Rancher to the Rescue
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Patricia Forsythe
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17,7K
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15
CHAPTER ONE
“DO YOU THINK we should be taking bets on whether that guy is more likely to injure himself or someone else?”
“What?” Zannah Worth looked up from the pile of unpaid bills she’d found in her father’s desk. She glanced at Sharlene Wahl, longtime head housekeeper at Eaglecrest Ranch and Cowboy College. Joining Sharlene at the window, she looked out at the dozen new students who were starting the week-long course to learn horsemanship and the cattle business. “Who are you talking about?”
Sharlene pointed. “That guy in the black hat that looks like it should still have the price tag dangling from the brim. Sits a horse like he’s wearing iron underpants. Did you ask him if he’d ever been on a horse before?”
Zannah looked where Sharlene was pointing. “Oh, Brady Gallagher. Yes, he said he had.”
Sharlene shook her head. “Did he mention if it was recently, maybe on a merry-go-round?”
Zannah snickered at the mental image of the tall, solemn-faced man sitting atop a carousel pony, then forced herself to look stern. “He did say it was a while ago.” She gave Sharlene a pained look. “And you’ve got to quit making snarky comments about the guests.”
“And you’ve got to quit laughing when I do. Besides, snarkiness is my superpower.”
Zannah raised an eyebrow at her.
“I’m too old to change,” Sharlene teased. All innocence, she glanced away and fluffed the short, outrageously blond hairdo that made her look far younger than her sixty-five years. Her lifetime of physical work on ranches and in the hospitality industry had made her strong of body and determined of mind. She had two young women working for her on the housekeeping staff and had advertisements up to hire another. Zannah knew that even with more help, Sharlene would still outwork any of them.
“It’s never too late to change, or so I’ve heard you say,” Zannah pointed out.
“Hmm. I hate it when you quote me back to me.”
Zannah laughed then returned to the window to study the rider. He sat leaning forward in the saddle as if he expected his horse to bolt and he was trying to get ready for it. However, the mare was bighearted, laid-back and eager to please. She wouldn’t be going anywhere without her rider’s direction, but the rider didn’t seem to know what that direction should be. “Mr. Gallagher does seem a little tense.”
“And he’s got a death grip on the reins.”
“Maybe he’s scared.”
“Zannah, honey, take another look at him. I doubt he’s ever been afraid of anything in his life. No, something else is going on with him. You talked with him last night. Do you think he’s fearful? Or shy?”
Frowning, Zannah peered more closely at the man she had met at last night’s barbecue along with all the other new arrivals. The group seemed to be a lively bunch, including three families with small children, but Gallagher had been quiet, observing those around him, listening to the ongoing conversations, though not initiating any, and responding politely whenever anyone spoke to him. Thinking about it now, Zannah realized he hadn’t answered any questions about himself but had redirected interest onto whoever he was talking to at the time. He had asked a couple of people who were returning guests what they liked about the experience at Eaglecrest. She thought it was probably because he wasn’t sure how he was going to like the place. She had seen that before, but most often, unsure guests ended up loving not only the ranch but the full experience.
She had exchanged a few words with him, so she knew he was here alone. That wasn’t uncommon, but their most frequent guests were family groups or a collection of friends, usually men, who wanted an out-of-the-ordinary story to tell the guys in their offices back home.
Most of their guests were only here for fun, but this one-week course taught the basics of ranching and often served to pique the interest of some of the guests who would return later for the longer course. Zannah doubted that Mr. Gallagher would be one of those returning.
As for his horsemanship, Sharlene was right. From what she could see, he wasn’t afraid of his horse, but he wasn’t taking command, either.
After last week’s group of hard-drinking men, she was glad to have one who was as quiet as Gallagher seemed to be. He had listened carefully as she explained that Eaglecrest was a working ranch and they would be participating in real ranch work, including riding, vaccinating, herding cattle and camping out.
“No, I don’t think he’s fearful or shy,” she finally said in answer to Sharlene’s question. “I thought he seemed...solid.”
“Do you mean stodgy?”
“No, I mean genuine, or stable.” She paused. “Although I’m not quite sure what I’m basing that on, since I only spoke to him for a minute. The impression I got from him, I suppose.”
“First impressions are very telling.”
“Or they can be completely wrong.” Zannah gave a small shrug as she tried to sort through the numerous impressions from last night’s barbecue. “This week we’ve got the Bardle family—mom, dad, three kids—all eager to be here...”
“I know.” Sharlene grinned. “Their little boy was ready to get started at six this morning, running around outside in nothing but boots and underwear. Fortunately, his dad got him back inside.”
