Chapter 2

Willy drove cautiously down the long dusty driveway and tried to avoid hitting any hint of a pothole that would jar the man in the seat next to her.  She cast a glance at him.  Papa G’s face had a shade more color than yesterday, and she hoped that it was a positive sign and not the start of a fever.  So far he’d handled this round of chemo better than the previous ones last year.  He’d been able to maintain much of his appetite and the nausea seemed less with this go round, but he couldn’t hide the thinning of his brown hair or the dark stain to his fingernails.  Since the chemo treatment often left him too drained for the long drive home someone always went with to drive him although he’d rather have done it himself. 

With an animated expression and his brown eyes smiling, he told her how he’d recently caught up with a long lost friend. When he’d been ill the first time, Lee and Willy had introduced him to social media.  It allowed him to talk to friends and family who lived at a distance or were leery of visiting when his immunities were weakened.

Willy smiled as she remembered how reluctant he’d been in the beginning.  In Leland’s opinion computers had their place in business but not in his personal life.  That all changed when he got a glimpse of pictures of his darling granddaughter on Facebook.  The next day he found a local rancher advertising his best breeding bull and picked the animal up for a song.  Two days later that he found a childhood friend he hadn’t talked to in forty years.  After that he was hooked.  A day rarely went by that he didn’t have a new story of something he’d discovered.

Now she listened in amusement as Leland rambled on about his long lost friend and the man’s family.   Leland told her about his friend’s daughter going through a long drawn out divorce.  This friend of Leland’s thought his daughter needed a vacation. 

“I invited Tom and his family to visit.”

“Right now?  Calving is almost wrapped up but we’re planting now nearly every day.”  She didn’t mention anything about Leland’s health and the routine trips to the hospital for his treatments.  There was very little time for entertaining. 

“Actually it’s bad timing for Tom right now.  He’s leaving for a month long business trip to China.”

“China?  That’s a world apart.  It’s probably best that it doesn’t work into the schedule right now anyway.”

“So I invited Camille anyway.”

“Who’s Camille?”

“The daughter.”

“The daughter?  Why, Papa G?” 

“It’s a nice gesture. It sounds like she needs a diversion.  I think she’d benefit from it.    And to be honest the big house is lonely since Kirk moved out.”

“I didn’t realize you were lonely.”

He waved off her concern.  “It’s not that bad.  I’m being dramatic.  Anyway it certainly couldn’t hurt to introduce Lee to a woman.” 

“Our Lee?” 

Lee was more than capable of finding his own love interest.  In fact, the ranch’s assets and his good looks made him one of the most eligible bachelors in the county.  Any woman would be happy to have Lee for those reasons alone but he was also a hard worker and could be charming when he wanted to be. 

“It’s been forever since he dated anyone for any real length of time.  Not since Ashley called off their engagement two years ago.  Plus he’s so worried about me he rarely leaves the house.”

“He never talks about what went wrong.”

“No, he doesn’t.  All he’s ever said was it had to do with the ranch.  I’ve never pried, but he hasn’t gotten me any closer to more grandchildren.  I’d like to see him married before I die.” 

Willy gawked at him and then pulled her eyes back to the road when she hit a ragged pothole that caused Leland to grunt.  She didn’t want to think about Papa G dying.

“Don’t you dare talk like you’re going to die!  You promised to fight this with all that you and we have!”

 “I meant every word I said about fighting this.”

Leland reached out and gripped her hand, squeezing her fingers.  His hand felt disturbingly cold to her.   Willy heard his words.  He would fight this, but the sadness and regret in his dark eyes told her that all that he had might not be enough. With that sobering realization, Willy wondered how she’d live without this man who’d raised her and loved her like she was one of his own children.  Even when his own world had fallen apart and Diane had died, he’d been her anchor making her feel secure and as if she belonged somewhere.  She owed him far more than just dwelling on the negatives. 

After they got Leland hooked up for his treatment she tried to engage him in conversation until he petered out.  Then she read to him until he’d waved a weak hand at her and closed his eyes against the nausea that threatened to steal his dignity at the end of the session.  Then Willy sat quietly beside him trying to ignore the heavy doses of drugs that dripped from a bag into his veins.  She prayed it would seek out and destroy the cancer that ate away at this once vigorous man. 

Willy wondered what Lee would think of his father trying to set him up with this woman.  Leland claimed he wasn’t inviting the woman to stay solely for the purpose of setting Lee up, but the mischievous twinkle in his brown eyes told her that was exactly what he hoped to happen. He seemed sure his friend’s daughter was the answer to his prayers of his son’s marital status or at least his lack of one.  Leland’s description of the woman had been extremely flattering, but none of her assets made Willy think she’d be a suitable wife for Lee. 

