The Rancher's Rescue

by Cari Lynn Webb

  Ethan scowled at her.

  This was important. Every avenue had to be followed. Didn’t he understand how much trouble the ranch was in? “Has Elias recently changed medicines?”

  Dr. Lancaster smiled fondly. “You know I can’t talk about my patients’ records.”

  “We’re just worried about Elias. We’re searching for any clue about his latest road trip. He’s been gone longer than usual.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t be of much help.” Dr. Lancaster opened the French doors and glanced over his shoulder. “But when you talk to the pair, they both have medications coming up for refill. Important medications.”

  “We’ll pass that along when we speak to them. Eventually.” Ethan ushered Grace forward.

  Dr. Lancaster looked between them, his smile softening into the wrinkles around his eyes. “You two have a nice sensible age difference. You won’t face the continuous challenges of a May-December romance like Elias and Zoe.”

  Ethan coughed.

  Grace opened her mouth to correct the doctor’s impression, but Ethan spoke first. “We’re here to treat Peabody, not bother you about Zoe and Big E, who’ve been defying the odds for a while now.”

  Grace stiffened. She wasn’t bothering Dr. Lancaster. She was trying to get information from the kind doctor. About Big E, who wasn’t even her grandfather. For a stubborn man who wasn’t...hers. “I’ll step outside.”

  Ethan tugged Grace farther into the room. “I might need your assistance.”

  “It’s wonderful to have an assistant you can trust.” Dr. Lancaster grinned. “My two nurses keep my practice running.”

  Grace stepped back, but Ethan’s hand at the small of her back prevented a full retreat. Something about Ethan needing her did stick with her, but she wasn’t analyzing that now, or perhaps ever. She shook her head. Ethan didn’t need her help with animals any more than she required his assistance with a balance sheet. He had to be up to something. “I’m not trained in animal care.”

  “But Grace has such a wonderful manner with pets. You just need to ask Gordy Combs. Grace helped me with his injured dogs yesterday.” Ethan’s tone was pleasant. Too pleasant. Too friendly. “And this is simply a courtesy house call to a longtime friend and our family doctor.”

  “You two seem to have everything under control.” Dr. Lancaster waved a cell phone at them. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to return a few of my own patient calls. Peabody has been sneezing a lot the last few days and not talking.”

  “We’ll find you if we need anything.” Ethan closed the office doors behind Dr. Lancaster.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Evaluating Peabody.” Ethan walked over to the platinum bird cage with a dome top that reached above Ethan’s head and peered inside. A blue-and-gold parrot sneezed quite loudly. “Sorry you’re feeling bad, Peabody.”

  “You don’t need me,” Grace repeated, both for her and Ethan’s benefit.

  “Sure, I do.” Ethan opened the door to the Victorian-style cage and turned toward Grace. He tossed his cell phone at her. “Can you answer that if it rings, please?”

  Grace caught his phone. “Why?”

  “I transferred the Blackwell Ranch phones to my cell.” He eyed Peabody. The parrot approached the opening, peeking his head out, but then retreating. “We don’t want to miss any possible reservation calls for the guesthouse.”

  “You could’ve left your phone with me in the truck.”

  “But how am I supposed to treat Peabody and search Dr. Lancaster’s office at the same time?” he asked.

  “This office isn’t part of your treasure hunt.” Grace put her hands on her hips.

  “I hadn’t considered Big E stashing money with a friend.” Surprise shifted into Ethan’s voice and then he shook his head. “Never mind. Big E doesn’t trust anyone that much.”

  “I’m not searching this office.” Grace forced a hard edge into her whisper. She knew she should’ve stayed with the truck. Or better yet, stayed at Brewster’s.

  “We need Big E’s patient folder.” Ethan waved his hand toward the desk and multiple file drawers in the built-in floor-to-ceiling shelves. “To check my grandfather’s list of medications.”

  That he liked her suggestion that Big E might’ve changed medications pleased her. However, his method to discover whether or not it was true doused that pleasure with a wave of annoyance. “That’s illegal.”

