Second Chance Ranch Chapter 10

Chapter TEN:

Mentally kicking himself—had he seriously invited her to dinner mere hours after she’d told Ethan she wasn’t ready to date?—Squire got in his truck and headed to town. Benson sat on the front seat, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. If only things in Squire’s life could be so carefree.

After a half hour of silence, he slammed his palm against the steering wheel. Benson barked as Squire yanked the truck to the side of the road and dialed Chelsea.

“Hey, little bro,” his sister answered. “What’s up?”

Squire leaned his head against his window as Benson laid his head in Squire’s lap. “How’s the job?” He stroked the dog to get his fists to uncurl.

“I’m surviving,” she said. “It’s our busy season, so I’m actually still here.”

“Oh, do you need to go?”

“No, I’ve got time. You don’t call everyday.” Chelsea’s way of saying, What’s going on? Is Daddy okay? What about Momma? What is important enough for Squire to call?

He heard all the questions, and he sighed. “Mom and Daddy are great. Three Rivers will survive.”

He paused, not quite sure how to ask Chelsea about Kelly without giving specifics. She didn’t know about his high school crush, and he wanted to keep it that way. Though if he’d told her he’d asked Kelly to prom, maybe the date he still longed for would’ve actually happened.

“So this is a Squire problem,” Chelsea said.

“Yes.” The word hissed out of his mouth. “A girl problem, actually.”

“Oooh.” She squealed, and Squire held the phone away from his ear lest he go deaf. “You haven’t called me about a girl since Tabby.”

“Come on, Chels,” he said. “She was no good for me.”

“I know that,” she said. “But since you don’t trust anyone, you needed to give her a chance. And when you did, you found out who she really was.”

“Hey,” he protested. “I trust people.” Even as he spoke, he knew he only gave a select few his trust and only with certain information.

She scoffed, but he continued undeterred. “This is a past girl problem.” His mouth turned dry, the affliction coating his throat and seizing his chest.

“A past girl problem?” Chelsea asked. “Did Tabby come back into town?”

“No. Ah….” He swallowed his nerves. He trusted his sister. “Do you ever remember Kelly Armstrong getting asked to her senior prom?”

He could practically hear Chelsea turning back time in the few seconds of silence.

“Yeah,” she said. “She got a ton of balloons, but we never found a name. Her parents didn’t know who brought them as they’d both been at work.” Chelsea gave a light laugh. “Kelly really wanted to go, too. Made me buy a dress and go stag.”

The confirmation Squire needed surged over his walls of distrust for Kelly. The bricks around his heart crumbled, releasing years of seeing Kelly through the colored film of his bruised ego.

“Why are you asking about prom?” Chelsea asked.

“Kelly’s back at the ranch.”

Chelsea heard the unsaid sentiment. “And you like her,” she singsonged.

“I was the one who asked her to prom.”

The lighthearted atmosphere over the line dissipated.

“No…why didn’t you tell me?”

He released the pent-up air in his lungs. “I was embarrassed. Humiliated. I thought she didn’t want to go with a sophomore.”

“I sense a but….”

“But yes. I’m interested in getting to know her better. The—the old feelings are still there.”

“So it’s a new girl problem.” Chelsea wore a smile in her words.

“She’s hardly the same girl.” Squire thought of the picture of her son. “And technically, I’m her boss, and I can’t act on how I feel. Right?”

“I don’t know, Squire…. Lots of people meet and fall in love at work. But at Three Rivers? With you? I’m not sure it would work.”

“Ollie married Ivy,” he said, not sure what she meant by With you?

“He took care of calves, and she cleaned the admin building in the evenings. It’s not the same.” Chelsea sighed. “You own the ranch, Squire.”

“But I don’t want it,” he said, the truth exploding out of him. With those words, Squire felt like he’d taken the antidote to a powerful poison. He rolled them around in his head. I don’t want the ranch.

“I sort of asked her out,” he said. “It was a disaster.”

“I hate to say this, little brother, but there’s your answer.”

He pressed his eyes closed, knowing she was right. “So how’s Danny?” he asked, changing the subject.

Chelsea went with it, the way she always did. He vowed as he listened to her talk about her boyfriend that he wouldn’t be returning to the subject of a relationship with Kelly.

Because Chelsea was right. Kelly had given her answer, and it didn’t fall into a gray area. He’d seen her face when he’d said dinner with him could be considered a bonus. She’d looked like she’d witnessed something horrific. The wide eyes, the rapid pulse. That was clearly the wrong thing to say, and he wanted to know why. He wanted to know everything about Kelly. The good, the bad, the ugly.

