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“You’re just getting soft,” he growled to himself, realizing that for the first time in eight years the old ranch house seemed a haven.
It was time to move on, get out of this place before he became complacent and self-satisfied. He considered his life beyond the ranch, remembering foxholes in Afghanistan, the hot, damp jungles of Central America, the blackened rubble of hideouts in war-ravaged Beirut. Why, he wondered, when he’d lived on the edge so long, had it begun to lose its appeal?
Chapter Seven
Beth Lassiter Simpson wasn’t one to take no for an answer. And she wasn’t taking Cassie’s “no” seriously. In Beth’s condition every meal was important, and a lunch that could combine friendship, gossip and food was an event. “Come on, you promised,” Beth insisted, shifting her ungainly weight from one foot to the other. Planted in the reception area of Three Falls Veterinary Clinic, she crossed her arms over her protruding abdomen and stuck her lower lip out in a childish pout.
Cassie couldn’t be tempted, at least not now. “I’m sorry, Beth, I’d love to, you know that. But I can’t. Not until Craig gets back from the Wilkerson ranch.”
“And when will that be?”
“Probably not more than an hour,” Cassie said, glancing at her watch and frowning.
“Good. Then I’ll wait,” Beth decided. “I have a few errands to run and I’ll meet you at The Log Cabin at one-thirty.” She must have seen the hesitation in Cassie’s eyes. “Come on, Cassie, you’ve got to eat anyway, and how often is it that I’m in town without Amy? Think about it. In a few more weeks I’ll have another baby and it will be ages before we can have lunch together!”
“All right, all right,” Cassie agreed, holding her hands up, palms out, in mock surrender while mentally crossing her fingers. “But if I don’t show, it’s because Craig got held up.” Cassie was worried. Craig had left early this morning, driving over to a ranch on the outskirts of town. The rancher suspected one of his horses had come down with equine influenza, which may have developed into pneumonia.
Beth’s eyes twinkled. “If you don’t show up, I’ll come looking for you!” With a giggle, she breezed out of the complex, leaving Cassie to deal with two cases of feline leukemia and a pet rat with a growth on its leg.
Two hours later Cassie was seated at a corner table in the main dining room of The Log Cabin, a house-turned-restaurant that specialized in hearty man-sized meals. Brass lamps hung from the ceiling, and blue-and-white checkered cloths covered the tables.
Beth shoved the remains of her spinach salad aside. “You’ll never guess who I saw today!” Her eyes shone with a private secret.
“I couldn’t begin to,” Cassie admitted.
“Ryan Ferguson! He’s back!”
Cassie glanced up sharply and ignored the uneaten half of her sandwich. “But I thought he swore he’d never set foot in Three Falls again.”
“Well, he lied. I saw him at the bakery this morning. Amy and I went in to buy some donuts and there he was, big as life, drinking coffee and talking to Jessica Monroe!” She motioned to the waitress, ordered a fattening, sinful dessert, then glanced back at Cassie. “The way I heard it, Denver McLean fired Ryan last winter. Caught him stealing supplies or something.”
Cassie remembered the rumors but didn’t put much stock in them. After all, she’d been on the unkind side of gossip more than once in her life. “I guess no one knows but Denver.”
“And Ryan,” Beth pointed out. “You know, I bet he’s only daring to show his face because Denver’s in L.A.!”
“Ryan has family here.”
“Just a sister,” Beth said. “And the way I understand it they don’t get along.”
“That could be just talk. Maybe he’s only visiting.”
Beth pursed her lips together and shook her head. “Nope. I talked to Jessica about him after he left the bakery. She said he was asking about work.”
“You think he’s back to stay?” Cassie was surprised. After Denver had accused him of stealing and fired him, Ryan hadn’t bothered defending himself and had simply left town.
“Who knows? According to Jessica, Ryan stopped over at her dad’s ranch earlier this week, looking for a job.” Beth’s eyes narrowed. “If you ask me, Ryan could’ve taken Black Magic—just to get under Denver’s skin. It would be like him, too—to wait until Denver was gone!”
“Then why would he stay?”
“Just to see Denver’s reaction.”
Cassie wasn’t convinced. “Seems farfetched to me.”
“Maybe,” Beth agreed. “Lots of people around here would like to get back at the McLeans. Nobody much liked John.” Her lips pursed. “He made more enemies than friends, and even though he’s gone, Denver and Colton haven’t won any popularity contests around town, either. Both of them turned their backs on Three Falls, then showed up again once John died and they inherited the place. It looks pretty mercenary to some of the ranchers who stuck it out through the bad years.”
“Some of the ranchers—meaning Josh?” she asked, mentioning Beth’s husband.
Beth shook her head. “No, Josh likes Colton and Denver, but his father Bill, and my dad never had any use for either of the McLean boys.”
