Page 29 of The Spice Is Nice

He paused. His wrinkly blue eyes locked onto mine, and I watched the understanding move through him like a wave, rearranging everything he’d thought about the stranger who’d come to load his horses.

“I flagged the cable for repair two days before,” I continued. The words came out the way they’d come out with Ivy, raw in a way I couldn’t control. “I saw the fray and wrote it up, and my supervising officer told me it was within limits, so I didn’t push hard enough. I followed the chain of command, and Caleb—” my voice broke. I chewed my cheek. “I came to Montana because of him. To be near where he grew up, after all the stories he told me about you and the ranch and this town. I came to tell you I’m sorry I didn’t fight harder for that cable to be fixed.”

The mare stepped closer and nosed my shoulder, breathing on me like she knew I needed support. Ron took his hat off and fiddled with the brim, and Tanner side-eyed me. I braced myself for whatever came next: anger or blame, or cold dismissal. I’d have taken their shouting, even a punch in the gut, any punishment he wanted to dole out.

Instead, he crossed the feet between us and pulled me into a hug that nearly broke me. He held on with desperate, trembling strength. I stood there and shared his grief, finally giving it the moment it deserved.

I don’t know how long it lasted, until he parted, and we both wiped our eyes. Tanner, too, staring at the ground.

“You listen to me,” Ron spoke first. “You tried. Things happened. I wouldn’t even think to hold a grudge against you. Caleb would not want you to carry this. He’d want you to live.”

Dana’s voice suddenly came up behind us with Ivy in tow. She’d overheard, or maybe Ivy filled her in on why three men were so emotional in the field.

She grabbed me in a hug as well. “Oh, Colt. We got the official report from the Navy. We know about the cable. And we have never once, not for one second, blamed anyone for what happened. It was a freak accident.”

I lived every second of the accident, sometimes playing frame by frame like a movie in my head late at night. But I’d spare them the details unless they asked.

She released me and held me at arm’s length, her hands on my shoulders, and her eyes wet. “Don’t you feel bad. Not on our account.”

I only nodded because I couldn’t speak. Ivy caught my eyes, her hands folded as if in prayer under her chin, mouthing, ‘It’ll be okay.’

We saton the porch after we got the horses loaded. Thunder rumbled in the distance as a rainstorm was expected this afternoon. Dana brought out coffee and cookies, and we talked about Caleb. The stories I’d carried finally had an audience.

I told them everything good. His funny impersonationof our CO. The care packages of Dana’s cookies that he shared with everyone. How he talked about the ranch often, the horses, the river, the mountains. Ron and Dana listened, hungry and grateful for the stories, an ache to their laugh at the funny ones.

The conversation eventually turned to the practical and the pressing.

“Yep. We’ve had a good run of years here. We’ll certainly take the memories with us, won’t we, Dana?” Ron rubbed his face with both hands. The grief had clearly taken pieces of both of them.

From the confrontation with Tanner in the alley, I knew their ranch had suffered. Debts piled up. A loan from the Congressman had become a trap.

“Take them with you?” I asked.

“We’re out of options.” Ron shook his head. “Can’t pay what we owe. Can’t keep the place running. Selling the horses to your ranch is just the start. We sign papers to turn the place over to the Brewsters tomorrow.”

Tanner stood and paced away, his voice tight and angry in the way that only a young man could sound. “I can’t believe we’re letting our legacy go to that family.”

Ivy, with the most incredible tact, found a way to turn the conversation around to focus on the Brewsters, asking about the Congressman’s offer. I knew her mission here: to find out about their ways of brow-beating ranch owners into submission.

I shared a glance with her when an idea suddenly came to me. “Excuse me for a minute.”

I stepped out and walked off the porch and into the yard, pulling my phone from my pocket. What we neededat a time like this was someone with a shit-ton of money who might be willing to step in and save the Hollis Ranch.

I happened to know a few wealthy men. Perhaps one of them was feeling benevolent today. I scrolled to the name of Chris Magnus first. He owned both of the Off-Duty Rescue Ranches, here and in Virginia. He’d given Ash the ranch to manage and given me a job and a bunk when I’d had nothing but a duffel bag and a salute coming fresh off the Pacific Trail.

He had already purchased a few ranches, like the Wylde’s, side by side to combine and create the ODRR, one of the largest ones in the region. The Hollis ranch was clear on the other side of the county, though.

Of course, my sisters married wealthy men, but I didn’t make it a habit to reach out and beg them for money. There weren’t any other options right now. For Caleb’s sake and his family’s, I had to try.

I paused and finally called Chelsea. She picked up on the third ring.

“Colt! I’m so happy to hear from you. We miss you. Hold on, you have to hear this.” Her voice trailed off, replaced by the sound of little kids singing Row Your Boat.

A thin smile came to my face. “That my nieces and nephews?”

“Yes. They cannot wait to see their uncle. I’m practically counting down the days to Christmas.”

“Actually, about that… Is Rex around?” Rex and his brother Richard, with their money combined, were possibly even richer than Chris. And on top of that, from what my sisters said, good men who loved their families. I knew both of them invested heavily in real estate, currentlybuilding a whole new community in upstate New York close to home by Twin Pines Lake.