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Before I start on Buckskin’s saddle, I take a quick peek at the one that belongs to Autumn. It was spotless and as shiny as if it had just come out of the store. I’m putting the final polish on the silver trimming when I see movement and glance toward the door.
“There you are, Isaac,” Granddad says as he enters the tack room.
“You found me. There no hiding from you,” I say and smile.
“I just wanted to tell you how proud I am about what you’re doing. You’ve pitched in and done everything asked of you. And thanks to you and Olivia the ranch’s running smooth as silk again.”
“You don’t need to thank me. I should be thanking you for insisting that I come and spend three months on the ranch.”
“Well, what’s the verdict?”
I smile. “You mean you have to ask after seeing how we enjoy each other’s company,” I sound like a lovesick teenager and I don’t care for the first time in three years I feel alive again.
“She makes me feel alive as if I’ve been dead for the last two years. Shit, she’s everything that a man can want and more. But we’re still getting to know each other. You know it’s not as if I’m going to put a ring on her finger tomorrow or anything, but there’s a potentiality that I’ll do that in time.”
I want to put him in place, let him know that I’m happy to be with her, but I’m not going to run down the aisle with her because he says I need to do it now.
“Well, I’m going to keep my part of the bargain. If you marry Olivia, I’ll leave everything to you.” He pauses. “And I don’t have very long left. My health is declining rapidly. I don’t want to rush things between the two of you, but when do you think you ask her to marry you?”
“Never!”
Olivia blurts out as she’s standing in the door of the tack room. I glance in horror at granddad. His face is as pale as a full moon.
“I heard every word about your deal! How could you, Neil!” she cries out looking directly at Granddad. “I trusted you. Loved you like a father. And here you are trying to marry me off to Isaac as though I didn’t have a say in the matter. I feel so . . . so used.”
“Olivia, calm down. It’s not as bad as it sounds,” I say but when I see her flashing green eyes, I know my words are rolling off her like water off a duck’s back. “I fell in love with you. That’s all that matters.”
“Oh no, Isaac, it’s much more than that. It’s about trust. It about not being a pawn in some rich man’s chess game of life,” she says shaking her head “I feel violated! You two used me.”
She glances at Granddad. “Neil tell me one thing. Just how long have you been planning on forcing Isaac and I together? How long?”
“I knew you could make him snap out of the downward spiral he was in at the time,” Granddad says weakly, and then I realize what’s upsetting Olivia the most.
“How long?”
She demands, I didn’t think that there was an angry bone in her body. Now I can see that it exists, and it’s fucking frightening, but I don’t blame her. She’s been used, but I wonder like she does, how much.
“Two years,” he whispers.
“So when you helped me after my parents died, you had all this in mind.”
Granddad blurts out, “Yes.”
“How many other schemes did you try on Isaac to get him where you thought he should be?” she asks him as she stands in front of him. The tears are streaming down her eyes, and I wish that I could comfort her. Tell her that I knew nothing about this, but part of me is curious about how far he’ll go to help me.
“Olivia, lighten up on him. He’s just trying to help the two people he loves most. He wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble to get us together if he didn’t love both of us. And he’s a sick man.”
“No!” Olivia says shaking her head. “I’m not going to lighten up. He should have been honest with me from the start and so should of you,” Olivia snaps, “Don’t be so naive Isaac, do you believe that he’s sick?”
Shit, I hadn’t even thought about that. Granddad wouldn’t stoop so low to make out that he’s dying just to get us together. I’ve seen nearly every family member die; he wouldn’t lie to me about dying.
“Don’t be silly; he wouldn’t lie about dying. Not after what I’ve been through. First my parents, then Dede. That’s when I melted and couldn’t get back up again.”
“Who the fuck is Dede?” Olivia says, and I know that she’s mad. She cusses not ever.
“She was Isaac’s fiancee, she reminds me of you in a way,” Granddad says as he’s trying to comfort Olivia, but with her arms folded he’s going to have to do a lot more than apologies.
“Isaac used to work twenty-four seven. He loved Dede, but that wasn’t enough for her. She wanted his attention. She had a heart condition,” Granddad pauses as he relives my painful past.
