My Ranch My Way

by Misty Malone

  "We can do that," Chase agreed. The waitress brought their meal and they forgot about Ben and Cindy, or asking them to join them. Their food was delicious.

  As they were finishing their meal Ben cleared his throat. "Hi, Chase, Cece. Nice to see you again."

  They looked up smiling, ready to greet their two friends, but momentarily froze. Ben was standing there with a lady, but it wasn't Cindy! They both struggled for control, but Chase recovered first. "Good evening, Ben. Good to see you."

  "Alli, these are my neighbors. Cecelia Anderson lives on the ranch just south and west of ours, and Chase McDermott's ranch is next to that. Cece and Chase, this is Allison Murphy."

  "It's nice to meet you, Allison," Chase said.

  "Please, call me Alli."

  "And you can call me Cece. Nice to meet you, Alli."

  They visited a few minutes, until Ben said, "It was good seeing you two again. I don't mean to be rude, but Alli's a nurse and she has an early shift tomorrow, so I have to get her home."

  "We understand," Chase assured him. "It was nice meeting you, Alli."

  Chase waited until he saw Ben and Alli go out the door before he turned to Cece to listen to what he knew she was anxious to say. "Alli seemed nice, but what happened to Cindy? I can't believe he was with someone else this soon, and acting like nothing was wrong."

  Chase put a hand on her arm to calm her down. "It does seem awfully quick, but maybe we don't know the whole story."

  "Like what whole story could we not know about?"

  He could tell she was getting angry, and tried to calm her down. "Maybe Alli is his cousin, in town visiting."

  "Why wouldn't he bring Cindy along, too?"

  He sighed. "I don't know what the story is, Cece, though I will admit it's a bit disconcerting seeing him with Alli. How long has it been since you saw Cindy?"

  "Three days," was Cece's quick response.

  "And she didn't say anything about them splitting up?"

  "No. It was quite the contrary. She asked if things had settled down yet, or how soon we'd be ready to go try the restaurant with them."

  "Hmm. Maybe I'll call him one of these evenings and find out what happened. Thank you for not saying anything in front of him. I was trying to think of some way I could find out what happened without coming right out and asking, but I couldn't think of anything."

  Cece giggled. "I couldn't come up with anything, either. I wanted to ask him something so bad, but what do you ask?"

  "I know. I'll call him or stop by and see him."

  * * * * *

  Tuesday Sheriff Green stopped by to talk to Chase. "We checked out the story Jim Hunter told you, Chase. I think he's telling you the truth."

  "Yeah, I believed him, too."

  "Leah is in fact pregnant, and the dates all seem to be in line."

  Chase nodded. "So that puts us back to Ralph as our number one suspect?"

  "At this point, yes. That's what I wanted to talk to you about. There isn't anyone else you've thought about? Even if you ruled them out for some reason, is there anyone else that's remotely crossed your mind?"

  "No one. Believe me, I've thought about this a lot. No one knows me here. Even if it were closer to where I grew up and went to school, I don't know of anyone that would want to do something like this. It's a little eerie, actually, because apparently I have an enemy that I didn't even know about. I don't know what I could have done to anyone to upset them that much."

  Sheriff Green studied Chase a few minutes, not saying anything.

  Chase grinned. "I can tell something's on your mind, Sheriff. Go ahead and ask me, I won't get upset."

  Sheriff Green smiled, as well. "Thank you, Chase. I do actually have two questions, but I was debating if I should be careful how I word them. I don't want to upset you or hurt your feelings."

  "You won't do either. Just ask."

  "Okay. You're a good-looking young man. Are there any ex-girlfriends out there with an ax to grind?"

  "No. I don't date women just to date. I only ask a young lady out if I think she and I have things in common and I really want to get to know her better. As far as I know I'm still friends, at least on speaking terms with all the ladies I've dated."

  Sheriff Green shrugged. "I had to ask."

  "I understand. What's the other question?"

  "How about other family members? I know Ralph stands to gain if you don't make a success of the ranch, and I understand he's the only one. Am I correct in that?"

