Chapter 14
Ronan drove another fence post into the ground, sweat rolling down his back, his arms aching. He and Tobin took turns with large hammers, pounding it down deeper into the ground.
There was so much fencing that needed to be replaced that he almost wondered if they should have just ripped everything out and replaced the entire fence.
They wouldn’t have to worry about it for a couple of years if they had done that, but then funds would be tighter, and Ronan needed to hold on to what money he had been able to bring with him.
And Tobin didn’t know how much he had brought.
Tobin sighed after finishing the last hit to a post to get it situated in the ground properly. “Ever think that moving to this ranch was a bad idea?”
Ronan shrugged and tipped his head back, looking up at the sky. “I don’t know. There are sometimes I like it, and there are other times when how open everything is unsettles me a little. It feels like the sky could go on forever, like there’s no limit to everything.”
“You’d think that would feel promising.”
“I like boundaries and rules.” Ronan swallowed hard, grabbed his flask of water, and took a drink.
There was another world where following and enforcing rules had been his entire life. While he didn’t think he would ever go back to it, there was a part of him that missed it, that longed to be back to the person he was before everything went so wrong.
Ronan swallowed another mouthful of water, knowing that he needed to stop thinking about that and move on with his life. He was building something for himself here.
Still, Evander’s watch was burning a hole through the writing desk; he was sure of it.
“You don’t talk about your past a lot,” Tobin said as they grabbed some of the rails for the fence, fixing them into place.
“You don’t speak about yours much either. I have a dozen questions I could ask you, but it seems like you would rather I don’t,” Ronan said, his tone sharp.
Tobin laughed, entirely unbothered. “Don’t get upset. I’m not going to start digging into your life unless you start giving me reason to.”
“Most people would want to know more.”
Shrugging, Tobin grabbed another rail to put into place. “Like you said, I have things I would rather not talk about, too.”
Ronan nodded, a little unsettled still, but the feeling faded. If they were both under the understanding that neither of them wanted to talk about their pasts, perhaps they would get along better than they already were.
“Is that Cressida?” Tobin asked, nodding to a horse barreling over the hill and through the trees, a rider on top with her skirts streaming out behind her, flapping in the wind.
Ronan squinted before nodding, his heart stopping. “It is, but why is she rushing over here?”
Dropping his hammer, he jogged to meet her part of the way, Tobin close behind him.
“What if there’s something wrong with Etta?” Tobin asked, his voice tight.
Cressida pulled her horse to a stop and hopped down, her hair windswept and nearly falling loose from the knot at her neck, her eyes shining bright. “There was a man watching your property.”
Her words came out in such a rush that he barely caught all of them. “What?”
“There was a man watching your property,” she said, turning to point up at the crest of the hill. “Right up on the road there. I watched him. He was here for at least an hour just staring down at your ranch, and then he rode away.”
Ronan stiffened, glancing around, wondering if the man was still there and watching them. “Stay here. I’m going to go ride the property. Did you see what the man looked like?”
“Dark clothing, but his back was to me, so I couldn’t see much more than that. He was on a paint horse. White with black splotches.” Cressida looked around, glancing back at her property. “He took off that way.”
She pointed to the other side of the ranch, and Ronan nodded, striding to the barn. He slipped a bridle on his horse and rode bareback around the property quickly, his blood rushing in his ears, his grip tight. Who would be watching him?
More importantly, why hadn’t he noticed them?
From this distance, he might not be able to see the ridge where they had been sitting, but Ronan patrolled the property each morning, and he hadn’t seen a sign of anyone close.
Had he missed something? Was he forgetting all his training now that he was settling into his new life?
It would be his fault if that rider had gotten close to Cressida and Etta and meant any harm. It could have been one of the robbers who had traced Ronan there.
Has the man been watching us before now, or is this the first day that he’s found me?
He swallowed the lump that rose in his throat, riding the perimeter of the property before heading back to Tobin and Cressida. Cressida was rocking slightly from side to side like she could hardly stand still while waiting for him to come back.
Ronan pulled his horse to a stop in front of her, getting down and glancing at Tobin.