Zannah laughed. “Then we have two couples who are best friends, a single dad and his two daughters. They all seem like they want to learn and have fun, but Mr. Gallagher is all business.”
She glanced at the papers she had dug out of the desk. “I can’t find any paperwork on him.”
“And you might not if Gus was in charge of it.”
“I know,” Zannah answered on a sigh.
“He’s never liked doing paperwork, or keeping the books.”
“I know, but it’s still necessary.” Zannah waved the papers in the air. “This is no way to run a business. He’s lived and breathed this ranch almost his whole life, and now it’s as if he’s lost focus.”
Sharlene gave her a searching look. “He has. I’m glad you’re here to take over.” She smiled sympathetically at Zannah’s dismay. “And it will probably help to have Joelle and Emma here for the summer. His granddaughters will remind him why he’s worked so hard to maintain Eaglecrest.”
Zannah smiled. “I hope so,” she said.
Sharlene returned her attention to Gallagher. “Maybe he’s one of those people who can’t relax.” The housekeeper stepped away and picked up the trash can beside the desk. As she emptied it into a large plastic bag, she went on. “Still, I think you need to watch that one.”
“I will,” Zannah answered as Sharlene left the office to continue her trash pickup. Even though she teased the housekeeper for her comments about the guests, Sharlene was always spot-on with her observations, which usually helped the staff when working with newcomers.
She was probably right that something else was going on with Gallagher. Zannah watched as he glanced around to see what everyone in the group was doing. He picked up the reins and gave them a slight shake to get Belinda moving. The mare took a couple of steps and stopped, ears twitching uncertainly because she didn’t know what was expected of her.
Zannah shook her head. She knew that her cousin Phoebe had carefully matched each rider to a horse. One of the reasons for the get-to-know-you barbecue was so Phoebe could study the clients and choose a mount for them. It never paid to put a rider and a horse together who had opposite dispositions. Which meant Phoebe had given the easygoing mare to Gallagher because she thought they would make a good match.
In addition, Phoebe demonstrated the standard riding techniques step-by-step. She was an excellent teacher and certainly had the experience to back up her lessons. She had ridden since infancy and had been Arizona state barrel-racing champion three years running. And she had taught riding at Eaglecrest for six years. Maybe this guy only needed more time and individual attention.
Phoebe’s usual assistant, Juan Flores, was off for several days, taking his mother to doctors’ appointments in Tucson. Since Phoebe was busy with other students, she probably hadn’t noticed Gallagher’s struggles.
Zannah gave a despairing look at the papers she’d found. She was glad to leave the mess in the office behind. Although she’d been back on Eaglecrest for six months, it had only been in the past few weeks that her dad had let her take over the bookkeeping for the ranch. She’d been shocked at the financial state of the business and even more shocked at how little she truly understood about the complexity of the ranch’s operations.
She tried to smooth back the stray curls that relentlessly escaped her ponytail, then clapped on the Stetson her brother, Casey, had given her as she hurried outside.
As she whirled out the door, she stumbled against someone and was caught by two rough hands, which gripped her shoulders. She looked up to face her father.
“Hey, girl, where you going in such a hurry?” August Worth asked. He released her and rocked back slightly on his heels as he looked her over, then met her eyes. He was nearing seventy, and his hair was turning white. But except for some joint stiffening, he was still strong and healthy, his focused gaze as clear and blue as ever. They were the same height now that time and arthritis had taken its toll on his body. “I thought you were going over the books today, planning to balance the accounts on that fancy computer program of yours.”
“I’m going to help Phoebe. Juan is off for several days, remember?” She nodded toward the corral. “Mr. Gallagher seems to be having some trouble.” She gave him a steady look. “And I would happily balance the accounts today if I could find all the receipts. There was a big stack of them crammed into your desk.”
He glanced away. “Oh, yeah, I forgot about those. I meant to give them to you.”
Zannah closed her eyes briefly, reaching for patience. “I can’t believe that in all this time, I didn’t give a minute’s thought to checking your desk. Dad, you never used to cram important papers away like that. What are you thinking? What’s going on?”
Gus tilted his head and looked up, not meeting her gaze as he hedged. “I didn’t cram them away, honey. I left them where I could find them when I got around to them.”
“It seemed like you were hiding them.”
“I needed the desktop for something more important.”
Zannah glanced back. Now that she thought about it, it was true that the desk was unusually neat.
Her dad made a restless move. “Nothing is going on. Nothing.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I know you fought tooth and nail against me taking over the bookkeeping, but we’ve got to modernize...”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s an old argument, and you won.”
Zannah stared at him in dismay. “I thought you were okay with it. This way, you’re freed up to do other things. We talked about this for a year before I moved back home.”