  "You are."

  "But what about any relatives that may be upset that you inherited the ranch? Do you have cousins?"

  "I do have a couple cousins, but they've never been interested in ranching, or this ranch."

  "Maybe not in ranching, but let's think about this a little bit. If your grandfather hadn't given the ranch to you, what would have happened? I'm guessing he could have sold it, or had it sold, and the money would have been split between who? They may not be interested in the ranch per se, but they may be interested in money, in their share of the value of the ranch."

  Chase looked very thoughtful for a bit before answering. "This whole idea of me inheriting this ranch came as such a shock to me that I didn't take the time to give it a lot of thought. If the ranch had been sold, I would assume the money would have gone to Ralph, my father, and their sister. To go a step further, Ralph has no kids, but my aunt has two kids. Those are the cousins I mentioned earlier."

  "So your grandfather had four grandchildren; you and your sister, and your two cousins, your aunt's children?"

  "Yes."

  "So there are three other grandchildren. I assume your sister's not behind this, but what about your other two cousins?"

  "I don't think they'd do this. They're both girls, both married. Neither of them have ever expressed any interest in the ranch at all, but I do see what you're saying about the money, their share of the ranch."

  "You're probably right and they're not involved, but I want to do a little checking just to be sure we can rule both of them and your aunt out. To be honest, I'm kind of at a loss here. Everything seems to be pointing to Ralph, but I haven't found one shred of evidence. Let me get their names and I'll do a little checking, make sure I can rule them out. In the meantime, we're still looking into Ralph, and let me know if you think of anything that might help us."

  "Will do, Sheriff." Chase showed Sheriff Green to his car, and spent a couple minutes thinking about his aunt and cousins. He called his dad and told him about the sheriff's visit. Neither one of them thought Chase's cousins or aunt were to blame, but they hadn't thought Ralph would do anything, either, so they agreed it was worth looking into.

  Not too long after Chase's phone call with his dad, Ben stopped in. "Chase, I saw the sheriff was here. Any good news; did they find your perpetrator?"

  "No, not yet. Everything he's been checking into has been coming up empty. I don't know what to think. Actually, I need to think about anything else right now before I go crazy."

  Ben chuckled. "I can understand that."

  "So, tell me about Alli. She seems nice."

  "She is. We've been getting along real well. I know it's only been a few weeks, but so far so good."

  Chase's eyebrows drew together and he looked at Ben. "Did you say a few weeks? You've been dating Alli for a few weeks?"

  "Yeah. Why? You look like you're confused."

  Chase shook his head, trying to clear it. "I guess I am. I thought you and Cindy Kline were dating."

  "We did for a little while, but it didn't last all that long."

  "Can I ask when you broke up?"

  Ben's eyebrows rose. "Shortly after the four of us were together. Why? You still look confused."

  "Cece talked to Cindy at the bank a week or so ago, and she thought you two were still together."

  Ben's eyes opened wider, and he looked thoughtful. "Maybe Cindy just didn't mention we'd split up and Cece assumed we were still together."

  "Cece said Cindy sug
gested the four of us should go try a new restaurant you two have gone to several times."

  Now it was Ben's turn to draw his eyebrows together as he looked at Chase. "There is no restaurant the two of us have gone to several times."

  Chase wasn't sure what to make of Ben's expression. He was going to ask about it when Cece and Ginger came out from around the barn. Her eyes grew when she saw Chase and Ben, but she walked Ginger over close to them before dismounting.

  Chase took Ginger's reigns and gave Cece a quick kiss on her cheek. "Hey, Sugar, anything wrong?"

  "No, no. I was writing, but I needed a break."

  A big smile appeared on Chase's face. "So you came over to see me?"

  Cece felt her face flush and tried to turn away before Chase could see it. She should have known better. He used his thumb and one finger to gently pull her chin back around so he could see her face. "You saw Ben's truck over here and came to talk to him?"

  She chuckled. "Silly, you know I can't see your house and lane from my house. All I can see is the barn."

