TRAVIS LEANED ON the rail fence and smiled to himself as he watched the new foal nurse. His third and last McHenry baby, the first filly, was the spit of her mama, and in all probability, he’d keep her. Grow his herd.
And he couldn’t help but wonder how Cassie was getting along with her recent purchase. Her grandfather Carl had only purchased well-trained animals for his grandkids, so although they’d ridden some rank mounts owned by other people, neither she nor her brother, Nick, had the joy of rehabilitating a horse with bad habits, while Travis had been up to his ears in such animals—by choice. He’d enjoyed the challenge, and being a bronc rider, it was the rare horse who could put him on the ground, especially when he could use both hands.
He had a knack with horses who were slow to trust. He knew when to proceed. When to stop, and when a horse was too far gone to help.
Funny how he didn’t have that same knack with Cassie.
Nothing saying you can’t develop one.
True.
He pushed off the fence and headed to the house to grab his wallet and phone before driving to town.
He could honestly say there was a time in his life when he hated Cassie Callahan. When just seeing her strut into an event was enough to make smoke start rolling out of his ears. She’d not only bested him more times than he wanted to think about before he’d reached the age of twelve, she was vocal about it. Rubbed it in.
A fourth-grade footrace shortly after she’d moved onto the Callahan ranch had started it all, but matters had snowballed thanks to laughing friends and fourth-grade pride, and it wasn’t long before they were sworn enemies. One-upmanship ensued and as the legend of their rivalry grew, so did the ferocity of their competition. She was just such a know-it-all.
As they continued through school, their competition became quieter—less direct confrontations, because frankly that was exhausting—but retained myth-like status. Cassie was a worthy adversary, so he gave back as good as he got until the day they’d graduated high school. He’d been valedictorian, while she’d held the runner-up spot, thanks to the fact that he’d gotten a slightly higher grade in AP government. And on that day, something odd happened. Cassie had tripped on her way to the stage. Seeing her down was nothing new. Travis had seen her get knocked end over teakettle by calves and rampant goats she’d been trying to tie during rodeo practice. He’d seen her get bucked off horses she shouldn’t have gotten on, and he’d seen her trip and fall in a mud puddle with an ice-cream cone in each hand at the county fair. All of those instances were different than seeing her hit the ground in front of a crowd, then struggle to her feet, her face bright red with embarrassment. He’d unconsciously started toward her to offer his hand when the principal beat him to it, and he had then retreated to his seat again.
Cassie had headed to the mic and made a laughing comment about the dangers of graduation robes and then took her place on a chair on the opposite side of the podium from him. The ceremony continued, followed by the graduation after-party, and even though he’d only seen her a couple of times during the events that followed, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Thinking about how vulnerable she’d seemed during those few seconds. Vulnerability and Cassie were two words that he’d never in his life connected, but once connected, they stuck with him.
He didn’t get a chance to see her again that summer. She’d taken off almost immediately to a summer internship in Seattle, while he’d continued working on the ranch until his first semester at Montana State started in September, pinch-hitting for his dad, who was having increasing difficulties with his mobility due to rheumatoid arthritis. His parents relocated to Arizona during his senior year in college, thus sealing Travis’s fate. His grandfather needed his help on the ranch. He couldn’t find a manager he could work with, and more than that, he’d believed that Travis’s dream was to return home and take over the ranch. Travis had never dissuaded him of the notion.
He’d come home willingly. He’d always planned to return to the ranch at some point in the distant future, so why not start fresh from the gate? His grandfather needed him—for company, as much as for management. He didn’t get to spend his twenties seeing new countries and experiencing new ideas and perspectives, but he did get to carry on the family legacy. He knew a lot of people who would have given their right arm to do just that.
But that didn’t stop Reynaldo from calling and asking when he was ready to go to work. Travis gave him a firm no every time, but his charmingly persistent friend refused to be dissuaded. He kind of reminded Travis of Cassie in that regard.
