Cody saddled up his favorite gelding the early the next morning and headed out for the west field. It was about a twenty minute ride, but the sun hadn’t gotten up too high in the sky and the morning felt crisp and cool. He knew he and his brothers should visit Frank Braddock as well as his grandfather. His father would expect no less. Neighbors rallied around neighbors. He’d stop in the next time he was in town.
He wasn’t much for hospitals. And it had to suck to be bedridden even for a short time. He hadn’t seen Frank in a while. Maybe since last Christmas. He had celebrated with the Fallons.
Fact was, Cody couldn’t remember the last time he’d been at the Braddock place. Frank was his father’s friend. If he came to dinner or holidays, it was always understood they invited him over because he couldn’t host their noisy clan on his own.
Cody tried to remember if Frank had any family. Wasn’t there a kid somewhere? Frank had been divorced as long as Cody could remember, but he thought his dad said something about a kid. Or maybe it was another rancher and Cody was getting them mixed up.
When he opened and closed the gate that led to the pasture Billy Bob had identified, Cody saw the horse right away–a bay looking off his feed. The animal ambled right toward him. When he drew closer, Cody could see how thin he was. Range feed wasn’t enough or the horse had worms, or both.
“Hey, fellow, what’re you doing out here?”
The horse nosed his own mount then walked a couple more steps so Cody could scratch his ears. Easing his lariat from his saddle so not to spook the horse, he shook the loop around the horse’s neck and wrapped the other end around the saddle horn.
“Come on, fella, I’ll take you home.”
Keeping alert he soon saw the cattle. Maybe twenty head, some beneath the trees though the heat of the day had only begun. Others grazed on the dried grass. Then he saw another horse, standing by the water trough fed by the windmill. The horse whinnied and watched with ears forward as Cody rode nearer.
“So there are a couple of you after all,” he whispered.
The horse had a gash on his hind quarters and was as thin as the one next to Cody.
He studied the line of fencing but from this position nothing looked out of place. No glaring gap showed.
“Come on, then, let’s see if I can find a breach.”
He let the first horse sip at the trough and shook his rope off him.
He rode to the fence and began riding beside it. After ten minutes he found a make shift gate that was opened. A western gate that was barbed wire attached to poles that hooked to the fence posts. Somehow this one had gotten undone and let the animals cross to Fallon land.
And probably caused the injury to the one horse to boot.
He dismounted far enough away from the tangle of barbed wire to keep his horse safe, and tried to get the gate out of the way. Finally giving up, he pulled wire cutters from his back pocket and cut the wire away. He coiled it up best he could, and tucked it near a post to keep it as far from the range animals as possible. When he came back to fix it, he’d take the old wire and dispose of it where it wouldn’t harm anything.
Remounting he rounded up the two horses and led them onto Braddock land. The horses followed willingly.
If he remembered right, a south west direction should put him in line with the home place for Frank Braddock. He studied the land as he rode, going slowly for the horses. Both looked like they had little energy or stamina. The sooner they were back in their corral and fed some grain, the better they’d both be.
Twenty minutes later he saw Braddock’s barn. Then the house. As he came closer he saw the corral was empty. Where were the rest of the horses? Had they all gotten out?
Behind him the injured horse followed picked up the pace. The other kept following with his slow steady gait.
Cody felt he was an easy-going guy most of the time, but not when the welfare of animals was concerned. There was no excuse for not taking care of ranch animals.
Holly Braddock finished her bottle of water. Biting off another bit of granola bar, she gazed out the kitchen window at the barn behind the house. Nothing was going as she expected. And if things didn’t change soon, she’d have to give up and go back home.
She finished the granola bar and tossed the wrapper in the trash. Grabbing her purse, she dug out her keys. She’d be early to see her father, but if she left now she’d have a chance for a cup of coffee at Rosie’s Café before visiting her dad. Glancing around the worn kitchen, she shook her head. How had it changed so much from when she was younger?
Or had it? Maybe she just remembered it differently. Kids didn’t care about the latest appliances in the kitchen or an immaculately painted house. But it sure looked more rundown that she ever expected.