From high school to college and beyond, Lee had dated many attractive women.  Lee wasn’t moved by looks alone.  Most of the women he dated were quick witted and funny in addition to being attractive. 

Lee had been a devil to work for over the past couple days.  She’d initially attributed it to stress, but now she realized that he must’ve known the woman was coming.  Lee had a job to do and Willy imagined he might find it restricting to have this woman around indefinitely.  While Lee would do anything for his father, Willy wondered if he’d draw the line at marrying someone his father handpicked for him. 

 

 

  Lee shifted his weight slightly and the well-trained horse beneath him stopped. He took a deep relaxing breath and surveyed the land around him.  The tension he’d been carrying over the past couple days dissipated as he took in his favorite view.  To his side and behind him the foothills rose and far in the distance you could see the great wall of rock that marked the landscape and inspired the name of a local town.  The bright yellow sun had begun its downward slide toward the horizon, casting a golden haze across the sky.  A soft breeze shifted the grass raising the whisper of it to his ears. His eyes followed the wave of green to where he could see the big farm house and its surrounding buildings off in the distance.

A smile tilted his lips.  He had trouble comprehending that all he saw before him was his.  He’d worked beside his father all his life to build the Box Double L bigger and better.  He always knew this place would be his, but signing the paperwork last week had been bittersweet. 

He never imagined he’d be signing the paperwork out of fear.  Lee didn’t know whose fear was more potent- his fear of losing his father or his father’s fear of dying.  His father spoke simply and bravely about his fear that he wouldn’t survive this latest bout with cancer.  Leland wanted the Box Double L solely in Lee’s name before he died.  The other stuff would be sorted out in his will, but he hadn’t troubled Lee with those details.  Lee signed the paperwork only to appease his dad.

The cancer doctors said that most people who defeated cancer fought for a purpose.  His dad had fiercely battled cancer the first go round.  The things he had before �" his ranch, his kids, and his granddaughter were still here only now his dad was bone weary and discouraged.  His dad’s second wife, Diane, had died years ago in a car accident.  He knew his dad still missed her, and he worried if his dad got very sick that he might just give up.  Lee wanted to find that single purpose that would encourage his dad to live life. 

Lee felt ashamed that he’d been irritated with his dad for rambling on and on about his friend’s daughter coming to visit.  It had taken him several minutes to understand exactly what his dad was telling him.  It occurred to Lee that he didn’t need to find that purpose to encourage his dad to fight the cancer.  His dad had found that motivation and purpose on his own.  Unfortunately for Lee, that purpose was finding him a wife. 

He didn’t need a woman handed to him on a platter like his father intended.  Instead, he wanted one who came to him on her own, a woman who was willing to stand beside him, one tough enough for the ranch, but who was pretty now and would be in twenty years.  More importantly to him, he wanted a woman who would love him for himself and not for his money. 

He’d argued with his hard headed father that a working cattle ranch was not the place for a southern bell, but his dad refused to be swayed.  The open ended invitation had already been extended; to detract it would be rude.  He rolled his shoulders trying to push the tension out of them.  He already felt the noose tightening.  They ran a working ranch, not a dude ranch. 

From his experience most city women were enamored by the idea of a cowboy, but when it came right down to life at the ranch they got bored quickly.  In college he’d met girls that always thought the idea of ranch life was romantic, but there was far more to life than riding off into the sunset or moonlit picnics on the prairie.

Lee realized he’d let his irritation with the situation get to him enough that important people in his life had felt the sting of his tongue more than once over the past week.  He’d have a revolt on his hand soon if he didn’t sort himself out.  He did the only thing he knew how to do when the world weighed down upon him.  He’d sought out his thinking spot on the hill and etched out a few minutes to relax. 

He owed his father so much.  He would do anything for him, but this request to spend time with the woman his dad had invited to stay struck him hard.  He didn’t have the time to chauffeur a woman around.  He spent so much of his time lately dealing with his father’s uncertain health that his hands on approach to the ranch had suffered. He used up more time than he would’ve liked fielding phone calls and making appearances in the community forcing people to recognize him as the leading force behind the Box Double L.

Despite dedicating today solely to the ranch, it didn’t seem like enough time to accomplish anything.  He had so much to do that he felt guilty for sneaking in a few minutes to ride up here and do some reflection and soul searching.  It frustrated him to know he’d have to cut time short to make it back to the house to meet this woman.

