Chapter Three
Cauy stared glumly at the limp chicken sandwich sitting on his plate and wished he’d bought some chips to go with it. He was trying to eat healthier, but sometimes all he craved was a huge bag of barbecue chips to shove in his mouth. His fingers were aching from twisting wire to mend the boundary fence, and he wasn’t even a quarter of the way round the property. He had checked out the fence bordering Morgan Ranch and found it well maintained and secure.
Which meant he might owe the beautiful blonde an apology. He winced as he recalled her response to his territorial paranoia. She’d hardly been cattle rustling, just taking a picture of the downed fence, and he’d treated her like a terrorist. The thing was, he hadn’t expected to meet anyone out there, and she’d surprised him. He’d forgotten how to talk to people, and it showed....
Outside, the guard chooks started clucking, and he tensed as a vehicle swept into the yard. Had the woman set Nate Turner on him? Leaving his uneaten lunch on the table, he went to the back door, braced himself, and went out. The sight of a diminutive elderly lady being helped out of a huge blue pickup truck made him blink.
“Howdy, neighbor!”
He took an involuntary step back and collided with the door frame as she advanced toward him with a smile.
“Welcome home.” She searched his face. “It’s Cauy, isn’t it?”
He nodded like an idiot and helplessly held open the door as she swept past him.
“Jean Turner told me you were coming back home, and I didn’t like to think of you up here all by yourself.”
Cauy opened his mouth and then closed it again as she kept talking. An older man with a lined face, graying hair, and very blue eyes came through the door and offered Cauy his free hand. His other arm was loaded with plastic boxes.
“Hi, I’m Billy Morgan.” He pointed at the woman and half smiled. “That’s Ruth Morgan. My mother. She’s something of a force of nature.”
Cauy shook his hand, as Ruth turned back to him.
“Is that your lunch?” She pointed at his limp chicken sandwich.
“Yes, ma’am.” He felt like he was five again.
She tutted and headed for the door. “That’s not going to keep you fed. Rachel? Bring that covered dish in first, the hot one, and then we can start on the rest.”
“I’m coming. Just getting something to protect my hands. This thing is hot!”
Cauy knew that voice....
The tall blonde he’d met that morning came through the door carrying a covered dish in a cloth. She slowed as she went past him, her vivid blue gaze meeting his with a distinct challenge.
“Hello again, neighbor.”
She was definitely a Morgan. And apparently, her name was Rachel. She looked young enough to be Ruth’s great-granddaughter, which meant that one of the Morgan brothers must have married young and started producing early.
Ruth took the dish from Rachel. “Thank you, darlin’. Now, why don’t you and Billy bring the rest of the stuff in while I have a nice visit with Cauy?”
Nice visit? Cauy’s stomach rumbled as the smell from the foil-wrapped dish reached him. This was not how he’d planned on meeting the Morgans again, not at all. He’d intended to find a local lawyer and meet them on neutral territory.
Ruth pulled out his chair and put the dish on the table. “Sit down, and eat up.”
Cauy thought about telling them all to get out, but the allure of a proper home-cooked meal and being treated like a human being was way too strong. He also had a suspicion that if he didn’t do what Ruth Morgan said she’d be on the phone with his mother, and then he’d really be in the shit. So much for his tough-guy image.
“I’ll make some fresh coffee,” Ruth called out to him. “You seem to have that, at least.”
He sat and uncovered the dish to find a large slice of chicken pie, mashed potatoes, and carrots. He swallowed hard. Was accepting food from his father’s sworn enemies a concession of defeat, or could he class it as keeping his enemies close?
His stomach clenched with longing and he gave in to the desire to eat. He picked up his fork and dug into the pie, almost moaning at the buttery pastry and creamy chicken sauce. At this point, he didn’t care if the food was poisoned, it tasted so good.
“Dessert.” Ruth Morgan placed another plate on the table along with a fresh cup of coffee and a glass of water. “Now, slow down, or you’ll give yourself colic.”
“Yes, ma’ am,” he managed to mutter before noticing the stewed apple and ice cream in the bowl beside him. Where had the ice cream come from? He was pretty sure there was nothing in his freezer.
By the time he’d cleared both his plates, Billy and Rachel Morgan were back in the kitchen and the door had been shut against the cold air. Cauy tried to make sense of all the boxes Ruth Morgan was emptying. Did she think he’d brought a small army with him?