She also expected the power to be on. She’d stopped by the convalescent home yesterday when she arrived, but her father had been sleeping. Even though she stayed for a couple of hours, he didn’t wake up and she didn’t want to waken him.
Arriving here after a quick meal in town, it had dismayed her to discover no electricity. She remembered a generator near the pump house, but hadn’t a clue how to operate it.
So no coffee this morning. No shower since the pump didn’t work. Nothing to eat beyond dry stale cereal and her granola bars. The food in the refrigerator had spoiled enough to make her almost sick when she dumped it last night.
She hoped she could get the power back on today. But first she wanted to visit her father. She couldn’t believe how frail he’d looked yesterday. He had IV tubes for nourishment as his ability to swallow had been impeded the nurse said. And he didn’t communicate well yet, she’d been told.
Fear gripped her for a moment. He couldn’t die. She loved her father. He was too young to die–especially when she hadn’t seen him in months and hadn’t visited the ranch in a dozen years.
Which wasn’t my fault, she thought as she headed out the back door. She’d asked to come many times, but her father always said it was such a treat to meet her in Palm Springs or Los Angeles or San Francisco that she didn’t argue too strongly.
She loved coming to visit as a child. Her mother loathed her visits, but it had been a magical place to Holly. She got to ride horses all day long, hang out around cowboys and pretend she belonged always, not just for summer visits.
How her mother didn’t adore cowboys, Holly didn’t understand. She’d had such a crush on them when she last visited. She’d been fourteen at the time and so wanted to be grown up. Now she was. And nothing was as she remembered.
As she approached the rental car, she heard horses in the distance. That had been something she wondered about, where the animals were. Since neighbors looked out for each other, she believed someone had come for her father’s stock to care for it while he was incapacitated.
She tossed her bag into the car through the open window and watched as a cowboy riding a big chestnut horse followed by two others came nearer. She walked toward the corral figuring that is where he’d be heading.
“Good morning,” she called when he was closer.
“Ma’am,” he replied, touching the rim of his hat with two fingers.
She watched as his gaze skimmed over her, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. What was wrong with her clothes? She had on new jeans, new boots and a western checked shirt. Just what cowboys wore.
And as far from the designer dresses her mother preferred as possible to get.
“These horses were on our land. Don’t know how they got there, but one’s injured.”
He led them right into the corral. Leaning over, he reached for the gate, moving his horse along with the gate until he latched it shut.
Holly looked at the horses. They were in terrible shape, gaunt looking with ribs clearly showing. One had a bloody flank.
“Are you sure they belong on the Braddock ranch?” she asked, feeling totally unprepared to deal with livestock. “I thought neighbors had taken the stock to care for while my father’s recovering.”
He looked down at her, his hat pulled low on his forehead. The blazing blue eyes that gazed at her from his tanned face sparked a memory.
“You’re a Fallon,” she said. She remembered her father talking about the bright blue eyes of the Fallons.
“Right you are, Cody Fallon at your service. And you are?” he replied.
“Holly Braddock. Frank Braddock is my dad.”
“Hmm.”
He glanced around and Holly immediately felt defensive. She knew he was taking in the peeling paint on the clapboard, the dead plants surrounding the house. Even the barn looked as if it were sagging.
“Where’s Ed?’ he asked, looking back at her.
“Who’s Ed?”
“Ed Stinner, the man who worked this place with your dad?”
“I have no idea. There was no one here when I arrived yesterday. And from the looks of things, no one has been around anytime recently.”
His steady gaze was unnerving. She brushed back a strand of hair.
“So who’s taking care of things?” he asked.
Without warning, the words burst forth.
“I am.”
Good grief, what she knew about cattle ranching would cover a dime, maybe.
“I mean I guess it would be me until my dad’s better,” she clarified.
“Then you need to get these horses some feed and fill that water tank.”
She glanced at the dusty tank in the corral. Both horses were standing nearby as if waiting for it to miraculously fill with water. She bit her lower lip. Where was the nearest hose?
“Yes, I’ll do that.”
“Need any help fixing that gash on the flank?”
“Shouldn’t I call a vet?” she asked, eyeing the cut.
