Chapter 11
CHAPTER 11
KAREN
I paced back and forth in the small guest room that had been my home for the past two and a half days. Two and a half days and I had never felt more certain I wasn’t where I should be.
I wasn’t a rancher. I wasn’t born to be a country girl. Everyone here knew it. They could tell I was out of my depth.
That was why I was already contemplating throwing in the towel. My suitcase was still half-packed, taunting me. I could zip it up and be back in Dallas by tomorrow morning if I really wanted to. My uncle would understand. He knew me. I would finish the books, at least as much as I could, and go.
Before I did anything, I needed to talk to someone. Someone to tell me walking away was the right thing to do.
I grabbed my phone and pulled up Rylee’s number. I listened to the phone ring once, twice and then three times. I called Rylee because I knew she was the least country out of all of us. She would tell me to pack my bags and get the hell out of there.
“Karen! Hey! How’s Kentucky?”
I sighed, flopping down onto the bed. It creaked beneath me. “It’s colder than the Abominable Snowman’s butthole, that’s how it is.”
Rylee snorted. “Well, that’s a fun image. What’s going on? It’s only been a couple of days! I thought you would be busy feeding horses or lassoing cows or whatever it is people do on ranches.”
“I’m coming home,” I blurted out.
There was a beat of silence on the other end of the line. “Wait, what? Already? It’s been like, what, forty-eight hours?”
“Closer to seventy-two, actually, but who’s counting?” I said, my eyes drifting to the window. Snow was still falling outside in thick, lazy flakes. It snowed all night. And while the view was pretty, the cold was relentless. “I’ve seen enough. This place is falling apart. Uncle Don’s books are a disaster, the debt is worse than I imagined, and there’s this grumpy cowboy who’s rougher than sandpaper and just… ugh. I’m done.”
Rylee was quiet for a moment. I could practically hear the gears turning in her head. She was never one to give advice lightly. She always took her time, and when she did speak, it was like a hammer landing right on the head of the nail. She was blunt. Sometimes, that wasn’t cool, but today, that was what I needed.
“So let me get this straight,” she said. “You packed up your entire life, put in your notice at work, said goodbye to all of us, hopped on a plane, flew to Kentucky, all with the intention of clearing your head and getting your priorities straight and now, less than three days later, you’re quitting?”
I groaned, covering my face with a pillow. Damn her and her logic. I shoved the pillow away. “It’s just harder than I thought it would be. A lot harder. And so damn cold.”
“Of course it’s hard,” Rylee said. “That’s kind of the point, isn’t it?”
“What do you mean?”
“If it was easy, they wouldn’t need your help. Plus you would be bored. You would walk away because it didn’t challenge you. That’s your thing. You like to kick ass and take names. You hate boring.”
“I also hate hell,” I said sarcastically. “There’s a challenge and then there’s hell. This is hell.”
“If you give up now, it’s going to become a habit,” she said. “You’ll always run when things get uncomfortable. And Karen, you’ve got to get comfortable being uncomfortable. That’s where growth happens. You can’t control everything. You’re so used to being a boss bitch, you get thrown off when you’re not the one in charge.”
I groaned again, this time louder. “Why are you always right?”
She chuckled softly. “Because you’re predictable. But seriously, you can’t throw in the towel yet. You’ve barely given it a shot. And besides, don’t you want to help your uncle?”
I sighed and sat up again. Of course I wanted to help him. I loved Uncle Don. The man had practically raised me after Dad passed. But facing him with the news of just how bad the ranch’s finances were was going to break his heart. I wasn’t sure I was ready to be the bearer of that kind of bad news.
“Yeah, I do, but it’s going to crush him when I tell him about the debt. He has no idea how bad things are. And it’s not like I can go back in time and fix it.”
“Maybe not, but he needs to know. And who better to help him figure things out than you?”
I huffed, blowing a stray piece of hair out of my face. “It’s so cold. And so dirty .”
