Showdown

by Amy Elizabeth

  “Thanks for being here,” he greeted, taking a seat beside Jake.

  “How’s Rebecca?” Holly asked.

  Alec filled them in on the events of the morning before he drew in a deep breath. “I’m sure you’ve all heard that Tommy’s not going to be here this summer. So from now on, Jake’s going to be running things out in the barn. He’ll be writing the schedule and managing the guest activities during the week.”

  Jake’s eyebrows shot up. “Way to give me warning, boss.”

  Alec couldn’t help but laugh. “I have full faith in you,” he replied, patting his shoulder before he turned back to his staff. “If you have any questions or concerns, you can either talk to Jake or come directly to me. I’m going to be busy with Rebecca over the next few weeks, but my door’s always open if you need me.”

  Ryan emerged from the kitchen just then, carrying pans full of food to the buffet line. Alec remained seated while everyone stood to claim their plates, suddenly realizing how empty the room felt.

  While he had every confidence in Ryan, Jake, and the rest of his staff, he knew that the Flying W would never be the same without Tommy.

  *

  Rebecca always knew that her husband was a natural born caregiver, but being on the receiving end of it was still a remarkable experience.

  For weeks following her accident, Alec barely left her side. He waited on her hand and foot, whether it was portioning out her medications or racing downstairs in the middle of the night to get her a glass of water. He even insisted on doing the most basic tasks that she could easily perform herself, like brushing her hair or changing her socks.

  At first she tried to argue with him, assuring him that she wasn’t completely handicapped; then she accepted that this was simply his way. Besides, there were much worse things than being doted on by her husband.

  Dakota sensed that she was hurt, and the dog loyally remained beside Rebecca day and night. She’d curl up on the bed and rest her head in Rebecca’s lap, letting Rebecca pet her for hours.

  For as terrible as the accident had been, the recovery wasn’t all that bad. She had a steady stream of visitors, too–Jeff, Allison, Stacey, Jake, and Holly all paid her regular visits while she was recuperating.

  One night Ryan showed up to bring her dinner, and when she saw what he was wearing her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “Is this Halloween?” she cried.

  Ryan laughed and glanced up at the brim of his Red Sox cap. “It’s our new dress code,” he replied, leaning over to kiss her cheek. “All of my cooks are required to wear them. At least until playoffs.”

  Before she knew it, the month of May disappeared into June. Rebecca’s doctor was pleased with her progress–there was no sign of infection in the puncture wounds, and her collarbone was healing right on schedule. By the time July rolled around, she was finished with physical therapy and declared fit to return to work. Despite Alec’s objections, she immediately resumed her usual summertime routine–helping the wranglers around the barn, conducting lessons in the corral, and joining Alec in the back paddocks for the Friday night bonfire.

  There were many times when she’d catch her eyes drifting over to Tommy’s cabin. Alec had offered it to Jake with his promotion, but Jake had declined, stating that he wouldn’t feel right living there. So for now, the cabin sat empty–a silent reminder of the tumultuous events of the spring.

  “You miss him, don’t you?” Alec asked one night during dinner.

  Rebecca turned her gaze from the window. “Of course. Don’t you?”

  He nodded. “Every day.”

  “When are you going to start looking for someone else?”

  “I’ve been putting it off,” he admitted. “But I need to start soon.”

  Rebecca could only imagine how much he was dreading the process. Jake was doing a terrific job in his new role, but he’d be returning to college this fall, so his position was only temporary.

  Come the end of September, Rebecca and Alec would be alone again. Between the care of the horses and the general upkeep of the property, there was simply no way they could do it all on their own.

  The next morning, they sat at the breakfast table and reluctantly began composing an ad for a new manager. Not even one sentence in, the telephone started to ring.

  “I’ll get it,” Rebecca said.

  She strode across the kitchen and pulled the receiver from the wall. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Rebecca,” came a cheerful voice. “This is Bonnie from Alpine Realty.”

