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“Not so good. I feel like I got run over by our bull, Gus. Who knew someone could be so sore from one day of ranch work?”
“See? This is why I limit my cowboying to line dancing at Sally’s. Anyway, what’d you call for? Any issues with the contract I sent over?”
Damn. Maggie forgot to look over it between her exhaustion the night before and Bennett’s disruption this morning.
“Not so far. I’ll check it out at lunch. But listen, can you do some digging about any oil rights filed in the Austin and Deer Creek area?” Maggie filled Jill in on the offer she’d turned down and the suspicion building up in her head.
“Holy smokes. You could’ve expanded three times over with that kind of cash. Tell me again why you said no. Even if you’re missing out on oil, you’d have come through on top.”
Maggie sighed and looked out the window at her father’s land. If she squinted hard enough, she could see it like it used to be—a thriving operation with ranch hands sitting around the bunkhouse or the firepit telling stories, horses and cattle and wild energy buzzing in every corner of the property, her childhood self, jumping in the creek and riding bareback across the fields, swearing she’d never give this kind of life up.
And yet, she had. At her father’s insistence and Bennett’s betrayal.
She’d never looked back with anything other than pride. Until now.
“I need some time, Jill. I want to find out what happened here and remember what it was I wanted before I gave it all up to go to school.”
“You’re not forgetting our promise, are you?”
“What? To stay city girls till we die old in our penthouse apartments?”
“That and not to let the crummy pasts we left behind get in the way of buying those penthouses.”
“I haven’t forgotten.” But it was more than her past nudging her. “I just need to see this through, fix this place with some of my products and my dad’s ideas. They weren’t half bad, Jill.”
“You seriously want to be a rancher? Because I’ve seen your shoe collection, and it won’t hold up out there.”
Maggie chuckled. “You’re funny. But I’m serious. I’m not sure what I want, but I know it isn’t to see my dad’s land turned over to someone else looking like it does. It would have crushed him to know I sold it off in such disrepair. Can you help me hold down the fort up there while I give this a go?”
“Of course. And all kidding aside, I’m here if you need anything else, too, Maggie. You don’t have to do this alone.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it. I’ll keep you posted on the contract with MB Enterprises.”
Maggie hung up but didn’t put the phone away. She had one more call to make because as much as it pained her to admit, Jill was right—she didn’t need to do this alone, nor was that possible.
“Mitch? This is Maggie Newman.”
“Hey, I was just thinking about you, hoping you’re settled in alright.”
“I am, thanks. But listen, I’ve decided to stick around and fix up my dad’s land and was hoping your offer to reach out to ranch hands is still good.”
“Of course, darlin’. How many are you thinkin’?”
She closed her eyes and did a quick calculation.
Two for riding fence lines and shoring them up, two for the barn maintenance, and two more for bringing the cattle back before breeding season. Oh, and someone to take care of the fields.
“Seven,” she said. It was coming back to her, the how-tos and whats of running an operation. The why of it all might’ve changed, but nothing else had. “I’ll have cash on hand—the first half up front and back half split every week they stay on and work.”
“Sounds good. I can easily find seven guys in this economy.”
“Good. And Mitch? Start in Tornado Alley. Those families need a leg up and I know a bunch of them come from ranching backgrounds. If they’re willing to work, I’m happy to have ’em.”
“You got it.” He paused but didn’t hang up. “You know, you sounded a lot like your pops there, Maggie. He’d be proud of what you’re up to. I’ll be in touch.” The line clicked off and Maggie sighed.
Dad. I miss you.
Would he? Be proud of her?
