“Like what, exactly?” she demanded. “Therapy? You might not need someone to talk things out with, but some people do. There’s no shame in having some professional help in sorting out difficulties.”
“There are plenty of places to get therapy. This is ranching land,” he said.
“And it could be set to other uses, too,” she said. “And it very well might, depending on who buys it.”
She was making a good point. Except she hadn’t hit on the reason why he was taking this so personally. It wasn’t only about therapy and changing good ranch land into something so unsuited to this place. This wasn’t just about a stubborn man and his ideals. This was personal.
“If you don’t buy this ranch, I will,” he said, his voice low.
Ember blinked at him in surprise. “What?”
“You heard me,” Casey said. “I can’t afford to pay what you can—and that’s why you’ve got Mr. Vern’s priority. The money matters. He needs to get as much as he can for this land. But if you decide against this ranch, I’ve got an offer on the table behind yours.”
“You want to buy it—” she said weakly.
“Yeah.” And want was a wimpy word. He longed to buy this land on a bone-deep level. He loved every square acre of this place, and if he was going to be raising kids, he couldn’t think of a finer place to do it.
“If this is the site of my family’s homestead, though—” she began.
“Then you’ll buy it,” he confirmed. “And I’ll understand your attachment to the dirt under your feet. It’ll be a connection to generations past—I’m not unfeeling here. But if you don’t buy this ranch, then I will, and I’ll raise those boys here, teach them about hard work and perseverance. I could have a story here, too—moving into the future.”
Casey urged his horse a little faster, pulling out ahead of her. He didn’t want her to see the emotion in his eyes. This mattered to him just as much as it mattered to her, and he wasn’t going to just walk away from a chance at owning this land himself.
“So I am the bad guy,” she called from behind him. “To you, at least.”
Casey turned in his saddle and met her gaze. “From my perspective, you’re just another Reed. You’re playing in a different league. You’ve got money behind you that I couldn’t even hope for. And unless you change your mind about this place, there’s no doubt that you’ll have your way. Reeds always do.”
She dealt in feelings and relationships—let her sort that one out.
But Casey was also a Christian, and he stood by his word. They had an agreement, and they’d shaken on it. She’d help him, and he’d give her an honest introduction to Vern Acres.
Fair was fair.
Chapter Four
Ember sucked in a wavering breath as Casey urged his horse forward again. Her heart hammered in her chest as this new information rattled around inside her. Casey wanted this land, too... It sure explained his chilliness toward her, but it complicated their professional balance, as well. He was just supposed to be a tour guide, not someone with a personal investment in stopping her plan.
Her horse started forward, too, picking up her pace as she plodded along behind Casey’s down the rocky slope. He wanted a future here, and she craved a connection to the past—but their dreams were mutually exclusive. The only thing tipping the scales in her favor was that she had more money to give to make her dream come true. She could sympathize with a man who didn’t come with the same financial backing she did, because she hadn’t always had these opportunities, either, and she had no idea how long they’d last.
Ember’s relationship to her father was a fragile one—even if it satisfied a part of her that had always longed to know her dad. Alistair Reed had expectations of his own, and a family pride that she threatened to tarnish by her very existence. Her father’s wife, Birdie, had been furious when she found out about Ember. Birdie saw Ember as a threat to her marriage, even though Ember hadn’t been the menace—her mother had been, and that affair had ended years ago. But Birdie would take any excuse to drive Ember away and sever the financial cord. Ember wondered what role her stepmother had played in the pressure for Ember to give up her child. Had Birdie been banking on Ember choosing her baby?
That thought clamped down on her heart. I should have chosen my son. I should have told my father that I was keeping him, and that I’d find a way...
Again—at the least opportune time—she was thinking about her child. But this wasn’t the time or the place to delve into all of that. When she’d made a decision about this land and gone back home, then she could use her last week of leave from work to do some real soul-searching. She could promise herself that much. But not in front of Casey Courtright—the man who wanted to buy this ranch, too.
Patience caught up to Casey once more and Ember felt the heat rise in her cheeks when he looked over at her.
“I couldn’t hang back if I wanted to,” she said.
He smiled faintly, then shrugged. “We had to face that eventually. Better to lay it out straight.”
The horses fell into pace together, and Ember let her gaze move over the countryside. Copses of trees and rock piles broke up the pasture. She breathed out a sigh, wondering if there was a more beautiful place anywhere on God’s green earth. If this was the land her family had settled, then she understood why they’d been willing to battle the elements, the wild animals and even unsavory neighbors just to make this land their home.
The thought of neighbors reminded Ember of another problem she faced—the prejudice people around here had against her family name. Would she face pushback from the community? It was possible, but it didn’t seem entirely fair. Maybe Reed Land Holdings didn’t have many fans out here, but her father was more than just a company. He was a human being.
“Did you ever meet my father?” Ember asked.
“Nope, never did. He sent lawyers to do his dirty work,” Casey replied.