  Rebecca’s stomach fluttered. “Hi, Bonnie. How are you?”

  They made small talk for a minute before Bonnie cleared her throat. “Is your husband available, by chance?”

  “He’s right here. Hold on.”

  She handed the phone to Alec and anxiously resumed her seat. He listened with a deadpan expression for several minutes, responding with an occasional yes or no. By the time he thanked her and hung up the phone, Rebecca’s heart was hammering inside her chest.

  “Well?” she asked.

  Alec’s face revealed nothing as he met her gaze. “Someone just came into the office asking about the ranch. He wants to look at it this afternoon.”

  Rebecca stared back at him unblinking. “Wow.”

  “Yeah.” He gave a little shrug. “It’s been so long since I’ve heard from her that I’d almost forgotten it was on the market.”

  She studied his eyes. “Have you changed your mind?”

  “No. I just don’t want to get my hopes up like I did before.”

  Chapter 40

  A few hours later, after he’d helped Rebecca clean the farmhouse, Alec stood in the parking lot awaiting the prospective buyer’s arrival.

  A flurry of activity was going on around him–a roping lesson in the corral, guests lounging on the patio enjoying lunch, Jake and Ben unloading feed bags from the delivery truck–but Alec scarcely noticed any of it. He released a deep breath and lifted his hand in a friendly wave as the rental car rolled to a stop beside him.

  He was taken aback, though, when he saw the person who emerged from the driver’s seat. The man was tall and stately, with sandy blond hair and broad shoulders, yet he didn’t look much older than Alec. Neither his apparel nor his demeanor spoke of someone with enough money to purchase the ranch. He wore faded jeans and a polo shirt, and the smile on his face was bright as he closed the door behind him.

  “Hi there,” he greeted. “I’m looking for Mr. Westin.”

  “You found him.”

  The man’s eyebrows shot up. “Forgive me,” he said with a laugh. “I was expecting somebody much older.”

  Alec echoed his laugh. “I was just thinking the same thing about you.”

  He removed his sunglasses and extended his hand. “Elliot Birch.”

  “Alec Westin.”

  “Good to meet you, Alec.” Elliot gave his hand a solid shake before he turned his eyes to the mountains. “You know, my wife and I come out here every winter to ski, but I’ve never seen this place in the summertime. It’s really spectacular.”

  “It is,” Alec agreed. “Where’s home for you?”

  “I grew up in Toronto, but I’ve lived in Massachusetts for the past fifteen years. My wife and I run a historic bed-and-breakfast on Martha’s Vineyard. Have you ever been out that way?”

  “Unfortunately, no. But my wife is from Boston, so I’m sure she’s familiar with the area.”

  “What part of Boston?”

  “South Boston.”

  Elliot gave a knowing grin. “Irish, eh? She must be a handful.”

  “You have no idea.” Alec mirrored his grin before he shifted his gaze to the lodge. “Well, I’ve got one empty guest cabin this week if you want to see that first, or we could start inside the lodge–”

  “I’d actually like to see the farmhouse, if that’s possible.”

  Alec hadn’t expected that. “Of course,” he said, turning in the appropriate direction. “How much did Bonnie tell you?”

>   “I think she covered the basics,” Elliot replied as he fell into step alongside him. “Thirty-one hundred square feet, four bedrooms, three and a half baths. What I’m curious about are the renovations you made.”

  “Well, about ten years ago, my father took a fall that left him paralyzed from the neck down. The house obviously wasn’t designed to accommodate a wheelchair, so I gutted the whole first floor and started from scratch.”

  They stepped onto the porch and Alec opened the front door, inviting Elliot to step inside. “I widened all the hallways and added on a master bedroom and bathroom in the back of the house,” he continued, gesturing towards the living room. “And there’s a paved ramp leading up to the back porch…”

  For the next half hour, Alec led Elliot through the house, explaining both its original and its modified features. “There’s a caretaker’s unit down there, too,” he added, indicating Lucy’s old cabin. “We had a live-in nurse for close to nine years.”