After hanging up with Chelsea, he ran his hand through his hair, got the truck back on the road, and pulled up to the feed store only twenty minutes later.

To his great delight, Bear Glover came out, a huge bag of chicken feed on each shoulder. 

“Bear, hey,” Squire called, jogging around his truck to let Benson out. The dog wouldn’t go far, though he couldn’t come into the store. Once he’d done that, he hurried over to help Bear with one of the bags.

“Howdy, Squire,” Bear grunted. The bed of his truck already held several bags of feed, and Squire noted that the pick-up wasn’t one of the newer models, though surely the Glovers could afford to upgrade.

“I talked to my controller about bringin’ some men to help with your fire line,” Squire said. “I was going to call you to work out a date.”

Before Bear could answer, the passenger door opened, and none other than Cactus Glover stepped to the ground. He wore a wary look on his face, but Squire felt like the heavens had opened and God had answered his prayers.

“Cactus.” He strode forward and shook the man’s hand. “How are you?”

“Just fine,” Cactus said, his features darker than his brother’s. “I don’t want to rush you—”

“Yes, you do,” Bear said with half of a smile. “Squire’s bringing boys to help us with the fire line. You won’t die while I look at my calendar.”

“I actually wanted to talk to you about your vet training,” Squire said hopefully.

Cactus’s eyes came back to his, but they didn’t seem super happy. “Oh?”

“Yeah.” Squire cleared his throat. “I’m thinking of doing the program. Where did you go to school?”

“Texas A&M,” Cactus said. “It’s the only program in the state.”

Squire’s heart fell to the soles of his boots. “There’s nothing closer? Nothing online?”

“Not for a full-fledged vet,” Cactus said. “Veterinary techs, sure.” 

“What about the second week of July?” Bear asked. “After the rodeo leaves town? Mister will be gone then, but if we have you and Britt’s boys come, it’ll probably only take half the day.”

“We can get Bishop and Ida to make lunch,” Cactus said.

“Bishop is….” Bear trailed off and didn’t finish, and Squire didn’t know how he would’ve anyway. He was the oldest in his family, and Bishop Glover was the youngest in his. Squire wasn’t sure, but the boy might not even be done with high school yet.

“Mother then,” Cactus said. “It would be nice if Allison could see how our family is when we’re all together. I’ve told her, and she doesn’t believe me.”

Bear blinked, and Squire wasn’t sure who Allison was. “Your wife?” he asked.

Cactus nodded. “I’ve only been married about a year.”

“Well, congratulations,” Squire said, truly happy for the man. Out of all the Glovers, he would not have picked Cactus to get married first. His name alone suggested how prickly he was.

He flashed a smile, and Squire turned back to Bear. “Second week of July. That Monday?” He swiped on his phone too, checking his schedule. Of course, he had nothing to do but boring desk work and pawing through old files.

“Yep,” Bear said.

“We’ll see you then.”

Bear’s hand came down on Squire’s shoulder, and he looked up. “Good to see you too, Squire. If you need anything—even just to ask something about the ranch—you call me.”

Squire wasn’t sure exactly what Bear was saying, but he nodded. Only when the Glovers had loaded up and driven away with their feed did it dawn on him that Bear had just given him a lifeline.

He knew how Squire felt about taking over Three Rivers Ranch, and he was willing to listen. Just knowing that made Squire appreciate him all the more, and his step landed lighter as he went into the store to get the feed he needed.

* * *

“Smithfield Cattle Auctions,” Squire said upon opening another folder. He couldn’t read fast enough, or find the date. “This has to be another place we sold cattle.”

Kelly hustled to his side, leaning over his arm to get a better look at the purchase receipt. “Yes,” she whispered. She plucked the paper from his fingers without getting close enough to touch him. “Nice work, Major Detective.”

He didn’t like it when she called him Major, but he didn’t let his frustration show. “It’s from two thousand five. But if we did business with them once, we probably did again.”

That was what they’d discovered over the past few days of digging through the files. They now had four stacks against the walls. Kelly had created a folder for each year of missing income, each now held a few slips of paper. It seemed that Three Rivers sold cattle in many and various auctions, to slaughter houses, and even to private merchants.

Since his dad had done all the selling, Squire hadn’t been able to ask him to list all the different places they’d sold cattle. He didn’t want his dad to know about the missing paperwork, or that even when they found the documents, the numbers didn’t align with the income reported in the tax returns.

