Emily waited at the end of the driveway for Jules St. John to arrive. She needed to show him the sixty acres of land where she wanted to build the wind turbines so he could perform the very expensive test she’d paid for. She didn’t want to tell her family until after the tests results were back, but she was certain the area was perfect for wind energy. She had done some research online.
She had been hoping that Donovan would go out riding with them, but he hadn’t returned her call yet. He’d been a little distant and subdued ever since he told her about his parents. She guessed he was probably regretting it because she hadn’t seen him around these past few days. Of course, he was out tracking elk during the day and at night, and since she wasn’t sure he wanted company, she was giving him his space.
Donovan had set up the field camera so he could monitor it remotely and track the elks’ progress. Once he had a good idea where they went on their migration, he had said he would clear a path and set up a place for Kelly to take her pictures in safety.
It was strange that after so many months of resenting him, Emily was beginning to get used to him. She wondered if she haunted his thoughts the way he did hers. She wished she knew what to say to him that would make things better. Emily considered opening up to him too about her feelings of never being good enough for her father, but it didn’t seem such a big deal compared to his experiences. Her father was an angry and difficult man, but he’d never throw her or her sisters in front of a gunman.
Emily was just about to give up on Jules when a shiny new Toyota Camry pulled into the ranch. Flagging him down, she got into the passenger’s seat. “Hi, I’m Emily.” She held out her hand to him.
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Jules.” He shook her hand. He was a silver-haired older man with a friendly open face. Laugh lines creased around his eyes and mouth. Jules was dressed in a crisp button-down shirt and brand-new blue jeans. She hoped he didn’t mind getting a little dirty because the land they were going to ride over was muddy and overrun.
“Just drive straight and park at the farmhouse. We’re going to have to ride out to the land. Do you have a lot of equipment?”
“Just my barometer and my laptop.”
“Oh.” Emily didn’t know why the testing cost so much if that was all he was going to use. But he had said that if the land was approved, she could use the testing fee as credit to rent the wind turbines.
It had to be approved. She was running out of ideas.
There was still no sign of Donovan, so Emily saddled up Sunflower and Kelly’s horse, Pippi, for Jules. He rode stiffly, like he wasn’t used to the saddle. She didn’t want to ask her father to borrow the truck because he would have wanted to know why. And she didn’t trust the ATVs not to break down. They had been giving them trouble lately and she wanted to impress Jules so he didn’t think they were desperate for the money the wind turbines would bring in.
Even if they were.
“So how do you know Bobby Reeves?” she asked once they were on the trails heading out.
“Who?”
“He’s the one who gave me your number.”
“Oh right, Robert.”
Emily smiled. No one called Bobby “Robert.” He hated it. It sounded too stiff.
“I went to school with his brother-in-law, John. We see each other socially when he’s back in town. I haven’t seen him in a while.”
“That’s because he’s doing back-to-back contracts in the Peace Corps.”
Jules nodded. “I thought I heard that he was volunteering. Is that where you know him from?”
“Yes, we worked together in West Tigray for a while.”
“How long have you been back?”
“A few months. My parents needed some help around the farm and I’m trying to make things profitable for them as they get older.”
“That’s smart. How much land do you have?”
“Five thousand acres.”
“I bet your cattle love all that room.”
“They’re a handful, but we manage to build up our herds each year so we can sell a bunch at market.”
Jules smiled. “It sounds very Old West. I’ve just moved here recently so this is all new to me. I’ve been working in California mostly. I’ve recently expanded my business here.”
They rode out for about an hour before they reached the acres her father had given her. She was surprised and pleased to see Donovan in the distance. She flagged him down by waving wildly until he saw them. His horse picked his way through the scrub brushes and overgrowth.
“Who’s that?” Jules frowned.
“My boyfriend,” Emily said, trying the label out for the first time. If Donovan wanted an exclusive relationship for three years, she decided he would be her boyfriend. She dismounted and gave him a hug and a kiss. “I missed you,” she said. “Why didn’t you call? We would have waited for you or met up with you sooner.”
“No signal out here,” Donovan said, glancing at Jules as he set up his equipment.
“Yes, I see that.” Jules tapped a few things on his computer.
“Is that going to be a problem?” she asked.
“It will delay my results, but I’ll send them to you as soon as I compile the data and have internet.”
“Sounds good.”
Donovan leaned against a tree with his arms crossed as Jules set up his barometer and took readings in several places. Jules jotted down notes in a small notebook.
“Any luck on the white elk?” she asked.
Donovan shook his head. He looked tired and frustrated. “I know what I saw.”
“I believe you. Remember, I’ve seen her before. Or her mother and grandmother.” She rubbed his arm. “I think you’re working too hard.”
“I promised the next hunting group that we’d go after elk.”
Emily stiffened. “What?”
“So I need to make sure that we don’t go anywhere near where the white elk might be. Don’t worry. If I can nail it down, I’ll make them sign agreements that the white elk are off-limits.”
“Do you honestly think that will work? Are you going to make them pinkie promise, too?” Emily crossed her arms over her chest, but Donovan wasn’t looking at her. He was staring at Jules, who was picking his way through the scrub brushes.
“What did you say you needed this moron for?”
