She closed her eyes and suddenly, Marshall’s hand surrounded hers and he pulled her slowly through the hall. Her eyes flicked open and landed on his intense, light-green eyes. How had she not noticed how beautiful they were? A golden halo surrounded a leafy green center, with soft variations of green all around his pupils. His eyes were the color of fields of grass, moving in the breeze, a verdant golden ripple through a pasture. He walked backwards, guiding her towards the office.
“That’s it,” he said softly. “Just keep looking into my eyes and you’ll see there’s nothing to be afraid of. Look, we’re almost there.”
She hazarded a glance each side of her and noticed that the horses remained in their stalls, either completely ignoring them or attempting to brush up against Marshall. Her brain connected with the fact that they couldn’t reach her, and she calmed.
Dropping Marshall’s hand, she smiled.
“I think I’m okay now,” she said. “I’m never around animals, and I find horses so huge and terrifying. I almost got trampled by a horse as a kid. Sorry.” She cleared her throat and followed Marshall.
The black horse stepped up closer to them, straining to reach them.
“Not now, Vinny,” Marshall warned. The horse stuck out its tongue, attempting to kiss his shoulder.
Marshall paused. “Here,” his mouth quirked up as he guided her hand to touch Vinny’s smooth nose.
She startled, her shoulders coming up to her ears. The horse stood there, calm and reassuring. His warm breath tickled her arm.
She giggled.
“He’s not so bad, eh?” Marshall asked, his voice tinged with hope.
Vinny swiped his tongue on her hand, and she yelped.
Marshall quietly chastised the animal with a stern shake of his head.
Colette dodged the amorous horse, clutching her hand to her chest. Her steps quickened as she rushed behind Marshall into the office. It was a spacious, sparsely furnished room with a large desk and computer, a filing cabinet, and some simple shelving. It was kept clean by the staff, she assumed, since it wasn’t as dusty as she would have expected.
Colette took the chair across from Marshall’s and waited while he settled in. Pulling out her papers, she watched as he opened his laptop, twined his hands, and laid them on the desk.
“Your grandfather has filled me in on what has been going on, but I’d love to hear it from you,” Colette began. “It will help me get a fuller picture.”
Marshall exhaled sharply. “It’s quite simple, really. I was charged with keeping things in order when our accountantdecided to retire last minute. Plug in some numbers, send a few payments, take care of the basics. Then my grandfather started noticing issues with clients as he looked over the books. He got a few angry emails. I’m a rancher, not a bookkeeper, clearly,” he explained.
Frowning, Colette placed her papers on the desk. Marshall had done his best, though it seemed like he saw his efforts as a failure. She was glad to be there to help him. It was nice to feel truly needed.
“Even for a small organization like this one, the finances can become disordered quickly if not attended to properly. I’m happy to take some work off your plate,” she said with a nod. “Do you mind if we look over these files together?”
Marshall gave an impatient sigh. “I don’t see the point. I’m clearly incapable of handling this responsibility.” He pushed the files back toward her.
Sensing some tension in his tone, Colette tried another angle. “I want to help you, but I could use your input to get familiarized with the clients, suppliers, and all that. I’m sure you have a lot of information I could use.” Her tone was polite, encouraging, even pleading for his cooperation. She had a few strategies for dealing with prickly clients. Make him feel needed.
He glanced at the stack of files and pulled it back to him. “These guys are pissed because I sent payments, but they never received them,” Marshall explained, pointing at the first invoice. “I have no idea how to figure out what went wrong.”
“This buyer canceled our contract after we missed a few deliveries. Our emails back and forth clearly stated the dates, but our schedule got mixed up. I figured out the confusion there, but it was too late,” he confessed.
Colette nodded, flipping through another file, and listened as Marshall explained the ranch’s relationship with various buyers and suppliers. In her notebook, she made notes as to whichfiles to investigate further and ways she could help restore the ranch’s reputation and maybe win back unsatisfied clients.
At the bottom of the stack, she pointed out the client communications she had printed up for clarification.
“What about this one?” she asked.
Marshall studied the papers before him.
“Something here isn’t adding up. You have a record of payment sent, with your confirmation on it. But then follow-up emails from suppliers that they received no money? Either you didn’t send the money, or something is messed up with your payment system,” she explained.
Marshall scratched his head, grasping the paper in his hand and exhaling as he studied the information. Or rather, opened his eyes to what was missing on these records.
“I guess there could be a problem with our online payment system,” Marshall said as he shrugged. “I remember sending those payments, making these orders over here. It’s the same as I’ve always done. I followed the same process as before, and yet, the accounting is off.” His eyes ran over the documents again. “It must be that. Or I was too distracted, and I messed it up.”