Travis made Hardwick’s Grocery and Hardware his first stop, since the cupboards were bare. His grandfather rarely spent time on the ranch after he started keeping company with Rosalie Callahan, and now that his grandfather had bought a house in town, Travis assumed that he pretty much had the ranch to himself, with the exception of the two day hands he was in the process of hiring.
Travis filled his basket as he walked up and down the aisles, tossing in anything that looked easy. Long days didn’t lend themselves to cooking gourmet meals. Or cooking, period. He spent a lot of time in the microwave and frozen-food sections.
After checking out, he was in the process of dumping a bag of ice over his frozen food in the insulated cooler when someone behind him said his name. He turned to see Mrs. Gable, his former high school English teacher and Rosalie’s business partner, hailing him.
“Isn’t it exciting?” she asked as she stopped next to his empty cart.
“I assume you mean the upcoming wedding?” he asked with a smile.
“I’ve never seen your grandfather so...approachable,” she said with a wink. Mrs. Gable had a way about her, and she still dressed in bright tunics and dark leggings, just as she had when she was teaching.
“I wouldn’t know,” he teased back. “I never see him.”
“You’ll probably be seeing more of him soon. After all, there’ll be a lot of work to do on the ranch before the wedding, and he’ll want to help.”
“Which ranch?” Travis asked slowly.
“Your ranch, of course. Didn’t you know?”
Travis shook his head. “I didn’t.”
Mrs. Gable made a dismissive gesture. “They decided for certain when Nick made sushi for everyone last night.”
“Wait a minute... Grandpa and sushi?”
“California rolls. Nothing raw.”
Even so, Travis had a hard time imagining (a) Nick Callahan making sushi, even if he had lived in California for almost a decade, and (b) his grandfather partaking. After all, there was seaweed involved.
Who was this man who’d taken over his curmudgeonly grandfather’s body?
“I don’t suppose they set a date?”
Mrs. Gable frowned at him. “I’m sure that Will wants to tell you himself.”
“I won’t let on I know. It’ll help me with the ranch calendar.”
Mrs. Gable’s gaze shifted, then she said, “A week before Cassie leaves for her classes.”
“I’m sure he plans to tell me next time he sees me.”
“Of course he does.” Mrs. Gable beamed and patted his cart. “May I take this off your hands?”
“You may. Have a good one, Mrs. Gable.”
“Gloria,” she said firmly.
“Right. Gloria. Thanks.”
Thanks for the permission to use her first name and thanks for the information he didn’t have. There would be a wedding on the ranch in a few weeks’ time.
Travis blew out a breath as he closed the cooler. Should make for interesting times.
MCHENRY’S GOLD LOOKED just like her mother, but her temperament wasn’t anywhere near the same. Instead of a soft eye, she had a watchful eye, as if expecting something bad to happen at any given moment. Like, say, now, while Cassie brushed her way around the horse’s back quarters.
Cassie let out a sigh and continued to brush, noting that the mare’s muscles didn’t give as she stroked. She had work ahead of her. Well, she was no stranger to work, but in this case, she also had research to do.
Or you could reach out to Travis.
Cassie continued to brush as she played with the idea. When Travis had bid against her at the auction, she’d instantly assumed that, even though they hadn’t seen each other since she graduated college, he was out to get the better of her. Again.
That had been a big jump, and honestly, one she shouldn’t have made. She’d allowed past experience to dictate her responses rather than discovering what the actual circumstances were, and that was unacceptable. She stopped brushing and settled a hand on the crest of the mare’s neck. It was time to move past knee-jerk reactions. She’d promised herself that she would come home for the holidays from here on out, no matter what, which meant that she’d see Travis when she came home. She needed to make peace with the man. And with herself.
Ten-year-old Cassie would be so angry with her.
Ten-year-old Cassie had her day. Now it was time for something different.
Now the big question was, how to make peace? It seemed rude to ask him for help with the mare she’d bought out from under him, so it had to be in another way.