The blood had dribbled down the back leg but seemed to ooze rather than stream. She hadn’t the slightest idea how to care for it.
“Clean it up and we’ll see. It’s already scabbing over. And he didn’t limp on the walk here so my guess is he’d be good to go in no time. Just check it and sprinkle some antiseptic on it.”
“Antiseptic, right.” What antiseptic?
“You visit here often?” Cody asked.
“Not lately.”
He studied her another minute, then dismounted. Looping the reins over the top rail of the corral, he glanced at her.
“Do you know where anything is?”
She felt as if he’d judged her and found her wanting. He’d pegged it, though. She didn’t know where anything was but saddles and bridles for riding. She’d never had the need before.
“No. I just got here last night.” And it was early. She hadn’t even had much for breakfast.
No sense trying to fool this cowboy, he looked as if he’d see through her in a heartbeat.
He lifted his hat and ran his fingers through his dark hair, then reset the hat.
“Come on, then.” he said, heading for the wide double doors of the barn.
“I was going in to town to see my dad,” she said, glancing at her watch.
“Yeah, well I was going to work my place this morning. You take care of your animals first.”
She heard him mutter something under his breath but couldn’t make it out. Taking a breath, she followed.
He paused at the doorway and she almost bumped into him. Catching herself in time, she side stepped and then stopped. Why had he?
“Tack room is there,” he said.
“Yes.” She knew that much.
He stomped over and stepped inside, reappearing a moment later with a hose slung over his shoulder. “Faucet’s on the outside,” he said.
Holly felt like a puppy in training following him back outside. She needed to take control of the situation, but hadn’t a clue how to do so.
In seconds, he had the hose connected. Thrusting the end into her hands, he pointed to the trough. She dragged the hose over and barely had it over the edge of trough before she heard the squeak of the faucet handle.
Nothing happened.
She looked over at him.
“There’s no water.”
Stating the obvious was not the way to make a good impression.
“Why not?”
He jiggled the handle again, turning it off and on. Nothing.
She cleared her throat.
“The power’s off. The pump isn’t working.”
She heard an expletive then watched as Cody stomped off toward the pump house. What–he didn’t believe her?
Five minutes later she heard the roar of the generator. A moment later water gushed through the hose. Both horses ambled closer, one sticking its head in the water taking a long drink.
She wanted to fling the hose into the tank and dash toward the house to fill every container she could with water.
She tried to remember if she left any faucets open.
Cody came back as she watched the water rise in the tank.
“Eww, it’s dirty,” she said. The water tank had a layer of dust on the bottom, now floating on the water as it rose.
“They don’t care. It’s the water they want. How long’s the power been off?”
“I don’t know. I just got here last night.”
He nodded and disappeared back into the barn. Holly held the hose wondering how long it would take to fill the tank. Especially if the horses, now both of them, were drinking at the same time.
Cody came from the barn, a couple of flakes of hay on his shoulder. He tossed them over the fence and the horses left the tank to eat.
“You have little left. And I didn’t see any grain.”
Another thing to worry about. No food for her and none for these horses. So much for her plans to stay the night in town. She couldn’t leave until she made arrangements for the care of the horses. She hoped her father had an address book or something that would clue her in to who his friends were. If she could get the phone number of someone to watch the horses, she would call them before heading for town. At least the cattle could fend for themselves on the range. Or so she believed.
Couldn’t the horses?
“Hey!”
She looked at him. Had he been talking?
“What?”
“I asked about the other horses,” he said.
“What other horses? I didn’t even know about these two.”
Cody’s lips tightened.
“I’ll check the bunk house. If Ed’s pulled his freight, he probably turned them loose to forage for themselves. However, that’s not a good idea. From the looks of their feet, they need a farrier soon. There could be others out on the range needing care, too.”
He looked exasperated as he turned and headed for the bunk house, the small dormitory like building on the far side of the barn. It housed up to ten cowboys.
What had happened to all the cowboys? Shouldn’t Ed still be here running things? Maybe he took a couple of days off and would return soon. But she expected more than one cowboy working. Another question to ask her dad.