“Nobody is out there, not right now at least, but Cressida clearly saw someone there, and we need to make sure they’re not going to come back.
I’m going to take Cressida on a tour of the property, and maybe she might see something she recognizes, and then I’m going to escort her home. ”
Cressida looked at him with amusement in her eyes. “Oh, is that what you’re going to do?”
Her levity helped ease some of the tension in his body, but he still looked around the property like someone was going to jump out of the shadows at any moment.
Despite the situation, the corner of Ronan’s mouth twitched as he looked down at her. “Well, yes, if you’re open to riding around the property and getting an exclusive tour while also looking for whoever might be lurking around.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had an adventure,” she said, getting back in her saddle and reaching up to fix her hair.
He wished she wouldn’t. There was a wild edge to her beauty when her hair was loose like that, strands tumbling in her face. He thought it was a look that he would like to see more of, and maybe that would be possible with them living so close to each other.
Ronan got on his own horse, turning it to the barn. “Over here is the barn, and to the right of it is where I plan on planting an orchard.”
Cressida rode beside him, peering through the trees. “It’s going to take a lot of work to fell all the trees to get enough room to plant some new ones. What kind of orchard?”
“Chokecherries, I think. I’ve heard they make good jams and grow well here.
” Ronan led the way around the barn, following the fence of the pasture already there, riding past it to where part of the river cut through the property.
“I want to build a pasture all the way from the main one to just before the river here.”
“Do you plan on having a large herd of cattle?” Cressida looked thrilled with the idea. “I’ve always liked the idea of having a lot of cows, but I know that I don’t have the time to take care of them fully.”
“I think a large herd would be good. Tobin and I are planning on building some bunkhouses so I can hire some ranch hands when that time comes, but I think building out a herd is going to be a couple of years off yet.”
“You’re thinking of permanently settling down here then?” she asked, and he dared to dream that there was a little bit of hope, maybe even a little bit of excitement in her voice.
His heart thundered against his ribs as he looked at her, their gazes locking. “I’m thinking I could stay.”
“You might find you like it here. It’s a nice town, and the people mean well, even if they do like to gossip a little too much.” Cressida gave a small shrug, looking forward once more, a slight pink tinge coloring her cheeks.
“I know they talk about me far too much, and unfortunately for you, it sounds like they’re also starting to talk about you. So, if you ever want to complain about how the town seems to be involved in your business, you’re welcome to commiserate with me anytime.”
Ronan chuckled. “I’ll remember that. I didn’t know the town talks about you.”
“I grew up here, and in some way or another, I’ve always been spoken about. It used to be good, people talking about me teaching their children, praising me for how I taught. These days it’s more about the fact that I’m a young widow and should be married again soon.”
“Well, I think it’s rather rude of them to assume that you would even want to marry again. Marriage seems like a large step to take, one that means committing yourself for a lifetime to a person.”
“It is.” Cressida shifted in her saddle, glancing over at him. “I shouldn’t bore you with that, though. Tell me more about your plans for the ranch.”
“Well, we have chicks already, you might have seen them when you rode up. I need to get some barn cats too, and I need to get a dog at some point.”
Her face lit up, her smile stretching wide. “I always wanted to get a dog, but my ma could hardly stand to be around them. Every time we traveled to see my aunt and her family, Ma would get sick after petting their dog.”
“Well, when I get a dog, you’re welcome to come over and pet it any time you like.” Ronan would be glad to see more of Cressida. The brightness she brought into his life was quickly becoming addictive.
“We’re going to be building another pasture over here,” Ronan said as they started back toward the house. “I think this one is going to extend into that thick line of trees that separates our properties. But I want to put pigs there.”
“Pigs too?” Cressida laughed, eyeing the trees like she was already picturing the animals running around there. “You’re going to be running a whole operation out here in no time.”
“I like staying busy.” And not having time to think about all the things that haunt me.
“I’ll say.” She smiled and glanced at him again, something warm in her eyes. “If you ever need any help, you know where to find me. I’m good with animals, but if you ask me to rope a steer, I’m probably not going to be much use.”