“It helps because you have experience of the kind of things they’re bound to throw at us when we dispute this,” Nash replied. “And Lily tells me that you’re a stickler for detail, so if we list the objections, you think you could put it into some document that they’d take notice of?”
“I’d be happy to,” I told him, feeling something in my chest—pride, that they valued my help, even though I wasn’t part of the family. “But you know you’re all intelligent men. You don’t need me.”
“I’m not sure that’s true.” Gunner laughed. “We’re the best when it comes to running a ranch. Plus, we can all argue the toss with the best of them, but I think what Nash is trying to say is that basically none of us know how to present our arguments without telling them to fuck off.”
“True,” Wilder replied with a humorless laugh.
“Any help you can give from yours and your mom’s experience would be invaluable,” Nash added.
I nodded, thinking back to when I was about fifteen. “Actually, Mom had to deal with a watershed protection regulation once. Our vegetable plots were uphill from a protected wetland area, and they wanted us to change all our drainage and runoff because of it.”
“What happened?” Gunner asked, his eyes so intense on me that it felt like there was no one else around. “How the hell did you deal with that? That’s huge.”
“I know,” I sighed, recalling how worried Mom had been about the money. “We weren’t allowed to alter the natural water paths either, so it was a huge undertaking. Mom argued and got them to share the cost in the end, but the point is,” I pointed toward the machinery, “if they’re disturbing natural drainage patterns and from the position of the creek and pond they probably are, then that’s a clear violation.”
“In what way?” Gunner’s gaze turned to Nash. “You know about this?”
Nash scratched at his stubbled cheek. “Yeah, now you come to mention it, the water division talked about it when they were investigating the pollution of the creek. They were worried obviously that because of the flow it would go down into the supply for the town.”
Gunner moved closer to the perimeter and looked up the hill and then back down. He turned back to us. “So, you’re saying if they disrupt the natural flow here it will impact downstream on the wetlands and then further along to the pond where the beavers are?”
“And maybe the creek?” I asked.
Nash shrugged. “Not sure. I guess it might.”
“Well, even if it doesn’t, I know they should be doing all sorts of tests to check the flow and the water levels. There’s a whole host of documentation, written observations and soil samples that need to be completed. I remember helping Mom with it all, so if they haven’t done that…”
Gunner exhaled while Nash and Wilder grinned. They remained silent as I looked between the three of them, waiting for one of them to say something. Watching as they looked over their land in silent understanding of what it meant to each of them. Brothers who were willing to go to battle for their home.
“Thank you,” Gunner finally said, a shy smile touching his lips.
And it suddenly didn’t matter what had been said between us before, because those two words meant everything.
“Okay,” Nash said, clapping Wilder on the back. “Let’s get back to the house and decide what to do next.”
“My vote is getting some of the guys to smash up the machinery in the middle of the night,” Wilder grumbled.
“It’s not an awful idea,” Gunner replied and then looked at his older brother. “But we’re not going to, don’t worry. I need to send all the proof of the breeding ground to Sandra O’Neil first anyway.”
“Who?” Wilder asked.
Gunner quickly explained who she was and instantly Nash’s shoulder’s relaxed. “That sounds positive, a little lifeline maybe,” he said, slapping his brother’s shoulder.
“I still think we should smash up the machinery,” Wilder scoffed.
“Maybe that’s our last resort.” Nash walked toward his horse which was waiting patiently with Wilder’s. “See you back at the house. I’m going to check in with Ray and see what he thinks about moving the cattle down from the storm barn to the winter barn. The long range forecast suggests more snowstorms mightbe on the way.” He sighed. “I mean I know it can change, so I want his advice.”
I knew Ray was their foreman, running things when the boys weren’t around, and I knew from Lily the winter barn was where the cattle were kept during bad weather. See, I was learning. Although, I wasn’t really sure why it mattered.
“Okay, bro. We’ll get back to the house. That’s where all the stuff is I need, anyway.” Gunner waved a hand toward the ATV. “Your chariot awaits, Miss. Turner.”
Flashing him a smile, I moved past him and felt weird that I was looking forward to wrapping my arms around his waist again.
“Okay,” Lily said as she sat back at the dining table after checking on the kids watching TV, our war table as Wilder had named it. “We now have a list of arguments against the development, ones that affect the ranch.” She turned to me. “And you have enough time to document it all, Cassidy?”
“Of course. What else do I do in the evening except read or watch TV?”
Lily laughed. “She says that because she has every lesson planned from now until Summer break.”