  “So is treating poor Peabody without a license.” Ethan sat on the floor and coaxed the pretty parrot out of its cage. The large bird stepped onto a perch Ethan had placed beside him.

  Sweet words and a little cooing wasn’t going to coax Grace to search Dr. Lancaster’s office. “You’re saving a life.”

  “You might be too, depending on what’s in Big E’s file.” Ethan kept his attention on the bird.

  That was so not fair. How was she supposed to debate him now? What if there was something in Big E’s file that could give them an idea of what was going on? She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Ethan. He was making her a lawbreaker. Another ding against him. What was going to happen to the baby with two felonious parents? Heaven help her, Ethan scrambled her thoughts, making her as illogical as him. “One drawer. I will look in one drawer.”

  “Fine. I’ll check one thing on Peabody. Where should I start? His eyes? Feathers?” Ethan shifted his gaze to her. Beside him, Peabody sneezed. “That’s one thing right there.”

  He really didn’t play fair. She always played fair. Always followed the rules. Except for once, and look where that had gotten her: pregnant and alone. Her irritation caused her to raise her voice. “Do a full exam. I’ll peek around over here.”

  “Careful, Grace. You might find you enjoy breaking the rules.”

  The lightness and soft laughter in his voice wound through her, brushing away her annoyance. There, on the floor, was the caring man she’d spent a magical night with. When he was like this, relaxed and unguarded, he threatened more than her common sense. Grace escaped behind the desk. “This is a onetime offense.”

  His phone vibrated against her palm. Grace answered on the second ring, greeted the caller and added, “No, I’m sorry, Mr. Pierce, Ethan is with a patient right now.”

  Ethan’s gaze narrowed in warning.

  Grace wanted to snort and yell, Payback. Instead, she let her smile ease into her voice. “Randy was right when he told you to call Ethan about your pregnant mare, Mr. Pierce. He specialized in equestrian medicine in veterinary school. You definitely need to talk to Ethan.”

  Ethan looked like he wanted to specialize in finding Grace’s mute button. But Peabody had finally stepped onto Ethan’s arm as if it was a perch.

  “Yes, you can count on Ethan calling you. I’ll make sure he gets the message.” Grace opened the top drawer of Dr. Lancaster’s desk and closed it. Pens and a pair of scissors wouldn’t offer any patient information. “Say hello to those sweet daughters of yours for me.” She ended the call and set Ethan’s phone on the desk.

  “You owe me for that.” Ethan’s voice came out in a low rumble.

  Grace pulled the handle on another drawer. “That’s payback for making me search this office like a criminal.”

  “I’ll get my revenge, Grace.”

  She didn’t doubt it. But for now she was too happy. Ethan had another patient in town and he hadn’t refused to return Mr. Pierce’s call. That was certainly progress. She closed the bottom drawer and cautioned herself not to read too much into anything.

  Soon, Grace sighed and scowled at Ethan. She’d searched Dr. Lancaster’s office without his consent and discovered only photo albums and years of tax returns. No patient files or any patient information for that matter. Zip. Zilch. Nothing. She’d broken the rules and hadn’t gained a thing. That was Ethan’s fault.

  Ethan spoke to Dr. Lancaster about the
antibiotic prescription he wrote for Peabody and explained the benefits of a humidifier and air filter for the office. He was patient and considerate, answering Dr. Lancaster’s questions and offering more advice. No one would’ve suspected that Ethan hadn’t wanted to take the call in the first place. That he hadn’t wanted to be there.

  Grace almost believed Ethan was a part of the town again. That this was his normal routine—making home visits and giving a little extra to each family under his care.

  She jerked her gaze away from Ethan. This wasn’t his home anymore. This wasn’t their thing.

  Peabody walked around the outside of the cage and dragged his toys into a neat pile, comfortable with both Grace and Ethan in his space. Ethan hadn’t needed long to earn the parrot’s trust—less than five minutes.

  She had to admit that she trusted Ethan completely and fully. It made her think of their night together.

