Page 9 of His Last Nerve

Holy.

This place was beautiful.

I stared up in awe at the large iron entrance of Hallow Ranch through the windshield of my rental car.

I had been up since the crack of dawn, prepping for today. I called my mom before leaving, just to check in. She didn’t have treatment today, which meant she had some energy. She told me her in-home nurse, Jackie, was going to take her outside, to the backyard. My mom’s garden was back there—although technically, it was mine, since I’d been the one tending to it these last few months.

At the beginning of spring, Mom said she wanted a garden, something to focus on, to get her mind off all the depressing things that hovered around her. Her doctor thought that was an excellent idea.

So, taking the money I’d earned from my last commission, I went to Home Depot and bought her the supplies. We built flower boxes together and planted some pumpkin and cucumber. In the beginning, I doubted the seeds would even grow. Green thumbs weren’t a family trait that I particularly possessed. Every plant I had died. Thankfully, though, nature was on our side—or Mom’s side. We had three pumpkins and five cucumbers growing strong. Mom said that when the pumpkins were ready, she would make a pie. It gave her something to look forward to, another reason to keep fighting.

Even if it was something as small as a pie.

After our call, I logged into my company laptop and answered some emails. There was a deal I’d closed last month on a ranch in West Texas. Moonie Pipelines was putting in a small pipeline across four counties. The owner of the ranch was in his late seventies, running the ranch on his own. He had no children, no wife, nothing. He was the one who contacted us. He’d been trying to sell it for months. It was an easy deal, with minimum negotiation and a quick turnaround.

He got his check within the week.

My eyes scanned the patch of trees up ahead. The road cut straight through them. The drive to Hayden from Denver was mesmerizing, but the drive from Hayden to Hallow Ranch felt I had died and gone to heaven.

Colorado was beautiful.

It made Dallas look like a dump.

I took a deep breath and continued forward. The gravel road went on for about a mile, surrounded by thick, dark green trees before emptying into clearing.

When I reached it, I sucked in a breath at the beauty before me. Hallow Ranch was nestled in the same valley as Hayden but on the far north side of it. The sun wasn’t shining today, and the sky wasn’t clear and blue. It was overcast, which was my favorite type of weather. Breathtaking. My foot eased off the gas as I took in the beauty of Hallow Ranch.

Up and to the left I could see a large—huge—red barn with a black metal roof. Off to the side was a smaller structure, red like the barn. Up and to the right, sitting on a small hill, was a house.

Not just any house.

The house every woman dreams off.

A house filled with memories.

A house that needed to be filled with children and laughter.

A house that would be warm and welcoming in the dead of winter, with a Christmas tree glowing in the front window.

A house of love.

It was a large, white two-story structure with a roof that matched the barn. It had three large, brick steps leading up to the wrap around porch. The porch even had a swing, which in my opinion, made it a masterpiece.

I took a deep breath and straightened my spine before pressing on.

“You got this, Val.”

My boss had sent me the file on Hallow Ranch three days ago. I read over it twice when I got it but last night, I made sure to memorize every word.

Hallow Ranch has been around for generations. It was the largest ranch in over three counties, and it produced well over six figures in annual profit, which comes from their grass-fed cattle. Denver Langston was the current owner of the ranch and had been for the last ten years. Hallow Ranch had five employees, five cowboys. I assumed that’s what that extra building beside the barn was for—the bunkhouse.

It was early morning still, and I knew no one would be inside. Cowboys rose before the sun. I didn’t even bother parking by the house, continuing down to the barn. When I got out, I was greeted by the cool morning air. I wanted to get here early to get a feel of the place. In my line of work, it took some convincing to get men to sell their ranches.

This wouldn’t be my last time on Hallow Ranch.

There was beauty here. Peace. That was going to take a lot of convincing to sell.

My stomach twisted at the thought of bulldozers and smoke taking over this beauty, ruining the land, tarnishing it for the pipeline. I hated my job.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com