Chapter 12
BOSS
Even after Cutter and Smoky drag the two men away, Etta still seems nervous.
I glance out through the front window to see Stone taking photos as Hunter brings Etta a glass of water. "Thank you." She takes a few sips, her hands still trembling.
"Hold down the fort,” I tell Hunter. “Etta and I are going to take a little forest walk."
He nods, smiling at her. "Yes, breathe in the trees. We all do it. It really does help."
Her smile seems forced and her eyes are still tense, but she takes my hand and lets me lead her out the back door and straight into an open patch of the woods that stretches between some of our fields.
"This section isn't exactly a deep, dark forest, but I reckon it will do for now,” I tell her as we walk slowly through the trees and brush.
There's a couple of chunks of old logs that I left here years ago as benches, in case any of us ever needed to cool off.
We sit down facing each other. "Deep breaths help everything." She nods and we breathe together, then her eyes drop to examine her fingernails. She’s still twitchy.
"You know, you can ask me anything," I say gently. “Everything is brand new here for you. Me, the guys, the ranch." I smile as she looks up at me. "The llama…well, he’s brand new to everybody."
She takes a slow breath. "Thank you for taking care of my father and Uncle David. They’re…" She trails off, looking down at a pinecone. “Assholes. My mother isn't much better. My family are all jerks."
"Luckily, you aren't."
She looks up at me sadly. "That’s why I feel awful for asking… Was any of that stuff Uncle David said about the ranch true?"
"Yes and no." Taking her hands in mine, I swing them back and forth a few times to loosen her shoulders. "I'll explain everything, baby."
Lifting her hands, I kiss the back of them, then release her and sit back.
“At the beginning, the first four of us all had our own reasons to want to step out of society – Cutter just joined us a few months ago, but it's not my story to tell.
Anyway, this ranch and the surrounding land belonged to a couple who were getting too old for this kind of work.
They weren't ready for a retirement home, though. "
I love the way her eyes sparkle when she looks at me.
"So we created a legal partnership, bought up the land, and sent the McDougalls on a cruise.
" I chuckle. "Their kids have all moved away.
They said something about alternating visiting the kids with more cruises.
Bottom line, they were happy to sell their land to people who respected it and wanted to keep this ranch running. "
"But how do you make money?" Etta asks softly. "I was going through your spreadsheets of all of the money that goes out for animal feed and care. But there's nothing coming in. You don’t sell anything."
"That's the part that's kind of a secret.
" I wink. "We already have plenty of money.
I come from a family who practically owns an entire mountain a bit northeast of here.
The other guys have similar stories. When you have a huge amount of money invested, and you live a simple life, you don't need any additional income. "
Her perfect lips fall open. "So… You guys just pay for this ranch to help the animals? You’re not getting anything out of it?"
"Are you nuts?" I chuckle. “Not get anything? We get to live on this breathtaking land. We get to save horses. When they’re strong and healthy enough, we sometimes get to give them away.
" I shrug. "Okay, honestly, I don't care much for the goats.
But somebody had to take them in. The cattle are top-of-the-line beef producers, and we feed ourselves, and some people around town who need a little help. "
"What about…the other stuff?" Her voice drops to a whisper. "Stealing horses and hiding women and whatever?"
“He was right, kind of. Technically, there's tons of illegal stuff going on here." My head tips side to side. "But sometimes following the letter of the law isn't the right thing to do."
Her foot taps in the dirt. "I'm going to need you to explain that, please."
"Think about it, baby." I pause to let a loud squawking crow pass overhead. "If there's an abandoned horse all by himself in a field, slowly starving, is it better to leave him there or steal him away to a ranch where he’s cared for properly?"
She bites her lip, then nods.
“Sometimes we pay people under the table when we need extra labor in the fall. That way we can pay them a lot more without raising eyebrows. If they're running from something, that is not our business."
My hand lands on her knee. "Now, about the hiding women claim.
Twice now a friend of a friend has sent us a woman who's been running from an abusive husband.
The second one had a toddler with her. We hid her here for a month, calling her our kitchen help.
Got the two of them new IDs. Flew them somewhere safe, with enough money to get settled in a new life. "
"Wow. That's so good of you."
I stare off into space. "We still get a card from both ladies at Christmas. Have to say, I do miss Tonya's cheese bread."
"And the illegal gardening?"
I chuckle. "That's actually just a running joke around town. We provide the rhubarb and strawberries so Mrs. Oakley can sell her amazing pies every fall. She doesn’t have food permits or a vendor license, and I doubt she charges sales tax. She’s seventy and I don’t think she’s ever touched a computer to do the paperwork. It’s fine."
I'm relieved to see Etta is smiling again. "So, yes,” I continue. “We do a lot of illegal shit around here. But we think it’s also the morally right thing to do, so we’ll keep doing it.”
"And you're running this ranch from your savings, not actually making money?"
"From the income on our savings and other investments. It's like our money is paying us a salary each month." I sigh. "We've all been incredibly lucky to end up rich. So we’re paying that forward to animals and people that need it."
Etta snorts. "Interesting that you mention animals before people."
I shrug. "Some animals are a lot better than people." Lifting her hand, I kiss her fingertip. "Present company excepted, of course."
Her teeth sink into her bottom lip, and her head drops. "You don't even know me. It's only been—"
"Time works differently out here. You'll see," I say quietly. "Will you stay out here with me? Work on the ranch in any capacity you like? Help with weird real estate questions, maybe keep an eye out for any farms that need our help or protection?"
Her eyes lift to mine. There’s a long pause. "What's the llama's name?"
"Oh, we haven't named him yet. He's just Llama."
"Can I meet him? I want naming rights. I've always thought those things were cool."
"Baby, you can be the new Queen of Llamaland, if you like."
She grins, her smile growing wider as I stand, pulling her up with me and wrapping my arms around her. "You're staying?"
“Yeah." She hesitates. "Until you get sick of me or something."
"Not happening. But I can see you're nervous. How about you stay a few weeks, then see how you feel?"
Etta nods eagerly. "Perfect."
This time when I kiss her, there's more heat. More meaning. More weight to every touch.
"You're free to leave anytime, but I’m going to convince you stay.” Tipping her chin up with my finger, I whisper, “From the first second I saw you, I knew you were the one. I love you, Etta."
Her breath catches as she grips the front of my shirt. “I love you, too. But this is all too fast and crazy, right?"
"I have no idea." I hug her tightly. "You'll have to ask the llama."