“Karen, think about it,” Rylee said, taking on that bossy tone she often used. “You’re tough. You’ve always been the one who figures things out, right? Maybe it’s dirty, maybe it’s cold, but you’re not just doing this for Uncle Don. You’re doing it for yourself too. Isn’t part of this journey about proving to yourself that you can handle anything? That’s why you took your ass all the way to Kentucky.”
I paused, considering her words. Deep down, I knew she was right. This wasn’t just about saving Uncle Don’s ranch or escaping my boring life. I was also testing my own limits. Searching for something. I didn’t even know what I was looking for but something that would shake things up.
“Fine. I’ll stay. But if this grumpy cowboy rubs me the wrong way one more time, I swear I’m out of here.”
“What if he rubs you the right way?” she asked.
“Stop!”
Rylee laughed. “I’m sure he’s not that bad. Besides, you need a little cowboy in your life. Might do you some good. Isn’t there a song about riding cowboys?”
“Riding horses?”
“No! Save a horse, ride a cowboy. Maybe there’s just sexual tension.”
“Rylee, not everything can be resolved with sex.”
“I have yet to discover a problem that can’t be solved with a little feel-good time.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re talking problems with your man. Cassidy is not my man.”
“I’m not saying you need to marry him, but just have a little fun. Lighten up.”
“Oh, please.” I scoffed, rolling my eyes. “Cowboys are not my type. Give me a suit and tie any day of the week.”
“Uh huh,” Rylee said, the teasing tone in her voice making it clear she wasn’t buying it. “Just remember, you’re staying for a reason. Don’t run before you give it a real chance.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered. “How’s Mary Ellen’s wedding planning going?”
“She’s in full-on bridal mode. Her shower’s coming up, and it’s going to be fabulous. But Archer? Poor guy’s up to his eyeballs dealing with her obsessive planning. I’m half-surprised he hasn’t run off to Vegas yet to elope. I don’t even live with her and she’s making me crazy with her need for everything to be perfect.”
I laughed at the idea of sweet Mary Ellen driving her rough-around-the-edges fiancé crazy. “He’s a good guy. He’ll survive. He loves her enough to put up with her antics.”
“He’d better. Anyway, you’re going to fly back for the bridal shower, right? We can’t do it without you.”
“Of course,” I said, smiling a little. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Maybe I’ll accidentally forget to buy a return ticket.”
Rylee chuckled at that. “I know this is hard for you. This whole thing. The ranch, Uncle Don, the cowboy. But maybe this is exactly what you need right now. If you remember, I did try to talk you out of this whole thing. But I get why you’re doing it. I had to travel around the world to get my head straight. You only had to go to Kentucky.”
I sighed, knowing she was right. “I should have waited a couple of months. It’s too damn cold.”
“Is there snow on the ground?”
“Yes. It snowed last night.”
“Oh, I bet it’s pretty.”
I sighed. “It is.”
“Get a cup of coffee and go outside. Enjoy the snow. Take a breather and I bet you’re going to feel a lot better.”
“Rylee, I swear, you must be the world’s most annoying optimist.”
“Not annoying. Just right. I’m texting you in half an hour. If you’re not outside enjoying the snow with a cup of coffee, I’m going to harass you until you do.”
“No, you won’t,” I said, but I knew she would. Rylee never backed down from a challenge. “Fine. I’ll go outside and drink coffee in the snow. The joy.”
We talked for a little while longer before saying our goodbyes. When I hung up the phone, I felt a little better. Rylee was right—I couldn’t just throw in the towel after three days. I had to at least give this a fair shot.
With a sigh, I pushed myself up off the bed and headed downstairs to Uncle Don’s office. It was time to show him what I’d found in the books, as painful as it was going to be.
The lodge was quiet as I made my way through the halls, the old wood floors creaking under my feet. Uncle Don’s office was on the first floor, tucked away behind the main reception area. I knocked lightly on the door before pushing it open.
