Rolling Like Thunder

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  “Go ahead and check.” Finn gave her a quick kiss. “I’ll see if Rosie needs any help with lunch.” It would only be the four of them today. Damon and Phil were at the lumber yard and planned to stay in town for lunch. Cade was with Lexi looking at a horse she was considering buying.

  When Finn walked into the kitchen, Rosie had the refrigerator door open and was pulling sandwich fixings out of the refrigerator.

  “Just in time.” She handed him a loaf of bread. “Enjoy your ride?”

  “We did.” He was glad she still had her back to him because she’d surely guessed what had happened during that ride. “Thanks for loaning us Navarre and Isabeau.”

  “Anytime. Herb and I don’t ride them as much as we should.” She gave him several packages of lunch meat. “Where’s Chelsea?”

  “Checking on Kickstarter.”

  “I looked early this morning and we’d gained another twenty-five bucks. Every little bit helps.” She took out mustard and mayonnaise and some lettuce before closing the door with her hip. “Herb’s catching up on his email. He’ll probably look again before he shuts down the computer.”

  “Chelsea had a hunch more had happened this morning. Maybe we’re over the top and don’t even know it.” He washed up at the sink so he could help with the sandwiches.

  “Wouldn’t that be great?” Rosie took down a large breadboard that hung on the wall. “Cade, Lexi and Damon keep saying they’ll cover what’s left, but I’d rather they didn’t have to.”

  “I know, but it’s not much if they split it three ways, and missing by such a small amount would be stupid.” He finished drying his hands and glanced over as Herb walked into the kitchen. “Hey, did you look at Kickstarter?”

  Herb didn’t say anything. Instead he glanced at Rosie and swallowed.

  “Dad?” Herb’s expression made Finn’s stomach begin to churn.

  About that time the front door banged and Chelsea raced into the kitchen, breathing hard. “A backer canceled.” She gulped in air. “A really big one.”

  A chill settled over him as he stared at her, not wanting to believe what he’d heard but knowing it was true. Herb had seen it, too. He just hadn’t figured out how to tell Rosie.

  Rosie turned from the counter and gazed at Chelsea. “How bad is it?”

  “I won’t lie to you.” Chelsea’s face had drained of color. “It’s bad. We’ll start contacting people right away to see if we can raise more money, but...”

  Rosie shook her head. “No. Everyone’s been more than generous. All our friends, all our boys, even strangers we don’t know. I’m not asking them to give more.”

  “I’ll ask,” Chelsea said. “You don’t have to. I’ll—”

  “No. Thank you, but no.” Rosie came over and put her hands on Chelsea’s shoulders. “Even if you’re the one asking, it’s still like us asking. We have forty-eight hours left. Maybe something will happen. If not...we tried.”

  Finn recovered his voice. “Can someone do that? Just back out?”

  “They can up until twenty-four hours before the deadline.” Chelsea’s gaze was bleak. “This is one of the ranchers who came to the presentation last Saturday. He sent me an email and he’s devastated, but his wife had a sudden health crisis and insurance won’t cover it. The bills will be enormous. He has no choice.”

  “Of course he doesn’t.” Rosie squeezed Chelsea’s shoulders. “Here’s my philosophy. If something is supposed to work out, it will. Now let’s have some lunch.”

  The meal was a quiet one. Finn ate because it seemed impolite not to after the food had been prepared. He and Chelsea had planned to sand the benches that ringed the fire pit this afternoon. Because he had no better idea for how to fill the time, he suggested to Chelsea they go ahead and she agreed.

  “But first I’ll call Damon and Cade,” he told Rosie as he, Herb and Chelsea helped clean up the lunch dishes.

  “Let me call them,” Rosie said. “I need to emphasize to them what I just told all of you. We’re going to stand pat and see what happens. No heroics.”

  He recognized the steely determination in her voice and knew there was no arguing with her. “All right.”

