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“Maybe. I got the feeling that she just didn’t like people knowing anything about her. She’s smart and efficient, but if I hadn’t been injured, she wouldn’t have come near me. It was clear that I scared her to death, and I was trying my best to be friendly.”
“Well, you can charm the birds off the trees when you want to, so I’m guessing you’re right, she’s taken some damage at some point. Awful lot of these kids coming back hurt, inside and out. It’s a cryin’ shame. Think we would have learned our lesson after ‘Nam, but guess not.” His mouth twisted. “Where’s Strawberry?”
“At her place. She took her tack off; it’s on the fence. But she’s still got the rifle. And we’ll have to call her to get in the horse fence anyway. She’s got some sort of fancy security system with automatic gates.”
“Hmm. Well, I’ll drop you off at home. You can make the call, and I’ll get one of the hands to take me up there. Maybe she won’t be so scared of an old man.”
“You’re hardly ancient, Dad.” He looked over at his father. Sure, he’d been eligible for Social Security for quite a while, but he wasn’t old. His dark brown hair was streaked with gray, lines bracketed his mouth and eyes, and a few age spots stood out on his face, but that was from being outdoors all the time. Mostly without sunscreen. He still had his full height and could buck bales with the strongest of them.
“I’m not old, but this morning, I was a fossil? Huh.” His mouth twisted.
“You’re not old physically, just in attitude.” Tom kept his voice light.
“Just because I like making money ranching?”
“No, because you won’t even try something new.”
Dad frowned. “I’m more than happy to try something new. I’m not willing to go into debt to do it.”
“It would be short-term. You’d be making more money in the end, and the land would be healthier.”
He scowled. “So you keep saying, but you don’t know that. I’d be in debt.”
“No, I’d be in debt. I’ll take out the loans personally.” It wasn’t a big deal. He had more than enough investments to cover the whole thing.
“Then I’d be in debt to you. I’d rather be in debt to the bank. Business should be separate from family.” He stabbed a knurled finger at Tom.
“Dad...”
“We’ve been over and over this. I’m not doing it.”
Tom held back his sigh. “Will you at least talk to some of the ranchers who have? You might be surprised.”
“I’m always happy to compare notes.”
“Yeah, sure you are. Just not today. Or tomorrow or this week.”
Dad shrugged. “Plenty of time later.”
Tom gritted his teeth. At this point, he’d need dentures well before retirement age. He’d have to figure out a different way to explain, but he wasn’t giving up.
They pulled into the driveway and up to their house. A typical homesteader’s two-story ranch house; not very big, the white paint needed a new coat, and they probably needed a new roof soon, too. An addition had been slapped on without any care for the style of the house in the seventies. Nobody cared about that stuff back then. It was a long way from Wiz’s fancy timber-framed mansion or the high rises in NYC, but it had been home his whole life.
Using his new crutch, he hobbled up the steps and in the door. Good thing the ankle was only badly sprained, not broken, but he’d be stuck on the couch for a few weeks. Which didn’t make him happy at all. Probably wouldn’t make Dad happy either. He fumbled into the kitchen and collapsed into one of the chairs there, scooting another around to put his foot on.
Dad followed him in. “I’ll go find George or Hank.” He handed Tom the house phone. “You want to give her a call and let her know?” At the sink, he poured a glass of water, putting it down in front of Tom on the table.
“Yeah. Thanks, Dad.”
“Sure. See you in a bit.” Dad walked out the door.
Tom pulled the card out of his wallet and dialed. It went straight to voice mail, a male voice announcing he’d reached Victory Cyber Security. “Wiz, this is Tom Borde, the guy you rescued today. Thanks again. Anyway, my dad is headed up to get Strawberry. Could you let him in the gate please, and give him the rifle too? Thanks a lot. And if you ever want to see the area from horseback, let me know. I’ll be happy to take you on a trail ride. Or anything else you ever need or want. Anything at all. Thanks.”
He shook his head. That sounded pretty lame for a guy known as a smooth talker. But she probably wouldn’t appreciate pretty words. No, she seemed like a person who would only deal with straight shooters.
Who was the man on the voice mail? If there was a man in her life, why would she be out hiking alone? Well, she had a company. She probably employed a lot of people. For all he knew, she had a whole bunch of folks up there at that big house. There was plenty of room, and she’d had a bunch of work done on it, that was for sure. There had been truck after truck going up and down the road, and most of them hadn’t been local folks.
Which hadn’t endeared her to the valley’s businesses, but when the finish work and furniture had all been sourced locally, everybody forgot about the strangers. Gossips chattered about new people, but that wasn’t all that unusual anymore. Lots of rich people with second, third, or fourth homes, although a good number of them were at the exclusive golf clubs or down on the river rather than up in the foothills of the Sapphire Mountains. And none of them put up giant chain link fences screaming “stay away!” Nope, he was pretty sure she lived there alone.
