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“Yeah, he found me. I was checking the southeast pasture and discovered there was no water in the holding tank. The windmill’s frozen up. There’s no way to fix it without ordering a new part for it.”
“You want me to crawl up there and check it out, just in case something can be done?”
She shook her head. “I already did. The whole thing is worn-out. I need to replace the entire rig, but I can’t. A new part will get us through the worst of the heat. Maybe by fall I can—” She stopped because there was no use talking about the fall. By then, the ranch would no longer be theirs…unless she could somehow produce a miracle.
A sense of futility swept over her.
They both turned at the sound of an engine and watched as a late-model pickup with Travis behind the wheel appeared. He made a sweeping turn and stopped in front of the house.
“Somebody mentioned to me yesterday that Travis was back in town for a few days,” Butch said, rolling a handmade cigarette. “It kinda surprised me when he showed up, asking for you. I didn’t think the two of you were exactly on good speaking terms.”
She turned away from the house and led Daisy into the barn. Butch followed her, placing the newly formed cigarette behind his ear. “We’re not,” she said, leading Daisy into her stall, “but you know how Travis is. He just naturally thinks he’s God’s gift to us all and that we should feel honored that he decides to visit.”
Butch uncinched the saddle and lifted it off the horse while Megan wiped her down. “So what did he want?”
She shrugged without looking around. “He said he wanted to talk to me about something. I can’t imagine what.”
“Maybe he got wind of the trouble you’ve been having. You reckon he might want to buy this place from you?”
She poured some grain into the feed trough of the stall. “He’s not that stupid. Why would he want a place like this? He’s never home. Besides, the Kanes already own a large portion of the county. Why would Travis take on another spread?”
“’Cause his pappy’s young enough and healthy enough to be running their place for a long time, yet. Travis never was one to want to answer to anybody, not even his dad.” Butch grinned at the thought. “Most especially his dad, if you want to know the truth.” He stepped out of the stall and held the door open for her.
She motioned to the nearly empty feed storage bin as they retraced their steps to the barn door. “Did you remember to pick up the grain at the feed store today?” she asked, ignoring the fact that Travis now was leaning against the front fender of his pickup truck, watching, and making no effort to join them.
Butch took his time lighting his cigarette, then he removed his hat and carefully smoothed down his sparse and receding hair before replacing his battered hat. “Yeah, I got the feed. It’s still in the back end of my truck. Ol’ man Brogan said that unless you pay something on the account, he can’t give you any more credit after this.” He recited the message without inflection, studying the horizon.
“So what else is new?”
“It isn’t just you, you’ve got to know that. Everybody in the county’s been hit hard by this drought. It’s been rough. They’re all having to supplement the feed to keep the stock fed.”
“I know.”
“Ranching’s never been a way to get rich, missy. It’s a hard life.”
“You aren’t telling me anything I don’t already know, Butch.” Megan rubbed the back of her neck. “However, the ranch is my life. It’s the only one I know. It’s Mollie’s and Maribeth’s home.”
He awkwardly patted her shoulder. “You’ve done a fine job, missy. A fine job. You took on way too much responsibility trying to look after the girls and run this place all by yourself, but you showed everybody you could do it. Don’t feel bad if you have to give up now.”
She stiffened at the mention of her sisters. “We’ve done just fine so far on our own. You just said it’s nobody’s fault the drought’s lasted so long. Well, it isn’t my fault that all our equipment seems to be breaking down at once, or that the blasted well for the house ran dry last month and we had to drill another one.”
“I never said it was anybody’s fault. Don’t start gettin’ so prickly. All I’m sayin’ is that a young gal like you shouldn’t have to be shoulderin’ such a heavy burden. You should be out enjoying life with friends of your own.”
She gave an unladylike snort. “My friends are mostly married and busy raising families. At least Mollie and Maribeth are old enough to look after themselves.”
He nodded toward Travis. “So when are you goin’ over to find out why he’s hanging around here? He don’t look like he’s plannin’ on going anywhere anytime soon, so ignorin’ him isn’t going to help ya none.”
Once again she looked over to where Travis waited—his long legs crossed at the ankles, his arms folded across his chest—still leaning against his truck.
She glanced to the west before she spoke again. “I don’t suppose this day could get any worse than it already has. I’ll go see what it’s going to take to get rid of him.”
“I wish I had the money you needed. I’d sure give it to you if I did have it,” Butch said in a gruff voice.
She patted his arm and smiled. “I know, Butch.”
“I watched you girls grow up. I seen every one of you in diapers, following your folks around, playing with one another. Rory and June were always so proud of their girls. They wanted the very best for you. Always.”
“I know. Sometimes life just works out different from what we plan…what we want.” Straightening her shoulders, Megan turned away from Butch and headed toward the house, where Travis stood waiting.
Megan was aware of Travis watching her as she crossed between the barn and the house. She was well aware of what he saw—a skinny blond with a mop haircut, a plain face with a mouth too wide and, from the feel of it, a glowing, sunburned nose covered with a smattering of freckles.