“I am. I am.” He held his hands up as if he was trying to ward off her questions. “Gotta go.”
“You’ve always been busy, but lately I hardly ever see you.”
Gus gave a small shrug but didn’t answer. He had never been one to share his deepest thoughts, but he’d never been so reluctant to answer her questions, either, which only made her transition to managing the ranch that much harder.
“I can’t run this place if you don’t help me get everything I need.” She tried to sound reasonable, not let her frustration seep into her voice, because that only seemed to fuel his stubbornness.
“Ah, you can figure it out. I didn’t have any training in bookkeeping when we started the cowboy college, and we did fine.”
“That’s because Mom did the books. And after you took over, you were audited twice,” Zannah pointed out, looking at him with a mixture of annoyance and loving exasperation. “It’s really important that we account for every penny. From what I can tell, our profit margin is thinner than a knife blade, and I had to request an extension on our taxes.”
“Well, then I guess it’s a good thing that you’re here to save the day.” He nodded as if it was all settled. “Yup, I have full confidence that you’re going to take care of everything in case I need to be gone for a little while.”
“Gone?” Zannah stared at him. “Where are you planning to go? This is the first I’ve heard of you being gone.”
“A little vacation.” He waved a hand in the air. “Only taking a little vacation.”
“When have you ever taken a vacation? Or even a day off?” Memories of ten years ago flashed through her mind. It had been the worst months of their lives, with him working every day, chasing stray cattle and daydreams, disappearing into the mountains for hours at a time. He hadn’t been vacationing, though. He’d been avoiding her mother’s sickroom, leaving the burden of care on his twenty-year-old daughter’s shoulders.
Zannah stuffed those mental pictures down. She couldn’t face them right now.
“Everyone deserves a little vacation once in a while, right?”
“Of course, but...”
“Gallagher, huh?” Gus broke in, nodding toward the corral. “Be nice to him.”
“Who? Gallagher?” It took her a moment to redirect her thoughts back to the guest she’d been on her way to help. “I’m always nice to our guests.”
“Yeah, well, sometimes you’re a little prickly.”
“Prickly?”
“Yeah, and this guy’s important.”
Zannah studied him for a second, then stepped around so he’d have to look her in the eye. “Important, how?” she asked.
“Just...important, so don’t be mule-headed like you get sometimes.”
“I’m not mule-headed. I’m focused and...single-minded, but if I ever am stubborn, I learned it from you.”
Gus brushed that statement aside. “I’m only trying to tell you to be nice to Gallagher.”
Hands on her hips, Zannah eyed him suspiciously. “Dad, what’s going on?”
“Uh, nothing.” Gus turned and hurried away. “I’ve got work to do,” he said over his shoulder.
“Fine, but get me the rest of those receipts—and Mr. Gallagher’s record of payment. I can’t find it.”
He waved a hand. “Sure, sure. See you later.” He zipped around the corner.
“For a man who’s always complaining about his arthritis, he can haul his behind when he needs to,” she muttered, continuing to the corral.
As she walked, she glanced up at the sandstone cliffs, striped in hues of tan, white, brown and deep red. Eaglecrest was nestled in a beautiful little valley, bisected by the San Ramon River. It backed up to the cliffs, and farther to the west, the property spread out into rangeland. In the distance, she could see the foothills of the White Mountains. The view always made her happy. She had missed it so much during the years she had lived in Las Vegas that she never failed to appreciate it now.
Eaglecrest Ranch had belonged to her mother’s family, the Graingers, since the 1920s and had gone through many financial ups and downs along with the price of beef. Matters had improved when her father had started the cowboy training college. He had fully focused on it, and the running of the ranch, ever since her mother died.
Now, though, Zannah didn’t know what was happening with him. He’d never been a big reader, but lately, he’d been studying topographical maps. When she’d asked about them, he’d whisked them away and said he was doing some research.
She knew that over the past few years, she had become wary and suspicious, questioning people’s motives. She didn’t want to be like that, and certainly not with her dad. Still, she knew there was something going on.
She glanced around to see that all their other guests were following Phoebe’s instructions and getting to know their horses. Mr. Bardle had his excitable six-year-old boy, Liam, on the saddle in front of him, carefully showing him how to use the reins to flex the animal’s head smoothly from side to side. Some of the guests were on horseback, walking their mounts around the corral, and the others were almost there.
She caught Phoebe’s attention and pointed to herself and then Gallagher, indicating she was on her way to help him. Her cousin gave her a nod and a grateful smile.
As she approached, she saw that Gallagher was still sitting stiffly in the saddle and had an expression on his face that said he would like to be almost anywhere else.
