Here Comes Trouble (12 page)

"I'll talk to my contractor and get an
estimate to build it...you put together a proposal on all of your
ideas we've talked about in the last week. I'm gonna have to find
another investor to make them happen. With your help, my brother
and I will pitch it to my father and see if he'll bite first. If
not, we'll go somewhere else."

Her dark eyes lit up and she smiled from ear
to ear. She would, she wasn't paying for any of her
'ideas'.

"Get me the proposal, and I'll let you know in
a week..." Joel needed to talk to Chase, and they needed to talk to
his father.

Penny, his cook, walked into his office and
Joel looked up from the paper on his desk. "Everything okay?" he
asked.

"Thought I'd let you know Dylan and Sheedy
just called and said the limo is on the way from the airport, and
your guests should be here in forty minutes or so."

Joel glanced at his watch and cursed. "Thanks,
Penny," he said and gathered up the papers to stack them at the
corner of his desk. "I've got to cut this short, Gigi. Get me that
proposal, okay?" he said and stood.

His first guests were coming. It was showtime,
and he would be in the hot seat. This was a 'soft opening' for the
ranch, to see if they had all their ducks in a row. Only four
guests, and friends at that, would be staying at the R & R for
a week, but it would tell the tale of what they needed to improve
on before the Spring rush. He'd continue to take a limited number
of bookings through February, then he knew all hell would break
loose, so he'd better be prepared. Fixing things in the throes of a
rush of guests would be a nightmare.

Joel was determined the ranch would be fully
functional come March first.

Right now, he needed to circle the wagons so
to speak, and get his crew together to make sure the were ready.
Joel buzzed Trish and asked her to put a call out on the two-way
radio that everyone needed to meet him by the main barn in ten
minutes.

Terri reached up to stack the last roll of
gauze dressing on the shelf of the cabinet. She had almost finished
putting away the supplies Joel had delivered to the ranch this
morning. The ranch hands had helped her install the equipment and
her station was almost ready. Terri was glad she'd come back to the
ranch Saturday night instead of staying in town. It helped her be
ahead of the game today, and Joel seemed more relaxed with her now,
she knew she was more easy around him.

Sunday morning they had cooked breakfast
together, because Penny was off. After they ate he had helped her
unload supplies in the aid station, and she'd helped him out in the
barn. Terri didn't know how much help she'd been out there, because
she was clueless, but he acted like he liked having her out there.
It was pretty nice just being alone with him without being edgy. He
really was an upbeat and funny guy when he forgot about his
problems.

Terri stood back and wiped the sweat from her
brow with her forearm, then took a look around her little slice of
heaven. Overall, the setup was rudimentary, but she had enough
equipment to keep someone alive, until advanced help could arrive
should something bad happen.

With the add-on services and packages she and
Joel had talked about last night after dinner, while sitting on the
front porch having a beer, she had a feeling the Rodeo Adventure
package alone was going to keep her busy.

Picking up an industrial sized box of Band
Aids, she sat it on the counter and used the box cutter to open it.
The two-way radio at her waist toned loudly and her heart jumped in
her chest.

"Joel wants everyone at the big barn in ten
minutes," a chirpy voice she recognized as that of Trish, the sweet
and young guest services girl, intoned over the radio.

Terri blew her hair out of her face and set
the box cutter down. She grabbed a soda from the mini-fridge and
popped the tab, then took a long drink. From all the dust at the
ranch, her mouth felt like she was making mud pies inside. A few
more swallows cleared it out, and her body cooled down a
little.

For some reason, the window air conditioning
unit wasn't working right. Or it was so hot outside, it couldn't
keep up. For September, they were having a heat wave. Maybe she
should have gotten a bigger unit, she thought, then remembered why
she hadn't. Money...she didn't want to stress Joel out any more
than he was. There were only a few weeks left anyway before it
would really cool off, so she'd just deal with that next
summer.

Terri figured worrying about money and the
ranch is what had been keeping him up at night, long past the time
she went to bed. Instead of going to bed, he'd go into his office
and she'd see the light burning in there, even in the middle of the
night. She wondered if he worked in there until he passed out at
his desk.

He was burning the candle at both ends,
working eighteen hour days, and she was worried about him. That's
why when he'd said he was going to his office after supper last
night, she'd dragged him out on the porch instead and made him
relax. Terri couldn't do much to help him, but she could make him
take a break now and again.

When she brought up the infamous Gigi last
night he'd laughed and said the woman was as bad as his ex-wife and
was on a mission to bankrupt him, which had led to the discussion
of the new services he was adding at the ranch.

She'd been impressed with how well-thought-out
the whole thing seemed to be, but Terri hoped he wasn't biting off
more than he could chew. She was a nurse, didn't know a whole
helluva lot about business, but she did know a business that
expanded before it was ready was doomed to fail. Just like a
relationship, a slow and steady build up was the key to success.
That's what she was trying to remember with Joel, and she hoped he
thought about that with his business.

Tossing her now empty soda can in the garbage
on the way out, she headed to see what Joel wanted with them. It
was almost time for their guests to arrive, so he was probably on
pins and needles.

Her station was on the other side of the
compound from the big barn, so it took her a few minutes to get
there. When she did, everyone was gathered there, some leaning,
some sitting on the white board fence. Joel was nowhere to be
seen.

She glanced back at the house and saw a golf
cart heading toward them and smiled. She'd suggested he get one
last night, and it looked like he'd gotten right on it this
morning. That would at least help him get around faster. The R
& R Ranch was huge and the buildings spread out. Other than
riding a horse everywhere, a golf cart was the best solution. It
would also help if someone got hurt. They could bring them to the
aid station faster.

