Here For You, page 17
“Dad? How bad is this?”
“This summer’s high temperatures hurt our yield some, but we had two cuttings already put up—about two thousand bales. All that’s ash now. We might get a third cutting if we have a little more rain in the next month, but it won’t be good enough for the horses. We’ll feed it to the cattle.”
Wil nodded. The barn and its contents were insured, but there would be a thousand-dollar deductible, a new barn would cost significantly more than the insured value of the old structure, and the policy wouldn’t pay enough to replace several thousand bales at the current prices. Also, finding enough quality hay for sale this late in the season would be tough. Smaller ranches that didn’t have enough land to grow their own usually contracted with hay growers at the first of the summer to buy a set number of bales. Hopefully, the growers had baled more than they contracted.
* * *
Wil rubbed her eyes and dialed one more number. “Hey, could I speak to Thurmond Dunst?”
The man on the other end of the call barked a big horse laugh. “Honey, nobody but my mama calls me Thurmond.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Dunst. This is Wiloree Rivers at the Double R. I was calling because I heard you have some horse-quality hay for sale.”
“Butch. Just call me Butch. Are you Ray Rivers’s kid by any chance?”
“Yes. He’s my dad.”
“Knew him back in the day when he was still rodeoing, but I’m sure you weren’t calling me about that. I thought Ray cut his own hay.”
“We do, but lightning hit our hay barn last night, and we lost it all. I’m trying to contract enough to get us through the winter.”
“Well, you’re in luck. A couple of the smaller farms that usually contract with us had to call it quits, so we have some extra to sell. How much do you need?”
“A thousand bales. What’s your price? And do you have any left from your second cutting?” The second cutting in the spring would be the tenderest and have the highest protein content.
“About two hundred bales of first-cut Bermuda are left, at eight dollars a bale. I can sell you another six hundred of second-cut Bermuda at the same price, and two hundred of second-cut premium alfalfa for ten dollars.”
Wil did quick calculations in her head. At eighty-four hundred, his prices were better than fair compared to what she’d agreed to pay for the first thousand she’d already secured. “I’ll take that deal.”
“It’s an extra eight hundred if you want it delivered.”
“Nope. Dad and Jimmy will drive some trailers up to retrieve it. Do I need to send workers to load it?”
“Got you covered there.”
“Thanks, Mr. Dunst, er, Butch. We appreciate it. I know you could have gouged us since it’s so late in the season and most hay’s already sold.”
“Now, that wouldn’t do much for my reputation, would it?”
“No, sir. It wouldn’t, but that doesn’t stop a lot of people. I appreciate your integrity. Dad will get a cashier’s check and pick up the hay next Tuesday, if that’s okay.”
“That’ll be fine. You have a good day.”
“Same to you.”
Wil was exhausted. She’d watched the fire until dawn, then provided ham biscuits and coffee to the firefighters before catching three hours of sleep, then hitting the phones. She had to arrange for the insurance adjuster to come out, then haggle with her dad over whether they should go with a metal building or build another wooden barn to replace the burned one. Ray liked the tradition of wooden barns, and the cost of wood had come down since the recent high prices, but there was still a shortage, which could have them waiting on timber more than a month. A metal building would reduce the chance of another fire, was available immediately, and could be erected before materials for a wooden barn would be delivered.
She had only a moment because she still had horses to train, groom, and feed, but she relaxed into the tall-backed leather office chair and closed her eyes. The ruins of the hay barn wouldn’t be cool enough to poke through until tomorrow. She woke with a start. Lacey’s ring tone was going off somewhere in the house. Damn it. She didn’t mean to fall asleep. She looked around the desk in confusion, then realized the last time she’d had her cell phone was in her bedroom, talking to Lacey the night before. She dashed down the hall, but the ringing had stopped. She tapped her cell phone to wake it, surprised to see her unintended nap had lasted ninety minutes. Her notifications showed a dozen texts from Lacey before she finally called a moment ago. She hit redial.
“Hey. I was leaving a message. Are you okay?” Lacey sounded frantic.
“I’ve been better.” She blew out a breath and was about to elaborate when Lacey jumped in with a barrage of rapid-fire questions.
“Where are you? You’re not in the hospital, are you? Is your dad okay? Is the ranch okay?”
“Whoa. Lightning hit our hay barn last night, and it burned to the ground with all of our hay for the winter, but no one was hurt.”
After a few seconds of silence, Lacey responded, her voice tight. “Local news is reporting several tornadoes touched down in that area last night, and two people are dead. When I couldn’t get in touch with you, I was scared to death something had happened.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that. No tornado here, but we were up all night with the firemen, making sure sparks from the hay barn didn’t catch on any other structures on the ranch.”
Lacey’s tone turned from worried to irritated. “I wish you’d phoned, or at least texted to let me know you were okay. Last night’s call ended with your father yelling something at you. All kinds of things have been running through my head today when you didn’t answer any of my texts.”
“Sorry. I left my phone on the bed last night when I ran out to see what Dad was yelling about and forgot about it until I heard your ringtone going off somewhere in the house.” Wil was too tired to listen to a lecture, but Lacey was on a roll.