Cassie was a fan of the direct approach, so after she’d put the mare back in the small pen to keep her away from the other horses while she acclimated to new surroundings, she went into the house and asked Katie if she had Travis’s cell number.
“Plotting an ambush?” Katie asked mildly, not bothering to look up from the cookbook she was perusing.
“I’m going to make peaceful overtures.”
“Good.” Katie pulled out her phone, unlocked it and handed it over. Cassie found the number in Katie’s contacts and put it into her own phone. Now the big question was, would he answer an unknown number?
“Call from my phone. He’ll answer,” Katie said, making Cassie wonder for a split second if she’d asked the question aloud.
“Thanks.” She hit the number, and, sure enough, Travis answered on the second ring.
“Hey, Katie.”
“It’s Cassie.”
Stone-cold silence, and then... “Having trouble with the horse?”
Cassie’s hackles started to rise at the inference that she couldn’t handle the horse on her own, but she told herself that it was a legitimate question, given the situation the last time she saw him. Maybe he thought she was ready to sell the mare to him for the bid price. “I don’t know yet,” she said honestly. “But that’s not why I’m calling.”
Her statement was met with another silence, so, speaking more quickly than she’d intended in order to fill the void, she said, “I’m calling because I think we need to iron out some issues.”
“What do you suggest?”
“I...” Should have figured that out before she’d called. The fact that she hadn’t was out of character, which perhaps spoke to the fact that she was a little burned-out. Weary of fighting the good fight and in need of rest in order to get back into top form.
“Why don’t we discuss this face-to-face?” Travis asked.
“Great plan.” That would give her time to figure out exactly what she wanted to discuss. If all else failed, they could discuss the horse.
“My place or yours?”
“Neutral ground.”
“Maybe we could meet in the middle of that new bridge leading to your ranch. You know, like in the movies?”
“Or we could do something logical,” Cassie said coolly. She didn’t let angry parents get her goat and she wouldn’t let Travis do it either—even though he had a lot of practice and was good at it.
“Yeah.”
She heard a smile in his voice and wished she could sound as relaxed as he did. She was about to suggest that they meet at the county library, when he said, “Why don’t we go out to dinner?”
“Like on a date?” The words blurted out of her mouth. She instantly regretted them. A date with Travis. Right.
“If you want to call it that.”
Cassie’s cheeks began to warm as he expertly bounced the ball back into her court. “It doesn’t matter what we call it,” she said, taking care to keep her voice neutral and even. “We’ll meet, settle a few matters, set the tone for the future. If you want to eat dinner while we do that, fine.”
“I want to eat dinner.”
It was an odd feeling, scrambling to keep up. Usually she was the person causing others to scramble, which meant she was going to have to rehone her Travis skills. “Fine. We’ll meet at a dinner place.”
“When and where?”
“Six o’clock tomorrow at the Cedar Creek Inn.” At least she’d get a nice steak out of the meeting.
“Which has been closed for two years. We should have the entire place to ourselves.”
Cassie bit back a curse word. She really had been gone for too long. Katie looked up from her cookbook, frowned, then mouthed, “Tremaine’s.”
Cassie blinked at her. That was the worst place in town the last time she’d been home for any length of time. Katie gave her a trust-me nod, so Cassie said, “How about Tremaine’s Diner? Six o’clock.”
“Tremaine’s it is.”
He didn’t seem one bit taken aback at the idea, as she would have been had he suggested the place.
“See you there.” She hung up the phone before he could say anything that would make her have to say something back.
“Tremaine’s Diner? Really?” she said as she handed Katie her phone. The place had been notorious for being periodically closed down for health-and-safety violations since she’d been a kid.
“New owner. Actually, a whole new place. The interior was gutted by a grease fire three years ago. They renovated and all’s good, including the food.”
Cassie poured a cup of coffee and joined her sister at the table. “I guess some things do change.”