“Donovan, shh. Don’t say stuff like that. He’s testing the acres to see if there’s enough wind going through here to power the turbines.”
“Watch out for the rattlers,” Donovan called out.
Jules flinched and jumped. “Rattlers?”
“How much is this costing you?” Donovan asked her in a lowered voice.
“Five thousand.”
“Five thousand?” Donovan cried.
Emily tried to hush him.
“You’re being hustled.”
“No, I’m not. He came highly recommended.”
Jules came hurrying back to them. “Is this the entire property?”
“It’s all we have allotted for the wind farm,” Emily said.
“I see.” Jules sighed. “I’m not sure the wind speed is where we need it to be, but I’ll have to get my lab to do some more testing.”
“Keep in mind that we’ll clear the area, too. I’m not sure if that affects the aerodynamics of your testing,” Emily said.
“How can the air currents on the ground be accurate?” Donovan asked. “Shouldn’t you at least climb a tree and find out what they are from up there?”
Jules smiled condescendingly at Donovan. “Of course, that’s one way to do it. Before computer technology assisted us, the surveyors would build a costly tower to take the readings from. Now we use a computer algorithm to extrapolate the raw data I take in the field.”
“Uh-huh,” Donovan drawled, unconvinced.
“I think you’ll find it’s very windy here,” Emily broke in, looking from one to the other.
“But is it the windiest place on your ranch?” Jules asked. “The more wind power you have, the more money you’ll make.”
“I’m not sure,” Emily said, biting her lip. Would her father be willing to give her more land if this didn’t work out? Or would he think she was beating a dead horse about this “wind turbine nonsense”?
“This plot of land is indicative of the rest of the ranch,” Donovan said. “You don’t need to see any other part of it. In fact, I think you should leave.”
“Donovan,” Emily gasped. He was always brusque and gruff, but this was damned rude.
“No, your boyfriend is right. I’ve gotten all I need here. Now it’s up to the computer to let us know if we can start building or not.”
As they made their way back to the horses, Jules was staring at the ground intently. He nearly vaulted into the saddle.
“Should I have a crew come out and clear the place to prepare?” Emily asked. “I mean maybe if you don’t get good enough readings, we could try putting up a tower for better readings, like Donovan suggested.”
She was starting to get worried. What if Donovan was right and Jules was trying to scam her? She only had Bobby’s word that this guy was on the up and up.
“So what other projects have you worked on around here?” she asked.
“To tell you the truth, there hasn’t been a lot in the Medina Valley. We had one former vineyard turn unproductive acres into a profitable wind farm, but we had our doubts at first.” Jules shrugged. “Sometimes the wind power just isn’t there. That’s why we test. No sense in laying out all that money if you’re not going to see a decent profit.”
Emily nodded. There had to be a way to do better on these wind tests. She could hire Sykes construction to come back here with their backhoes and get them ready for the turbines. She had gone to school with Chris Sykes and they’d offered to put her sisters on a payment plan when they hired them to clear land for Janice’s retreat center. Maybe she could convince Jules to install a wind turbine anyway and they could get real-time results. Emily was not ready to give up. Not when she was so close to getting a new revenue stream in for the ranch.
“I’m positive our software will be accurate.” Jules oozed self-assurance, but Emily didn’t know whether to be confident or worried.
“I bet you are,” Donovan muttered, and very deliberately took his rifle out of the canvas bag he had attached to the back of his saddle.
“Donovan?” Emily asked. She glanced around, wondering if there were hogs in the area. Straining her ears, she didn’t hear anything.
He sighted the rifle and Jules flinched back, even though it wasn’t pointed anywhere near him.
Pippi danced away at the hard pull on her reins. Emily winced. “Don’t do that,” she said to Jules. “She has a soft mouth.”
After a second, Donovan lowered the rifle and continued riding.
“What was that all about?” Jules said, his voice high-pitched.
“I thought I saw a snake.”
“Why didn’t you shoot it?”
Donovan flicked a glance at her. “It slithered away. Be careful out here. They like to hide in plain sight and when you least expect it, they’ll rear up and strike.”
Emily didn’t know exactly where he was going with this. He had pointed the rifle at a tree and not on the ground. Since she wasn’t planning on climbing a tree that didn’t have a stand in it, she had a feeling he was trying to scare Jules.
“Knock it off,” she muttered to him.
“We need to talk.”
“I’ve been trying to talk to you all week. And don’t think you’re off the hook for the elk hunting. I don’t trust the hunters not to conveniently forget they’re not supposed to trophy hunt a rare elk.”
“These men are looking for sport, not trophies. They’re using the meat, not only for themselves but they’re also donating it to food kitchens in the city.”
“Yeah, they’re real saints.”
“But at least they’re not rooking me out of my hard-earned money, like this asshole.”
“Donovan, he can hear you.”
“I know he can. And trust me, he and I are going to have words.” Donovan looked at Jules fiercely.
“Emily, I don’t want to cause any problems. It seems like you’re not ready to bring in the wind turbines.” Jules gave her a small smile and shook his head.
“Yes,” Donovan said at the same time she said, “No.”
“You have my number. When you’re ready to get started, just give me a call.”
“No,” Emily repeated. “It’s my land. Donovan is being overprotective. When you spend your life as a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”