  As he and Chelsea walked back to the cabins, she didn’t say anything. He was grateful for her silence. What was there to say?

  Damon had designated the second cabin Construction Central, so that’s where Finn and Chelsea went for the sandpaper blocks Damon had put together for them to use. The benches were old and he hadn’t wanted to use a power sander.

  They each picked a bench, straddled it and began to sand. The mindless work was perfect. He was too dazed to be good for much else. They’d worked steadily for almost an hour when his phone chirped. Probably Damon or Cade.

  He checked the text ID. So his assistant Brad had decided to check in after being silent all week. Finn had been kind of relieved not to hear from the guy.

  Climbing off the bench, he walked away from the fire pit. It had been an instinctive move, but he was aware of Chelsea watching him. He put the phone to his ear and kept his voice down. “Hey, Brad. What’s up?”

  “We have a situation here.”

  Of course they did. It figured that everything was turning to shit at once. But he doubted anything could be as bad as the news about Kickstarter. “What’s that?”

  “Jeff quit last night.”

  “Why?” Jeff was his most experienced bartender. He trained the new hires and was the steadiest employee Finn had.

  “Crisis with his family back in New Jersey. I’m not clear on the details but somebody has cancer and he’s needed there.”

  “Don’t let him quit. Give him a leave of absence.”

  “I tried that. He wouldn’t go for it. Said he’d be relocating to Jersey, something about taking care of his little sister. He’s not coming back, Finn.”

  “He’s left already?” He felt the first prick of unease. Jeff was the wheelhorse of the waitstaff—bartenders, servers, the whole shebang.

  “Yeah, and we need somebody with his level of experience. Roger’s not ready to take over.”

  “No, he’s not.” Jeff had been training Roger to step in when he was on vacation, but the guy was too young to take over Jeff’s position permanently.

  “I have somebody in mind who might work out.”

  “Do I know him?”

  “No. He’s from Portland. But he has friends in Seattle and has been considering making a change.”

  Alarm bells went off in Finn’s head. He’d done all the hiring from the first day. Sure, he’d made a couple of mistakes with the lower-paying positions, but he’d filled the important jobs with the right people.

  Jeff had been one of those people, and now Brad was suggesting that they bring in some unknown from Portland, somebody Finn had never met. A bad hire at this point could have lasting repercussions.

  He glanced at Chelsea, who was still watching him, and he wondered if she’d have any words of wisdom. But she didn’t have employees. She couldn’t understand how critical this was to the future of O’Roarke’s. Jeff had a legion of admirers, and whoever took his place would need the same charisma.

  It sounded as if this Portland guy might be a friend of Brad’s. That wouldn’t help Brad make an objective decision. Cronyism might be involved. Finn had to make the call. He hated what that would entail—leaving the ranch today if possible. But, seriously, what could he do here?

  Chelsea probably wouldn’t want to go and there was no reason she should have to pack up and leave. She could drive the SUV back to Jackson and fly out when they’d planned to.

  He didn’t like the idea of taking off right now, but Rosie had lectured him about not letting this project screw up his business. She’d been very clear.

  “Invite your friend for an interview,” he said, “but m
ake it for tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. I want to be there.”

  “That’s why I called you. I thought you might.”

  “I’ll try to get a flight out today. I’ll let you know.”

  “Great. Safe travels.”

  “Thanks.” Finn disconnected. Then he turned to meet Chelsea’s gaze. “There’s a crisis at work.”

  “What sort of crisis?”

  “Jeff, my most valuable bartender who kept everything running smoothly, has quit.”

  “Sorry to hear that.”

  “I have to fly out today.”

  She leaned on the bench and looked at him, her expression giving nothing away. She used to wear that expression a lot before this trip, but he hadn’t seen it recently. “Today?”

  “I have to go, Chels. Brad knows a guy from Portland, but this is too important a position to fill based on his friendship with Brad. I need to get a look at the guy. Résumés don’t give the whole picture. I need to talk to him.”