“Yes, they do.” Katie gave her another one of those questioning looks, and Cassie decided it was time for her sister to speak freely.
“Something on your mind?”
Katie gave an innocent shrug. “I’m glad you’re home.”
“And...” Cassie tilted her head, but waited rather than speaking, since it appeared that Katie was gathering her thoughts.
“You’re different.”
Cassie almost said she wasn’t, but stopped herself. “How so?”
“That’s what I’m trying to nail down. It’s like you’re here, but you’re not.”
“I’m here.” And she was glad to be there. It had taken her some time to get used to the idea of not picking up the phone and asking for a status report on various situations, but she was doing better.
“You’re also somewhere else.” Katie leaned back in her chair. “It’s like you’re plotting strategy for future battles.”
“You could be right,” Cassie said, figuring it was best to be truthful rather than to stonewall. Katie had worked in HR. She was shrewd and she could be relentless once she decided to wiggle the truth out of someone. And she was equally driven when she decided to rescue something or someone. Cassie had to convince her that she didn’t need rescuing. “I spent the past three years not only being on top of everything, but also staying one jump ahead. Anticipation has become a habit.”
“Do you like your job?”
“I love it.”
“How many hours do you work a week?”
Cassie waved a hand. “It depends on the week.”
“Your shortest week.”
Cassie let out a sigh. “I’m single. I have no pets. I don’t log my hours, because I’m doing something I love.”
“And you’re burned-out.”
“Yes. I am.” Confession was good for the soul, but this confession didn’t feel so good. She was burned-out and had become the scary lady.
“How are you going to fix that?” Katie asked.
“I took the sabbatical to figure that out.” She lifted her coffee cup as if to make a toast. “I bought a horse. I plan to ride to relax.”
“Oh. You mean the horse that almost took the trailer apart before you got her unloaded?”
“Yep. That’s the one.” Cassie met her sister’s gaze, careful to keep her expression open.
“I’m sure that’ll take your mind off work.”
Cassie let out a sigh and leaned her forearms on the table. “What exactly do you think I should do?”
“Connect with some friends while you’re here?”
“Funny you should mention that, because Darby is driving up from Salt Lake City for a family visit next week and we’re getting together.” There. One box on the Katie list of things to do better checked off.
“That’s a start,” Katie admitted, “but not enough. You need to find a balance.” She held up a finger as Cassie’s mouth automatically opened. “I know that you already know that, and you’re working out a plan, but I’m worried that you won’t follow through. Some emergency will crop up, just as it did last Christmas, and you’ll think you’re the only person who can solve it. And that will keep happening until your head explodes.”
“That was a real emergency.” They’d had to fire a teacher for unprofessional conduct, which involved lawyer meetings and developing a contingency plan for covering her classes until a replacement could be hired. Cassie cocked her head at her sister. “Do I really come off as being that stressed?”
“Yes,” Katie said simply. “You do. And that means you are.”
“LET ME GET this straight...you’re taking out Cassie Callahan.” Will gave Travis the look he always gave when trying to shake the truth out of him. It still worked pretty well.
Travis took a seat across from his grandfather at the kitchen table, setting his longneck on the worn oak. “I am.” Kind of.
Will tipped back his beer, as if needing fortification before continuing the conversation. After wiping away the foam with his forefinger, he gave Travis another quelling look. “Well, for criminy’s sake, don’t do anything to tick her off.”
“That’d be a neat trick.”
“Seriously,” Will said.
“We are going out in order to settle a few things between us, because now we’re probably going to be seeing more of one another.”
“That’s real possible,” Will agreed. “Rosalie says that Cassie has agreed to come home for the holidays from here on out, and since you spend the holidays with me...”
Yeah. He’d already figured all that out. But Travis sipped his beer and listened as his grandfather continued to explain why he’d see Cassie a whole lot more often than he had in the past.
“I don’t want you guys at each other’s throats,” Will concluded.
“Those days are gone,” Travis said simply.