Especially if this Cody Fallon expected her to ride the range looking for horses. While she’d ridden horses every day when she visited her father, it was always with him. She didn’t know how vast the ranch was, in which direction horses would have gone, nor how to get them back to the corral. She couldn’t imagine herself getting them to follow her back like Cody Fallon had done.
“He’s gone,” Cody said walking back.
Each step sent a small puff of dust from the ground. It was dry and growing hotter by the minute. Yesterday had been a scorcher, today promised more of the same. She yearned for the air conditioned convalescent hospital, not the dusty hot ranch house.
“Then it’s up to me, I guess. I’ll go look for the horses after I visit my Dad.”
She hoped he’d be awake and alert when she visited so she could get the answers to all the questions she had.
He nodded, glancing at the water tank. He rocked back on his heels, looking at her again.
The trough was more than half full. She kept the hose steady, conscious of his gaze, of his impatience. Now what?
“You know the horses need to be fed twice a day, right? Make sure you give them clean hay, no moldy stuff. What I saw in the barn looks good. Give them a flake each. And you need to pick up some grain when you’re in town. They’re way too thin. Feed them some of that each day until they regain their normal weight. And call the farrier.”
She smiled politely and nodded–not having a clue who the farrier was. She’d ask her father how to do things and who to call. She didn’t need this cowboy talking to her like she was three.
“Thank you for bringing the horses home.”
She hoped he took the hint and left. She’d find out on her own how to manage. Or even if she needed to. Her father probably had things covered and she just needed to learn what.
He ran his fingers through his hair again, replaced his hat and went to his horse. Effortlessly he mounted.
“Say hey to your father for us. We’ll each be by to visit next time we’re in town.”
She nodded, and looked back at the water coming from the hose, her mind churning with all the questions she had. For a moment uncertainty hit. She knew nothing about running a ranch. She hadn’t even known where the hose was, how could she think she could manage even for a day or two?
But she wouldn’t let this cowboy know.
“I’ll tell him,” she replied, her gaze on the water lest she end up studying him like he’d been studying her.
Cute as all get out, in a rough and tumble way. Broad shoulders, long muscular legs encased in jeans and dusty boots. The cowboy hat made anyone look good, but was especially enticing on Cody Fallon. The startling blue eyes could have her mesmerized given half a chance.
Yet he evidenced no interest in her beyond instructions on what probably every kid within a hundred miles was born knowing–how to feed and care for a horse.
“There are maybe twenty head of cattle on our land, same breach in the fence north east of here. I’ll push them back today and mend the fence. You might run a tally to make sure they’re all back. Let me know.”
She regretted even more the years she hadn’t visited. A tally sounded like counting the cattle. How in the world did someone do that if they were moving around while they grazed. What if one got counted twice or another not at all?
“Thank you.”
She hadn’t a clue where the pasture was he was talking about, much less how to mend a barbed wire fence. Thank goodness he was going to do that.
Hearing the horse move away, she peeked after Cody Fallon as he left the way he came.
“Oh, Daddy, you’ve got to get better soon if you want to keep this place running. I’m not the girl to do it,” she whispered as the water reached the top of the trough. She tossed the running hose on the ground and hurried to shut the water off.
Going to the house, she was grateful for the generator. She filled pots and pans in the kitchen. Then went through the house and flushed all the toilets and considered filling the bath tub, but stopped short of that. She’d see to getting the electricity turned back on while she was in town. In the meantime, she gave thanks Cody had known about the generator.
Heading for the car, she wondered what would have happened if he’d found no one at the ranch? Would he have left the horses hoping someone would return, or taken them to his place?
Holly paid attention to the scenery as she drove to town. It was so different from where she lived in California. She noticed the fencing along the road; the dirt driveways leading off, back beyond the rolling hills. How many ranches were in the area? How large was her father’s ranch? Hadn’t he wanted her to take over for him when he was ready to retire? She was his only child.
Though her mother would have a heart attack if she could hear her daughter’s thoughts. She’d tried so hard all the years since the divorce to eradicate any trace of the ranch from Holly’s life. According to her mother, she’d made a monumental mistake thinking she had any idea of what being a rancher’s wife entailed. It was a horrible existence and she wised up before Holly was three and left it and Frank behind.
