Julianna Morris - The Ranch Solution

“I’m not trying to be rude,” she said evenly. “But it’s important for Caitlin’s welfare that you don’t expect a service we aren’t able to deliver. And if I have to push to get the message across, that’s what I’ll do.”

“At least we agree about her safety, but you can’t act as if she was raised on a ranch, with the skills and experience you and your brother have acquired from everyday life.”

“Kids grow up fast here. There’s nothing wrong with that. Everyone has to take chances to learn and really live. We just risk a few more than parents allow their children to in the city.”

“That’s so reassuring,” Jacob said sarcastically. “But I’ll decide how fast my daughter grows up, if you don’t mind.”

Mariah bit her lip to keep from saying something else she’d regret. For example, if he was so concerned for Caitlin, why did he spend so many hours working? She’d heard that he had already asked where he could charge the batteries for his smartphone and laptop computer, whether the ranch provided wireless internet and if they had a fax machine for guest use. What did he plan to do, set up an office in the mess tent and run his business while everyone else dealt with Caitlin? Surely she needed her father’s time more than she needed to ride in a Mercedes or have other expensive frills.

Mariah’s dad used to say it took all kinds to get by, but she wasn’t as certain. While she appreciated the income Jacob O’Donnell’s “kind” brought the ranch, it came at a stiff price. Money was a means to an end for Mariah; it wasn’t a priority the way it appeared to be for Jacob.

“By the way,” she said finally, “we never put our guests in the middle of a situation as serious as treating a wounded cow, so I know my wranglers didn’t ask for your help.”

“It seemed the right thing to do, and I wish you hadn’t interfered.” Jacob’s eyes were hard and impassive.

“I interfered, as you put it, because it’s my job.” She wasn’t sure what to make of his statement. Chauvinism? Or was it ego? She’d encountered an excess of male ego over the years—typically from weekend warriors taking risks to prove something to themselves or someone else. Except Jacob didn’t seem the weekend-warrior type. “Did you get kicked or hurt before I arrived?”

“Not to speak of.” He slapped some dirt and grass from his clothes. “You aren’t going to be sued. I signed your waiver-of-responsibility forms, remember?”

“Does everything boil down to money for you?” she asked, her nerves on edge...maybe because she knew that the waiver forms might or might not protect the U-2 in court. And the threat would go up if somebody with Jacob O’Donnell’s resources decided to sue them. He could likely purchase a hundred ranches without noticing the change in his bank account.

“There’s nothing wrong with money, and it safeguards my daughter.”

Mariah watched Caitlin. Despite what he thought, being rich didn’t offer guarantees. And while it was natural for parents to worry about their children, Jacob seemed to worry more than most. He must have been frantic about Caitlin’s behavior to bring her to Montana. Riding horses and working with range cattle was worlds away from going to a safe, air-conditioned movie theater.

“For what it’s worth, I think Caitlin is a good kid at heart,” Mariah said awkwardly. “I realize she has problems you’re trying to—”

“Problems?” The word burst out of him. “You could say that. Kittie set fire to her school gymnasium last Wednesday.”

The impulsive revelation was a shock, yet Mariah couldn’t believe the girl who’d panicked thinking a wolf might have eaten her father would deliberately set a fire. Besides, Jacob O’Donnell might be able to buy his way out of most of Caitlin’s mistakes, but arson would surely have landed her in juvenile court.

“How did it happen?”

“It wasn’t on purpose. She tried to hide the cigarette she was sneaking without putting it out. Kids are kids—they get in trouble,” he said, an aggressive thrust to his chin. “I only told you in case she mentions it and you get the wrong idea.”

“I see.” Mariah released the breath she’d been holding. Smoking was less worrisome than arson, and she could make inquiries to be sure Jacob was telling her the full story and not the sanitized version. “Does she have any cigarettes with her now?”

“Of course not.”

There wasn’t any “of course” about it, but Mariah didn’t want to antagonize him further by pointing that out.

“I’m going to check on my daughter.” Without another word, Jacob urged his horse into a trot. The tension in Caitlin’s body increased visibly as he rode up by her.

Mariah gazed at the O’Donnells and the calf and beyond at the tree-studded hills. Thank goodness she didn’t have the same problems with her brother as Jacob had with Caitlin.

Setting fire to the school?

Lord.

She began mentally reviewing the locations of the U-2’s fire hoses and extinguishers.

* * *

AN HOUR AND A HALF LATER, Jacob stepped under a spray of water and rubbed soap on his chest. He was grateful they’d gotten back to the ranch center early—between cows, horses, sweat and dirt, he’d never needed a shower more.

The high window in the concrete shower stall was open and he saw Mariah Weston and her brother standing by the foremost barn. The afternoon sun turned her auburn hair into a dark flame, painting her curves with light and shadow, and he felt another unwelcome flash of attraction. She was so different from Anna it seemed almost disloyal to find her sexually appealing.

Not that he was a monk.

He dated and enjoyed an occasional discreet liaison as long as it was understood he didn’t want anything permanent. Lately, though, he’d hardly looked at women, what with Kittie acting out every parent’s nightmare. So it didn’t make sense that someone as impossible as Mariah was getting to him, even in passing. Hell, if nothing else, the jagged white scar he’d spotted on her left forearm and the half-healed gash on her right palm should be enough to warn him off.

How had she acquired those injuries?

A hundred disturbing possibilities came to mind, each attached to the knowledge that the same things could happen to Kittie. And it would be his fault for bringing her to Montana. Parenting had land mines he couldn’t have imagined fifteen years ago when he was debating with Anna whether it was too soon to start a family. He’d wanted to wait until he graduated and was established in his career, but she’d talked him into fatherhood without too much effort...the same way she’d talked him into everything.

Before long Reid went into the barn and Mariah stood there alone. For somebody operating a vacation business that ran on goodwill, she had a strange way of communicating with paying guests. Yet Jacob shifted uneasily. Strange wasn’t quite the best description; it was more a brutal honesty with a dash of temper. Still, the honesty was from her point of view, and it didn’t make her right.

Kids might grow up faster on a ranch than in the city, but he saw no reason for Kittie to grow up faster than she already had—particularly if it meant taking unnecessary gambles with her safety. Adulthood would come soon enough.

He did respect the way Mariah had treated the cow. Getting close to a wild, thrashing animal took guts; it had convinced him she was a genuine rancher, not just a figurehead. What Mariah didn’t understand was that Kittie had wanted him to help, and failing the request had put a new black mark on his parental report card.

He ducked under the showerhead and scrubbed his hair, aware that working with an outraged cow had also seemed easier than dealing with his own child. What kind of father did that make him?