Return to Marker Ranch

by Claire McEwen

  “You’re in the kitchen in the middle of the day. Cuddling a small dog and eating cookies.”

  “I was just in the office writing out a check for Seth. I fired him today.”

  “Good.” Mandy stirred her batter emphatically. “He was creepy.”

  Lori jolted abruptly out of her cookie reverie. “Did he hassle you? You should have told me.”

  “He never said anything. Or did anything. He just looked. But it was the kind of look that made you want to take a shower afterward.”

  “You should have told Dad when he hired him. Or me.”

  “I just figured I’d stay out of his way. It’s hard to get reliable help, and it’s not like I’m contributing much to the ranch.”

  “What?” Lori stared at her sister. “What part of your poultry business, keeping the garden, cooking everything, cleaning everything, helping me with the books, scheduling all the repairs for the house and running a baking business on the side qualifies as not contributing?”

  “You know what I mean. I’m not out there—” she lifted her chin toward the window “—doing ranch stuff.”

  “Do you want to be?”

  “No,” Mandy said quickly.

  “So we’re good. Because I sure as heck don’t want to be in here making dinner.”

  “What happened with Seth?” Mandy asked.

  Lori filled her in on the morning’s events while Mandy poured the batter into the waiting cake pans.

  “It’s kind of sweet that Wade was trying to help you with Seth.”

  “Sweet? No! He undermined me in front of the whole staff! It was humiliating.”

  “Oh, Lori, only you would find a hot guy rushing to your rescue humiliating.”

  “No self-respecting rancher would want someone else stepping in to solve problems with her staff.”

  “Really?” Mandy was smiling mischievously, but Lori chose to ignore it.

  “Really. I swear. Wade coming back here has caused so much trouble. I mean, I know he’s not trouble like everyone in town thinks of when they hear the name Hoffman, but between the well and having to help him with his ranch, and now this, it’s just too complicated.”

  “You think he’s trouble because you care about him. When you talk about him, you light up.”

  Lori stared at her sister in disbelief. “Light up in anger, maybe. Or frustration. No, I’m done with him. I’m thinking about asking Jim to go over there and help him out from now on. And handle the water sharing deal. I just don’t need this headache.”

  She looked up when Mandy snorted. Her sister had abandoned her batter and had her wrist over her mouth, laughing so hard she’d snorted.

  “What? Why are you laughing?”

  “Because you like him. It’s so obvious. Rushing over there to track down his cow for him. Getting so mad today when he was trying to help.”

  “He’s my neighbor and he has our water. I don’t like him. I’m stuck with him.”

  “Hmm...stuck, huh?” Mandy looked at her thoughtfully. “What if you did hand everything to do with Marker Ranch over to Jim? You’d almost never see Wade. Would that really make you happy?”

  “Sure it would,” Lori said, taking a long swallow of her milk to hide the blush she could feel traveling across her cheeks. Why did her sister have to be so perceptive?

  “Well, I guess you have your answer, then.” A small smile played over Mandy’s face, making it clear she didn’t believe Lori’s words were the answer.

  But how could she explain how she felt to Mandy when she didn’t understand it herself? Yes, she’d be sad if she never saw Wade. But Wade worried her. And how he made her feel flat out scared her. It was so much easier to be angry with him, and today had given her the perfect excuse. “Life was just so much simpler before he came back here.”

  “Sure,” Mandy agreed. “Simple, safe and boring. All you did was work.”

  “Well, I have a lot of work to do. And I don’t need some guy who can’t control his temper messing things up.”

  Mandy studied her for a moment. “Is that what happened? He got in a fight because he couldn’t control his temper?”

  Lori shrugged. “Not exactly,” she admitted. “He got in a fight because Seth tried to spit on him and then hit him in the stomach really hard.”

  Her sister smiled. “You want to hear my theory about why you’re upset?”

  “No, but I’m sure you’ll tell me.”

  “I think you’re upset because you want everything to be in control.”