“Karen, come in,” Uncle Don said, looking up from a pile of papers on his desk. His face lit up when he saw me, but I could see the weariness in his eyes. Running this ranch was wearing him down more than he liked to admit. Part of me worried saving the ranch wasn’t worth it. He could sell it and retire to somewhere warm and sunny.
“How are you doing?” he asked and gestured for me to sit down.
“Good. Cold.”
He laughed. “Yeah, I imagine the climate is a little different.”
“Yes.”
“What’s going on?” He leaned back in his chair.
I took a deep breath and put my laptop on the desk. “Uncle Don, I need to show you something.”
His smile faltered. “What is it?”
I knew what I was about to say was going to hit him hard. “I’ve been going through the ranch’s finances, organizing everything, and there’s no easy way to say this. The ranch is in debt. Serious debt.”
His brow furrowed. “Debt? How much are we talking?”
“Thirty grand, at least,” I said, opening my laptop and turning it so he could see the spreadsheet I’d put together. “I’ve gone through it every which way, and that’s the number I keep coming back to. There might be more that I haven’t even found yet.”
Uncle Don stared at the numbers, blinking in disbelief. “Thirty grand? That can’t be right.”
“I’m sorry, but it is,” I said softly. “I’ve double-checked everything.”
He looked dazed, which I didn’t get. He had to know the ranch was underwater, right?
“I… I don’t understand. How did this happen?” He looked to me like I had the answers. I wasn’t sure if he realized I hadn’t actually been here in a long, long time.
I didn’t have an easy answer for him. The ranch had been struggling for years, but I didn’t know all the details. “I think it’s a combination of things,” I said, trying to think of how to say it as simply as possible. “I think it’s a matter of expenses adding up, fewer guests, and not keeping a close enough eye on the books.”
Uncle Don’s face fell. He ran one of his meaty hands down his face and finally looked at me. “This place is all I have left. I’ve put everything into it.”
“I know,” I said gently. “And we can fix this. But first, you need to know where things stand.”
He nodded slowly. “I need to clear my head,” he said and jumped to his feet.
“Wait, Uncle Don, we should talk about this.” I called after him, but he was already heading out the door, his boots thudding heavily on the floor.
I sat there for a moment, watching him go. This wasn’t how I’d imagined the conversation would go, but I couldn’t blame him for needing a minute to process it all. I sighed and closed my laptop, feeling a pang of guilt. Maybe I should have been a little gentler. I just didn’t know how to make the news any better than what it was.
With nothing else to do, I headed to the kitchen for lunch. Maybe some food would help clear my own head. Rylee didn’t need to know I wasn’t drinking coffee in the snow. She didn’t know how cold it really was.
Cassidy, Kenny, Ginny, and Bodie were all gathered around the stove. Bodie was cooking something that smelled amazing.
At first, I hesitated, not wanting to intrude on their fun. But Bodie spotted me and waved me over. “Karen! Come on in, darlin’. You’re just in time.”
I smiled weakly, “I don’t want to interrupt.”
“I’ll make you something. A salad? Avocado toast? Grilled chicken?”
“You don’t have to go to any trouble for me.”
“It’s no trouble.”
“I was thinking a sandwich would be fine.”
“Turkey on rye, alright?”
“Sounds amazing.
“Come on,” Ginny said. “We’ll sit and let him do his thing.”
Ginny cracked open a beer and handed it to me. I tried not to look at the clock on the wall, but it was a little early. “You’ve got to let Rocking Horse Ranch get under your skin a little,” she said with a grin. “Enjoy yourself for half an hour. It won’t kill you.”
I hesitated for a moment, but then I sighed and accepted the beer, taking a seat at the kitchen island. Maybe Ginny was right. Maybe I did need to let this place get under my skin.
“It’s five o’clock somewhere,” I said and took a drink.