  "Then who did you come over to see?"

  He was still holding her chin so she couldn't turn away. She sheepishly said, "The puppies."

  Chase threw his head back and laughed. He looked over at Ben and said, "At least now I know where I rank. Right below the puppies."

  Ben laughed along with his friends. "And to think, guys often join dating sites to meet women. Maybe they should just get a puppy and put the word out on the streets."

  Chase nodded and laughed. "It would probably work better than dating sites."

  "You're probably right," Ben agreed. "I tried a dating site once, but I don't plan to again."

  Cece glanced at Chase briefly before asking Ben, "Bad experience?"

  "Maybe." He studied Cece a few moments before saying, "Chase tells me you talked to Cindy recently. May I ask what she told you?"

  She looked over at Chase, who came to her rescue. "I talked to Ben, Cece. Apparently he and Cindy broke up shortly after we were all together the last time. I told him Cindy suggested we all go out to a restaurant they liked. Ben says they didn't have a restaurant they went to more than once."

  "Really?" Cece turned to Ben. "That's exactly what she told me. I've seen her several times at the bank, and she talked about you every time I saw her."

  The two men exchanged glances. Ben asked, "Every time?"

  Cece thought a minute. "I think so, yeah. I don't understand. Why would she tell me you guys were still dating? She said you were getting along really well."

  Chase was becoming concerned. He couldn't quite read the look on Ben's face for sure, but he knew something wasn't right. "Ben, what's wrong?"

  "I hope nothing, but I don't know. Chase, I stopped dating Cindy because I saw a side of her I didn't care for. I can't imagine why she would be telling Cece we're still together."

  "I don't mean to pry, and if it's none of my business feel free to tell me that, but what do you mean a side of her you don't care for? Could she be dangerous?"

  "Well, I don't really know. It worries me a little to hear she's been telling you that. She's a very possessive person. The more I got to know her the more possessive she got. If she wanted something she went after it, no matter what she had to do to get it. She seemed to think the end justifies the means, no matter what. I don't feel that way, so I quit calling her."

  Cece looked alarmed. "Did you talk to her, tell her you didn't think it was working out between you?"

  "No. We'd only gone out three or four times, so I didn't really know how she'd feel about it. She had my phone number, though, so I thought if she called me I'd be honest with her. I actually thought she might be happy that I quit calling."

  Cece was shaking her head. "I don't think she was happy that you quit calling." She turned to Chase. "You know, we told her we'd go out with them again when things settle down on the ranch. I wonder what she'll say when we tell her we're ready to go."

  Chase's eyebrows rose. "I wonder, too."

  Ben's hands fisted anxiously. "Maybe you should see."

  "What do you mean," Chase asked.

  "Why don't you tell her you guys are ready to go out and see what she says?"

  Chase was deep in thought a few moments. "Why? That seems almost like it's baiting her. What do you think she's going to do?"

  "To be honest, I don't know, and that worries me a little bit. I'm not sure I trust her. She wants what she wants and will do about anything to get it. In this case I don't know what it is she wants. Now that I know what she told Cece I'm going to worry about her, and what she's up to. If you guys suggest we all go out maybe we'll find out."

  Cece quickly agreed to the plan. "I can do that the next time I see her at the bank."

  Chase held up his hand as if keeping her from going. "No, you won't, either, Sugar."

  She furrowed her eyebrows together as she looked at him. "I won't?"

  "No. Not by yourself at least. I'll go with you the next time you go to the bank and together we'll tell her we're ready to go anytime."

  "Why do you want to go along? Won't she suspect something?"

  "Not if we do it right. We'll tell her I went into town with you for some reason, and you had to go to the bank while you were there. As for why I want to go with you, I don't like what I'm hearing from Ben. If he isn't sure he trusts her, neither should we."

  "But surely she wouldn't do anything to hurt me right there in the bank."

  "Probably not, but if I'm along I'm sure she won't. Mainly I want to be there so I can see her reaction. I want to see if she's surprised, upset, angry, or whatever. And I want you to watch her expression, too, so we can talk afterwards and see if we both got the same read."