Her coveralls were old, faded and wearing thin in some places, while her work boots were too scuffed to be able to tell their original color.
A regular fashion plate, that’s what she was. She was also exhausted and totally out of sorts.
“So what are you hanging around for?” she demanded as she approached him. “What do you want?”
He slowly straightened in his lazy, loose-limbed way. “I told you. I want to talk to you.”
She fought to control her impatience. She couldn’t think of anything that this man could say to her that she would want to hear, unless he planned to announce that he was moving away from Agua Verde County and determined never to return.
Megan came to a stop a couple of feet in front of him and folded her arms across her chest. “What about?”
He glanced toward the house. “Couldn’t we go inside and talk? This may take a while.”
She didn’t want to invite him inside. She didn’t want Travis Kane anywhere around her, the house, or the ranch. Unfortunately, at the moment, she couldn’t think of a single reason he would accept for asking him to leave.
There was no help for it. She’d just have to put up with him and the uncomfortable, itchy way she always felt whenever she had to be around him.
Megan stepped around him and led the way up the steps to the wide porch that led into the kitchen. “C’mon in. Mollie’s probably got some tea made.”
She walked into the large room that was the heart of the house. The kitchen doubled for the family conference room, the homework room, the problem-solving room, or for whatever reason the three O’Brien sisters needed to gain help and support from each other.
The place looked worn and frayed, now that she was looking at it through the eyes of a visitor. Any spare cash she managed to accumulate went back into the running of the ranch, unless it provided necessities for a sixteen-and eighteen-year-old to finish their high school educations.
She found the pitcher of tea, filled two glasses full of ice, poured the tea, then set the glasses on the round table situated in the middle of the room.
Megan waited until Travis sat down before she picked a chair across the table from him and carefully lowered herself. Lordy, Lordy, but she was tired. Not only was she not sleeping well at night, but she was also pushing herself harder with each passing day as though through sheer force of will she could turn the ranch’s fortunes around.
Her body ached with every movement. She longed for a long soak in the tub and promised herself that particular reward for tonight in exchange for having to deal with Travis now.
Travis Kane had always caused problems in her life since she was a kid riding on the school bus. Why should anything be different now?
“So when did you get into town?” she asked, not really caring, but determined to curb her impatience and make a stab at being polite.
“Wednesday night.”
“Mmm,” she responded as noncommittally as possible. She picked up her glass and took a long; refreshing swallow of iced tea.
Travis waited until she looked at him before he leaned forward, his weight on his forearms resting on the table, and said, “I happened to run into Maribeth at the post office this morning.”
She eyed him for a moment, waiting for him to continue. When he didn’t, she prompted him with, “Did you?”
“She said y’all are having some problems.”
She made a mental note to have a long discussion with her youngest sister about not discussing private family matters with outsiders. Striving for nonchalance, Megan shrugged and studied the ice cubes floating in the amber liquid. “No more than anyone else around these parts. Looks like the drought’s about to do the whole county in.”
Megan made herself look at Travis, only then noticing that he’d removed his hat. Up close, his unusual eyes were even more noticeable, if possible, what with the stark contrast between their bright color and his tanned face.
“Megan—” he began, then paused, as though searching for words.
Megan knew that Travis had always had a way with words, so his hesitation surprised her. “What?” she finally asked.
“Maribeth says that since the new management took over at the bank, you don’t think they’re going to be willing to work with you on the mortgage payments anymore.”
She could feel her jaw tighten at more evidence of her sister’s loose-lipped ways. She took another drink of her tea before responding. “Maribeth has a big mouth,” she finally muttered through clenched teeth.
He placed his glass between his palms and rotated it around and around in a circle. “Megan, I know you have no use for me. I’m not certain why, exactly. I mean, I know I used to give you a bad time when we were kids, but that was all part of growing up. I never meant anything bad by my teasing. I always thought of us as friends, even if we haven’t seen much of each other in the past few years. I always thought that, if you ever needed anything, you’d know that I’d help you out in any way I could.”
She shot out of her chair, knocking it over on the floor. “Is that why you’re here? You think we’re some kind of neighborhood charity case? Is that it? Well, you couldn’t be-”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” he said, coming to his feet, his hands held out in front of him. “Damn, woman, do you have to go off like that over every little thing? What’s the matter with you, anyway? Why would you take offense at an honest offer of help?”
She could feel her face flaming, which didn’t help her temper in the slightest. “We don’t need your help. We’re doing just fine,” she muttered, picking up her chair and replacing it on its legs. She sank into the chair and grabbed her glass with both hands.
“C’mon, Megan, it’s me you’re talking to. Needing help isn’t anything to be ashamed of. We all need help at one time or the other.”
She looked up at him and knew she was making a complete fool of herself. Why didn’t that surprise her? She had never learned to act naturally around this man, not even when they were kids. “I’m sorry,” she muttered. “I’m just tired, that’s all. I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”
He sat down once again. “I know this is a tough time for you. I think you’ve done a hell of a job holding this family together. I just want you to know that I’m here to help you, if you’ll let me. I’ve got money just sitting in the bank, drawing interest. I figure you could use it to help get over this bump in the road. Let’s face it, we’re bound to get some rain sometime. Cattle prices will be coming up. I figure you could be using the money since I don’t need it right away.”