Kelly wiped the back of her hand across her forehead. “Another auction house.” She clicked a few times on her computer. “They’re out of Lubbock, which isn’t unreasonable.”

For the past two days, she’d been entering everything from the files into the program she’d found and installed, while Squire continued to look for cattle sales documents.

He thought they made a great team, and she’d even said those exact words. He said very little. Kept his distance. Hardly smiled. His aloof behavior had become the only way he could think of to survive.

Kelly leaned away from the computer and pulled two sandwiches out of her desk drawer. She tossed him one, slid an apple across the desk, and placed a bag of potato chips between them. “Lunchtime.”

“My mom has plenty of food at the house.” He picked up the sandwich. “Peanut butter and jelly? What are we? Ten?”

She smiled, revealing her perfect teeth and ratcheting up his heartbeat. “Sometimes I wish we could be.” She took a bite of her sandwich and closed her eyes. “I used to love coming to the ranch. My house was so lonely.”

“Used to?”

Her eyes popped open. She met his eyes and then ducked her head. “Yes, I still love coming out here.”

He picked up his sandwich and opened it. “Why?”

“Chelsea was my best friend, and there was always something going on here.” She gave him an innocent shrug. “I used to have a huge crush on one of your cowhands.”

Squire coughed around his bite of peanut butter and jelly. “You’re kidding. Who was it?”

“I couldn’t keep them straight. I was a sucker for a man in a cowboy hat.” She peered up at him through her lashes. “Still am.”

Her smile felt infectious, and Squire found that he couldn’t straighten his lips. “So that’s why you’re so nice to Clark.”

“Clark’s helpful.”

So am I, he thought. Clark wasn’t the one who’d spent the last four days in her office, going through endless files. Not that Squire was complaining. If he wasn’t doing this, he’d have to invent a reason to spend time with Kelly.

“So,” she said, averting her eyes. “Are you going to go back to school and get your veterinarian degree?”

Startled, he glanced up. She crunched her way through half her apple before she met his gaze. “Well? Look who’s doing the weird read-my-mind-while-I-stare-at-you thing now.” Her mouth turned up into a smirk.

“I don’t know.” His voice came out raspy. “Do you think I have that option?”

Her light green eyes took on a new hue. One with more power, more intensity. “Of course you do, Squire. Why wouldn’t you be able to finish college? Don’t veterans get educational assistance? After you graduate, you could work at Three Rivers, tending to the animals here. You have enough of them.”

He’d forgotten about the GI Bill that would allow him to return to school. He had not forgotten the way she lectured him, though at this moment, only appreciation tainted his tone when he said, “It’s not that simple. Dad wants to retire now. I’ve already taken over here as foreman. Veterinarians have to go to four years of school. Do internships.” He finished his sandwich, the unspoken words hovering between them.

It’s impossible. Won’t happen.

“The GI Bill probably doesn’t pay for advanced degrees,” he added.

“But you don’t want Three Rivers,” Kelly said like she was trying to coax her son into eating his Brussels sprouts. “Have you thought about telling your dad that?”

“What would be the point?” Squire mashed the plastic bag in his fist, unused to arguing with her. As a teen, he’d taken everything she’d said as truth. “To hurt him? To abandon him when he needs me most?”

Kelly leaned forward. “Chelsea did.”

“Chelsea isn’t her father’s only son.”

“You deserve to be happy, too. That’s all I’m saying.”

“So do you,” he shot back, unsure of what he meant. Maybe that she could be happy with him, even if his ranch hadn’t made a penny in five years. Maybe that she should forgive herself and take a chance on dating him.

His blood pressure rose as his annoyance soared. Why couldn’t he accept reality? He barely knew Kelly; she’d been back in his life for only a little over a week. She’d made it clear she wasn’t interested in dating. Not just Ethan. Everyone.

Reality.

He needed to accept it.

“I am happy,” she said.

“So am I.”

She stood, taking her trash with her. “Excuse me.”

He let her go, just like he had a thousand times before. He couldn’t say exactly what he wanted, because that got him into as much trouble as when he kept his thoughts to himself. Or when he spoke in riddles.

Doesn’t matter, he told himself as he followed her out. The inadequacy flooding through him provided him with the invisibility he’d always possessed.

As he stomp-limped out of the admin trailer, he imagined himself as transparent as a ghost, able to move through walls. For that was all he had to offer Kelly: a broken heart, a shattered leg, and a bankrupt ranch. A ghost of a real life.

And she knew it. Had seen it.

Didn’t want it. Didn’t want him.