  Cece nodded in agreement. "Okay, that makes sense. Are we going tomorrow?"

  "That's good with me, tomorrow right after chores and breakfast. I'll pick you up at your place."

  "I'll be ready," she promised.

  "Thank you, both of you," Ben said sincerely. "Will you let me know what happens?"

  Chase chuckled. "Seeing how it's you we're telling her we'll go out with, yeah, we'll keep you informed. I'll call you tomorrow right after we talk to her."

  "Thanks. I appreciate it."

  Ben went home, Chase went back to work after giving Cece a quick kiss and she went to play with the puppies. Chase smiled as he and Thunder heard the puppies yelping with excitement and Cece giggling when they went past. She sure did like those two puppies.

  Chapter 16

  True to her word, Cece was ready to go when Chase arrived the next morning. "I have a check to deposit for Dad. Why are we going to say you came along with me today?"

  "I have errands in town and you had to go to the bank, so we went together."

  "That sounds good. But I know you, I know you can't lie, so what errands do you have?"

  He grinned at the adorable little lady he'd come to love. "We're going to be vaccinating calves next week and I ordered more of the vaccination. The vet called yesterday and said it's in, so I'll go get it. I also had to order a part for my hay baler yesterday and they called this morning to say it's in. That one I do need ASAP, so this works out good. I would have sent one of the boys in after it today anyway."

  "I'm glad it worked out okay. I hate to take you away from the ranch, but I kind of like spending a little extra time with you. It's sort of like we're sneaking around in the middle of the day. Cool!"

  He grinned down at her. You really are a mischievous little brat, aren't you?"

  With an indignant huff she said, "I most certainly am not!" When she stomped her foot for emphasis he laughed out loud. He noticed the little smile at the corners of her mouth and knew she was teasing him.

  "Come on, Brat, let's go to town." She was going to keep up the game and object, but his mouth descended onto hers and his kiss changed her mind altogether. There was no kidding around about that kiss!

  When he ended the kiss she instead said, still with a mischievous t
winkle in her eyes, "Yeah, let's go. I love seeing all the jealous looks I get from the ladies when I walk around with a big, strong, handsome cowboy at my side."

  He rolled his eyes and followed along beside her as he muttered, "Brat." She saw a smile on his face, though, when she glanced up to look, so all was good.

  They took care of Chase's errands first, then went to the bank. They were disappointed when they didn't see Cindy. But they asked about her when Cece made her deposit, and were assured she was indeed at work today. She must just be talking with someone in an office, or maybe in the restroom. As they were thanking the teller for the information, she reappeared at her desk. "There she is now," the teller said.

  Chase thanked her and led Cece to Cindy's desk. Cindy looked up and greeted them warmly. "Cece and Chase, hi! How are you?"

  Chase let Cece do the talking since she'd talked to her several times already and had a rapport. "Hi, Cindy. We're good. How about you?"

  "Never been better. What brings you both into the bank?"

  "Actually, I'm the only one that had to come to the bank. Chase had errands to run in town today, too, though, so we came together."

  "Oh, how romantic," she said with a big smile. "Stealing time together in the middle of the week. Ben and I have done that a couple times, and I just love it."

  Chase squeezed Cece's hand, and asked Cindy, "Speaking of Ben, I understand you and he have a restaurant you want to show us?"

  "Yep. Whenever the four of us can get together again. How's it going at the ranch? Have they caught the guy yet that's doing those things?"

  Chase shook his head. "No, not yet, but nothing else has happened, so I'm just going to get on with my life. The sheriff can keep looking into it if he wants, but I'm going to put it behind me and move on. Cece and I are anxious to try this new restaurant. When do you want to go?"

  Cindy looked a little surprised, but recovered quickly. "Let me talk to Ben when he comes over tonight and I'll give you a call tomorrow." She looked at Cece and said, "Or will you be in tomorrow?"

  "Probably not. I don't think Dad's got any more checks coming in for a few days anyway."