Page 87 of On His Ranch

“Sure, but you didn’t know what it was like before. The ranch was smaller. I added on a lot because I wanted to keep busy. What’s more, I used to have help.”

Chase did a double take. This was the first time he’d ever heard about it. He couldn’t even imagine other people working at the ranch. “But every time Ma used to suggest—”

“Well, as I said, it had to do with me wantin’ to stay busy, not because we couldn’t use the help.”

He leaned on the rake and considered his grandfather. “So, what are you sayin’? You think I should give up the ranch? This is all I’ve ever wanted, Senior. You know that.”

“Sure it was, once. And if you still want the ranch, well, that’s fine, son. But it doesn’t mean you have to do it all on your own. You can’t, really. Not if you want a family.” The conversation must have been over, because Senior went back to work hefting things in their dump pile for trash-burning day.

Chase let the matter drop as well, turning his attention back to the dirty old straw that he was raking into the pile. But Senior had given him some things to think about. “You know what I think?” he asked as he gazed out at the sky. “I think you’re goin’ soft on me, old man.”

His grandfather chuckled as he pulled a lighter from his pocket. “Your grandma used to call me a romantic, you know.”

He snorted. That was something he had to pretend real hard to see. “Well, how about that?”

“Don’t go spreadin’ it around.”

“Oh, don’t worry. No one would believe it.”

Senior flicked the old-fashioned lighter open and the wick lit at once. He held out a piece of kindling and the flame licked it a moment before it caught fire. “Well, I gotta say, there were moments your mother an’ I weren’t too sure you’d findanyoneto your likin’. But this one, Piper—”

Chase would have to wait to hear what his grandfather had been about to say, because at that moment when he tossed the kindling onto the pile of debris there was a loud, ricochetingboomas the pile went up in an instantaneous roaring fire and his grandfather was thrown to the ground.

* * *

Piper was in the middle of a wonderful, delicious dream—one of the ones that feel like they’re happening in real life, which makes them doubly yummy. She would have stayed there all day, but a distant yell made her begin to stir.

“Ma!Ma!Come quick!”

She was up in bed like a shot, hurriedly tossing aside the covers and leaping out. She dressed quickly, ignoring the fact that she only had yesterday’s dress in here and couldn’t find her underwear. She threw open the door and raced down the stairs two at a time.

“What in the world?” she heard Patti say as she approached. “What happened, Chase?”

Piper didn’t hear his answer, and descended the stairs just in time to see their backs as they rounded the corner toward the den. Cursing her short legs, she chased them. When she entered the den, Chase was laying Senior down on the couch while Patti hovered by nervously.

“What happened?” she demanded again, her voice shaking.

“I don’t know, Ma. I mean, there was an explosion, but—”

“An explosion! Chase!”

“It wasn’t anything we did, Ma,” he assured her, stepping to the side. Patti immediately moved to fill the space he left and began unbuttoning the older man’s shirt, trying to assess him. “It was trash burn day. We did everythin’ the way we always do. ‘Course, I wasn’t there as early as I usually am…”

Piper crouched in the corner, unnoticed. She knew she should speak up, but there was something on Chase’s face that stopped her. He was thinking, and she was spellbound as she watched, waiting to see what he’d say.

“Maybe they did somethin’ to the pile while I was… busy. Had to have been.”

Patti glanced up, giving him an imperious glare that Piper knew all too well, albeit from her son. “This has gone too far. You need to figure out how to make it stop.Now.”

What? What is she talking about? What has gone too far? Who are they?

“I’m tryin’ to stop it, Ma. You know that.”

“No, you’re tryin’ to catch ‘em in the act so you can have revenge. If you don’t know who it is, then call the cops!” Her voice rose in a frenzied pitch.

“Ma, you know why I—”

“No!” she hissed. “No, Ido not! You keep that to yourself, you and Senior with your cowboy games! I’ve hadenough, do you understand? This has got to stop!”

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