  Lori stopped chewing. “I’m some kind of control freak?”

  “Well, I think ever since Mom died, you’ve been focused almost completely on the ranch. On making sure nothing else unexpected or bad happens to any of us. And don’t get me wrong. I appreciate that. You have worked really hard to make me feel safe. But I can see how Wade coming along and making you feel things you can’t control would upset you.”

  “Doesn’t all my work simply mean I’m a good rancher?” Lori decided to ignore the second part of her sister’s little speech.

  “Yes, you’re a great rancher. But you are also a perfectionist.”

  “I’m not a perfectionist,” Lori protested. Then she thought for a moment. “I just like it when everything goes perfectly.”

  Mandy giggled. “Exactly. So when Wade got into it with Seth today, and it wasn’t ideal, it worried you. You want everything to work out...like some ranch you read about in one of your college textbooks. And you take it personally when it doesn’t. But real life isn’t perfect like that.”

  “Dad always made everything work out perfectly around here.”

  “No, he didn’t. He just didn’t stress much about the messy stuff. Think about it,” Mandy demanded. “Remember the fight those two hands got into? When they trashed the south bunkhouse?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Did that make Dad some terrible rancher? Because a fight happened on his ranch?”

  “No.” Sometimes Mandy’s logic made her nuts. Because it was usually correct.

  “You weren’t in the fight today. It wasn’t in your control. Why take it personally?”

  “I don’t know. It feels like it reflects on me. And what if Wade gets in a fight again? Because, yes, maybe I do have some feelings for him. But it’s so complicated, Mandy. More than I can explain.”

  “Maybe I don’t know the whole story,” Mandy said. “But are you expecting Wade to be perfect, too? I think you’re holding both of you to a pretty high standard. You are allowed to make mistakes, Lori, and so is Wade.”

  Lori considered her sister’s words. She did try to do everything the best possible way. Maybe that was part of why she couldn’t forgive herself for ending her pregnancy. She’d gone for the fastest, most obvious solution but not, in hindsight, the best one for her.

  “Am I right?” Mandy asked.

  “Maybe...” Lori grumbled.

  “I’m not making excuses for Wade. I don’t want you to be with someone who has a terrible temper or anything like that. I’m only saying that if you hold out for people to act perfectly before you let them in, you could be on your own for a mighty long time.”

  “I’ve been on my own so far and done all right.”

  “Sure. But are you happy? After you see Wade, you come back all sparkly. And I saw his face when he looked at you in the bar that night. He couldn’t keep his eyes off you. It was pretty romantic.”

  “Sparkly?” Lori stood up from the table. “I’ve never been sparkly a day in my life. I’m just dust and cattle.”

  “And I’m just saying that if you asked Wade, he’d tell you he likes dust and cattle. A lot. And that he sees way more than that in you.”

  “Well, I’m not asking.” Suddenly the kitchen felt hot and stifling. Lori wan
ted wide-open space and a good gallop on Dakota. And to be far away from Mandy’s insights that hit way too close to home. “I have a cattle drive to plan. I’m gonna get going.”

  “Why don’t you ask Wade to go with you?” Mandy asked, a wicked smile on her face. “I’m sure he could use the experience.”

  She couldn’t take any more. Lori covered her ears with her hands. “What was that, sis? I can’t seem to hear you.”

  “Oh my gosh, you’re ten years old again? You like him, you like him...” Mandy crowed, regressing right along with her.

  “Can’t hear you, la la la la...” Lori sang, and then they were both giggling hysterically. Lori uncovered her ears and came around the table to give Mandy a quick hug. Then she clapped her hat on her head and headed out to find Dakota. She still wanted that gallop, but thanks to Mandy and her cookies, she was feeling a few years younger, a few pounds heavier and a whole lot better.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  THE NEW HORSE came down the trailer ramp in a riot of hoofbeats as if he had a few extra legs. He danced and snorted at the end of the lead while Todd spoke to him in a low voice, reassuring him that this new place was safe. Todd’s friend Jack, a professional trainer who helped work with the rescued mustangs, stood to one side, quiet and ready in case he was needed.