He took his plates over to the sink and discovered he now had a new sponge and washcloth to go with the last of his dishwashing liquid. There was also a plastic bowl in the battered sink.
“I put the meals in the freezer.” Ruth came over to him, wiping her hands on a towel. “They are all marked with the contents, how to cook them, and an eat-by date. Do you have a microwave?”
“No.”
“We have an old one that used to be in Roy’s kitchen. I’ll get someone to bring it over for you.”
Cauy cleared his throat. “That’s very kind of you, but—”
“It’s no trouble. There’s no point you wasting money on something when you don’t have to, is there?” She patted his arm. “I put some cleaning supplies under the sink, and cans and dry goods in the pantry. There are a few essentials in the refrigerator as well. Do you like cooking?”
“Not really.”
“If you change your mind, come and see me, and I’ll sort out some proper pans for you.” Ruth looked at Billy. “Is there anything I’ve forgotten?”
“I don’t think so, Mom.”
“Good, so we can sit down and chat.” Ruth guided Cauy back to the table, her hand firmly on his elbow. “How is Anita doing these days?”
“She’s good.” Cauy kept a cautious eye on Rachel, who was perched on the arm of the chair, and Billy, who was leaning up against the wall next to her. “I’ll tell her I saw you.”
“Are Jackson and Amy going to stop by and visit you for Christmas?”
Cauy hadn’t even thought to ask them. “I don’t think so.”
Ruth frowned. “Then you’ll have to come to us. We can’t have you sitting here all by yourself on Christmas Day.”
Cauy wondered why not. It wouldn’t be the first Christmas he’d spent by himself, and probably wouldn’t be the last.
“Cauy might have plans of his own, Ruth,” Billy intervened, and winked at Cauy. “Don’t mind her, she just can’t bear to think that anyone might prefer to be alone during the holidays.”
Ruth raised her eyebrows. “I’m not asking him to move in with us, Billy. I’m just saying that if he wishes to join us for Christmas lunch he’s more than welcome.”
“That’s very kind of you.” Cauy finally remembered his manners and stood up. He had no intention of going anywhere, but his mom had brought him up right. Ruth Morgan wasn’t at all how he thought she’d be. His father had never had a good word to say about her, insisting she was a pushy woman who thought she ran the whole town.
From what Cauy could tell Mrs. Morgan had been born into the role, which would have infuriated his father, who had a low opinion of women generally.
He went over to the back door and grabbed the handle like a lifeline. “It was nice of you to come all the way out here. I appreciate it.”
“It was no trouble at all.” Ruth Morgan looked at him, and then at her family. “Billy, give Cauy that card with all our cell phone numbers on it. Roy, our foreman, will be coming up this week to see if he can help you out with anything.”
Cauy opened the door. “There’s no need for him to put himself out.”
Ruth sighed and rose from the table. “Stubborn as your father, I see.”
“My father—” Cauy couldn’t think how to finish that sentence without saying something rude about the Morgans and, despite everything, he knew Ruth Morgan had come with the best of intentions. Rachel and Billy were now looking at him like he was some kind of worm.
“Come along, Mom.” Billy wrapped his arm around Ruth’s shoulders. “Cauy’s probably got things to do.”
Cauy waited until they came alongside him, and cleared his throat.
“I do appreciate you coming by, Mrs. Morgan.”
She smiled at him. “Don’t be a stranger, okay? I’ve known your family for seventy years, and we always helped each other out in times of need. Just call if you need anything.”
“I will. Thanks again.”
Billy nodded to him as he went through the door. Cauy let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and then found himself face-to-face with Rachel, who didn’t look any happier to see him now than she had earlier.
“Nice to see you are an ass to everyone you meet, and not just me,” Rachel said. “What did my grandma ever do to you?”
“Your grandma?” Cauy asked before he even thought it through.
“Yes.” She frowned. “Billy’s my dad.”
“That can’t be right.” Cauy slowly shook his head. “He had four sons. We went to the same school.”
Rachel raised her chin. She was tall for a woman, and easily met his gaze. “You’re saying I can’t be a Morgan?”
“I’m saying . . .” Cauy stopped mid-sentence as some long-forgotten memory stirred deep in his head. “You’re the baby that disappeared?”
“Got it in one, which still has nothing to do with how you just treated my grandmother,” Rachel said.
Cauy was still trying to get his head around who Rachel was. “Everyone thought you and your mom had died. My dad thought—” He abruptly shut up when he remembered that his father believed Billy Morgan had murdered his own wife and child and had taken some unholy glee in the notion.