“You should always keep your phone with you—especially during a storm. You didn’t even get the tornado alerts. Those two people reported dead could have been you and your father.”
She understood why Lacey was so upset, but she was too sleep-deprived to stop her own irritation. “I had about three hours of sleep and have been in the office since ten this morning, trying to find enough hay to replace what we lost and get bids on a new barn so we’ll have a place to store what hay I could find this late in the season. With everything else I have to do, checking my phone for texts isn’t a priority.” She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth and Lacey went silent on the other end of the call. She was about to apologize again, when Lacey finally spoke.
“I’m sorry. I won’t take up any more of your valuable time.”
“Wait. I didn’t mean that. I’m just beyond tired and stressed.” The only answer was a beep, indicating the call had been ended. She pounded the side of her fist on her forehead. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.” She tried to reinitiate the call, but voice mail immediately picked up, so she fired off a text.
I’m so sorry. I absolutely didn’t mean that when it comes to you. I’m exhausted, but that’s not a good excuse. I have to go work horses right now, but please answer when I call tonight.
* * *
Lacey was stunned and speechless. She ended the call without thinking. The woman on the phone wasn’t the sweet, thoughtful Wil she’d been dating. But didn’t everybody have moments of being too stressed? Yeah. Her father had disappeared when supporting a kid and her mother became too much for him. And her mother drank away the stress of being stuck with a kid without a man to help support them. Hell, her aunt probably died just to get away from her, too. But, God damn it, she was her own person and would not be anybody’s whipping boy.
She ignored her phone when Wil’s ringtone sounded immediately after Lacey had disconnected the call, then powered down her phone. She needed time to think before she talked to Wil again…if ever.
She walked into the night, to the building where Denver and Pepper were stabled. Her mare was the only one who never let her down. She ran her heart out in Abilene, even though she was injured. Denver would have done the same in the finals of that rodeo, if she’d asked it of her. Had she let herself be sucked into believing Wil’s heart was like that, too? No. Everybody had bad days. Wil was suffering from an immensely bad day. With her father physically compromised, so much rested on her shoulders. She didn’t deserve to shoulder Lacey’s insecurities, too.
She reactivated her phone and read Wil’s text. The message sounded a lot more like her Wil. She answered with a text.
* * *
Wil laid her forehead on the desk. She hadn’t cried since her father was at his lowest with the virus and she thought she’d be orphaned. But she cried now. She didn’t know if she could manage one more crisis in her life.
“You okay, short-stuff?” Her dad hadn’t used her childhood nickname since…well, since she was a child. She had nearly matched him in height since she was a teen.
She didn’t look up as she swiped her sleeved arm across her face as though she was wiping away sleep, not tears. “Yeah. I’m just really tired.” Still refusing to look up, she took a deep breath. This was no time to indulge herself as Daddy’s little girl again. Back to business. “I’ve called around and found two thousand bales of hay. It’s going to cost us, though. I told them we’d come pick it up to save delivery costs. You and Jimmy can haul it on the flatbeds.”
“I need to stay on the ranch. Jake Meadows is coming to look at Blue Cat. I think I can get $30,000 for him. Jimmy can talk to Nora Hansen. Her boys are seventeen now and strong as bulls. If she’ll give permission for them to miss a little school, I know they can use the money.”
“Dad, you can’t use the money from Cat to replace the barn and hay. We need it to buy horses you can train to sell next year. If we don’t, we’ll be in the same financial fix we’re in now.”
“I know. I’ve been thinking about that. I’m going to put Diamond up for sale.”
“No, Dad. We’ll figure something else out. You’ve been training him to be your personal horse on the ranch. Old Barback needs to retire.”
“I need to semi-retire, too, but we both have a few more years left in us. I’ll find another prospect to replace Barback. Take Diamond with you to Sweetwater to give him some exposure in the team roping. Lacey is entering that with you again, isn’t she?”
“Yeah. At least I think she is.” Her eyes teared with fatigue and uncertainty. This was ridiculous.
Her dad knelt next to her chair and took her face in his big, rough hands. “Hey, short-stuff. What’s this about?” He pulled a bandanna from his pocket and dabbed her eyes.
“I’m just tired, and we have so much to do. And when Lacey called a little while ago, I was a jerk. She said it was on the news that several tornadoes had touched down in this area and two people were killed. She was worried it was us.”
“Oh, good Lord. I hope it wasn’t anyone we know. Your mama must be looking out for us. Instead of us losing a hay barn, a tornado could have taken out the house and main barn, too. We’d be homeless and out of business.”
“I was just too exhausted to think of all that, and I snapped when she started to lecture me about keeping my phone with me at all times.”
“She’s right. Working with cows and horses can be dangerous. With us spread out all over this big ranch, one of us could get hurt with nobody else around.” A sudden panic flashed in his eyes. “One of your racers could slip and fall on you, breaking your leg or worse. If you didn’t have your phone to call us, it might be most of the day before one of us realized you were missing and go look for you.”
She took his hands and calmed her voice. “Dad, what happened to Mom was a freak accident. I swear I’m careful.” The tables had turned, and she was consoling him.