  “You’re not willing to take Brad’s word that he’s right for the job?”

  “For any other position, sure. But this is too important to leave to chance. We’re replacing a key employee.”

  “I understand the significance of that.”

  “Do you? Because you’re a company of one. I’m not. Hiring the right people is critical to the success of the operation.”

  She put down her sandpaper block and got up from the bench. “I may be a company of one, as you phrase it, but I work with clients like you who have many employees. Jeff was an important component. Whenever I went into O’Roarke’s and he was there, he lit up the place.”

  “So you do understand. I’m glad, because—”

  “I understand that you feel the need to supervise the hiring of Jeff’s replacement.”

  “Yes, ma’am, I do.” He tugged down the brim of Cade’s hat to make the point.

  She didn’t smile. In fact, disappointment dulled the usual sparkle in her brown eyes. “But I don’t understand that you’re willing to leave Thunder Mountain when the Kickstarter deadline is tomorrow night.”

  He felt as if he’d been slapped. “Chels, I have to sit in on that interview. I can’t take a chance that Brad will hire the wrong person.”

  “Can’t you?” Her voice was a soft plea. “Is that really more important than supporting the people you love while they sweat out this deadline?”

  “My presence won’t affect the damned contributions!”

  “Of course not, but you can lend your moral support! Win or lose, they need you here.”

  “That makes no sense. Even Rosie said I shouldn’t jeopardize my business for Thunder Mountain Academy. Yet you’re telling me I should?”

  She stared at him for several long, agonizing moments. “No, I’m not. It’s your decision to make.” And she walked away.

  “Don’t go. Talk to me, Chels.”

  She turned back and gazed at him. Her voice shook. “I didn’t intend to say this yet, if ever, but I love you, Finn.”

  He gasped. She’d chosen to tell him now?

  “And because I love you, I’m not going to ask you to change a pattern that is so deeply ingrained. You do what you think is best.”

  “But you don’t think it’s best, do you?” Now he felt as if someone had poured cement in his veins.

  “What I think doesn’t matter.”

  “It does matter.” His whole body ached. “Please tell me. I want to know.”

  She sighed. “Okay. I realize that it’s a significant position, but Brad is a capable assistant. You should be able to trust him to make this decision.”

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “It’s exactly that simple. If you can’t trust your assistant to act in your absence on matters large and small, then you’re locked into a situation where you’ll have to supervise every detail forever. I love you, but I’m not willing to deal with that mindset. Your decision to leave now tells me that your thinking hasn’t changed at all.” She gazed at him. “We’d have no chance, Finn. We’d crash and burn.” Tossing down the sanding block, she walked away.

  And instead of going toward the cabin they’d shared, she headed up to the ranch house, as if making it clear that her loyalty was to Thunder Mountain Ranch and not him.

  She really didn’t get it, probably because her operation was so different from his. She couldn’t see how a bad decision now had the potential for a domino effect. If the wrong person took over Jeff’s position, gradually Finn’s customer base would disappear. His revenues would drop off and he’d begin a slow slide into bankruptcy.

  Good thing she hadn’t gone back to the cabin, because he needed to boot up his laptop and make plane reservations. God, he felt stiff. He rolled his shoulders as he walked.

  The minute he opened the door, he decided he’d have to take his laptop somewhere else. Chelsea wasn’t physically there, but her presence could be felt as strongly as if she had been. There was her gray suitcase on the floor, and by now he knew every item in it.

  They’d made the bed together this morning, just as they had every morning. He could see her plain as day, her hair mussed from sleep and good lovemaking as she dutifully helped him tug the covers into place, all the while complaining about having to get up before the chickens so they’d make it to breakfast on time.

  This morning she’d started a pillow fight. He’d wanted to make love afterward, but they would have missed Rosie’s breakfast. Being there had become a point of honor for both of them.