Of course. That actually stood to reason. And perhaps it made him easier to hate, too. She’d had her own prejudices against him when she’d first learned that he was her father.
“He’s not a bad man,” Ember said. “He supports a lot of state charities. Everyone seems to like him.”
“Everyone?” Casey raised an eyebrow.
“Except people out here, maybe,” she conceded. “But I do understand. When my mother told me who my father was, I wasn’t thrilled, either. He has the image of being very aloof and cold, but he’s not like that deep down.”
“When did your mother tell you about him?” he asked.
“I was seventeen, and she had stage four lung cancer,” Ember replied softly. “She wanted me to know who my father was before she left me alone in the world. I knew my father’s last name was Reed, since my mother had given me his name, but she’d never told me who he was. She’d been the housekeeper on the Reed estate back then, and when she got pregnant with me, she quit and went away. My father had a family, after all. Anyway, it turned out that he’d known about me all those years, but he’d never reached out to meet me.”
“I’m sure he provided financially,” Casey countered.
“Not much,” she replied. “He helped Mom out a bit, but not enough that I ever saw any. It got sucked up in rent and food and the like. We pinched pennies.”
“And you’re standing by him being such a good guy,” Casey said dryly.
“People change, Casey. And my dad softened up when his youngest son died in Afghanistan. He didn’t want to waste any more time when it came to his kids, including me. He rearranged his priorities.”
“And the rest of his family?” Casey eyed her from beneath the brim of his hat.
“Were less excited,” she said with a dry laugh. “His wife can’t stand me. His other kids see me as a drain on their inheritance. My father paid for my education and then gave me this piece of swamp in Florida. None of hi
s other kids wanted it, but then I managed to sell it for a decent amount of money—and that’s what I’ve got behind me right now. So I doubt I’ll have anything else coming my way from my father, if his wife and kids can help it. I have enough to buy this land and start up my therapy center. But after that, I’d better start making a profit, because I’m not swimming in endless privilege like you assume. Still, I didn’t want to meet my father for his money. It was never about that for me.”
Casey was silent, and she couldn’t help but wonder how much he was judging her now.
“Are you close to him?” Casey asked as they dropped down into a small valley, and then climbed back upward toward the ridge and faint line of fencing.
“Uh—” That was a loaded question. “I’m glad to finally know my father.”
“That doesn’t answer me,” he replied.
“He’s doing his best to make up for not being in my life in my childhood.”
“Not by giving you equal consideration with his other children,” Casey countered.
“No, that’s true, but what I really want from my father isn’t financial. I want—” Her voice trembled, and she paused, swallowed. This was getting too personal too quickly. “It doesn’t matter what I want. He’s not the monster that you seem to think. He’s a man who made a big mistake by cheating on his wife, and he’s had to make that up to his family, too. He works hard, he’s very smart and he has a really strong sense of family pride.”
“So strong that he gave you a piece of swampland in Florida that no one wanted,” Casey countered. “But if you want a connection to him so badly, why sell the land he gave you? Why come here?” Casey asked.
“Because my mother was the only family I had for seventeen years, and my pride for her isn’t dimmed because of my father’s money or her past mistake,” she shot back. “I have family pride, too, and the stories I heard growing up were all from the Harper side. I might have a wealthy father, but I’m my mother’s daughter.”
Casey nodded slowly. “Good answer, Miss Reed.”
Had she just earned a little bit of his respect, there? “My point is, my father has his own challenges to deal with, and I’m not some prissy heiress. We’re all just people, doing our best. Including my dad.”
“Hmm.” Casey cast her an indecipherable look. “I like you better as the proud daughter of a housekeeper.”
“Well, I’m more complicated than that,” she retorted. Chances were, he was more complicated than he was letting on, too, but she wasn’t expecting him to open up.
Casey chuckled softly. “All right, all right.”
“Everyone makes mistakes, Casey.”
Everyone, including her. And mistakes couldn’t be undone. That was the problem with too many of them—they were so final. Would her son resent her decision, too? Would she ever be able to admit why she gave him up? At the age of twenty, everything seemed a whole lot more dire than it did now. But then, she now had an education, a career, a home... Things were more dire back then.
They came up the last of the incline, a few pebbles clattering down the hill behind them, and Casey reined his horse in. He dismounted, in one smooth motion, then came around his horse toward her.
“You aren’t what I expected,” he said quietly.
She smiled slightly and sighed. No one ever was. She’d learned that when she counseled families. Under all the mistakes and external shells lay soft, vulnerable human beings.
“You want to dismount, or stay where you are?” he asked after a moment of silence.
Her muscles were already strained and sore from the position they’d been holding the last little while. Getting down and walking around for a bit sounded good, but she looked at the ground uncertainly. It was a long drop, and there was no handy wooden box out here.
“I don’t know...” she said.
“Come on.” He held a hand aloft. “I’ll help you down.”
“But how will I get back up again?” she asked with a breathy laugh.
