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But as she watched, the front door opened and a large, smiling woman with gray hair in a bun and a colorful apron on came out onto the porch.
“Abigail Brennan, as I live and breathe! How lovely to see you again!”
Abby let out the breath she’d been holding. “Hannah,” she laughed, and ran to hug the older woman, who’d been a close friend of her mother’s all those long years ago.
“And who’s this?” Hannah asked, bending down as little Lucy came onto the porch, smiling.
“I’m Lucy,” she said shyly.
“I’m Hannah. Welcome to the Circle B Ranch!”
CHAPTER TWO
THEARRIVALOFthe visitors hadn’t gone unnoticed. It was late afternoon, and some of the men were just coming in from the vast reaches of the ranch where they were checking on the cattle. The ranch foreman, Don Blalock, was one of them.
He was a tall, lanky man with a quiet demeanor and a kind smile. He tipped his hat as he came into the kitchen, where Abby was having coffee.
She got up to shake hands. “I’ve inherited the ranch from my great-uncle,” she said in her soft voice, and she smiled. “I’m a paralegal. All I know about cattle is that they taste great in stews.” She pursed her lips as he seemed torn between laughter and horror. “My plan is to sit back and let you guys do what you do. I doubt very seriously if my great-uncle was much of a hands-on person in recent months, considering how sick he was,” she added. “So if we haven’t had to file for bankruptcy, it’s obvious that you know what you’re doing. I’d like all of you to stay on.”
He looked as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. “Ma’am,” he said quietly, “you don’t know how much we’re all going to appreciate that. Ranching jobs are thin on the ground right now, and this ranch, along with a few others, is pretty much the local economy. If it closed down, some of us would never find work again, especially a couple of my older hands. They’re great at carpentry and odd jobs, but they’d never be able to hold down anything more demanding.”
She smiled. “I’m sure there’s enough to keep them busy, so that’s not going to be a concern. Depending on how the economy goes, we may be able to add on some Christmas bonuses. I’m not promising,” she added quickly. “But I’ll do what I can.”
“Thanks.”
“Sit down for a minute and have coffee,” Abby invited.
“I’ve just now brewed a new pot,” Hannah commented, and she commenced to pour him a cup.
“I like cattle,” Lucy piped up, smiling as she went back to eating the peanut butter sandwich Hannah was feeding her.
“I like them myself,” Don said, smiling back.
“I’m going to work for Mr. Owens as a paralegal,” she said, sipping coffee. “He mentioned that you and your wife Maisie have a little girl about Lucy’s age, and that Maisie might be willing to let Lucy ride with them back and forth to school,” she began.
“Indeed she would,” he said. He gave her a long look. “And I’ll warn you, if you try to offer to pay her for it, I’ll pour my coffee down the sink drain and quit on the spot.”
It took her a few seconds to get it and she burst out laughing. “Okay, then. Thanks.”
“We live in a small community,” Don commented. “So we all look out for each other.”
“I remember,” she replied. She sighed, pushing back the bad memories. “I’ll need to go over the books with you sometime,” she added. “I have no idea what sort of expenses we have or how we pay them, or who we owe...” She threw up her hands. “I can manage money very well. In fact, Lucy and I lived on next to nothing in Denver, but there are things I need to know.”
“Miss Brennan, you don’t have to work,” he told her, tongue-in-cheek. “Mr. Butler runs a purebred herd here. Or did. It’s worth a small fortune. We have herd sires that are very lucrative, and we sell off a prime crop of calves every fall.”
“Oh, I do have to work,” she replied with a smile. “I’m not the type of person who can just sit around. I love my job.”
He looked at her with new respect. “I love mine, too. Thanks for letting me keep it. Me, and the crew.”
“Tell them they have job security until I die,” she promised. “And I’ll try not to do it anytime soon.” She sighed. “I’ll miss my great-uncle,” she added. “Except for Lucy he was the last living relative I had.”
“Maisie and I will share ours with you,” he said. “Between us we have about fifteen nieces and nephews, and any number of in-laws. It’s a challenge to squeeze them all into the house when we have parties,” he chuckled.
“I may take you up on that. It sounds like great fun.”
“We have all sorts of gatherings in town, too,” he added. “There are charity dinners, dances, and we have a terrific little skating arena of our very own. One of our residents is married to a former gold medal Olympic skater, and the rink is owned by a woman who competed and later trained Olympic skaters.”
“Wow! We can bring our skates when we pack up our stuff,” Lucy burst out. “I love skating!”