  Elliot met his gaze. “And where is your father now?”

  Alec gave a dejected smile. “He passed away last year.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. Although it appears that you were able to give him an excellent standard of living.”

  A lump formed in Alec’s throat, but he quickly forced it down. “I did what I could.”

  Elliot smiled and graciously changed the subject. “Well, the house is beautiful,” he said, turning to inspect the stone fireplace. “You did an incredible job with it.”

  “It wasn’t me. I had a good team of builders and decorators, that’s all.”

  Elliot glanced back at him. “Do you have any children?”

  “Not yet. My wife is looking to finish her education before we take that step.” He paused. “Do you?”

  “Two boys. Nine and six.”

  “Sounds like you have your hands full, too.”

  “I certainly do.” Elliot gave a rueful grin. “Actually, would you mind if I called my family and had them join us?”

  Alec’s eyebrows shot up. “Your family is here?”

  “They’re back at the hotel. But I’d really like for them to see the place.”

  “Of course.”

  While Elliot reached for his cell phone, Alec stepped onto the porch to give him privacy. From here he could see Rebecca and Jake down in the corral, giving a roping demonstration for a group of guests. He was tempted to go down there and tell her about Elliot, but he wasn’t sure what he would say.

  So far, Elliot had said nothing at all about why he was interested in the ranch or what he would do if he purchased it.

  “They’re on their way,” Elliot said as he stepped up behind him. “They’ll be here in an hour or so.”

  Alec nodded before he turned his attention back to the corral. “Have you been around horses much?”

  “A little bit. My wife is the true equestrian in the family. She competed for years on the show-jumping circuit in New England.”

  “A good friend of mine did, too. In Michigan.”

  Elliot followed his gaze. “Our boys are obsessed with horses. They’ve been taking riding lessons since they were three years old. The riding academies back east aren’t the same as this, though. Here I think it’s more about simply enjoying the animals.”

  He glanced back at Alec. “I saw a video of your performance last summer. That’s quite a gift you possess.”

  “Thank you,” Alec said modestly. “I haven’t had the chance to do much with it yet.”

  “Is that why you’re looking to sell?”

  He was surprised by Elliot’s audacity, but he didn’t dodge the question. “It’s one factor, yes,” he replied. “Would you like to see the lodge?”

  “I would love to.”

  They stepped from the porch and started down the hill. “So tell me about your bed-and-breakfast,” Alec requested.

  “Well, the inn itself is almost two-hundred years old. My in-laws bought it back in the fifties and it’s been in their family ever since. It’s not quite on this scale,” he said, making a sweeping motion with his arm. “It’s quaint. Fifteen guest rooms, a drawing room, and a garden out back. We’re open from May to September, just like you are. And during the school year we live in Cape Cod.”

  Elliot’s eyes lit up when they entered the lodge and he saw the panoramic A-frame window. “I love the east coast,” he continued, almost to himself. “But I’ve always loved the scope of the west, too. It feels so open out here. The air is fresher. The sky is bigger. And the mountains have a way of putting everything into perspective.”

  Alec smiled at his last statement, wondering how many times he’d thought the same thing. If the two of them lived in the same town, he had a feeling that they would be friends.

  He led Elliot through the lounge, the dining room, and the kitchen. “The staff quarters are out back,” Alec added, indicating the entrance in the kitchen. “And there’s a larger cabin at the base of the hill that’s suitable for a property manager.”

  Elliot shook his head as they exited onto the patio. “And none of this was here until ten years ago?”

  “Just the farmhouse and the smaller barn. A few old bunkhouses, too, but I replaced them with the staff cabins.”

  “And who helped you do all of this?”

  Alec shrugged. “I was twenty-four when my father got hurt, and there wasn’t any other family to turn to. I had no idea what I was doing. I just did what I had to do.”