  That was then. This was now. And now, she couldn’t trust her heart around Ethan and the illusion he presented. She’d been trained to look at the facts. Numbers were safe, predictable and difficult to argue with. Her situation with Ethan couldn’t be more different. Ethan was going to go wherever his new job would take him, to fix a bank account that was all but depleted, and eventually, he’d meet someone that really suited him. She just hoped he’d try to make room in his life for his child, even if visits and phone calls or texts were sporadic.

  Grace needed to move on.

  The facts hadn’t changed no matter what she had seen of Ethan’s temperament and character in Dr. Lancaster’s office with the bird, or in Brewster’s with Gordy’s dogs. Ethan’s stay in Falcon Creek was temporary. Even if he called Mr. Pierce back, Ethan had promised no more house calls. No more neighborly visits.

  The realization that she and Ethan would never have a future together hurt now. But the pain was nothing compared to a broken heart if they actually tried.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “ARE YOU HUNGRY?” Ethan stopped his truck in the driveway at the Blackwell Ranch and looked over at Grace.

  “I can wait a little while longer. But you were the one starving earlier.”

  “There’s something I want to do before we eat.”

  “What?” Grace asked.

  “Check for something in the old barn.” He opened his door, but her hand on his arm stopped him from getting out.

  “What’s in the old barn?” Her voice tightened along with her grip.

  “Besides broken tractors and other farm equipment, we used to put all our favorite toys up in the loft to keep them safe.” Thanks to Peabody and his meticulous care with his toys in Dr. Lancaster’s office, Ethan had remembered the old barn loft. The brothers had split the large loft into territories and organized the space according to their preferences—ones that changed as the boys grew from playing with toys, to hunting and fishing, to sports and then, finally, to spending time with girls.

  Grace squeezed his arm. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to search the loft for Big E’s hidden stash of money.”

  “It’s the perfect place.” Ethan jumped out of the truck and strode toward the old barn on the far side of the petting zoo. Grace’s muttering behind him tugged his smile free.

  “I’m not helping you look.” She stepped up beside him and patted the giant tote bag she was hoisting onto her shoulder. “I’m going to get on my laptop and finish preparing the profit-and-loss statement for the ranch. That’s what productive people do.”

  “I’m being productive too.” Ethan lengthened his strides. Why hadn’t he thought of it before? Big E had always told them that their treasures were much safer up in the loft. Better than in the house where they’d get trampled and broken with all the comings and goings. Ethan suspected Big E simply got tired of stepping barefoot on one too many army men and plastic building blocks. Still, the boys had liked the idea of having an entire barn loft to themselves.

  If he did find some money, he could take care of the Notice of Default letter from Billings Bank and Trust without telling Grace. He didn’t want to see the disappointment on her face when she read the letter. He didn’t want her to tell him it was hopeless. That the ranch couldn’t be turned around. That making a profit was impossible.

  If the ranch became profitable again and Big E remained AWOL, Ethan wanted to sell for the highest return. That would benefit him and his brothers. If he succeeded, Ben, Tyler and Chance wouldn’t need to come home, unless they wanted to. As far as he could tell that was the last thing they were interested in doing.

  Katie walked around the steel pen he’d built last week for the goats, Hip at her side.

  Ethan wondered why Katie remained at the ranch year after year. True, her father was a staple, has been ever since Ethan and his brothers were kids, but there had to be more to it than that to keep Katie on Blackwell land. Ethan wanted Katie to remain on the ranch for as long as she chose, like he had, until he knew it’d been time to leave.

  He had to find that money.

  Katie and Hip veered right for him and blocked his path to the old barn. “You need to add more space to the goat pen or I’m driving a certain goat out to the back forty before sunrise tomorrow morning.”

  A brown-and-white goat sprinted toward Katie. Ethan released his laughter into the night air and grinned at Grace beside him. “Billy has developed a crush on Hip. It’s cute and harmless.”

