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“You said Uncle Sean was cremated.”
“He wanted his ashes returned to the ranch he loved. Yes.”
“Is there a memorial?”
He frowned. “A what?”
“A grave. A marker. Something to commemorate his life.”
“I think the ranch is a pretty big marker. Don’t you?”
“No.” The night had taken a strong dip in temperature so she pulled her hoodie closer. “Uncle Sean was a decorated marine. He was awarded the Navy Cross and a Purple Heart. He saved three men from an ambush and took a bullet to the leg while dragging them, one at a time, to safety. The farm is a great legacy. But a memorial is a better reminder of that sacrifice.”
He took her words seriously. “I’ve never thought of that. You mean like put a place in the cemetery? For us to buy a plot?”
She shook her head. “Why not right here on the land he loved?”
“Listen, this is a great idea, it really is, but I don’t have time to organize something like this during lambing. I wouldn’t even know how to.”
“I’ll do it.”
He still looked hesitant, but Lizzie pressed her point. “It’s the right thing to do, Heath.”
“It is. I’m just embarrassed we didn’t think of it ourselves.”
“And now we did. Zeke and I will get on it first thing tomorrow.”
“About Zeke—”
“Yes?”
He worked his jaw slightly. “Do you mind helping with him the next few weeks?”
She should refuse. Heath was way too protective and she found that stifling and fairly annoying. But he was caught in a jam. He’d done the responsible thing and had arranged child care, then got thwarted at the last minute. She couldn’t fault him for that. “I’ll help as I’m able. Between you and me and Corrie, we should be able to keep one five-year-old out of mischief for a while.”
He covered her hands with one of his, the one sporting a plain gold band. “Thanks, Liz.”
She kept her smile light and her tone easy. “That’s what friends are for.” She withdrew her hands from his and headed for the stables, but first she checked the dog food dish out back.
More food was gone, but there was no sign of the bedraggled dog. She whistled lightly, hoping it would come but nothing moved in the growing darkness.
At least the little dog was getting regular meals. She understood Heath’s concern about animals and disease control, but kindness mattered, too.
So the food dish stayed right where it was.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Two hundred and forty-three lambs and they weren’t half done, but their results were promising, and that was a weight off Heath’s shoulders.
His phone rang midmorning. He glanced down, chose to ignore the call and shoved the phone back into his pocket.
“Melos again?” asked Jace.
Heath grunted. A sheep farmer from farther down the valley wanted to raise a ruckus over the change in grazing rights.
Heath didn’t have time for a ruckus, and he’d said that outright, but Blake Melos was persistent. “They’re having a meeting tomorrow night. Who’s got time to have meetings this time of year?” he asked.
Jace kept cleaning lambing stalls to prepare for the next wave. “If you want to have a neighbor, you’ve got to be a neighbor.”
Heath growled but Jace was good at ignoring his growls. Today was no exception. “Like it or not, you don’t exist in a vacuum here. Pine Ridge Ranch isn’t an entity unto itself. It’s part of something bigger. A town. A community. And if no one starts caring about that, then what do we have left?” The sound of the pitchfork hitting concrete punctuated his point. “Every fix begins somewhere. Getting together with these people is a smart thing to do. Sean lived on his own for a lot of reasons,” Jace reminded him. “But he probably should have reached out more. And Carrington, with his monster-sized spread, flying in and out on his private landing strip.” Jace waved toward south where Eric Carrington was developing a celebrated Angus cattle operation with his family’s pharmaceutical fortune. “If the big players on the board ignore the good of the community, pretty soon there is no community.”
Which was what they were facing now.
Jace was right. He didn’t have to like being involved in this group of angry ranchers, but it was the right thing to do. He texted Blake a quick message. I’ll be there.
Then he pushed the phone back into his pocket.
“I’ll go with you,” said Jace. “Wick will be on barn duty then. And Lizzie should go, too.”
“It’s got nothing to do with horses.”
“And everything to do with joining forces. Like it or not, she’s part of the force.”