“Good.” Will leaned back in his chair, his hand still on his beer. “Rosalie sent us a casserole. All we have to do is take it out of the fridge and put it in the oven for half an hour.”
Travis smiled. “She takes good care of you.”
“She does.”
“Why?”
Will made a face at him. “Darned if I know, but she does.”
Which made Will happy, and that in turn made Travis happy. His grandfather had been alone for a long time. Travis didn’t know his grandmother, who’d left after two years of marriage and one baby—Travis’s father. Travis’s parents were doing well in Arizona, where the warm, dry climate helped his father deal with the symptoms of RA, but despite constant contact by phone and email, Will missed having his son around. Another reason Travis had felt compelled to stay on the ranch.
“I imagine that taking-care thing goes two ways,” Travis said.
Will nodded. “I’m lucky.”
“Yeah.” Travis tilted his bottle toward his grandfather. “You are.”
“So don’t go screwing things up with Cassie,” Will said seriously. “It’ll upset Rosalie.”
“I won’t.”
“You two have a lot of baggage to sort through.”
Travis gave his grandfather a wry half smile before raising his beer. “You’re right. Maybe we’ll have to have two dates.”
“Heaven help us,” Will muttered. “I’m just hoping you guys make it through the first one.” He fell into silence, one hand on his beer as he stared at the table in front of him. Was he picturing scenarios of mayhem?
Travis decided to probe. No sense having his grandfather worry about stuff that wasn’t going to happen. “Anything else weighing on you?”
Will continued to study the table as if debating whether or not to discuss what was on his mind. Then he looked up and blurted, “I don’t have anything to wear to my wedding, and, looking at the long-term weather forecast, it’s probably going to rain anyway.”
“Hey, that is good news,” Travis said. “You won’t have to worry about what to wear as long as you have a raincoat covering everything.”
“Ha ha.” Will’s jawline tensed. “I have to go shopping, blast it, because I’m not wearing no darned raincoat to my wedding.”
“I’m not going.”
“Guess again.”
Will looked so beleaguered that Travis almost laughed. The guy who’d faced off with a cougar that was threatening his favorite dog looked terrified at the prospect of shopping.
“Won’t Rosalie help?”
“Of course she will, but I’m not going to do that to her.”
“Have you considered the possibility that she might like shopping more than you do?”
“I’m taking care of myself—with your help.”
Travis blew out a breath. “Okay. Shopping it is. Anything else?”
“Yeah.” Will stared at his beer. “We need to clear out the barn so we can have the festivities inside if it does rain.”
Clean out the barn. Right. The labors of Hercules came to mind. The barn acted as storage central and, as such, was packed with equipment, old and new, things that didn’t have any better place to be—hay, straw, grain. And everything had a layer of dust at least a quarter-inch thick. “That’ll be a job.”
“It’ll take some doing. I’m going to hire a crew. It’s time we sorted through all that junk anyway. It isn’t like it’s going to just disappear on its own.”
Travis let out a silent breath of relief. “I’m going to be honest with you, Grandpa. I won’t fight you on that front.” Not the crew, nor the sorting.
“I figured that on top of everything else, we just don’t have the time. We meaning you, of course.”
“You’re retired.” He wanted his grandfather to enjoy his retirement and it wasn’t much of a retirement if he spent all of his time at the ranch.
Will nodded and went silent again.
Travis was about to find out what else was on his mind when his grandfather raised his gaze, meeting Travis’s eyes with the very same expression he’d worn when he’d laid down the law about driving his “good” truck when Travis was sixteen. “And for Pete’s sake, don’t go drawing any lines in the sand with Cassie when you go on this date or whatever it is. Just...make peace.”
“That’s why we’re going out. To address the past and set a path for future interactions.”
“That’s why you mean to go out, but when she tells you she can do something better than you, what are you going to do?”
“We’re not ten.”
“You were still doing that when you were twenty.”
“Okay. We’re not twenty. We’ll work things out. I promise.”