Rocky Mountain Romance (Six Pack Ranch) (27 page)

Steve’s phone went off, buzzing with his mother’s ring tone, and he stepped away from the idiot to answer her.
Jesus
, some people were assholes
and
stupid. “Hi, Mom. You need anything from town?”

Her normally upbeat tone was missing as she rattled back rapidly. “My sister broke her hip. I just got the phone call, so I’m headed to Edmonton to take care of the kids until she’s out of the hospital.”

“Damn, how the hell did that happen?” His aunt was far too young to be breaking bones unless she’d been in a huge accident. “Is everyone else okay?”

“She fell down the stairs. It sounds like she’s lucky she didn’t break her neck.” In the background he could hear his father speaking, then rustling noises as his mom rushed to pack. “Sorry for taking off and—”

“Are you kidding? Of course you’re going to take care of Auntie Deanna. Don’t worry about us. We can handle everything at the ranch, and I’ll make sure to keep an eye on Dad.”

“I heard that,” his father called. “I’m not a baby. I’ll take care of myself, thank you very much.”

“Yes, you’re all grown up. Now be quiet while I talk to our son.” His mom came back on the line. “I’ll leave a list of everything that needs to be done around the house, and you can contact the Whiskey Creek girls to give you a hand if you need it.”

“Don’t worry about us,” Steve assured her again. “Take care of your sister, and let us know if there’s anything we can do.”

He hung up and glanced around, but Barry had vanished—thank God. So maybe his sarcasm hadn’t been the best response, but it was a stupid conversation in the first place.

Steve had just picked up the first of his shopping-list items when it hit. With his mom gone and his dad out of commission, it was down to the three boys running the ranch.

Strange how realizing that made the enormity of his responsibilities that much bigger. He knew the shifting of tasks from one generation to the next was natural. That was partly what he’d been preparing for over the last year, not only to impress Melody, but to do his damn job without being told. Just like a grown-up.

The trip back to the Moonshine spread seemed a little more significant than usual.

He’d barely finished carrying his purchases into the barn when his little brother appeared. Lee nodded a greeting, sauntering past with buckets in both hands. “I take it Mom told you the news?”

“Yeah, I heard.” Steve glanced around to see if there were any emergencies to deal with in the barn. “We’re going to need to plan ahead even more. You available tonight so we can talk? I’ll contact Trevor and make sure we can all make it.”

“Meeting here, right? Because if you leave Dad out, it’ll make him feel worse.”

That was one mistake Steve had no intention of making. “He might not be feeling well but his brain works fine, and he’s got years of experience on us. There’s no way I want to do this without him.”

Lee grunted in approval, turning on his heel and heading toward the chicken coop.

Steve’s mind turned back to the family dinner, and curiosity got the better of him. “Hey, Lee. Who are you interested in?”

“Not talking about this,” Lee called over his shoulder as he continued on his path.

“Oh, come on.” Steve jogged after him, not to tease but because he was honestly interested. “You can tell me. Maybe I can help you get together with her. You could double date sometime with me and Melody.”

His little brother didn’t answer, unlatching the gate to the coop and stepping inside. He dipped his hand into the bucket to scatter seed, silently watching as the chickens rushed in circles, pecking at the ground.

A striking image of the strong, silent type—the only problem with that was not talking didn’t help anyone move forward. “I’m not being a shit. Is there someone you’re interested in?”

Lee paused, resting the bucket on the railing outside the coop as he opened the sidewall to get at the laying racks. “Doesn’t matter if I’m interested in her or not. It’s not going to happen.”

Oh boy. This was more mysterious than Steve had expected. “Why would you say something like that? There’s no reason someone wouldn’t want to get involved with you.”

His brother was back to ignoring him, reaching carefully into the nests and placing the eggs in the empty bucket.

“Why is this an issue? Girls don’t think you’re hideous. Have you asked her out? Is there—?”

Lee turned on him. “Let’s not do this. I don’t need your help with my love life.”

“I know I’m not the best example,” Steve said, ignoring Lee’s protests. “In fact, I’m the poster child for how to be a shitty boyfriend, at least if you look at how I treated Melody last year. But I can’t think of any reason why a woman wouldn’t want to get to know you better. You need to not give up so easy.”

“She’s married,” Lee blurted out.

All Steve’s encouraging gusto vanished into thin air. “Oh.”

His brother snorted in derision. “Yes,
oh
. Which is why I told you to drop it. It’s okay, it’s not as if we were destined to be together. I’ll get over it.”

“Still sucks,” Steve commiserated.

“That it does,” Lee agreed, going back to his task. “I’ll see you at supper. I already got things going for a spaghetti sauce, so it won’t take long to pull together a meal. We can talk then.”

Damn. Just another broken cog in the wheel. Maybe it was because he’d found out how good it was to have Melody in his life, but he felt doubly awful for his brother.

Steve made his way through the afternoon chores. Too many things to think about, too many things to deal with. But in the middle of all of it, his mind kept returning to Melody.

No matter how busy he got, he wasn’t going to let their relationship suffer. She was too important. Somehow they’d work it out.

It had been driving her crazy. Every time she passed Daltons’ land she’d been in too much of a hurry to stop and check on the horses. Too much time had passed, and she’d had enough.

Today she was making time, even though it came at the end of a full day’s work. Melody pulled to the side of the road closest to the nearest stile, grabbed a pair of work gloves and headed for the shed.

From the back of the truck, one loud bark rang out, and a sudden thrill of happiness struck. It was strange having a dog around, but also wonderful. Charlie had turned out to be a fabulous helper and a great companion.

