Chapter 1
Pistol Springs Ranch - Pistol Ridge, Montana
“It looks like your father set the bar pretty high this time, I’m afraid.”
With a flick of his wrist, the youngest of the two men sitting on the porch of the two-story house leaned back against the cream enamel rocker, pushing back the rim of his hat. “He’s asking for the impossible. There’s no way I can do what he’s demanding.”
“Not alone, maybe. It’s why he requested more help. I’ve worked with your father for over twenty-five years, since I was fifteen. He wouldn’t ask you to do it if he didn’t think you could.” Travis Blackstone grinned before looking out across the pasture. Calvin followed his ranch foreman’s gaze to see a white Dodge Charger barrelling down the dirt path that ran parallel to the main road, its front end dipping so low it almost bottomed out. Who would know about the old trail?
They both sat straight up and stared when the car drove across the yard then came to a sudden stop in front of the long wrap-around porch. That was after spinning the tires while doing a three-sixty in the yard like the lawn maintenance was of no importance whatsoever. A woman’s musical laugh came from the open windows.
“Who drives like that?” Calvin leaned forward even more. With one finger, he pulled a pair of dark shades down so he could see for himself. First, a howl from the roof caught his attention. A furry head poked through the open sunroof and he swore the animal was smiling. Ears back, with a red tongue hanging out, a young German Shepherd stared at Calvin before the door opened and two legs in tight-fitting blue jeans and pointy cowboy boots caught his attention.
Calvin stared hard. He slowly watched as a pair of slender legs that never seemed to end got out of the car, then he finally looked up to find a pair of crystal blue eyes staring back at him.
She wasn’t surprised at all to see him here.
In his twenty-six years of life on this earth, the woman standing there had been the only woman he had ever wanted.
For eight long years after going separate ways after high school, she was the one woman he’d never forgotten. “Isabel?”
She smiled. His stomach flipped over two million times when she did that. Nothing had changed since they were teenagers.
Nothing.
Not the way he stared at her or the way she looked back at him. Not the way she flicked her head back to get the flyaway hair out of her face. And when she spoke, all he could do was stare some more. “Calvin. It’s so good to see you again.” Her long lashes fluttered as she blinked several times. Isabel looked away for a split second, then back again.
He stood and swallowed the bitterness that was filling his throat. Trying to put aside his feelings of rejection weren’t easy. He had to keep it nice. The first thing that came to mind was that he wanted to ask her why she never came back to the ranch before he had a chance to explain about that night. Instead, he kept those thoughts to himself.
This day was about his father. The legacy he left behind. It wasn’t about the two of them. But, now that she was back, he did want to talk at some point. Sooner rather than later, before she took off again. He wasn’t going to let her go this time without an explanation.
Calvin swallowed, trying to focus on the here and now. “What are you doing here? After all these years, why are you back?” Did he even want to know why she came back after being away for so long? And, today of all days!
Isabel had grown up in Pistol Ridge, the small mining town about a mile from the ranch. They had been best friends in elementary, middle and high school until the night they weren’t. But that was a whole other story he didn’t want to think about.
“Your father’s lawyer sent me a registered letter. When I called him back to ask why I needed to be here, he said he’d explain when I got here.” She shrugged. “So, here I am.”
Calvin knew nothing about this turn of events. He was barely briefed by his father’s attorney after the funeral except to explain about the complications in the deed with the property next door. It all had sounded complicated and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to accomplish what his father asked him to do.
Now, here was his ex-best friend standing on the lawn for a meeting that was about to take place. He knew about the meeting, but Willis failed to tell him Isabel would be here.
The screen door opened and shut. Willis Winters stood on the porch, then waved when he saw Isabel. “You must be Miss Rosevelt. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He stepped forward and motioned for her to join them. “Why don’t you come inside and we’ll get started?”
Calvin was even more confused than ever. “Willis, what is going on?”
“I’ll explain everything inside. Please, let’s keep it as pleasant as possible.”
Calvin grunted, knowing that Willis wasn’t about to divulge anything until they were all sitting in his father’s study. “There’s nothing pleasant about my father’s death.”
Willis turned back, his brow furrowed, giving Calvin a stern look. Almost like a grandfather figure would reprimand a family member. “I’ve been your father’s attorney for forty-two years right after he inherited this ranch from your grandfather. There is nothing pleasant about my work today, but I valued his friendship and promised him I’d see this through. I hope you understand.”
Calvin nodded. He was getting too anxious to find out the details of all that was laid out to him earlier this morning. It just seemed like an impossible task as far as he was concerned. Either his father wanted him to keep this ranch business going, or he wanted him digging up the past. None of it made any sense.
Once they were seated in the study, he watched as Isabel crossed her legs and let one booted foot swing back and forth, mesmerizing him as he stared at it in the silence of the room. The dog that had its head sticking out of the sunroof was sitting by her chair.. The dog was well trained.
