“Oh good.” Another reason to smile. The district attorney hadn’t been very cooperative at first, but with the whole town, including the bank manager, standing behind Jacob, the guy was left with little choice but to negotiate a deal. Now, things should improve for the family, and that had Alice smiling.
“Is this a private party?” Strolling up the walkway, Rachel had been working in the barn with Clint before her first appointment of the day.
Alice shook her head, then tipped it toward the kitchen door. “Just made a fresh pot.”
The two sat in contented silence until Rachel came to sit at her mother’s other side. “This is the perfect weather. Cool enough not to sweat, warm enough not to need a jacket. Too bad it only lasts a short while.”
“I suspect that’s why California became so popular so fast. Mild weather all year long. Not too hot, not too cold.” Alice thought back to her one visit with her Charlie to San Francisco and the surrounding coastline. It was their twentiethanniversary. Kade had already signed up for the military and her sister Liz stayed to make sure the younger ones didn’t burn the place down. Of course, Jillian, always having been the responsible one, probably could have kept her older brothers in line, but even with a responsible adult in charge, Alice was still just a tad nervous about the homestead in her absence. By the time they were wine tasting in Napa and Sonoma, she wasn’t all that worried about the kids back home anymore.
“How come you and Daddy didn’t travel more?” Rachel asked over the brim of her mug.
“We talked about it. Came really close to taking a little trip to Mexico. A beach. But why go all the way to another country, that speaks another language, when we can have a view like this any day of the week, including killer sunrises and sunsets.”
“I’ll second that.” Cassie nodded. “The sunsets here are amazing. The stars aren’t bad either.”
The dark of night under a sea of stars had always been her and Charlie’s favorite time of day. Sometimes they’d go sit down by the canyon and put a blanket down to lie on and just enjoy the show.
“I still miss him,” Rachel murmured.
Alice nodded. “I know baby.” She really missed him too. Some days more than others, especially this last year with all the trouble from Ray and his posse of crooks. The funny thing is, as their family has grown, she didn’t miss him quite as much as she once did, and wasn’t that something to think about. Another thought struck as she sipped on her lukewarm coffee: when was the last time she’d talked to Charlie?
An engine rumbled loudly from the direction of the front yard and Alice glanced down at her wrist watch. Almost eleven thirty. She should get up and start lunch. It was looking like they were going to have a crowd today.
The back door opened and Carson came onto the porch. “Are men welcome?” he teased.
“Always.” Alice smiled at her son.
“I come bearing gifts.” He tipped his head toward the kitchen. “Agnes had a couple of leftover tuna casseroles after yesterday’s special. She remembered how much you love her tuna casserole so she sent them home with me. You won’t have to cook tonight.”
“She sure is right about that. I have no idea what she puts in that casserole, but it’s almost addictive. It will be a nice treat.”
“I have to admit,” Rachel set her chair rocking, “everything seems so much brighter now that the ranch isn’t at risk anymore.”
“It still has a lot of debt,” Preston said as he came through the same door.
Alice was going to need to get a bigger back porch.
“We’ve cleared the delinquent payments, and we’ve made some changes, gotten some new equipment,” Preston smiled momentarily, “but all of it, including the new barns, are going to have to be paid for.”
“They will.” Alice nodded. Her husband had figured it all out. When he was done with all his expansion plans, the Sweet Ranch would provide for generations to come. He’d be happy to see his brood settled with such perfect soulmates.
“The good news,” Preston continued, “is that with the money we’ll get from this year’s calves, we’ll be able to increase the herd. Another year and we will have the four thousand head Dad wanted.”
“We’ll need more hands.” Alice knew that with Kade stepping in for his dad soon, that would be one less man needed, but even before the larger herd, they still had six hands including the foreman. “When do you think we can take on another man?”
Preston looked to his siblings, bypassing his mom. As if she didn’t know what they were thinking. The first big trust payment would be coming in a few months. She turned a blind eye to their using the newly married payment to save the ranch, but there was no way she was going to let any of her kids use the money that was meant to help set up their new families, on the ranch. Not on her watch.
Chapter Two
The first pot of coffee had perked and brewed, its rich aroma mingling with the dewy morning. Pouring herself a mug with a dash of milk and sugar, Alice practically inhaled the first sip. She didn’t know how anyone could start their day without this delectable, eye-opening brew.
A glance out the kitchen window confirmed what her bones already knew—a dark canvas with the warm glow of a sun that wasn’t quite ready to make its morning appearance. When it did, the sun would shine brightly on the Sweet Ranch. Stealing a glimpse at the old clock over the fridge, the time, four forty-five. The family would be stirring soon, needing breakfast before the day’s work began. The darkness, the horizon, this kitchen, and her morning ritual, all of it familiar and comforting.
One more sip, one more look into the horizon before she began cracking eggs, and a flicker of motion near the paddocks caught her eye. She squinted, peering through the glass, but the darkness made it hard to distinguish shapes. Could have been Brady on his nightly rounds. Coyotes, maybe, or one of those pesky skunks that had been getting into the trash lately. No rancher let their imagination run amok with boogeymen. She was no different.
She grabbed her favorite heavy sweater from the hook by the back door and slipped outside. The air hit her with a surprisingchill, the grass beneath her boots wet with dew. She pulled the sweater tighter around her shoulders, wishing she’d thought to grab a proper coat. In the gray half-light before dawn, shadows took on strange shapes, stretching across the yard toward the barn.
This was no horror movie where the stupid heroine went down into the basement where the axe murderer hid; this was her ranch and she had nothing to fear. Still, she wished she’d thought to grab her gun on the way out the door—just in case.