“Rachel?” Speak of the devil. Billy had come back to see where his daughter was. Seeing them next to each other there was no denying they were related. Billy looked way too kind to ever hurt a fly. “You coming?”
“Yes, sorry.”
Rachel smiled apologetically at her father, and Cauy almost swallowed his tongue. He’d never seen her smile before, and the beauty of it hit him low in the gut. If she was Billy’s daughter, she wasn’t as young as she looked, which made him feel slightly better about appreciating her charms.
Billy turned to Cauy, his smile wry. “Ruth can be a little . . . managing. But she means well.”
“I’m very grateful to her for coming,” Cauy reiterated.
“Well, you know where we are if you need anything.” Billy nodded. “Have a great day, son.”
“Thanks.”
Rachel walked away with her father, and Cauy watched them leave before closing the door and locking it. He felt like he’d had an early visit from the Christmas fairy—not that Rachel Morgan would appreciate being called that. Hopefully, they’d realize that he didn’t need their help and keep away.
He sat back at the table and rubbed his hands over his stubbled jaw. He’d been polite, hadn’t he? He’d let the Morgans into his house and said thank you for everything Ruth had done for him. So why did he still feel like a heel? It wasn’t as if he cared what they thought of him. For a brief moment, he’d remembered what it felt like to be part of a happy family who wanted to see you and welcomed you home. He hadn’t expected that from the Morgans, whom his father had ended up hating....
* * *
“He’s very quiet,” Ruth said as Billy drove them down the hill toward the lower gate. “And he definitely needs a haircut and a shave.”
“Cauy?” Billy chuckled. “You didn’t give him much of a chance to get a word in edgeways.”
“He certainly looked a bit shocked to see us, didn’t he?” Ruth said. “How he was expecting to live out there all by himself with no company at all, I don’t know.”
“Maybe he likes it.” Billy stopped the truck.
Rachel got out to open the gate as Billy continued to chat to Ruth and drove through. She got back in and did up her seat belt. Without his hat and coat on, Cauy Lymond had light brown hair that curled into the nape of his neck and warm brown eyes that weren’t far off level with her own. He was lean for his height and tanned like most people who worked outside year-round. Despite what Ruth thought, Rachel quite liked his stubbled chin.
“How old is he?” Billy asked.
“He’s a similar age to BB, I think, so around thirty. They were in the same year at school, but Cauy left home when he was around sixteen. His mom wasn’t very happy about that. She told me Cauy and Mark didn’t get along, and the house was a lot more peaceful without all the yelling.”
“Sixteen is still very young to leave home and go to Texas,” Billy countered. “At least my boys waited until they graduated high school before hightailing it out of here.”
“That was because I would’ve whooped their asses if they’d tried to do anything different.” Ruth smiled.
“What did he do in Texas?” Rachel joined the conversation, her curiosity overcoming her.
“He was in the oil industry, I think.” Ruth frowned. “Anita was always worrying about him, I know that.”
“It’s dangerous, dirty work,” Billy agreed. “I hated it.”
“You worked there, too?” Rachel studied the back of her father’s head from her seat in the rear.
“Yeah. The money was good, but the working conditions and hours could be killers.” He shrugged. “And I wasn’t exactly an exemplary employee. I only worked to pay for my addictions, and then moved on.”
His blunt honesty about his lost years was sometimes hard to take. But when Rachel studied her father’s lined face she saw those forgotten and desperate times etched there and in the startling blue of his eyes. Sometimes it made it hard to look at him. He’d caused so much heartache in the Morgan family and managed to not only save himself, but also come back to the family home a different man willing to face his past and apologize for it. Rachel still shied away from the complicated emotional mess that represented, and how her parents’ actions had defined and changed her life. She suspected all Billy’s children did the same.
“Maybe I’ll call Anita and tell her I’ve seen Cauy.” Ruth was speaking again. “She might be able to fill me in on a few details.”
“You are a terrible gossip, Ruth.” Billy turned onto Morgan Ranch land and the electric gate slid open.
“I just like to know what I’m up against,” Ruth replied.
“Why?” Rachel asked. “He was rude to you. Why would you care what he’s doing here?”
“He wasn’t exactly rude, Rachel. He thanked me very nicely several times.”
“Yeah, he did,” Billy chimed in.
“I thought he was rude.” Rachel sat back in her seat, arms folded over her chest. “He made it look like we were a nuisance he wanted to get rid of.”