  Poor horse. Wade understood the fear in its wide eyes. Born wild, brutalized in a helicopter roundup, then confined to a packed corral in the blistering summer heat. Then, just when he thought he had a safe haven with Todd, he’d endured a trailer ride to an unfamiliar ranch. No wonder he looked so miserable.

  A certainty settled in Wade’s heart. This horse needed him and needed a home. So he would make this work. He’d make this ranch into a great home for him, no matter how hard it was. Strange to think of Marker Ranch, with all of its bad history, as a place that could help anyone feel safe. But he’d find a way to make it happen. He knew too well what terror felt like.

  Wade hung back, figuring it was best to let Todd comfort the frightened animal. He was a strange-looking horse. His coat was a mishmash of reddish hair and white, the combination almost pink in the sunlight. There were random white splotches all over his body. His eyes were brown but encircled in pale pinkish skin. His thin, red-brown mane hung in tangles down the side of his neck.

  Jack said the color was called red roan. Which meant a color so mixed up it made you a little dizzy to stare at it too long.

  The new horse raised his head high and whinnied, and JM, munching on some morning hay over in the next paddock, answered. They’d made sure the two horses would have a common fence so they could keep each other company without getting into any scuffles.

  Todd got the new horse calm enough to walk him over to the gate Wade had left open. The roan tossed his head up as he walked past Wade and regarded him with his strange pink-rimmed eyes. Wade swallowed hard. What the hell had he got himself into?

  In the paddock, Todd removed the halter and came quickly back through the gate as the horse trotted off. Latching it carefully, he climbed the rail and watched as the pink horse trotted the high fences of his new home, tail up, snorting and huffing as he took in all the possible dangers of this new place.

  Wade and Jack walked over to join him.

  “That is a fine-looking horse,” Jack said. “Todd’s right. He’s gonna be good working cattle, I bet. No way that’s a pure mustang with those big round hindquarters.”

  “Seems like he’s part Appaloosa to me,” Todd said. “But whatever he is, I’m glad he’s in a good home.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Wade assured them. “But what the hell do I do first?”

  “I’ll email you a training schedule,” Jack said. “With stuff you can do every day. And I’m happy to stop by and help out anytime. Well, anytime when I’m not on daddy duty.”

  “That would be great,” Wade said. “What should I do today?”

  “Nothing,” both men said together and then grinned.

  “He’s got what he needs,” Todd explained. “Hay, water and his new buddy JM next door. Just hang out near the fence some. You can even bring a chair and a book out and read close by. Let him get used to your smell and your presence. But don’t even talk to him today.”

  “That I can do,” Wade said. “Kind of nice to have an excuse to kick back with a book.”

  “And tomorrow just feed him, and then do the same thing,” Jack said. “On Monday you can start on the schedule. The first step is sitting on the fence, then going into the pen but kind of ignoring him.”

  So far it all sounded like stuff he could do. “All right, then.”

  “You thought of a name yet?” Todd asked.

  “Jackson,” Jack said.

  “I was asking Wade.” Todd elbowed his friend. “You want us to name the horse after you?”

  “No!” Jack laughed. “Look at all those white splatters. It’s like Jackson Pollock decided to paint his coat.”

  Wade laughed. “You’re right. Plus, I did my training in South Carolina at Fort Jackson. It’s perfect.”

  “All right.” Todd walked along the fence until he was a little closer to the horse. “Jackson, welcome to your new home. This is Wade Hoffman. He’s gonna take good care of you.”

  Jack rolled his eyes at Wade. “The dude’s crazy.”

  Wade rolled his eyes back. “Just be glad he’s not gonna be your brother-in-law.” But he grinned. He was lucky his sister had picked such a good guy.

  “Hey Doctor Dolittle,” Jack called. “Are you done talking to the animals? I gotta get back.”

  “All right. Wade, want to come over for dinner tonight? I think your sister is cooking.”