He didn’t look scared, though. More resolute, as if he was going to get through this no matter what. Again, she thought of the previous evening and the watchful attitude he had shown. There was something about him that felt odd to her. She shook it off, reminding herself he was a paying guest who deserved the best experience possible at Eaglecrest.
“Good morning, Mr. Gallagher,” she called out as she approached him. “How are you and Belinda getting along?”
Gallagher pulled back on the reins to stop Belinda, who had been taking uncertain steps. He looked down at Zannah as she strolled up to Belinda’s head and looped her arm under the mare’s neck. She stroked the silky hair and black mane as she smiled up at him.
“Not sure,” he answered, resting his hands on the saddle horn. “Call me Brady. And I don’t know much about this.”
“Well, that’s why you’re here, so you can learn. What seems to be the problem?”
“This horse...”
“Belinda,” Zannah supplied.
“Belinda doesn’t seem to understand what I want her to do.” His expression was serious, and his head cocked slightly as he waited for her answer.
Zannah continued to smile, trying to lighten the mood. “You only need to relax. She’s a smart girl. She can tell that you’re tense, but don’t worry, she’s taken care of newbies before.” Zannah looked down to see that his shiny new boots were in the stirrups at an awkward angle. His calves weren’t snug against Belinda’s flanks so he could easily give her direction.
“Oh, here’s part of the problem,” she said, placing her hand on his knee. He jerked, causing Belinda to move back. Gallagher took the reins in one hand and reached down with the other to soothe the horse.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Gallagher—uh, Brady,” Zannah said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“It’s okay. Like I said, I don’t know much about this.”
She paused and blinked as she processed how he’d gone from awkwardly holding the reins to expertly quieting the mare. In an instant, he was back to looking unsure of himself. She refocused, wondering if she had imagined it.
“Sit straight, but easy in the saddle. Your job is to let her know who’s boss. Keep your calves tight against her ribs. That’s how you’ll give her directions. Horses are a lot like little kids. They need to know someone’s in charge. Don’t worry. You two will get used to each other, and she’ll be your partner the whole time you’re here at Eaglecrest.”
“Oh, yeah? I can’t change horses if I need to?” Brady asked.
“You can, but I don’t think it will be necessary,” she answered, trying to understand the weird vibe she was getting from him. “You and Belinda need to become friends and partners.”
“Maybe we got off to a bad start,” he said. “I’ll dismount and you can show me how to get going with her.”
“Didn’t Phoebe do that?” Zannah asked, glancing to where her cousin was speaking earnestly to a nervous young girl on the back of a placid pinto.
“Yeah, but I guess I missed something.” Brady stepped down and stood beside her.
Zannah looked up at him, taking in his solemn expression and the watchfulness in his deep brown eyes. He was tall, a couple of inches over six feet, with a square jaw and thick, dark eyebrows that matched his mahogany hair.
Zannah gave him an uncertain smile but couldn’t think of anything to say. She felt completely out of step, as if she’d put her boots on the wrong feet and was walking backward through thick mud. She hated this feeling.
After a few seconds, he moved away from her. “Why don’t we start with saddling and bridling?”
Zannah frowned. “But Belinda’s already saddled.”
“Maybe I did it wrong.”
While she tried to control the “you’ve got to be kidding me” look that was fighting to take over her face, Zannah checked the cinch and the position of the saddle. “No, you did it exactly right.”
“How do you know?” he persisted. “You weren’t here when I saddled her.”
She held out both hands, palm up. “But I can see the result, so I know you did it correctly. Why do it again?”
“Because the customer is always right?”
Either that or slightly deranged, she thought, but she manufactured a smile even as her bewilderment gave way to growing annoyance. “Of course. If you feel at all uncertain, we’ll start again.” She stepped back. “Since you put Belinda’s saddle on, it should be easy for you to take it off. I’ll watch and give you pointers if they’re needed.”
“Fair enough.” He paused. “So, what do I do first?”
“Make sure she doesn’t wander off while you unsaddle her.” Zannah gestured toward Belinda’s head. “That’s why there’s a halter under the bridle. You tie her to the fence using the halter. If you take the bridle off, she’ll think it’s time to run and she’ll be gone in a flash. Belinda is laid-back, but she loves to run after a trail ride, and you’ll have a hard time catching her. You don’t want to tie her up with only the bridle, because she could pull on it and hurt her mouth. Don’t tie her too tightly. As soon as she’s secure, you can take off the saddle.”
Brady nodded as if satisfied with her answer, tied up the mare and fumbled a little as he unbuckled the cinch strap. Zannah didn’t step in to help. When it came to most aspects of horsemanship, it was necessary to learn by doing.