“Maybe he’s just shy?” Ruth suggested.
Rachel snorted. “Right. That wasn’t the vibe I was getting.”
“Your grandma can be a bit overwhelming sometimes, Rachel,” Billy pointed out. “Cauy’s just got back, the ranch is in ruins, and some bossy old lady comes in, takes over his kitchen, and asks him all kinds of intrusive questions.”
Ruth laughed. “I suppose I am a bit nosy. I just wanted him to feel welcome.”
“You did a nice thing for someone who didn’t appreciate it,” Rachel said firmly. “That’s on Cauy Lymond. Not on you.”
“Wow, you’re a tough audience, Rachel.” Billy pulled up in front of the ranch. “He’s obviously got on the wrong side of you.” He winked at Ruth. “You remind me of your grandma more each day.”
“Nothing wrong with that.” Ruth opened the passenger door and stepped down onto the ground. “I’ve done pretty good with my life so far.”
Billy came around to Rachel’s side of the truck and waited until Ruth reached the house. “Are you okay? Did Cauy say anything to you after I left?”
“No, I was just telling him off for being rude,” Rachel sighed. “Maybe I overreacted.”
Billy patted her shoulder. “Just like your grandma. She was quite the firecracker back in the day. Ask Roy.”
They went up to the house and discovered Chase and his wife, January, already sitting in the kitchen chatting with Ruth.
Chase had his laptop open, and beckoned to Rachel to come and sit beside him. He was obviously still in Silicon Valley mode. It usually took him a day or so to ease back down to ranch speed.
“I got your e-mail about the mine. Can we ride up there tomorrow and take a look at the damage?”
“Sure.” Rachel accepted the mug of coffee Ruth offered her. “Did you see the pictures I took?”
“Yeah, BB passed them on to me.” Chase frowned. “It looks pretty serious. I’m wondering whether we should just fill all the mine shafts we know about and demolish the main entrance.”
“We can definitely do that, but it would be better to get some idea what’s going on below the surface before you close it up completely.” Rachel hesitated. “We don’t really know the extent of the mine works, or if there are other shafts. I’d like to do a comprehensive survey before anything else.”
“Okay, how will we do that?”
Chase’s ability to process information and move on was legendary.
“There are several ways to scope out the mine workings, but we’ll need specialized equipment, which might be expensive,” Rachel said.
“Let me worry about that. Can you deal with it yourself, or do I need to get someone else in?” Chase asked.
“I can probably handle it.” Rachel considered her options. “I have lots of friends who work in mine engineering so if I don’t know something, I’ll be able to get help.”
“Great. I’d rather keep it in the family,” Chase said. “I don’t want to scare off any potential guests. We still have guests on site for another few weeks before we close for the holidays.”
“I suspect some of the mine goes under the Lymond Ranch,” Rachel said.
Chase grimaced. “I wish that old fool Mark Lymond had sold the land to me. I made him a great offer. It would make things so much easier right now.”
“Did Ruth mention that Mark’s son is living there now?” Rachel asked. “We just got back from visiting him.”
“Jackson’s come home?” Chase raised his eyebrows. “He was always a nice guy. I wonder if it would be worth asking him if he’s interested in selling the place.”
“It’s Cauy Lymond who’s come back. I think his father left him the ranch,” Rachel sighed. “He’s not exactly Mr. Charming.”
“I don’t remember him very well.” Chase squinted at his laptop. “He left school before graduation and went to Texas.”
“So Ruth said. The place looked terrible, so I’m not sure how he’s going to live there.” Rachel took the refilled coffee mug Ruth offered her. “Billy said he couldn’t see any signs of stock in the fields either.”
“Then he’ll be in trouble.” Chase sipped his own coffee. “Maybe I should go up there and have a chat with him myself.”
“Good luck.” Rachel made a cross over her heart. “I wouldn’t rush over there too quickly. He didn’t seem very happy to see us.”
“He was just shy,” Ruth said, entering the conversation. “As Billy mentioned, I can be a little overpowering sometimes.”
“A little?” Chase grinned at his grandma. “When you get an idea in your head you’re unstoppable.”
Ruth’s answering smile was a little smug. “Got you lot all back where you belong, didn’t I? Sometimes being as stubborn as a mule is a good thing.” She patted Chase’s arm. “Give Cauy a few days to get over us visiting him, and then go talk to him. After a week at that ranch he might just have changed his mind about staying.”