Secretly he hoped the woman would get here, see the desolate countryside, and turn right back around.  In his opinion it would be better for them.  His father had wanted to meet her at the airport himself, but her arrival coincided with his chemo treatment.  Lee assured his father he’d take care of it.  He knew his father would’ve preferred that he go, but he sent one of the ranch hands to Rapid City to pick up her up.   Lee compromised by sending Troy, his one employee who had the ability to charm anyone.

A rider approached at a gentle lope from the direction of the house. Lee’s keen eye picked out the identity of the rider long before the horse reached him. While Lee didn’t want the complications of a woman on the ranch, he made an exception for Willy, who rode like she was born in the saddle.

Besides their aged housekeeper, who had been like a mother to all of them, Willy was the only other woman who currently lived on the Box Double L.  She was the only female ranch hand they’d ever had although Willy wasn’t just an employee, she was family. At the age of three she’d been informally adopted into their family and lived at the big house for years.

Eight years her senior, Lee had been away at college for much of her late teenage years. Each time he’d come back she’d grown up a little more.  She opted to remain here and work on the ranch as she went through college.  When she graduated she’d been between places and uncertain in which direction she wanted to go.  He suspected that his dad had some influence on what she’d decided.  For all purposes, she was the baby of the family, and Leland hadn’t been too bothered when Willy just slipped into staying here and working. 

When Lee returned from college and took over more and more of the business, the relationship between Willy and himself had changed from one similar to brother/sister to one of employer/employee. She worked hard and knew her job.  Recently, with his father needing more help, Willy had taken on more responsibility.  Lee appreciated this.  It just felt right.  She had always been and always would be a part of the ranch. 

He knew that he sometimes took her for granted.  Growing up she’d always tagged along behind him, always been there, like a little sister.  There were times more recently when he struggled to think of her as a sister.   He’d learned to appreciate the feminine lilt to her stride when she walked and the way her lips would curl in a sexy smile.  Whenever he was around her he forced himself to think of their relationship only as that of family or an employer/employee. 

Seeing her on horseback meant she’d gotten back from driving his father to the hospital in town where he had his treatment.  No doubt his dad rushed her out to look for him as soon as they got back to the house.  He wondered if she’d search the easy spots first or just automatically knew where to find him. She knew his favorite place to sit and think just as he knew hers.

He could’ve gone down to meet her, but he chose to wait and enjoy his solitude a little longer.  She had gotten her horse close enough that Lee could hear her call out a quiet whoa to the animal. The horse immediately planted its hind feet and melted into a stop. She smiled, pleased at the horse’s reaction. The smile lit her face and for a second Lee was struck with just how pretty she’d grown up to become. Shaking off the attraction he addressed her with the one question sure to sober his thoughts.

“How’s Dad?”

“Tired. You know how the chemo wears him out. I left him napping when he sent me to look for you. He’s really excited about this woman…doesn’t want anything to go wrong.  Are you all prepared to impress her?  He will have you married off before you know it.”

Lee sighed at Willy’s teasing. “I know. I’m not looking forward to this.  I think Dad already sees me married to her.  I’ll humor him for a bit, but I’ve too much going on to see this go on forever.  I suppose I should go down and take a shower before I have to meet her.  I can’t impress her smelling like I do now.”

Willy laughed.  “You can try, but you’d better hurry.  Troy called over an hour ago saying he’d picked up the package.”

Lee smiled at the shared joke.  Their eyes met. She knew what was coming next. Lee saw the smallest shift of her hand as she started to roll her horse back in the direction from which she’d come.

 “Race you!” Lee hollered as he dug his heels into his mount.   

The feel of bunched muscles and quick acceleration brought a smile to his face. A stride behind him he heard Willy’s voice ring out in laughter as she coaxed her horse to catch him. The wind whipping across his cheeks and the steady drum of hoof beats broadened the smile on Lee’s face. 

He heard Willy urge her mount on as she fought to catch him.  His own horse answered the challenge and the mighty bunch of muscles propelled him ever faster.  This had to be the best therapy in the world. 

Since it had been drilled into their heads from a young age that you didn’t race your horse to the barn they pulled their horses up sharply at that gate that marked the start of the yard.  Lee’s horse finished a nose in front of Willy’s horse.  Lee ignored her good natured threats about what happened to people who cheated by getting a head start. 

Lee cast a glance at his watch.  He’d have to hurry to get cleaned up before his father’s guest arrived.  Willy must’ve considered his dilemma.  She offered to un-tack his horse for him.  He flashed a big smile of gratitude and tossed her the reins before jogged off towards the house.   

 

 

Author's Note

Would like some opinions on this chapter. Is it too informational? Not enough happening? Would it be better to work this into another chapter as background info?