“Your mother wasn’t reckless either, damn it. And you better keep your phone on you.”
“I will. I promise.”
He nodded and seemed to collect himself. “Good. Did you make the same promise to that sweet girl you’re courting?”
Wil shook her head and blinked back new tears as her throat tightened around her answer. “She said she wouldn’t take up any more of my time, then hung up on me.”
He gave her a half smile. “I swear the fire in that girl reminds me a lot of your mother. You called her right back, didn’t you?”
“Yes.” She explained what had happened.
“Okay. Help me stand up.” He braced one hand on the desk, and she held on to his other arm to help him rise from where he’d knelt next to her. Then he took her phone and looked at the text she’d sent. “I reckon that’s better than I could have done with your mother. I finally figured out that I needed to give her time to cool off before I crawled on these bad knees to her.” He was still holding her phone when it signaled a new text. “Speak of the devil.”
Wil stood to grab for the phone he snatched up, but he held it out of her reach and read the incoming text.
I’m sorry. I was freaked out with worry for you and had no idea you’d been up all night with a barn fire. I’m still learning how to care for someone other than Denver and me. I’ll answer when you call tonight.
He handed the phone to her. “See? She just needed to step back and calm down.”
Wil read the text several times as relief flooded her. When she looked up again, Ray was studying her.
“You really care for that girl, don’t you?” he asked.
“She’s not like any woman I’ve ever dated.” She looked into her dad’s eyes. “She might be the one. We still need time to really know each other, but I’m pretty hooked already.”
“Well, I’m no expert on women, but your mother spent a lot of years training me in what to do and not do. So, if you need an ear or a shoulder to lean on, I’m always here.”
She stepped closer and laid her head on his broad shoulder. “I know, Dad. I’ve always known that shoulder was there when I needed it.”
He pulled her into a tight hug. “And don’t you forget it.” He released her, took her phone, and tucked it into her pocket. “Now, you keep that thing with you, or I’ll put it in a pouch and tie it around your neck.”
She smirked. “How about I get one of those phone holsters you put on your belt instead?”
“See, I knew you were the idea person around here. I’m the planner, and here’s today’s plan. Jimmy’s in the bunkhouse right now making bacon-and-tomato sandwiches for all of us. You’re going to eat some lunch, go work that crazy racehorse, then come back to the house for a long nap. But you’re going to turn that phone all the way up and leave it right by your head so you don’t sleep through it if that girl calls you.”
“You need to sleep, too, Dad.”
“I’m good. I had six solid hours. You’re the one who got up so quick and started making calls about the barn and hay.” He steered her out of the office and toward the bunkhouse.
“I think we should go with a metal building.” She put a hand up, palm out, to stop his reply. “I called around, and so much of the wood we’d need is on back order, it could take months to finish a new barn.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?” She’d braced for a fight to get him to accept metal.
“That’s all I was going to say when you put your hand out like a traffic cop.”
She shook her head. “I think a tornado did come through here and landed us in an alternate universe.”
Chapter Nineteen
Lacey was nervous as she watched Wil climb down from her truck. They’d both apologized in video chats several times, but both were cautious after having their first fight. Wil had been a myopic jerk. Lacey had hung up, fled, at the first sign of trouble. Would their kisses be as passionate? Would their touches feel the same?
They stood ten feet apart, eyeing each other cautiously.
“Hey,” Wil said, sliding her hands into the pockets of her jeans.
“Hey.” Lacey wiped the back of her hand across her mouth when she realized she was chewing her bottom lip. It was her worst nervous tell. “Who do you have in the trailer?” Horses were always a safe subject between them.
“Diamond Jack. Dad was planning to keep him but decided we needed to sell him to help pay for the barn. I brought him for the team roping this weekend and at Big Spring so we can show him off some. Then Dad’s going to take him to a reining competition to push his price up.”
“Good idea.” Lacey followed Wil to the back of the trailer to help unload Diamond and stared when they lowered the trailer ramp. The stocky sorrel stallion was the spitting image of one of the greatest Quarter horses on record. “Jesus, he’s Two Eyed Jack reincarnated.”
“He’s from that line. Dad originally wanted to keep him as a breeding stallion. We don’t currently have one on the ranch. But this horse is so gentle and trainable, he planned to also claim him as his personal ride. Come in and check him out.”
The two-horse, slant-load trailer was roomy, and Wil ducked under the stallion’s neck to his other side while Lacey approached the horse cautiously. Stallions could be temperamental, and Sweetwater was the first noisy, chaotic rodeo for this guy. He turned his head to look at her and nickered. She let him sniff her hand, and the whiskers on his nose tickled her fingers. Assured of his acceptance, she ran her other hand over his back and large rump. His coat shone like silk.
“Wow. I can see why your father wants to keep him for breeding. He’s gorgeous.” She looked up at Wil. “Can’t you sell some other horse?”
Wil sighed. “No. He and Pepper are all we have left that are ready. I’m sure Dad will negotiate to get several breedings from him as part of the deal.”
Lacey ducked under Diamond’s neck to join Wil on his other side. She clasped Wil’s forearm. “I’m so sorry you have to get rid of him because the barn burned down.”
