The Trip Into Town #2
Hesitating at first, she explained about Grandma Austin’s offer to raise her, growing up with Dad, being estranged from Mom’s family, and the loan repayment business.
It was easier to tell her story to Tim than she would have thought, considering she hadn’t been looking forward to the car ride with him.
Tim whistled. “That’s rough. I can definitely see why your dad wanted to raise his kid himself. I would.”
“I’m not trying to drag you into our family fight,” Maria said hastily. “Forget I said anything. My family’s problems are just—well, they’re just our problems.”
“I guess most families have problems,” Tim said. “Mine does. After the ranch sold, we scattered to the far corners of the US. My parents and my little sister are back in Michigan—they went there to retire closer to my grandparents—but my brothers are all over the place.”
So he had a little sister. His closeness with Savannah made sense—he probably felt big-brotherly toward her.
“That’s too bad,” Maria said. “Do you get to see them at Christmas or anything?”
“Sometimes,” Tim said. “It’s hard to get off the ranch, though. I have to leave Elijah in charge.”
Maria laughed. “I can see how that could pose a problem. I mean, I don’t know Elijah very well. But he doesn’t seem like he’s ready to run the ranch single-handed.”
Tim gave a bark of laughter. “I’m always afraid I’ll come back and find the place taken over by a video game convention. Elijah’s all right. But he’s his parents’ son.”
So Tim didn’t think much of Uncle Russell and Aunt Steph’s methods, either. Interesting.
Maria could see why Annabelle had liked Tim.
He was personable and chatty, and his looks didn’t hurt.
He almost reminded her of Seth, except that Seth was dark and Tim was blond.
But that was exactly what was wrong with him.
Seth had been friendly and interesting, but he couldn’t be trusted.
Maria had learned never to trust a guy with such a friendly, gregarious exterior.
She’d need to be careful not to get too close with Tim, no matter how surprisingly comfortable he made her feel.
§
At the airport, Tim had to put the truck in a parking garage. He backed into the space, something Maria wouldn’t have dared to do with such a large vehicle, and got the sign out of the back seat.
“Are we ready?” Maria asked.
“You forgot your hat.” Tim reached back into the truck and plunked the large gray hat on Maria’s head. It was too big for her, but at least it didn’t fall below her ears.
“You look like a cowgirl.” Tim grinned at her. “Of course, you need to learn how to ride a horse that’s a little younger than Lucky. But you’ll do for now.”
Maria made a face at him. “How did you hear about that?”
“I’ve got sources,” Tim said. “Come on, let’s meet these billionaires. Probably just the kind of people who are only interested in the land’s worth.”
She hurried to keep up with his long stride, and they went across the way to the baggage claim. Maria remembered it from her arrival in Montana.
They were a few minutes early. Tim held the sign, and Maria went to get a drink of water. Tim’s hat tried to fall off when she bent to get the drink, so she took it off. It was an enormous hat. She supposed cowboys needed them for shade, but how did guys have such bigger heads than women?
Maria and Tim waited, not talking much, looking out for anyone who seemed like a Hollywood billionaire. Finally a couple approached, a tall gray-haired man in a Hawaiian shirt and a thin blonde woman reminiscent of that actress who played Pepper Potts in the Avengers movies.
“The Rocker A!” the man exclaimed. “Here we are.”
“Hello, Mr. Beck, Mrs. Beck.” Tim extended a hand to the man. “I’m Tim Daniels, foreman of the Rocker A. And this is Maria—the boss’s granddaughter.”
“Just call me Owen,” the guy said. “My wife, Vera. Good to meet you. Now how do we get to the ranch?”
These guys didn’t waste time. “The truck’s in the parking garage,” Tim said. “If you wanna wait, I can pull it around.”
“No need,” Owen said. “We’ll walk. Quicker.”
They trooped across to the parking garage, Vera mincing along in stilettos. Hopefully she didn’t intend to wear those on the ranch.
“So what brings you out to Montana?” Tim asked the couple. “Vacation?”
“We’ve heard so much about the beauty of the Rocker A Ranch, we had to see it for ourselves,” Vera said smoothly.
“Well, we certainly have beautiful views,” Tim said. “And if you’re interested, you can see how a real cattle ranch operates.”
Owen chuckled. “Cattle isn’t really my thing,” he said. “We’ve got plenty of cattle in California. Recreation’s more my style.”
It was on the tip of Maria’s tongue to ask what kinds of movies the Becks were involved with, but she wasn’t sure it was polite to ask. They were on vacation, not at work. It might be annoying to bring it up to them.
On the way to the ranch, the Becks asked questions.
Owen seemed particularly interested in the size of the ranch, the different areas, and the types of land there.
He was also interested in the ranch house architecture.
Unfortunately, Tim said, the family didn’t give house tours, so he’d have to be satisfied with the architect’s pictures online.
But he’d get a splendid view of the rest of the property.
As a newcomer, Maria didn’t have much to say about the ranch. All she could tell about was her kitchen job. She did tell Vera, when pressed, about culinary school and her job at the Virginian.
At the ranch, Tim brought the guests to their cabin, telling them someone would be along to give them a tour after they’d gotten settled. He took Maria up to the house.
“Well, thanks.” He turned to her. “I appreciate you coming with me.”
“No problem.”
Tim’s face was thoughtful. “You’re not much like the rest of the Austins.”
Was that a good thing? It sounded like it, the way Tim said it.
Maria grinned. “Maybe it’s the Gilbert side of the family.”
Tim looked like he was going to say something. Instead, he almost imperceptibly shook his head. “Well, it’s been nice getting to know you more today. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
It sounded like a question. Of course he would see Maria tomorrow, bright and early at breakfast.
“See you tomorrow.” Maria hopped out of the truck.
She was almost at the door when Tim called after her. “My hat!”
She was still wearing Tim’s hat. Flushing, she pulled it off and ran back, frisbeeing the hat into the truck window.
Tim caught it. “Thanks. I’d let you borrow it, but I’ve gotta wear it tomorrow. Rancher’s meeting.”
“Sorry,” Maria said. “I forgot I had it on.”
Tim laughed, a nice friendly ringing laugh. “It suits you. Well, goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” Maria said, and vanished into the house.
She had mixed feelings about Tim. He seemed to care deeply about some things, like the ranch. But on the other hand, he’d really hurt Annabelle. It could be he was one of those guys, like Seth, who had so many good qualities but also as many red flags.