Page 38 of Rusty

Think hard on it, Maguire. The choice is yours, but choose wisely, you understand?

Are you really selfish enough to ruin my daughter's life, just for a wee bit of fun?

Laird Angus Jameson

Glenmuir Estate

P. S. Mark my words, Maguire—if I catch even a whisper of you trying to contact Janice, be it by letter, phone, or through some mutual acquaintance, I'll make sure you regret it. She's to return to her proper place here at my cattle ranch, so that I can one day take her back to Glenmuir, where she belongs. Your fanciful ideas about love and freedom have no place in our world. Remember, I've eyes and ears all over these parts. There's nowhere you can hide from me if you choose to disobey.

Rusty's jaw clenched as he finished reading the letter, his good mood gone quicker than a spooked mustang. All those highfalutin’ Scottish words and fancy talk. What it boiled down to was simple enough: "Keep your mitts off my girl, or I'll make her life a living hell."

Plain as day, once you cut through all the bull.

Rusty shook his head, wondering how a man could threaten his own flesh and blood like that. Folks sure had strange ways of showing love, if you could call it that.

A pang of anger coursed through him, along with sadness over the ultimatum Angus had once given him.

What could he have done back then except walk away? Angus had told him to choose, but what choice did he have?

There had been no way he was going to cost Janice her inheritance, just so that he could be with her. It was millions, and a life in a Scottish castle—the kind of life that Rusty could never hope to offer her,

On top of this was the threat that Angus would destroy Rusty's life, too. The ranch Rusty and his family had lived on in Colorado for generations had been staying afloat due to Angus's contributions over the years. It wasn’t that Angus was making those contributions out of generosity. Oh, no. By keeping the neighboring ranch afloat as a struggling horse ranch, Angus was preventing competitors from buying it and potentially becoming powerful rivals in the cattle business. This support helped him maintain a near-monopoly in the local beef production market. Rusty knew it. His brothers knew it. His cousins, who still operated the ranch in Colorado, knew it. But again, what choice did they have?

Just then, Rusty’s eyes fell on another letter. He wrote this letter to Janice after receiving her father's damning missive.

"Janice," the letter began, "I don't know how to tell you this, but circumstances have changed, and we can no longer be together. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

In the letter, Rusty had tried to explain why he had to leave her without incriminating her father. Obviously, it was impossible. His excuses sounded pathetic and he feared they’d make things worse. Besides, Angus had told him not to contact her with so much as a “whisper.” So, with more heaviness in his heart than he ever thought possible, Rusty had just disappeared overnight, thinking it was for the best.

Janice had been saved, and his own ranch had been saved, meaning his brothers and cousins could stay there, but Rusty had left Colorado and kept a low-profile working on wrangling jobs in Utah for a number of years. The whole time, he had felt nothing but guilt and remorse.

Now, his hand trembled as he held the unsent letter, the memory of his pain still fresh. Suddenly, the fear of history repeating itself threatened to consume him. What if Angus found out about him and Janice again? What if Janice decided togo back to her father and try to make amends? What if Rusty was left with another impossible choice?

Rusty took a deep breath, his eyes lingering on the two letters. Finally, he tucked the letters away in the chest, hiding them from the world once more.

"Get it together, Rusty," he muttered to himself. “The past is in the past.”

Unfortunately, Rusty's mood had shifted, a dark cloud hanging over his thoughts. He couldn’t escape the feeling that Janice was going to end up getting hurt again, one way or another. Either by him, or Angus, or both of them.

But now was not the time to dwell on such things—he had to meet her at the stables.

As Rusty approached the stable, he saw Janice tenderly massaging Snickers, the brown mare's eyes closed in contentment. The sight momentarily lifted his spirits, but the weight of the letters still pressed down upon him. He tried to put on a brave face as Janice turned to greet him.

"Daddy," she said, flashing a warm smile. "You're just in time to help me finish up with Snickers."

"Sure thing," he replied, forcing a smile in return.

Janice studied him for a moment, her green eyes narrowing in concern. "What's wrong? You seem . . . off."

Rusty hesitated, unsure of how to express his inner turmoil without revealing the secrets hidden in those letters. "It's nothin', really. Just got some stuff on my mind," he said, hoping she would let it go.

"Are you sure?" she pressed, her voice soft and full of worry.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Rusty assured her. "Let's just focus on Snickers, alright?"

Janice nodded hesitantly, clearly not convinced, but returning her attention to the horse. As they worked together in silence,Rusty's thoughts were a whirlwind of emotions, the specter of the past haunting him even as he attempted to move forward.

He couldn't let it consume him. Not now. Not when they were finally finding their way back to each other after all these years. He had to believe that things could be different this time—that they both could grow and change for the better. But as the sun set over the ranch, casting long shadows across the dusty ground, Rusty couldn't shake the feeling that their happiness was balanced on a knife's edge, teetering between hope and heartache.

---