The Rider Revealed #3
“I’ll give it a try,” Grandma Austin said. “No, don’t anybody follow me. I can talk to my own son-in-law without a posse of people moderating what I say.”
She headed into the house, very upright.
§
Maria was flooded with excitement and anxiety about Grandma Austin’s phone call. What would she say to Dad? Would they be able to reconcile, the way Maria and Grandma Austin had reconciled? She would just have to wait to learn. In the meantime, there were other things going on.
Since Tim’s reappearance at the barbeque, the ranch hands had surrounded him, clamoring to learn what he wanted to do to trap Neil.
Uncle Russell and Aunt Steph were still discussing the possible ranch sale.
It sounded as though it would take some talking to convince them that keeping the family business going was worth it.
But maybe now that Grandma Austin had had a change of heart—and a change of heart it certainly seemed to be—she would be able to get along with her family better.
They could have that new family picture taken.
In all the hubbub, as Maria couldn’t get a word in edgewise, she slipped off by herself.
She had some thinking and praying to do.
She had to move or cancel her plane flight, as there was no way she wanted to fly out of there tonight.
And much as she was dying to know what Grandma Austin and Dad were saying to each other, it wasn’t her business. It was theirs to figure out.
The sun was setting over the distant hills, shedding golden light on the river valley. All of Montana’s most beautiful land opened up before Maria. Here was the paradise where her mom had grown up. Here was the place Grandma Austin loved so much. Maria loved it too.
There had to be a way—a way to save the ranch, and a way to put together the relationships that had been broken. Maria raised her eyes to heaven and prayed.
§
It was getting dark, and Maria was going back to the house, when her phone rang. It was Dad.
“Dad,” Maria said breathlessly. “Did Grandma Austin talk to you?”
“Yes, she did.” His voice was so cheerful, she knew instantly that the phone call had been good. “We had a good talk.”
“That’s wonderful, Dad.”
“I understand you were the one who got Pat to change her attitude,” Dad said. “That was something your mother and I could never do, back in the day.”
“Wow,” Maria said. “Well, it wasn’t all me.”
It never would have been her, if she hadn’t seen that glimpse of Grandma Austin’s heart when she decided to sell the ranch for the sake of her family. Maybe she never would have had the courage to confront her. She’d thought before that it would take a miracle to reconcile her family.
Well, miracles were real. And she didn’t know if this one was a miracle or not, but it was definitely God’s work, and she was grateful.
“I’ve been thinking,” Dad said. “What if I transferred to a police division in Montana?”
“Really?” Maria exclaimed.
“Pat suggested it. She said she’s noticed her granddaughter having a little conflict of interest over the ranch. Is it true? You want to stay?”
“I would never stay here if it meant leaving you and Grandma by yourselves in Michigan,” Maria said promptly. “You’re my family.”
He chuckled. “Pat was right, then,” he said. “And I hear there’s a young man out there who’s got a pretty bad case for you.”
Had he heard from Grandma Austin about her and Tim making up? Even Grandma Austin hadn’t heard the real story yet. Unless she had guessed something. Or Dad might have guessed.
“Well,” Maria said, “I’m not mad at Tim anymore.”
“That’s a start,” Dad said. “Well, I’ll tell you what.
I understand you guys are still working on catching the guy who’s sabotaging the ranch.
I’ll take a look at the possibility of transferring to your part of Montana, and you guys figure out how you’re going to keep the ranch and make sure it doesn’t get sabotaged again.
Grandma says she’s all for moving to Montana. ”
“That’s wonderful,” Maria said. “Okay. I’ll do my best helping to catch the outlaws—hopefully, now we’ve got the whole ranch working on it, we’ll be able to fix things.”
“I’ll pray it all works out,” Dad said. “Well, it’s getting late. I’d better get off. Goodnight, Princess.”
“Goodnight, Dad.”
Maria got back to the house and found that everyone had scattered. The ranch hands were back down at the bunkhouse, and the family was getting ready for bed. Maria was bursting with thoughts and ideas, but they would have to wait until tomorrow.
In the hallway outside Maria’s door, a suitcase stood against the wall. That was Maria’s suitcase that she had left at Jessie and Rob’s house. How had it gotten here?
A sticky note sat on top of the suitcase. “Pat said you were staying at the house again,” the note read. “Feel free to come back and visit us anytime. Rob and Jessie.”
That was kind of them. Maria wheeled the suitcase into her room and got ready for bed.
Tomorrow was going to be an exciting day. Hopefully the family and Tim would be able to put together a strategy to catch Neil, if he really was the one doing the sabotage. Maria couldn’t wait.