “Not good.” Jessica related what her mother-in-law had said, which was pretty much what Lita had told him. He also knew Jessica was leaving out some things, because occasionally she avoided his eyes by absently fingering the coins.

  “So what’s happening now?”

  “I left her with Carmen and Katya.”

  Matt inhaled sharply. “I suppose that means she’ll insist you two are out of here by dark.”

  Jessica sat on a black lacquer box and scooped coins into a scarf. “She told me that she’d take Sam back with her, but that I could stay here as long as I liked.”

  For one joyful moment, Matt thought he had it all, but he quickly returned to earth. He couldn’t have anything if Jessica didn’t have Sam. “So she is trying to take Sam away from you?”

  “Not permanently.” Jessica shrugged and tied the scarf into a knot. “What she’s taking away is any Fremont money.” She met his eyes. “Here we have a difference of opinion. She believes everything belongs to the Fremonts and I don’t. I can dispute it, but until I do, I’ve been cut off. No more money.”

  “Because she doesn’t want you and Sam to stay here?”

  She nodded.

  That was it then. Matt stared at the pile of coins. The money they’d bring from collectors was enough to keep the ranch going, but it wasn’t enough for legal battles. And even if he’d been the richest man on earth, he wouldn’t ask a woman to choose between him and her son.

  He thought he’d numbed himself. He thought he was prepared for the pain.

  He wasn’t.

  Matt turned away and searched through Barnaby’s props for more handkerchiefs or scarves. She was being so casual and matter-of-fact. He was going to have to try to be the same. “So are you leaving before supper, or tomorrow morning?”