“I’ll get you up there.” He eyed her, squinting slightly in the sunlight, and her heart sped up just a little bit. She looked around them, her gaze moving over the rolling hills, the rocky stretches...feeling just how alone they were out here.
“How do I do this?” she asked at last.
“Take your other foot out of the stirrup, and stand up on this leg.” She felt his hand tap her ankle. “Patience can take it. She’s fine. So all your weight—this leg.”
Ember did as he said and swung her leg back over the saddle. It was a long way down, and as she started her descent, her stomach leaped to her throat. She landed in a strong pair of arms before her boot hit the ground, and the air squeezed out of her lungs.
Casey was stronger than she’d thought, because he supported the full weight of her while she got her feet back underneath her, and boosted her back into balance. For a moment, she felt his strong chest against her back, and the steady pounding of his heart thudded slow and steady. Then she was upright again, and he stepped away.
“That wasn’t graceful,” she breathed.
“Not at all,” he said with a short laugh, and when she turned, he raised his hands. “Hey, who says you have to be graceful all the time, huh?”
Casey went to his saddlebag and pulled out a hammer, a plastic bag of what appeared to be nails and a pair of work gloves.
“Look, I don’t mean to insult your father,” Casey said and cleared his throat. “There have been some pretty serious consequences to his success around here, so I’m not going to pretend I like what he’s done, but I can understand that he’s your dad, and you’re going to have a different experience of him.”
“Thank you.”
“Still, you’ve got to understand that while your father got richer, a lot of us lost our family’s legacies. So.” He shrugged, then turned away. “I’m going to fix the latch on the gate.”
Casey headed past the horses and down another incline toward the fence. Most of it was barbed wire, but in the center was a tall wooden gate that swung loose in the wind, the hinges creaking. Ember watched as he worked on the broken latch for a few minutes. He was silent, but in the wide outdoors, constant speaking didn’t seem necessary. It was companionable, and she realized that she liked Casey’s company. Casey finished with the gate, then tested it a couple of times before ambling back to his horse to replace the tools in his saddlebag.
“Where’s Milk River?” she asked.
“Come here.” Casey went to the fence again and waited while she made her way down the rocky terrain. He pulled off his work gloves, then nudged his hat up higher on his forehead as she reached his side. He smelled musky and warm, and even a few inches away from him she was aware of just how tall he was. “See down there—” He leaned a little closer so that she could follow his pointing arm. “Past the trees, there’s a glittery patch—”
Ember looked the direction he pointed, and she spotted the glitter he was referring to.
“I see it.”
“That’s water. The trees grow by the bank, and it’s dug its way down pretty deep over the years, so the banks are steep and high over there. But that’s Milk River.”
Somehow, it seemed less impressive than she’d built it up to be in her head, and she let out a pent-up breath. “Oh.”
Casey paused, tensed, his gaze still locked in the same place. He didn’t move, and Ember looked up at him hesitantly.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I’m staring at a wolf right now.” His voice was calm—too calm for her comfort—and he slowly turned, scanning the landscape. “I only see one right now. The others might be hiding, or it could be a lone scout. Either way, we’re moving out.”
Ember squinted, looking in the direction he was, and then she saw it—a tuft of gray on the other side of that glitter of water. It stood tall and motionless, then turned and p
aced a couple of times before stopping and staring in their direction once more.
Casey pointed to her horse. “Let’s go. Saddle up.”
Ember headed for her horse, lifted her leg to get one foot in the stirrup and felt strong hands around her waist propelling her upward. With a gasp of surprise, she fumbled but managed to get her leg up over the saddle and turned to see Casey already moving toward his own horse, looking over his shoulder in the direction of the wolf.
“It’s pretty far away,” Ember said, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice.
“Let’s keep it that way,” Casey replied, and he pulled his gun off his back and reached into his saddlebag, coming out with two shells. “You go first.” He slapped Patience’s rump. “Go home, Patience.”
The horse didn’t need to be told twice, and Ember lowered herself over the saddle as they headed up to the tree line once more.
“Lord, protect us,” she whispered, but when she glanced back, she saw Casey with a rifle in one hand and his dark gaze scanning the landscape. If anything was going to come at them, she had a feeling she was in good hands.
* * *
Casey urged his horse faster as they approached the tree line. He looked back, surveying the countryside from his higher vantage point, but the wolf had disappeared, and he couldn’t see any more movement. Still, wolves blended into their environments rather easily, and he wouldn’t feel right until he had Ember back on the other side of the woods where wolves didn’t dare approach.
It was one thing to be looking out for himself and another ranch hand who knew how to deal with these things, and quite another to have a completely green city girl on his hands. One day he’d get married, but in his mind’s eye, his wife would be just as good a shot as he was. This land required respect and a steady trigger finger. That was a lesson he’d be teaching the boys when they got old enough to hold their own guns...
Ember put an arm up, pushing some twigs away from her face as Patience carried her into the forest. He took one last look behind them before he followed her into the woods.
Her Cowboy's Twin Blessings Page 5