Grasping the saddle with both hands, Brady lifted it off, placed it on the fence, then removed the saddle blanket. When he tossed it over the top rail, it slid to the ground. Brady crouched down and reached between the fence rails to retrieve it.
Belinda looked around, snorted, shook her head and kicked out with her rear right hoof. She grazed Brady’s backside, throwing him off balance.
“Hey!” Brady yelped, scrambling to stand up while Zannah grabbed Belinda’s halter to bring her head down and around.
“Belinda,” Zannah said firmly, her voice pitched low. “We don’t kick the guests.”
The unrepentant mare shook her head.
“Don’t pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about,” Zannah insisted, but Belinda only twitched her ears.
“What was that all about?” Brady asked, dusting off his jeans as he came back to them.
“I don’t know,” Zannah answered, mortified. “I’m so sorry. She’s never done anything like that before.”
“That you know of,” Brady pointed out. “Haven’t you been gone for a while? Only came back a few months ago?”
“Well, yes, but how did you know that?”
“You must have said something last night at the barbecue.” Brady met her gaze squarely.
“No, I didn’t.” She never told the guests that she was new at running Eaglecrest, because she didn’t want them to think she didn’t know what she was doing. Her uneasy feeling about Brady Gallagher hardened into solid suspicion.
“Let’s get back to saddling this horse.” He tossed the saddle blanket over Belinda’s back. She stood waiting, the picture of tranquility.
Zannah didn’t mention that he hadn’t removed and replaced the bridle. She wanted to get this lesson over and done.
Brady smoothed the blanket. Belinda flicked her tail up and caught him across the back.
“Has this horse got it in for me?” he asked.
“Of course not. She probably thought she felt a fly, or...something.”
Brady’s mouth firmed. “See if you can calm her down while I get the saddle.”
“Calm down, Belinda,” Zannah said dutifully to the serene animal.
After a moment, Brady came back and put the saddle in place. He scooted it too far forward, and Zannah was happy to correct him, taking the emphasis off the mare, who shook herself and flicked her tail again.
This time, Brady was ready for her, holding up his arm to block the sweeping tail.
“It takes a while to learn to adjust a saddle,” Zannah said. “But you’ll get the hang of it.”
Following Zannah’s instructions, he settled the saddle into place, buckled and tightened the cinch straps and untied the halter.
“That’s perfect,” Zannah said, checking the tack. “You did a good job, as I knew you would.”
He lifted an eyebrow at her. “Except for crouching down behind her.”
“That’s true, and I don’t know why she kicked out...”
“Yeah, yeah, she’s never done that before.”
Eager for a change of topic, Zannah said, “Let me see you mount. Remember to relax. She’s really a very easygoing horse. Once you get used to her, you’ll love her, I promise.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
As he lightly grasped the reins, he placed his left foot into the stirrup and threw his right leg over Belinda’s back.
He gave a self-assured nod, squared his shoulders and shifted in the saddle. That was when Belinda exploded.
Feet dancing, she twisted and turned as Brady held on to the reins and tried to get her under control.
As everyone else turned to see what was happening, Zannah leaped for the horse’s head but couldn’t grab her before she lifted her front hooves off the ground and dumped Brady into the dirt. Free of her burden, she streaked across the ground and headed for the foothills.
Horrified, Zannah ran to Brady, who lay stunned, blinking up at the sky and trying to catch his breath.
“Are you okay?” she asked, crouching beside him and reaching to help him sit up.
“Ye...heh...hes.” He finally managed to get a deep breath. “I...have...haven’t been thrown...like that...in twenty years.” He shuddered slightly as he filled his lungs with air again and breathed out as he turned to her with a firm gaze. “We’re going to have to do something about that horse.”
“What do you mean?” Zannah was only half listening as she gently placed her hand on his jaw and turned his head so she could check for bumps and gashes. She was relieved to find none. Across the corral, she saw Phoebe start their way but waved her back to indicate that everything was fine.
“We can’t have a skittish animal like that in our string, especially not if we’ve got small kids and inexperienced riders around.”
Zannah straightened and looked into his eyes to check that both pupils were the same size. That done, she finally focused on his words. “She’s not skittish. At least, she never has been before, not until she met you—and what do you mean we?”
“I mean we because I’m about to become part owner of that animal.”
Zannah frowned and shook her head in puzzlement. “You mean you want to buy Belinda?”
While Zannah stared at him, he stood up easily and offered his hand to pull her to her feet. “I didn’t want you to find out this way, but hello, Miss Worth,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I’m going to be your new partner.”