Megan couldn’t sit there any longer, facing him. She got up from the table and walked over to the counter, her back to him. Never had her temper made her so ashamed. It didn’t matter what Travis had done in the past, or how uncomfortable she felt around him. He had driven all the way out here to offer her a helping hand. And what had she done? Ignored him, left him standing in her dust, been rude and unsociable for no good reason.
It wasn’t his fault that his good looks had seemed to make his life so much easier, that his irresistible grin had made all the girls carry on about him in school, or that she had received a great deal of teasing because they lived near each other.
It wasn’t his fault that she didn’t like him.
She picked up the iced tea pitcher and brought it back to the table, filling both their glasses. “I’m sorry for being so rude,” she said, sitting down again. “It’s really very kind of you to offer to help.” Megan couldn’t make herself look into those eyes. Hadn’t they haunted enough of her dreams over the years without her being confronted with them now?
Travis leaned back in his chair and smiled at her in silent acknowledgment. “Dad tells me this new bank management team seems to be more concerned about their asset and liability reports than they are about the welfare of the people in the county. So you may be right about them,” he said.
“Can you blame them? With some of the banks in the state going under, it’s no wonder they’re concerned.”
“Have you spoken to them at all?”
She nodded.
“Did you offer to make interest only payments?”
“They aren’t willing to do anything but accept full payment of all money due or to foreclose. Those are my options.”
He muttered something under his breath that she couldn’t understand, which was probably just as well.
Megan straightened in her chair. “Why do you care?” she finally voiced the nagging question that had been gnawing at her throughout the conversation. “Travis, you know as well as I do that we aren’t friends. We’ve never been friends. It seems to me you probably expected me to fail. You never had a very good opinion of me, either, as I recall.”
He rubbed his jaw. “I guess you’re right. As far back as I can remember you’ve treated me like some piece of trash that was cluttering up your immediate area. I should be gloating about now that the high-and-mighty princess is taking a nosedive.”
“Exactly.”
They looked at each other for a long time without speaking. After several minutes of silence, Travis sighed. “I guess I deserved your haughty treatment, though, didn’t I? I used to treat you pretty badly—pulling your hair, grabbing your books, making fun of your friends…”
“You made it clear what you thought of me, that’s for sure.”
“Would it help to remind you that I’ve grown up a little since then?”
He gave her that heart-melting smile of his that had gotten him out of all kinds of trouble as a kid.
“No,” she said baldly.
“Oh.” He looked around the kitchen before meeting her steady gaze. “The thing is, I was really shaken when Maribeth told me what was happening with y’all. I’d lost touch with you since high school. I mean, all that stuff I did to you was years ago. I’ve been on the road for the past eight years.”
She knew that. He’d been two years ahead of her in school. She’d been sixteen the year he graduated. He’d been president of the student body, captain of the football team, homecoming king. By the time he’d graduated, he’d been driving to school for two years. So they were talking about behavior of more than ten years ago…almost half a lifetime.
“Will you let me help you, Megan? Please? Then I’ll know you’ve forgiven me for all that childish stuff I used to pull. I can’t stand by and watch you lose this place, not when I could help you. Surely you can understand that.”
She couldn’t believe she was having this conversation. Especially with Travis Kane, of all people. Of course she wasn’t going to accept his offer, but the very fact that he’d made it blew her away.
Her silence seemed to spur him on. “You’ve done a hell of a job, Megan…keeping everything going. You were just a kid when you took over here. The girls were still in grade school back then, weren’t they?”
“Yes.” She looked away, absently drawing designs in the moisture collecting on her glass.
“When is the mortgage due?”
She glanced back at him, grateful that he had changed the subject. “The first.”
“It’s paid annually?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s no time to try to sell stock.”
“Not at the current prices. Who knows if they’re ever coming up. Nobody seems to be eating beef these days, according to present market indicators. I’ve been hanging on, hoping the drop is only temporary. If I sold at today’s prices I’d lose everything I’ve invested in this herd.”
“So will you let me loan you the money?”
“I appreciate the offer, Travis. I mean that. It was kind of you to hang around today when I was being so—rude. But, in the long run, borrowing the money from you isn’t going to help. I would just owe another debt I couldn’t pay.” She rubbed her forehead where a headache was forming. “I’ve thought and thought about it. There’s just no way out of it, no reason to prolong any of this.” She forced herself to smile. “You know, it’s kinda funny when you think about it. Paddy O’Brien won this place in a card game more than a hundred years ago, closer to a hundred thirty-five.” She wondered if he knew that. “My illustrious ancestor was a riverboat gambler at the time. Didn’t know a thing about ranching.”
He didn’t seem particularly surprised, but then few families in the county had histories that weren’t known by all their neighbors.