  So he’d told himself it didn’t matter because they’d be back in this bed tonight and eventually they’d be living together. They’d have plenty of pillow fights followed by great sex.

  Apparently not.

  He massaged the back of his neck where he’d developed a really bad crick. And he had the beginnings of a charley horse in his left calf. When he leaned down to pick up his laptop from the floor beside his suitcase, he felt a twinge in his lower back.

  Damn it, now was not the time to be falling apart. He needed to be 100 percent to deal with the situation at O’Roarke’s. He left his hat inside and walked out to sit on the stoop with his laptop. Time to stop playing cowboy.

  For some reason his fingers were clumsy on the keys and he blamed it on the sanding. That probably explained the pain in his shoulders and the crick in his neck, maybe even the charley horse. He’d been hunched over in an unnatural position for too long.

  His stomach didn’t feel all that great, either. He shouldn’t have forced down that sandwich. And now the damned site was slow loading. He finally got something to come up, but all the flights he looked at for today, even the red-eye tonight, were booked. Sheridan didn’t tend to have as many choices as a bigger city.

  He decided to check other locations and found a red-eye leaving tonight out of Cheyenne. That wasn’t optimal, but he might have to go with it. His neck really hurt. Straightening, he rubbed it some more as he looked around at the meadow and the three other cabins.

  Except for the birds chirping in the nearby pine trees and the rustle of a slight breeze, the meadow was quiet. Peaceful. Precious. And not just to him. It was precious to his foster parents and all the boys who’d sat around the fire pit roasting marshmallows and singing silly camp songs.

  This meadow had the potential to become precious to a whole new group of kids who would learn a lot about caring for horses and even more about how to live. They might even learn about potbellied pigs.

  Hard to imagine that the fate of this meadow hung in the balance and would be decided tomorrow at midnight. He tried to convince himself to book his flight, but it wasn’t a good option. Maybe he should take a break and try again in a few minutes. Things could change.

  Shutting down the laptop, he left it on the stoop and got to his feet. Slowly he
walked around the fire pit until he came to the Brotherhood cabin. It was unlocked, so he walked inside, leaving the door open so he could hear the birds and the wind in the trees.

  After all these years it still smelled the same. He closed his eyes and imagined being here at fifteen, before he’d kissed a girl, before he’d had a driver’s license. He pictured what it had looked like with posters tacked on the walls. A radio was usually on because they’d all loved their music.

  Cade’s junk would be strewed around, but his and Damon’s areas would be neat. Unless he was studying, his books, including Charlotte’s Web, were always lined up on the shelf. He knew that book by heart, all the text and the illustrations.

  Charlotte had stuck by that pig. When it looked as if nothing would save Wilbur, she’d stepped in. She’d been a true friend, a loyal friend. She hadn’t abandoned him at the zero hour.

  Opening his eyes, he rubbed a hand over his face. It came away wet. Slowly he turned around, reached up and traced the TMB initials he and his brothers had carved into the beam over the doorway. He thought of the pledge they’d recited during the blood brother ceremony. Loyalty above all.

  When he heard footsteps in the grass, he immediately knew whose they were. He recognized them now.

  Chelsea walked over and peered up at him. “Rosie sent me to ask if you need a ride to the airport. And, don’t worry. I explained how important this is to you and she’s fine with it.”

  “I’m not.” His throat was clogged and the words came out sounding weird.

  She came up the steps and stood just outside the door. “Can’t you get a flight? I figured it wouldn’t be easy, but I was hoping, for your sake, that—”

  “I’m not going.”

  Her stoic expression softened and emotion flickered in her gaze. “Why?”

  “Because if it weren’t for Rosie and Herb, and Cade and Damon, I wouldn’t have a business. I might not even have a life. I owe them...” He paused, struggling to keep from breaking down.

  “Oh, Finn.” She came to him, wrapped him in her arms and buried her face against his chest. She was trembling.