Holly wasn’t privy to the settlement they reached, but she and her mother lived well in Palms Springs which her mother adored. She played golf and tennis, belonged to the best country club and enjoyed all the social activities offered.
Holly had enjoyed a life of privilege growing up, taking everything for granted–even her contentious parents fighting via long distance. She’d loved the summer visits on the ranch, had often told her father she wanted to live with him, but neither he nor her mother had taken her seriously.
Once in high school she made great friends and her life revolved around her own social activities. Then college. The year long trip to Europe from her father upon graduation had been unexpected, but delightful. She’d relished every moment.
Now she had serious questions. Had he beggared the ranch to send her to Europe? Why else would it be in such disrepair? Or had he been ill far longer than anyone suspected?
And why were there no cowboys to run things in his absence?
Cody knew it was none of his business, but what in the world did that city slicker think she was going to do on Frank’s ranch? Her clothes looked brand new yesterday. Her constant look of perplexity almost had him laugh aloud. She couldn’t even water the horses without help.
He frowned. What happened to the power? He hadn’t heard of any outages. But if it didn’t affect the Rocking F, he wouldn’t have heard. He hoped the generator ran until the power was restored.
Then he frowned again. Would she know how to shut it down and retap into the electrical power?
“Not that it’s my problem,” he said aloud. His horse twitched his ears hearing his voice.
“And what happened to Ed? Someone should be there to run things.”
And not some slender brown-haired woman with wide gray eyes. He tried to remember her but drew a complete blank. Surely she visited her dad growing up. He knew the man was divorced, but nothing about the circumstances. Was there only the one child? Not a child any more. She was a fish out of water on a ranch.
Cody felt the growing heat of the day. He’d see what he could do about the Braddock cattle, then head in to get the truck and the wire. He’d thought he was done with that chore for a while.
He hoped Jarred hadn’t assigned Jose something he couldn’t break away from. Cody liked working with Jose. He didn’t pontificate on what was wrong with ranching these days like Aaron did. Just because he was the oldest hand on the ranch didn’t make his every statement gospel.
Why didn’t he remember her? Surely Frank would have brought her over to see his parents at some point. He couldn’t imagine not remembering her now. Pretty. He’d definitely describe her as a hot-house flower. How long it would take before she left? First time she got mud on her boots, he’d bet.
What could his grandfather tell him about Holly Braddock?
When he reached the breach in the fence, he scanned the area. Most of the cattle were still near the trees, some in the shade. He didn’t see another horse but kept an eye out for others. Frank had to have more than two horses.
He circled the cattle, bunching them together and driving them toward the opening in the fence. They moved along with little protest, but he knew it would have been easier with one of their cattle dogs. That’d teach him to go looking for cattle without one. Maybe he’d bring one back when he came to fix the break.
It was high noon by the time Cody reached the ranch house. He unsaddled his horse and turned him loose in the corral and headed inside for something to eat. The house was empty. Washing up he made himself a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
They seriously needed to do some shopping to replenish the kitchen. He found milk in the refrigerator and downed a glass. What he wouldn’t give for a big roast beef sandwich with lots of mustard. Finishing the second sandwich, he scrounged around for something else to eat.
Cookies would be good or some of his mother’s pound cake. He’d even settle for an old candy bar. But the cupboards were practically empty.
He cleaned up and headed back out for the afternoon. His grandfather’s truck was gone. He was most likely in town or visiting another ranch. Impatient to ask him about Frank’s daughter, he considered for a moment taking off into town to see if he could find him. And maybe pay his respects to Frank. Would Holly be visiting her father now?
No, duty first. He needed to repair that fence.
He checked the truck for the supplies he’d need, then went to the bunk house to see if any of the hands were there eating lunch. Carlos was already at the stove preparing dinner. When asked, he said the others had packed a lunch that day and gone to work with Jarred.
Cody headed out alone, thinking about Holly Braddock and wondering if she would be able to manage on her own until her father recovered. Not that he cared either way.