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He got back in and she started up the long drive to the homestead. Luke stuck his head out the window as they passed by several outbuildings in need of repair.
“Dammit!” he shouted. “Look at those wrecked buildings.”
“I’m sorry, Luke.”
The homestead came into sight. The roof had collapsed in the middle and the land that used to be around it was either bare or choked with weeds. Amber remembered beautiful flowers around the home—Valerie Lynn Beaumont had had a green thumb—but whatever had once bloomed had vanished. The portico had collapsed, twisted, and was hanging on by a couple of thick boards someone had propped up against the main portion.
“That has to be replaced,” Luke said.
Two of the big picture windows had also blown out and were covered by sheets of plywood.
The whole place was in need of paint, but that was probably the least of his problems. He had yet to look inside. There was no need for a key. The door was half off its hinges.
“Let’s go in, Amber. I might as well see inside.”
“That’s okay. I’ll stay here.”
“C’mon with me. Please.”
She got the impression that he didn’t want to be alone when he saw the condition of the homestead that had been in his family for generations.
“Okay,” she finally said, feeling like she was intruding on something private. Something that was strictly reserved for the family that belonged there.
Too bad she didn’t have the same feelings about the sad little bungalow in the middle of a junkyard. That was just a place where her parents fought about everything from rusted car parts to illegal moonshine.
When she looked around at the inside of the Beaumont ranch house, she wanted to cry.
Magnificent Stickley furniture had warped and was unsalvageable except as firewood. Fabulous blankets and baskets were covered in mud. Actually, the whole floor was warped and muddy. The beehive fireplace in the middle of the room had cracked and the remnants had fallen to the ground. Black mold crept up the walls.
It broke her heart to see family treasures destroyed. Some might be able to be saved, but most of what she’d seen would have to be trashed.
There were pictures and portraits of some long-ago Beaumonts. Some were intact, some had watermarks and were bulging out of their frames.
Amber turned to Luke, whose mood seemed to be alternating between sad and mad.
She wanted to hug him, but felt that was too forward. They’d only been high school acquaintances, nothing more. She hoped he didn’t know that she’d had a crush on him since Mrs. Maloney’s first grade.
So here she was at thirty years old without having a serious boyfriend at the present.
Most of the time, she was too focused on her career. She was devoted to keeping Beaumont a safe place for everyone to live, in which children would thrive.
To that end, she coached mixed teams of soccer, softball and basketball, and led the Beaumont children’s chorus and drama club.
She divided her marriage “close calls” into three categories, although there were probably more. The cops were too full of themselves and moved on to their next conquests; the adventurers were too hyper and moved on; and the playboy types found younger women.
They all left her about when they figured out she was more devoted to the job than to them. But they always parted as friends, having mutually enjoyed themselves.
It would only take four steps to walk in Luke’s direction and wrap him in a comforting hug.
Sergeant Amber Chapman, who had arrested some of the worst criminals in the county, had to decide if she was woman enough to embrace Luke Beaumont or stay rooted where she was like a big blue chicken with a badge.
* * *
OH!
Luke took a step back in pure shock when he saw Amber’s face and noticed her arms move. It seemed like she was about to cry and hug him at the same time.
No way. He had to be wrong. She didn’t even like him. But maybe she was feeling sorry for him.
That was it!
But he didn’t want any pity. Not from Amber Chapman; not from anyone.
The Beaumonts would pick themselves up by their bootstraps and put things right, even if they had to ride every rank bull from here to Australia and everywhere in between to get the money to rebuild.
The Beaumont Ranch would be restored to its former self.
“I’m not going to rest until there are cattle on the hill again, rank rough stock in the field and prize horses in the barns. And the ranch house will be just like my mother left it.”
He didn’t realize that he spoke the words out loud until Amber replied, “Good for you, Luke. Don’t forget to hire the town people back. They’ve worked hard for the Beaumonts. You don’t know the half of it.”
He looked around and saw the boarded-up windows and remembered the propped-up portico. “I think I do.”
Outside, he heard yelling and shouting and the tinny sound of cowbells ringing.
“What’s that?” he asked, walking over to the front door.
Amber followed him. “I hear it, too.”
On the way, Amber disturbed a pyramid of beer cans. Some thin, white rolling papers, which were sprinkled on the floor, attached themselves to her foot. Remnants of the kids’ parties, she assumed.
Luke upset a drawer full of mice and they scattered like pool balls all over the room.
What a mess his home had become.
The noise outside became louder. It was several of the townspeople leading horses, bulls and cows and more toward the house.
“Welcome home, Luke!” shouted a man in a rumpled cowboy hat and a poncho, leading a gigantic bull.
“We’re glad you won the auction. Hope you’re staying and fixing the place up, Luke.”
Luke recognized the neighbor from his position on the porch where the front door used to be. “I am, Santiago. I am. My brothers and I will be working hard this summer to restore the old place.”
“Good!” Santiago grinned and cheers went up, loud enough to spook a couple of horses.
Amber arrived next to him, and he moved over so she could see. He slipped an arm around her waist to steady her.