  “Chasing down that escapee of a goat is time consuming and inconvenient.” Katie glared at him. “And would you stop naming every animal in this place? I can’t keep up.”

  “You only need to remember Billy as he’s Hip’s boyfriend.” At Katie’s scowl, Ethan tossed her his truck keys. “There’s a Crock-Pot full of beef burgundy in my back seat.”

  Distracted from her goat problem, Katie rubbed her hands together as if she could already taste the delicious meal. “Like with real beef, fresh mushrooms and smoked bacon?”

  “All of that and homemade bread.” Grace continued the distraction. “It’s my great-grandmother’s recipe.”

  “You’re lucky I can be bribed with good food.” Katie aimed Ethan’s truck keys at him and smirked. “I left you an updated fix-it list on the kitchen counter.”

  “I’ve been anxious all day to see what you’ve added to that.” Ethan stepped aside to let Katie pass. “I can’t wait to get started in the morning.”

  “I’m sure you can’t.” Katie shook her head and whistled for Hip.

  “Katie,” Ethan said. “Don’t walk too fast. Billy won’t be able to keep up.”

  Katie muttered something he couldn’t hear.

  “You’re all talk, Katie Montgomery.” Ethan laughed as he watched Katie slow until the goat caught up to the pair. He turned and headed toward the barn.

  Grace caught up to him. “Can’t you re-home that goat?”

  “Sure, if I wanted to, but Katie likes Billy.” Ethan yanked on the old barn door and paused to look at Grace. At the uncertainty pulling her eyebrows together, he said, “She’ll like him, eventually. He’s quite entertaining.”

  There hadn’t been an eventually required when it came to him liking Grace. He’d liked talking to her in high school when he’d gone into Brewster’s and she was working. He’d discovered he’d liked her a lot more at Sarah Ashley’s wedding reception and into the evening when he’d learned more about her beyond her quick mind for numbers and love for her family. Now, the more time he spent with her, he worried he could like her too much.

  He’d only ever intended to stay in Falcon Creek one month. That was all he’d promised Jon. Surely, real, lasting relationships took longer than that to build. Not that he wanted one of those or even a commitment with Grace. That’d require a part of himself he never intended to give up. They shared a baby together and providing for the baby was his priority.

  That meant finding Big E’s money in order to bring the
credit line current and avoid the bank’s seizure of the livestock. Having that happen would ruin their chance of selling the ranch for any kind of profit. If they made money on the sale, Ethan could use his share of the proceeds to pay off his personal debts and restore his credit, and maybe buy into an established veterinary practice. Then he could support his child like a father should.

  He flipped on the lights inside the barn, grateful the electric bill had been paid. “I’m heading up to the loft. Make yourself comfortable, unless you want to join me.”

  “I’m good down here.” Grace pulled her tote bag off her shoulder and studied the tractors lined up like an exhibit of farming trends over the decades.

  “Just pick one of the new models to sit on,” Ethan warned before he climbed up the ladder to the loft.

  At the top of the ladder, he glanced back at Grace. She touched the seats on several tractors before climbing onto a newer model, although even that one outdated Ethan by a solid decade. Satisfied rust wasn’t holding up the tractor Grace had perched on, Ethan stepped into a time machine.

  Here was his childhood. Chance’s old guitars with the strings broken. Tyler’s scattered poker chips. And one of Jon’s early attempts at creating his own branding iron. Here was his old home preserved up in the loft, far from the reach of Zoe’s renovations.

  Ethan picked up a deflated football and nudged a baseball with the toe of his boot. It rolled into a stack of well-read comic books—the ones they’d race down to South Corner Drug & Sundries to buy the first day they hit the shelves. Fishing rods leaned against the wall; a tackle box waited under the bench. Dust swirled in the fluorescent light as memories churned through Ethan, one toppling over the other. Ethan touched a deck of playing cards. He’d lost more than once to Tyler at poker and yet he kept agreeing to play whatever card game Tyler challenged him to. Ropes knotted in various styles hung from hooks on the wall, a reminder of Jon’s constant roping practice.