“Winston brought chickens to the house to impress my grandmother with eggs. Except the chickens never laid a single egg. But they crowed every morning. I’m convinced Winston bought the eggs and said the hens laid them.”
“Who the hell is this Winston?”
“A retired school bus driver, who we’ve known of for years. He became a friend of my grandmother’s after Grandpa Lew passed.”
“The first red flag about Winston is.” Cash caught her eye and said, “He’s a liar.”
“Yes, I know that now thanks to you.”
“How old is he?”
“I heard he retired early, so maybe sixty, sixty-two. Probably more than a decade younger than my grandma. Maybe as much as fifteen years.”
“At the risk of sounding politically incorrect, that could be a second red flag.”
“Yes. I totally agree,” she said. “Wild Horse is a hundred miles due east of Triple C-East,” Cash said. “I’ll go with you to check things out, Tracy. Anytime.”
“Thank you, Cash,” Tracy said sincerely. “My grandmother assures me Winston is just a friend who is helping her with the yard and chores.” Swallowing her concern, shetold him, “This story, featuring your Triple C Ranch, is by far my biggest article ever forRanchers and Ranges. She wants me to send her a copy when it comes out.”
Cash nodded but with a slight frown. They rode in silence for a few miles to Turkey Pond. It was large, more like a lake than a pond. The area was as serene as it was green. Tracy heard appreciative oohs and ahhs from the guests. After everyone had dismounted, the horses were watered along Fish Creek. The wranglers set up the tents with help from the guests. Nine tents were arranged around the pond not too far apart, yet with enough distance to allow for some privacy. Along one side of the tent Tracy was to share with Donna were the two girls Tracy had come to think of as Pretty Patience and Delightful Daphne. On the other side were Beth and Lisa, both sweet as could be. Ed and Larry’s tent was on the far side of Natasha and Michaela, who could make you laugh with just a roll of their eyes. As others chose tent-mates, Tracy wasn’t sure who was rooming with whom. She helped Cash set up her tent while Donna chatted to Ed and Larry without lifting a finger.
Kellie had a cooking area set up and running in no time flat. The delicious smell of burgers filled the air. Served on paper plates atop tin plates, the burgers came with chips and an apple. Sam helped Kellie serve lunch and Tracy found that she was starved.
When Cash sauntered up beside her, Tracy said, “Putting up a tent along with riding a horse all this way can work up an appetite.”
“Yeah.” Cash’s grin was as cocky as his deep chuckle. “Let’s eat and go fishin’.”
“I need to make notes on my story.”
“Your phone will work, but your laptop won’t have a signal out here.”
“Not to worry, I’ve got a pen and paper. And more questions for you.”
“Let’s do it by lantern light,” Cash said.
“You mean work on my story?” Tracy asked.
“Sure.” His smile was cocky and her heart raced. “That’s what I mean.”
Kellie placed a burger, chips, and an apple on their plates. They each grabbed a bottle of water and walked to a picnic table. Tracy sat in the middle and Cash slid in beside her. Even as he ate his lunch, this man thrilled her with his virile masculinity. He hadn’t touched her since kissing her the previous evening, but shivers spread through her from head to toe. That was due to just sitting next to him on the bench. As she took a bite of burger, Tracy wondered if he were to kiss her, much less touch her while doing so, how she would react. Could she resist this man? Did she want to? Why would she? Well, for one thing, because she was a professional, serious journalist. She hadn’t taken this assignment looking for anything but a great story. For another thing? She couldn’t come up with another single thing.
“Boss, you gonna fish?” Jeff asked, standing over by the wagons.
“Probably, but don’t worry about me,” Cash said. “I’ll get my gear when I need it.”
“We got it,” Sam called, standing next to his son. “And we set up your tent while you were helping Tracy. Your gear’s outside your tent.”
“Thanks, guys,” Cash called, seeing his tent was ready to go. They finished their lunch as had Larry and Ed who had somehow escaped Donna and were unloading the wagons. Cash said, “I have a fondness for Eloise and Mavis. Let’s give them an apple before we go fishing.”
“The mules?”
“Yup.” He chuckled. “Come on.”
Cash tugged her off the bench and they put their paper plates in trash bags and stacked their clean tins on a table. Tracy assessed this part, like every part of her dude ranch experience, as a well-oiled machine. They each grabbed an apple and made their way to the mules. As soon as Cash got close enough, the mules rubbed their noses against him and flicked their tails.
“Grandpa Lew always said animals know a good person from a bad one,” Tracy said.
Cash smiled his thanks. Feeding his apple to the brown mule, he said, “This is Eloise.”