  Wade winced.

  Jack laughed. “That good, huh?”

  “Hey, careful, that’s my fiancée you’re talking about.” But Todd’s grin revealed that he got the joke.

  “I’ll come. Can I bring something? A pizza, maybe?”

  Todd laughed. “Maybe I can talk her into a pizza night. I’ll call you later and let you know.”

  Jack headed for the truck and trailer, but Todd lingered behind. “What’s up with the fighting?” he asked quietly.

  Wade stared at his friend in shock. “How did you hear about that already?”

  “One of the Lone Mountain Ranch hands dropped equipment off at my repair shop yesterday.”

  “Does Nora know?”

  “Nope.”

  “I appreciate that.” Wade paused, trying to gather his thoughts “I was trying not to fight. I even sidestepped the guy a couple of times. But then he got a good punch in and I kind of lost it. Luckily Lori grabbed me before I actually hit him.”

  Todd nodded. “It’s good you stopped.”

  “What can I bribe you with so you don’t tell Nora?”

  Todd grinned. “I won’t tell her. Though if you bring some beer with that pizza tonight, I wouldn’t mind.”

  “Deal,” Wade said with genuine gratitude.

  “See you later, then.” Todd went to the truck where Jack was waiting, and the two men climbed in. Then it was just Wade, JM and the newest addition to Marker Ranch—a wild horse named after a wild artist. And what was even wilder was that somehow Wade was supposed to figure out how to train him.

  He glanced over at Jackson. The speckled horse was still wandering along the fence, looking like he was plotting his escape. JM stood by their shared fence, nickering at the newcomer as if trying to tell him to calm down because there was good food here and not too much expected of you. But Jackson wasn’t listening. He’d spotted Wade. He threw his head up and glared at him defiantly, raised his tail and trotted further away from him. “It’ll be okay, big guy,” Wade murmured. It would be. It had to be. At least, he sure as hell hoped it would be.

  The sound of a vehicle clattering down his drivew
ay had him turning to look. An unfamiliar silver SUV was bumping along toward him, slowing down to pass Todd’s truck on the drive. Strange to see that, since he rarely had visitors.

  Wade left the horses and headed down the dirt lane that led to the house. A woman got out of the vehicle and waved, waiting for him to arrive.

  As he got closer he recognized her. It was Mandy. Lori’s sister. Was something wrong with Lori? He quickened his pace.

  She must have seen some of the panic he felt on his face, because she burst out laughing. “It’s okay, Wade. Lori’s fine.”

  He tipped his hat to hide his confusion. “Hey, Mandy...just trying not to keep you waiting. What’s up?”

  She was gracious enough not to comment on his lame excuse. “I’m here to ask you to come to church tomorrow.”

  If she’d asked him to board a rocket to the moon, he would have been less surprised. “I wasn’t really raised to go to church. Kind of the opposite.” His dad had laughed at all those “straights and squares wasting perfectly good Sundays.” Wade could still hear the words perfectly, complete with the bitter, alcohol-slurred tone that accompanied them.

  “All the more reason to give it a try,” Mandy said placidly.

  Had Mandy become a missionary? He didn’t think the Lutheran church had them. “Hey, that’s nice of you, Mandy. But I’ve got a lot on my plate right now...” He gestured to his dilapidated ranch. The run-down buildings explained it all better than he could.

  “Lori will be there,” she said, and he noticed a sparkle in her eye.

  “I think I’m just about the last person Lori wants to see at her church tomorrow.”

  “I know my sister better than you.”

  “Did she send you?”

  Mandy bit her lip. “Um...not exactly. She doesn’t know I’m here.”

  He had to laugh at the guilty look on her sweet face. “Why exactly are you here?”

  Mandy stood up a little taller. “Because you two are being silly, staying mad at each other. You’ve known each other too long for that. What better place than church to make your peace?”

  “A bar?” he asked hopefully. “I could meet you and Lori for a drink afterward, and you could broker your treaty then.”