  It was Elliot’s turn to study his gaze. Before he could respond, though, his eyes drifted past Alec’s shoulder. “That must be them.”

  Alec turned his head, expecting to see another rental car. Instead he frowned in confusion when he saw a long white van making its way up the driveway. He recognized the van in an instant, even before he saw the words Jackson Hole Medical Transport painted on the side doors. He’d used the company countless times to transfer his father between the town and the ranch.

  Elliot didn’t say anything, but Alec could feel his eyes on him, silently gauging his reaction. When the van rolled to a stop, a slender brunette emerged from the passenger’s seat and met the driver at the back of the vehicle. Alec watched as the driver opened the doors and extended the lift; then he climbed back into the van.

  Moments later he pushed a blond boy in a wheelchair onto the lift, and his mother reached for his hand as the lift slowly lowered to the ground. Then the driver raised the lift, and Alec’s eyes widened in astonishment when a second boy in a wheelchair appeared.

  “You see, Alec,” Elliot said quietly. “Both of our sons were born with spina bifida.”

  Chapter 41

  It took Alec a moment to respond. His eyes were glued to Elliot’s younger son as he said something to his mother and gestured towards the barn.

  “That’s why you were so interested in the farmhouse,” he managed to say.

  Elliot nodded. “Most people probably can’t understand what you went through with your father. But I do. We did a major renovation of our home on the Cape after our first son was born, so I know the work that’s involved. When I saw the specs on the farmhouse, it almost seemed too good to be true. I wanted to come and see it first before I let them get excited.”

  Alec tried and failed to swallow the lump that was forming in this throat. “You said your boys ride?”

  “Every week.”

  “How?”

  “There’s a therapeutic riding academy a few towns over from us. It’s been a godsend.” Elliot turned back to Alec. “Like I said, we love where we live. But it’s exhausting for the boys to travel back and forth. And we do the best we can with them on the island, but the set-up is less than ideal for their condition. My brother-in-law is poised to take over the inn for us, so we’ve been looking to make the move out west for a while now. It was just a matter of finding the right place.”

  Alec slowly shook his head. “I don’t know what to say. I wasn’t expecting…this.”

  Elliot grinned. “Would you like to meet them?�
�

  “I would love that.”

  Elliot lifted his hand in greeting, and his wife smiled and waved back when she spotted them on the patio. He started toward them and Alec followed a step behind, wondering if he was imagining the whole scene.

  “Dad, did you see all the horses?” his older son cried.

  “There’s, like…a zillion of them!” the younger one chimed in.

  “I know,” Elliot said, leaning over to give each of them a kiss on the head. “Maybe in a little while you can meet a few of them.”

  He secured his arm around his wife. “Alec, this is Claire.”

  Claire had a classic elegance about her, with her dark hair pulled back in a bun and a scatter of freckles across her fair skin. In a way, she reminded Alec of how Rebecca might look in another twenty years.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Alec,” she said, politely extending her hand.

  “The pleasure’s mine,” he replied, turning his gaze to the boys.

  “This know-it-all is Caleb,” Elliot said, tousling his older son’s hair. “And the chatterbox over there is Micah.”

  Micah pursed his lips and peered up at Alec. “Are you a real cowboy? Or are you just dressed like one?”

  It was a serious question, but the adults still stifled a laugh. “I don’t know,” Alec replied, kneeling down so they were eye to eye. “What do you think?”

  “I’m not sure. I’ve never met a real cowboy so I don’t know what they look like.”

  “Of course he’s a real cowboy,” Caleb said with a roll of his eyes. “Don’t you remember the video of the guy with the black horse?”

  Micah’s eyes widened. “That was you?”

  Alec chuckled. “That was me,” he said, pointing towards the barn. “And the black horse lives right in there. His name is Onyx.”

  “Onyx like the stone?”

  “Yeah. Like the stone.”

  “’Cuz onyx is black, right? And your horse is black. That’s why you named him Onyx.”