Melody considered before lowering the tailgate and giving the command to come. “You need to listen,” she warned. “I don’t know what we’re going to find.”

Charlie bounced over the grass ahead of her, uncovering a game trail that led straight to the horse shed. Melody followed at a slower pace, her mind wandering through the different experiences of the past few days.

It was strange how life could be amazing and yet at the same time terrible. She slipped her hands into her pockets as she strolled forward, Charlie sniffed everywhere, running back and forth between Melody and the next interesting discovery on the path. Having an animal that was so well trained that she stayed close without being called. That? Was one of the good things. Having a dog in her life was amazing. It was something Melody had always longed for, and finally having it happen was like a miracle.

Ahead of her, two swayed-back horses lifted their heads at her approach, alert enough to notice her, but not wary enough to run away.

She edged toward the fence, trying to avoid the snarled barbed wire looped around itself in a clumsy repair job.

“Shit.” Melody reached down to untangle herself from where she’d stepped into a concealed loop, hidden in the mess of weeds.

Charlie waited patiently at the end of the open trail, her tail wagging as she eyed the horses.

“No,” Melody ordered. “Stay.”

Charlie sat, but her eyes remained on the two equines in front of her.

Melody put her full attention to the mess she was in, attempting to escape without leaving herself battered and bruised. By the time she was free, though, her jeans were ripped and her new gloves had proved too thin to save her from multiple puncture wounds.

It meant when she finally made it into the pen she was already in a bad mood. But no matter if she’d walked in there singing like the bluebird of happiness, what she found would have been enough to send her temperature soaring.

The horses were nearly starved, boney ribs visible as they stared listlessly at her. As if all hope had been sucked from them and they didn’t dare imagine she might be there for their sake.

Normally when Melody visited ranches, horses came forward to greet her. They’d nudge her pockets looking for treats or hoping to be scratched. If they weren’t the social type she’d be ignored, the grass underfoot far more interesting than some human interloper.

These horses had eaten every blade of grass within the fenced area, and what they could reach on the other side of the wire. Melody poked her head inside the shelter, which was as close to four sticks and a shingle as any outbuilding she’d ever seen. It was barely any protection from the wind, and no protection from the rain they’d been experiencing over the past few days.

In the corner where a couple of boards were nailed together was a sodden pile of hay, mold growing in spots, so musty and decayed even the mice hadn’t touched it.

Melody turned to the horses, shaking her head, furious on their behalf. “Don’t you worry, I’m going to find out who did this and make it right.”

Maybe she should have thought it through more, but she was far too upset to be rational. Steve had mentioned Sean’s name before, so that’s where she headed, pulling into the yard just as the Daltons were walking down the cobblestone path to their truck, the two of them dressed up as if they were headed to a fancy party.

Emily frowned for a moment before forcing a polite smile. “Melody. Is everything okay?”

Melody barely heard the question she was too focused on Sean who wore his typical sneer. “Stopped by to ask a question. I thought I saw a
For Sale
sign on the quarter to the south of your barn. Do you own that land?”

What she got was a far-from-polite response from Sean. “There are no signs posted anywhere in that area. What the hell are you talking about?”

“I could’ve sworn I saw one,” Melody lied. “So, you don’t know who owns the land?”

“We do,” Emily answered. “But I assure you, it’s not for sale. We don’t have any—”

“What do you want,” Sean interrupted his wife, brow furrowed as he focused on Melody.

That was all the information she needed. “You have horses on that land, and from their appearance, you’ve been neglecting their care. I suggest you change that immediately, or I’ll put in a report to the authorities.”

Emily’s face registered her shock. Sean just looked more pissed off than usual, which was saying something. “You can’t come on to my land and threaten me. I take good care of my animals, and there’s no way you can prove otherwise.”

Melody opened her mouth to give them the facts when he shouted at her before she could get a word in.

“Those horses have food and they’ve got water, and that’s all I have to provide.” He caught hold of his wife, leading them both around Melody as if she were a steaming pile of manure. “So I’ll thank you to mind your own damn business. Now get off my land. I don’t want to see you on it again. Not here, and not by the horses—not unless I phone you and ask you to come out, which isn’t damn likely. If I see you or anyone associated with you poking around in my business, I’ll call the RCMP and get you arrested for trespassing.”

He put his wife in their vehicle then stood and glared until Melody reluctantly got in her truck and left, still vibrating with anger.

She tried calling Steve but got sent to his voicemail, so she headed home, desperate to figure out what to do. Normally she would have contacted Mathis, and right then she sorely missed the old man.

Her anger only got worse when she checked the regulations to discover Sean was right. While the animals’ condition proved he’d been neglectful, there was legally nothing she could do. They had water, they had food—though the hay wasn’t edible feed for any beast. Sean could claim the damage had happened in the “short time” since he’d dropped by last.

And with his final threat of trespassing in place, she couldn’t even arrange to get food delivered.

Her hands were tied, which was frustrating beyond belief. And the longer she waited for Steve to call back, the more she wanted to scream.

Fuck this day.

She called Allison and hoped her friend was ready to be dumped on.

Chapter Nineteen

It took until after eight p.m. before he and his brothers were happy with their plans. They might have finished sooner, but right in the middle of their meeting, Randy fielded a phone call from Kate, getting caught up on everything that was happening in Edmonton.

They were back to having far too many balls in the air, but at least Steve wasn’t the only one trying to keep them there. “If we need help, we’ll go to the cousins.”

Thank goodness, everyone was in agreement.

“Mike has a good head on his shoulders. If you need any advice out in the field when I can’t get to you, go to him first,” Randy said. “Or ask George, or one of the crew over at the Whiskey Creek spread.”