“Since they don’t cover the cost of the herd—”
“Or the five cattle your brother stole this morning,” Rory pointed out.
“What?” Sadie, Colt, and Ford all said at the same time.
“There are five more cows missing.”
Sadie’s eyes remained wide with surprise. “Rory, I’m so sorry. Are you sure it was him?”
“They came in from the back of the property again with a truck and trailer. Your brother and his buddies have been picking off cows for months.”
She huffed out a frustrated breath and raked her hand through her hair. “How stupid could he be to steal from you again? Why not target another ranch?”
“I have some ideas about that.” He didn’t share them, even though everyone stared at him, waiting.
Her hands went up, then slapped against her thighs in defeat. “Well, I guess the debt keeps mounting. So, you have the horses.” She pulled an envelope from her other back pocket and handed it to his grandfather.
Granddad opened the envelope and showed them all the stack of cash.
“It’s not enough, I know, but it’s all I’ve got after I sold off the hay and grass and settled up my bill at the clinic.”
“Sadie, I mean it. Take your horses and your money back.”
“Rory, I need to do this. I need to know I’ve made it right with you and your family. You saved my life and I’ve made yours worse. I can’t live with that. I won’t. My brother may not be a good person, but I am. I was raised to do the right thing, and I will do it now.”
Determination gleamed in her eyes. “My circumstances make it difficult to pay you the rest outright, so I’d like to offer to work off the rest.”
Rory opened his mouth to protest, but his grandfather clamped his hand on Rory’s forearm. “Hush, boy.”
Rory glared at his grandfather, not understanding one bit why he let this go on.
“What is it you’d like to do here, pretty girl?”
“Well, I have two jobs in town. During the week I work the breakfast and lunch shift at the diner. On the weekends I work at Zac’s Gas and Grocery. Some nights I cover the late shift at the diner. So I could come in the early morning, feed the horses, muck out stalls, that kind of thing. I could come back in the evening and, I don’t know, clean house, cook, whatever you need me to do.”
“You cook?” Colt, Ford, and his grandfather asked in unison. They all stared at her with baleful, hopeful eyes.
Jesus, this was really happening. She’d be here all the time. And that’s when it hit him. His grandfather didn’t want her to pay them back, he wanted her here. Right under Rory’s nose, so he’d get his great-grandbaby.
“Granddad,” Rory warned, not liking this setup at all. He didn’t want her working here.
“Now, Rory, you know we all can cook one thing or another that passes as decent food, but if this here pretty girl can cook something worth coming to the table for, I’m all for it.”
“Uh, my mother taught me to cook. I sometimes cover for the cook at the diner. I’ve never had an angry customer or a complaint, so that’s something.”
“You’re hired.” Granddad stuffed the envelope and papers in his back pocket. “It’s been a long time since we had a woman on the ranch. I hate to tell you the house could use some work.” His granddad nodded and cocked up one side of his mouth, the decision made. “Yes, sir, we should have thought to do this a long time ago. We accept the bargain, pretty girl.”
His grandfather held out his hand to shake Sadie’s. She placed her hand in his and accepted.
“I’ll be here tomorrow morning to work in the stables. Then I’ll come back after my shift at the diner. I’ll make dinner, maybe prepare something for your breakfast or lunch the next day, and do some cleaning.”
“Sounds good. We’ll see you then.”
“No,” Rory said, drawing his brothers’ and grandfather’s gazes. “You can come after your shift at the diner, but you are not working in the stables. You’re still hurt and need time to heal. You need your rest. I’m not having you wake up extra early to work here, then work an eight-hour shift in town and here in the evening, too. It’s too much.”
“But . . .”
“No buts. That’s how it’s going to be if you insist on doing this and my family goes against my wishes. Your father needs you, too.” Something sad and resigned crossed her eyes. “Is he worse?”
A Jeep pulled up. The driver honked the horn twice to get their attention.
“Is that Luna?” Colt asked, holding his hand over his brow to shield his eyes from the sun as he squinted to see the woman behind the wheel.