Chapter 3 #2
Will took off his cowboy hat and set it on his thigh, ruffling his matted black hair.
“I grew up with stories about her. I mean, she grew up with an interest in horses like her father—in the breeding and racing of them. Later, she became interested in cattle through my grandfather, but only as a means to improve the ranch’s botanical offerings, making them the best. In meat and show.
You might know that in Switzerland, certain kinds of flowers and other plants are grown to optimize meat and milk production.
She brought that to Wild Mountain and a whole bunch of other innovations—including the winemaking that ended with Prohibition—something I’d love to reignite, but that’s another story. ”
“There’s a winegrower in the Hebrides using Black Muscat vines,” Neil mused.
“Neil, I would credit her with being a self-taught naturalist and herbalist.” Hannah smiled. “Wild Mountain has a rare ecosystem all its own due to some quirk of temperature and the way the wind currents blow, but Elena invested heavily in planting and early seed libraries.”
“Yes, she did.” Will sent her a wink. “Sarah told me some other things before she disappeared, but one was that I needed to read Grandma Elena’s diaries.
Which I did while I was laid up for those horrible four months of bed rest. I discovered Grandma Elena had another pet project she’d wanted to bring to Wild Mountain—one that fell through when my grandfather suddenly caught pneumonia and almost died one winter.
She’d planned to open a resting place using the hot springs, especially for people who were sick.
They were a big draw back in the late 1800s, if you might remember.
She even had a famous architect from Chicago design it to suit Wild Mountain’s terrain. ”
“She did?” Hannah gasped. “People have talked about the commercial value of those hot springs forever.”
Will was back to grinning broadly now. “Yes, they have, and rightfully so. We’ve even had a billionaire interested recently.
Now I can fully attest to their healing powers.
I dragged myself out to them every day when I left the rehab facility.
But Grandma Elena did something even better for our purposes. ”
She was feeling the thrum of excitement. “What was that?”
“That dear, intelligent woman secured a permit for her project, and I’ve checked it out with numerous lawyers.” He tapped his hands on his thighs. “It’s grandfathered in.”
“Meaning…” Neil asked quietly beside her.
Will sat forward. “Meaning, that our ranch can go ahead with the project without being out of accord with the current laws governing our land, water, and grazing rights. Hannah, I want you to work with me, running the herbalism and wellness center.”
She put her hands to her cheeks. The thought of running her own practice… She’d been applying for positions with other herbal practices, a couple she even planned to interview with on this trip, but her own practice had seemed five to ten more years off.
“Oh, Will! I love the idea, but it’s…”
“Complicated?” Will filled in.
The angry image of Ben on horseback that last horrible day rose in her mind. “Yes.”
He dragged his chair closer and reached for her hand. “Hannah, that’s why I’m proposing a trial period to see if you and Ben can coexist. I’d like to offer you my cabin on the ranch to live in, since I can’t imagine you’ll want to live with your parents. Plus, there’s a housing shortage in town.”
Live on the ranch? Or with her parents? “Now I feel a little sick to my stomach.”
Neil reached in his pocket and pulled out the ginger candy he always had on hand. “Try this.”
“Even ginger might not be strong enough to cure my queasiness.” But she unwrapped the candy and savored its sweet-and-spicy flavor as she considered the proposal. “So tell me how it would work.”
“Every penny I made racing would go into building the center, where your practice would be lodged. You can see any clients you wish. I’ll prioritize people who need serious long-term care on the rehab side, people doctors have given up on.
Hannah, when my rehab wasn’t progressing, your salve worked wonders on my leg, and later, Neil’s exercises gave me new strength and mobility. ”
She put her hand on Will’s knee. “That’s because the plant I used—plantain—heals all the way inside the bone to the marrow. Given your injuries, you needed to be rebuilt from the inside out.”
“Physical therapy is important, but if your body still has unhealed internal wounds,” Neil added, “as I suspect you did, lad, you can only progress so far. As someone who has a nursing degree, I can honestly say those so-called hidden or deeper factors aren’t something many medical personnel know to look for or evaluate. ”
“Exactly.” Will squeezed her hand. “When I was told I would never walk again, and it was the second scariest moment of my life. I’m not the only person out there who’s dealt with major injuries or was told there was no hope.
I know we can impact people’s lives by providing a broader view and a plan. ”
Hannah swallowed thickly. Didn’t she still wonder if Sarah would have lived had she been given healing herbs when all the medical people, her father included, had given up hope?
She’d been helping in Scotland with such a mission, but coming back to Sanctuary Springs? “You know I agree with everything you’ve said, Will.”
“I do, but you should know that I’ve become certified in yoga and somatic movement, and I hope to continue to expand my skills.
Racing is in my past, and everyone at the ranch knows the Triple M isn’t my future.
I have the capital to get it started. I also want my profit to help the ranch, because the costs of doing business and taxes keep rising every year.
But more than anything, I hope you and I can start helping people together, because I think we’ll do a lot of good. ”
God, he’d come a long way from the easygoing boy she’d grown up with. Except the hurdles seemed insurmountable.
“My father isn’t going to be happy about your idea.” She worried her mouth. “He likes being the only medical authority in town, and he still hasn’t forgiven me for choosing herbalism over medical school and not working at his practice.”
Neil glanced over her way, and she knew what he was thinking. Moving to Scotland hadn’t resolved the hurt between them.
Will patted the back of her hand. “So you need a trial run with your father too. Well, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy.
I just believe it will be worth it for you to try.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned after the accident, it’s that you can’t be too attached to how you think things are going to turn out.
All you can do is follow the path that feels right and hope for the best. Hannah, you’ll have to tell me what you want to do. ”
She laced her fingers together and rested them against her mouth. “You’ve given me a lot to think about, but I need to talk to Ben.” Just the thought of it made her heart pound.
Will gave a rusty laugh. “I couldn’t agree more. I’ll tell him you’re ready to talk. Neil, do you want to join the others outside?”
Neil turned to Hannah and took her hands, searching her face. “What do you want?”
From the moment they’d met in Scotland when she’d joined the wellness practice first as an intern and later after her scholarship ended, he’d been a strong, steady rock she could count on.
But, God, what did she want? If someone had told her this trip would involve dredging up the past with Ben, she would have gladly turned down the five thousand—and that was a lot of money.
She didn’t want to speak to Ben with any idea of rekindling past love—I feel I’m back in Sanctuary Springs for a greater purpose than that—but she was older and wiser and could evaluate an exciting business challenge in that space. “I’m here. I’ll talk to him alone.”
Neil rose and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll be within shouting distance if you need me, lass.”
“So will I,” Will added, clapping Neil on the back. “I won’t tell you how to handle him, Hannah. He’s not exactly the same, but in the ways that matter, he is. Only he growls like a grizzly now. Fair warning.”
Her stomach turned over. “Terrific. Anyone have any bear spray? Don’t worry. I’ll manage.”
As they left, she wrapped her arms around herself. Stop pretending. Seeing Ben isn’t going to be a walk in the park.
But Will’s offer was tempting—to have her own practice.
In her hometown. She’d missed the people she loved.
Hell, she’d missed her horse. She’d also missed Wild Mountain.
And the place where she would go to talk to Sarah, where she and Ben had buried Sarah’s hope chest in the little meadow off where Big Red had been struck by lightning, apparently on the same day she’d left.
She stood and gripped the back of the chair. Facing him now felt like the next step to the complete freedom she’d been craving. To move on all the way and start anew in a place she loved.
She could get through this meeting.
Her future—and her heart—depended on it.