“This is your stock that we are bringing back, Luke. We kept the animals for you—the ones that Mr. Beaumont gave to us. Big Dan—he just doesn’t care,” said Michelle Goldsmith, another neighbor.
“I know.” Luke nodded.
“We’ve been taking care of them until someone returned. They are yours now,” Santiago said.
Luke shook his head. “I can’t thank you enough, but you all should keep them. You’ve been providing for them, so they should be yours.”
“That’s what friends are for,” Michelle said. “We’ll put some of the horses in the paddock and the rest in the pasture. All right? No arguing with us, Luke.”
“I feel so...humbled,” he whispered, and he doubted if anyone could hear him. Well, maybe Amber heard. He glanced at her and knew that she’d definitely heard. She was wiping away tears,
“What a beautiful thing to do,” she said, her voice cracking.
Luke felt his own eyes stinging at such a caring gesture, even after Big Dan had left them without jobs.
He swallowed hard. “Thank you, my friends. For once, I am speechless.”
“More will be returned when word gets out that you’re back. By the way, nice riding in Billings,” said Slim Gomez, the long-term foreman of the Beaumont Ranch.
Luke nodded. “When I’m done getting the house fixed up, we are going to have a barbecue the likes of which Beaumont has never seen.”
Amber let out a little squeal. She must be a woman who liked her barbecue.
Then he noticed that Amber suddenly swayed and was about to fall on some stacked boards probably from the portico. Rusty nails peppered the boards.
Luke caught her. It was as if he was dipping her at the end of a dance. Not that he ever did that, but it was good to know that he could do it!
He stared into her stunning green eyes. They were round with surprise.
“You were going to fall,” he explained, barely breathing. She felt so good in his arms.
“I-I know. You can let me up now. Someone is giving us a wolf whistle outside.”
“Sure.”
He let her up and looked back at the parade of animals in front of him. “Need help?” he asked.
“Uh...no. You can go back to what you were doing.” Florence, who owned nearby Star S, laughed.
Everyone joined in laughing.
“Is that Sergeant Chapman?” Florence asked.
Amber waved to her from a more secure position. “Yes, Flo. It’s Amber.”
“Good for you. Carry on.” Florence gave her two thumbs-up.
Luke noticed that Amber’s face was turning a bright pink.
“Don’t mind them,” Luke said.
She waved her hand, dismissing the idea. “Um, I’m not.”
Luke pointed to another group walking up the driveway. “I’d better go help them, Amber. I’ll be right back.”
“Of course. Go ahead and get the animals situated.”
He had so much to do, it got his blood pumping, just like when he rode bulls. He’d always loved ranch work and to be home for a while with a list of improvements and to be surrounded by friends—well, he was going to enjoy every minute.
And it felt so natural to hold Amber in his arms and look deep into her green eyes. If he didn’t know any better, by the way she studied his lips in anticipation, he’d think that she was interested in him.
But he knew better. Amber didn’t have much use for him. In fact, she had to drag him back to Beaumont in order for him to take care of his legacy.
“I’d better buy some feed and hay,” he said, thinking out loud.
Amber checked her watch. “You have to eat, too. How about dinner at the crazy Chapman household in a couple of hours? One of my brothers is picking up barbecue.”
“I’ve been thinking of just that. Thanks. I’d love to.” He jumped from the opening, as if he were a superhero, and was gone.
* * *
LOOKING AROUND, AMBER found a broom in the kitchen pantry and a box of garbage bags. Perfect. She might as well help out while Luke was tending to his stock.
The first thing she was going to do was to change from her uniform. She had workout gear in her car. That’d do.
Then she was going to get rid of the chickens and mice, right the furniture and sweep. The big, thick Mexican tiles needed to be washed several times, but they had to be swept first.
So, what was she doing helping Luke?
She had a feeling that he was overwhelmed. Bringing some of the stock back could have waited until tomorrow, but these were the animals that Big Dan hadn’t sold. He’d just told his workers to help themselves. He probably hadn’t counted on them being taken care of and brought back.
That’s what friends are for.
Amber swept all the trash by the beer cans. Anything with fur or feathers, she scooted out the back door the best she could.
A cat ran into the room and perched itself on top of the couch as if it had done the same thing many times before.
Cautiously, she approached the gray and black cat. It wore a collar and let her pet it, so it wasn’t feral. Her tag showed that her name was Miss Kitty. “Okay, Miss Kitty, clear out the mice, please.”
The cat sat there like a princess, cleaning her paws. “Let’s go, Miss Kitty.”
Nothing.
She abandoned the idea of any help from the cat and went back to sweeping.
All the water-stained pictures she put into a garbage bag with the intention of telling Luke that there was a fabulous restorer at the Beaumont Historical Society who could probably do wonders with them. She filled three garbage bags with pictures and loaded them into the back of her SUV.
Amber opened windows that were still intact and let the place air out.
She was just sweeping the dust, dirt and fallen chunks of plaster into the last garbage bag when Luke scared her by vaulting back into the room.
