Page 6 of Take Me Please, Cowboy
“No.”
She frowned, uncertain.“How do you know?”
“Because it passes.”
“How long has it been happening?”
“For the last six months or so.But it’s fine.I’m fine.I think I’ll just go to bed.I’ll feel better in the morning.”
She glanced at the dessert plate on the end table.“No dessert?”
“Maybe put it in the freezer and I’ll have it tomorrow.”
He was struggling to rise, and she hovered, wanting to assist but not sure how.
On his feet, he sighed and shook his head.“If you don’t see me tomorrow morning, I might have gone to meet my maker.”
“Uncle Clyde, don’t say that.”
“Just a joke.”
“It’s not funny.I’m worried about you.”
“Everything’s fine.You deal with the brownie, and I’ll deal with myself.”
But in bed that evening, Ansley couldn’t sleep, her thoughts returning to her uncle.
What if he really wasn’t well and needed medical care?What if he needed help now?She didn’t want to lie in bed, updating her Instagram account if he needed her.
Troubled, she slipped from bed, tiptoed down the hall, and quietly opened his door.His room was dark.She heard snoring.He was asleep.He was okay.Feeling encouraged, Ansley returned to her room and wondered again what her uncle’s future was, as well as the future of Cold Canyon Ranch, which had been in the Campbell family for almost a hundred years.
The Campbells were a Montana family, and always had been since emigrating from Scotland at the turn of the century.Her dad, Callen Campbell, was the first Campbell to leave Montana, turning his back on the family property, but that was because of a deep rift between him and his brother.They hadn’t always been antagonistic.Growing up, her dad and uncle Clyde had apparently been close.They were also competitive like most brothers, with Clyde a little more competitive.But even then, no one expected him to swoop in and steal his brother’s girlfriend when Callen joined the army.
Her dad refused to forgive Clyde even after he’d met Ansley’s mom and had fallen in love.They’d been happy together—obviously with six kids, five boys and one daughter over a fifteen-year period—and were still happily married.But Callen wouldn’t forgive his brother and Clyde made no attempt to repair their relationship, either, not even when widowed.There was no fixing the past, and no hope for the future, which also put the future of the Campbells’ ranch in jeopardy.
Callen still owned half the ranch.Their dad had left the property to both his sons, but Callen did nothing to help it, and he never took the income from it, leaving it all in the Campbell trust.
It was Callen’s wife, Andi, who felt sorry for Clyde.Andi was the one who sent Clyde a Christmas card every year, and a card for Clyde’s birthday.When Clyde’s neighbor, rancher Melvin Wyatt reached out to the Texas Campbells, it was Andi who answered the phone.Melvin was calling to let them know that Clyde was not well, and the Cold Canyon Ranch was falling into disrepair.Melvin said he and his boys were patching fences and checking in regularly on Clyde, but he needed help, someone who could be there daily, as his dementia was worsening.
It had been a shock to Ansley’s dad that his younger brother had vascular dementia.The last time Callen had seen Clyde they were both in their mid-twenties.Now they were men in their late sixties.Callen didn’t feel like sixty.He didn’t feel fifty.He was still fit and strong and riding every day.He worked his ranch every day.Discovering that his brother wasn’t healthy shook him.He and Andi made a trip to Montana and spent a weekend at the farmhouse.Clyde was better by the time they left, less confused, more lucid, but he was easily agitated and would get frustrated by change.
Back in Texas, Callen gathered his family and said that this next year was critical.They needed to help Clyde, and they needed to figure out what to do with the ranch.Andi suggested Clyde move in with them, but Callen wasn’t going to go that far.It was one thing to be concerned about his brother’s welfare, and another to have him under his own roof.
There was much discussion amongst the boys, Ansley’s brothers, about the Montana property.How many acres?How many cattle could it support?Were any crops being grown?Could it provide a living?Despite the intense conversation nobody was ready to move to Paradise Valley, not when everyone had work, and relationships in Texas.
But then Ansley surprised them all by raising her hand.“I’ll go,” she said.“At least for the summer.We can decide what happens after that later.”
Summer had come and gone, and no one mentioned relieving Ansley.Her parents hadn’t returned for another visit.It was as if Clyde and Cold Canyon Ranch were no longer an issue.No one needed to get involved.Ansley had the situation well in hand.
Ansley turned over in bed, squishing her down pillow beneath her cheek.Oh, if only they knew.
Chapter Two
The pounding penetratedhis sleep, interrupting his dream.Pounding close by.
Rye opened his eyes, looked around, remembered where he was.His trailer.Marietta fairgrounds.The pounding was coming from his trailer door.
He glanced at his phone as he swung his legs out of the narrow bed.Six fifteen.