While the attorney was shuffling through his folder, Calvin thought back to a time when Isabel swore she was going to save every animal that didn’t have a proper home. It made him smile. She had such tenacity and a soft heart.
Isabel turned her head slightly when he leaned forward in the red leather chair beside hers. She gave him a look of confusion, then quickly turned away. This whole meeting was strange. It felt unreal, as if his father was manipulating the whole thing from beyond the grave.
Perhaps he was. Just like he had done when Calvin’s mother passed away. He called Calvin home from a lucrative career in hi-tech from Seattle, where Calvin didn’t really feel like he belonged, but it had been his choice of career at the time. He wanted to know something else besides ranching, which his father agreed on at first. Until his mom died.
When he got home and saw how distraught his father was, Calvin had promised to stay and help him with the ranch. His life in Seattle had ended. Calvin had proved himself over the years so it was no surprise the ranch would be passed to him, but the other part of the will had him worried. Deeply worried.
Willis cleared his throat and looked around the room. “I believe we are all here.”
Calvin thought that was a dumb thing to say considering there were only three of them in the room besides his father’s attorney. Calvin and Isabel sat in the chairs in front of the desk while his foreman sat on the matching leather couch behind them. “Let’s get this started, Willis. I’ve got chores to do.”
“Chores can wait, son.”
Calvin wanted to bark at the lawyer and tell him that he wasn’t his son. He was too vulnerable right now, just days after his father died. The only person who had the right to call him son had been his father. He kept quiet though, not wanting to look like a lunatic about to explode.
“Miss Rosevelt, I’ve called this special meeting because Calvin’s father, Alan, has made a request that includes you also.”
“Please, call me Isabel. What kind of request?” Her voice was angelic like Calvin remembered.
Willis nodded once, then picked up some papers on his desk. “Calvin, Isabel and Travis, you have all been named in Alan Morris’s Last Will & Testament.”
Calvin knew most of what his father had willed to everyone. His father had already spoken to Calvin a few years ago. Since he was an only child, the ranch would naturally go to his only son. Calvin wasn’t surprised that his father would include his foreman of many years.
Except, he was wondering, why Isabel?
Willis continued. “Calvin, since you are the only offspring, your father has willed the ranch and its entirety to you. There are some conditions that we will talk about shortly.”
Calvin nodded.
Willis looked at Travis. “As the ranch foreman for all these years, and a faithful friend, Alan wanted you to have the cabin, along with ten acres surrounding it where you now live. Even if you quit or retire or plan to marry and start a family, that cabin and ten acres will be yours for life. The paperwork has been started and the permits to separate the acreage and put in your name are in progress.”
“Are you okay with that, Calvin?” Travis, truly surprised, looked quite uncomfortable.
“You work hard and have been a loyal friend to my father. Of course I am, Travis.”
“Thank you. I’m honored.”
“You deserve to have a part of this place, too.” The small acreage his father bestowed upon his long-time friend sat on the edge of the property line, where it would be easy to divide. The zoning officer at the township already approved the plot of land without any issues.
Willis cleared his throat which brought the conversation between the two men to a halt. “We are now to the complicated part. The reason Isabel is here.”
“I was wondering why I was asked to be here. Story of my life, I suppose.”
“I beg your pardon?” Willis asked.
She shook her head. “Never mind.”
Calvin couldn’t help but grin at her words. He remembered how she always complained that nothing came easy for her. Her parents were both in law enforcement and so was her grandfather and several generations before them. They expected Isabel to become a cop but she hated the idea and had done the complete opposite and gone to college to become an Interior Designer.
The day she left had been as devastating for him as well. His father had thought Calvin would stay and learn the ranching business after high school, but instead he moved to Seattle to get as far away from those memories of the last night they were together. Except it hadn’t worked. Life had a funny way of bringing him back now and here he was waiting to see what his father had willed to the woman he had once loved.
“You know of Alan Morris as Calvin’s father, of course,” Willis told Isabel, who nodded gently. “Mr. Morris would like you to use your skills as an Interior Designer and refurbish the property adjacent to Pistol Springs Ranch, which he also owned at the time of his death.”
“That’s an unusual suggestion, Willis. Why didn’t he call my grandparents and get my number to ask for my help? Grams and Gramps live right here in Pistol Ridge and know how to contact me, but it would’ve been easier to hire someone local. Bringing me to a will reading is very strange and upsetting!”
Calvin leaned forward. “You mean the old hot springs resort? That place hasn’t been operating for fifty years, maybe longer.” He was starting to think maybe his father had been demented before he passed away from a heart attack at the age of sixty-two. “Why would he want to hire Isabel? She lives in California! There are plenty of designers in Montana that would die for a job like that!” He looked at her. “No offense intended, Isabel.”
She nodded in agreement. Calvin was glad to see her after all these years, but to bring her all this way was wrong. What had happened to his father’s mind?
They both stared at Willis before their jaws dropped at the lawyer’s next words.
“He brought her here for a reason. Isabel is now part owner of the resort.”
That's the end of Chapter 1.
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