Rancher For The Holidays. Myra Johnson

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СКАЧАТЬ still paying rent on my Houston condo, and then there’s my expensive toy sitting in your driveway.” He nodded out the window toward his Mustang.

      “Maybe you should let the condo go,” Uncle Steve said. “You can stay with us as long as you like. Haven’t I always said I’d turn you into a rancher someday?”

      Ben couldn’t help but laugh at his uncle’s persistence. “You know I’m not cut out for country living.”

      Aunt Jane elbowed him. “Give it a chance and you might be surprised.”

      From the kitchen window, Ben glimpsed some of Uncle Steve’s white-faced Herefords grazing in a nearby pasture. As boys, Ben and Aidan had visited a few times when their uncle had been preparing to ship cattle off to market. Ben always got attached to a favorite cow and hated saying goodbye when it came time to load the trailer. For weeks afterward he wouldn’t touch a hamburger or steak, fearing it was his cow.

      He had a sudden image of Marley Sanders wolfing down her rib-eye dinner, and he laughed out loud.

      * * *

      Ben spent most of the following two days combing job-search sites for anything in his field. His aunt and uncle’s satellite internet connection wasn’t the fastest, but he didn’t have much choice unless he wanted to drive all the way into Alpine and find a coffee shop with free Wi-Fi.

      He had to admit, though, the backyard view while sitting at Aunt Jane’s kitchen table sure beat the gray walls of his former office cubicle overlooking I-635. Rolling hills and rugged mesas dotted with desert plants, cattle grazing on stubby tufts of grass, a couple of horses cavorting in the near pasture—the Whitlow spread was a landscape straight out of a western film.

      Uncle Steve entered through the back door and tossed his dusty straw Stetson onto a chair. “Having any luck?”

      “Not much.” Ben closed his laptop, then leaned back and stretched.

      “Maybe it’s time for a change.” Uncle Steve grabbed a tall plastic tumbler from the cupboard, then filled it with crushed ice and water from the fridge dispenser. He took a big gulp and sat down across from Ben. “I’m serious, son. This layoff might be God’s way of telling you He’s got other ideas for your life.”

      “Then He should have told me before I invested all those years getting an MBA.” Ben couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of his tone.

      “I’m not saying He doesn’t intend for you to use the education and experience you already have. God doesn’t waste anything.” Uncle Steve’s mouth twisted in a thoughtful frown. “But there could be other ways to use your skills besides sitting behind a desk in a high-rise office building.”

      Groaning, Ben ground his knuckles into his eye sockets. “I know you’re trying to help, and I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. But if you’re trying to convince me to stay here and look for work in Alpine, it’s not happening.”

      “Now hold on, Ben, and hear me out. I know you love it here. I know because you’re like a different person, a happier person, every time you stay for a while. And like Jane and I have said time and again, you’re like a son to us. So it’d mean the world to me if you’d consider—if you’d just think about—partnering with me here on the ranch.”

      Uncle Steve’s words touched a deep place in Ben’s heart, and it was true, he did love the ranch. Loved every minute he spent here. Blowing out a sharp breath, he scraped a hand down his face. “I can’t even tell you what an offer like that means to me, Uncle Steve. But I just don’t see it happening. You can put me in boots and jeans. You can trade in my Mustang for a bucking bronco. And I’ll still be a confirmed city boy. It’s who I am now. It’s the only life I know.”

      Ben yanked the plug from the wall, grabbed up his laptop and trudged down the hall to the guest room.

      Good jobs weren’t about the view. Who had time to notice the view, anyway, working fifty or sixty hours a week?

      Ben flopped on the bed and stared at the ceiling. It was his father who’d suggested Ben spend a few weeks with Uncle Steve. He’d also made Ben promise he wouldn’t even think about looking for work right away. “You’re flush with savings,” Dad had said. “Don’t rush into anything. Use this time to get to know yourself again.”

      This from the man who obviously didn’t know himself at all, who had remarried only nine months after Mom died.

      And Uncle Steve certainly didn’t know Ben if he honestly thought Ben was cut out for ranch management.

      Someone tapped on his door.

      “It’s open.”

      Aunt Jane peeked in. “Just got back from town. I stopped in to see Marley and set up an appointment. She’s coming out Sunday afternoon.”

      “Great.” Ben sat up and shifted his legs off the side of the bed. He cast his aunt a sincere smile. “Your hair looks nice.”

      “Thanks for noticing.” Aunt Jane patted her curls, a good two inches shorter than when she left that morning. “I’ll be amazed if Steve even realizes I’ve been gone all day.”

      “He realized, all right, about the time he figured out we had to make our own lunch.”

      “Oh, that big ol’ baby.” Shaking her head, Aunt Jane stepped toward the hallway. “I’ll start supper soon. Hope you like eggplant parmesan.”

      “Love it. Need any help?”

      “Not right now. But you might give Marley a call. She mentioned the Spirit Outreach committee is having a workday on Saturday. Bet they could use an extra hand.” With a wink, Aunt Jane sidled out the door and pulled it closed.

      Thinking of Marley lightened Ben’s mood. She’d certainly been a bright spot in his life lately. Since stopping in at her studio on Monday, he hadn’t come up with a plausible excuse for another trip into town to see her. He found her name and number in his cell-phone contacts and tapped the call icon. “Hey, Marley. It’s Ben.”

      “Hi.” Her voice sounded breathy with surprise. “I saw your aunt earlier. We’re all set for Sunday.”

      “She just told me. If there’s anything you need me to do before then—”

      “Maybe scout around for some fun places to shoot. I’d like to try several backdrops and lighting situations so they can pick what they like best.”

      “Will do.” Ben toed the carpet. “Aunt Jane mentioned you’re having some kind of workday this weekend. Need any help?”

      “That would be great. A small team is going down to Candelaria next week to do painting and repairs on some of the homes, so we need to get supplies organized. If you’re available, I’ll put you to work.”

      Available didn’t begin to describe Ben’s current state. “I’ve got nothing better to do—” He cringed. “Wait, that didn’t come out right.”

      Marley laughed. “Don’t apologize. Just show up at 9 a.m.” She gave him directions to Spirit Fellowship Church.

      Ben snatched up a notepad from the nightstand and hurriedly copied down Marley’s СКАЧАТЬ