It was a four-seater, and Penny was in the
seat beside him clutching the bar as it moved over the uneven
ground, and she saw the back of Trish's blond head in the rumble
seat behind her. When he got closer, she saw Joel wasn't smiling,
everything about his body language said tense. He parked beside the
fence and got out, then walked over to them with Trish and Penny
lagging behind.

"Okay, folks," he said in a no-bullshit tone.
"Our first guests will be here in thirty minutes, so we need to
have a quick rundown of the schedule for the week."

"These people are friends of mine, but their
also paying guests, so keep that in mind when you're dealing with
them. If you have any problems, take it up with me, not them," he
continued then turned toward Trish who was standing beside him
holding a sheaf of papers.

He took them from her and thumbed one off then
handed the rest to Matt, who was on the end of the row. "Pass those
around, and keep them with you..." Joel told them, then looked down
at his copy.

"Today, I'm going to take them on a tour of
the ranch, so they can get their bearings, and we'll have a bonfire
tonight in the pasture back behind the bunkhouse, which all of you
should attend. In the morning, Rocky you start teaching them how to
ride. You have two days to make sure they're competent.

Matt, you get them Wednesday afternoon to
teach them how to rope. We'll be with them on the trail, so they
just need to know the basics. We're having a bonfire and cookout on
Wednesday night, then we all pull out early on Thursday morning for
the cattle drive.

We'll be moving fifty head to the back acreage
Thursday and Friday, then ride back to the ranch on Friday
afternoon. The cattle will be left in the fenced pasture on the
back acreage, then ya'll can drive them back this weekend or
Monday.

You'll need your bedrolls, and camping
equipment, and a couple of changes of clothes. Jarvis will drive
the chuck wagon and cook for us on the trail," he told them then
took a deep breath and looked directly at her. "Terri, I need you
to go with us, since this is our first drive. I have no idea what
we'll come across, and I want to be prepared, just in
case."

Shock jolted through her and Terri took a step
forward. "But I don't know how--" she started and he cut her
off.

"Rocky, Terri will take riding lessons with
the guests. Make damned sure she knows how to ride a horse by the
time we leave," he told the tall, thin strawberry blonde cow hand.
Rocky nodded and smiled at her. It was the first smile she'd ever
seen on the woman's face, and Terri wasn't sure she liked
it.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Terri stumbled back to the first-aid station
and closed the door behind her. She was going on a cattle drive,
and she was just now learning to ride a horse. It didn't help that
she was scared as shit of the woman who was going to teach her to
ride. Rocky had probably learned to ride before she could walk.
She'd seen her on a horse, and the woman was amazing.

Although they'd eaten supper at the same table
almost every night since she'd arrived at the ranch last week, the
woman had never engaged her in conversation. Terri had tried to
draw her out, but all she got was a nod in return. Rocky didn't
seem to have the same problem with the cowboys. They talked the
same language, and she evidently felt comfortable with
them.

Terri was also intimidated about having to
improvise medical treatment while they were on the drive. Field
medicine was not something Terri had ever practiced. She was used
to sterile conditions, in a hospital with equipment at her
fingertips. The thought of having to treat an injury out in the
open, and improvising terrified her.

She had no idea how much weight a horse could
carry, but the things she'd have to carry with her 'just in case'
would be a lot. Maybe she could stash some of it in the chuck
wagon. She'd have to talk to Jarvis.

If Jenny wasn't pregnant and about to pop,
she'd make her go with them. Her friend was a trauma doctor and
knew how to ride a horse. That wasn't going to happen though,
because her friend
was
hugely pregnant and just waiting to
deliver.

God, she hoped Jenny didn't go into labor
while she was out in the middle of the boonies with a bunch of
cows. She wanted to be there to support her, and maybe calm Chase
down because Terri knew he was going to be a wreck. According to
Jenny, he was already a wreck.

Terri also didn't have trail clothing...her
closet was mostly filled with dress clothes and scrubs. She had two
pair of jeans, one of them bedazzled and not suited for the trail,
and a couple of pairs of cutoffs, but there was no way she was
riding a horse in shorts. Even she knew better than that. A shiver
passed through her at the thought of the blisters she'd get on her
thighs. The ones she'd likely have on her ass were going to be bad
enough.

She'd have to make a trip to the small western
shop by the main house later. Their stock was limited, she knew,
but they had basic jeans, hats and boots. Cora the shopkeeper could
probably help her get outfitted.

Terri imagined the cow hands weren't going to
be happy with her going with them. They all knew she was as much of
a greenhorn as their guests would likely be, probably more green.
Why Joel insisted she go, she had no idea. They had two-way radios
and if something happened, she could drive a truck back to them,
and haul back the patient. That's what they had talked about. Terri
figured he'd insisted because misery loved company, and from the
look on his face a few minutes ago, Joel was worried sick and near
the seventh ring of hell.

Huffing out a breath, Terri finished setting
up the first aid station and pulled herself together then went to
the western store.

Three hours later, according to Cora the woman
who ran the store, she now had everything she would need to learn
to ride a horse and work on this ranch. Terri thought she had
everything she needed to be a pack mule, because the two sacks she
was toting probably weight fifty pounds.

Her shopping excursion had probably cost her
first two weeks salary. It had taken three hours for her to get
outfitted, because cow poke clothes did not come in petite sizes
she found out, so she had to try on everything to find things that
fit. Some of the stuff she bought she had to get in little boy
sizes, which was humiliating. Cora also had to show her how to put
on some of the gear, like the leather chaps the woman insisted she
needed. After she'd put them on backwards once, then upside down,
the woman had pity on her and showed her how to do it
property.