Tina Radcliffe - Stranded with the Rancher

“I hope so,” she murmured.

“No hoping about God. Trust me on this. After all, you don’t raise four children and bury a husband without learning a bit about the nature of the good Lord. He loves you so much He gathers your sorrows and collects your tears. Did you know that?”

“No, I didn’t.” Beth pondered the words, finding herself intrigued by the comment.

Elsie smiled. “Absolutely true. Now, you help yourself to anything you want. The refrigerator is open 24/7. I’m working on a quilt in the sewing room, other side of the kitchen. If you need anything feel free to come and find me.”

“Okay.” She paused. “Mrs. Gallagher?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks very much.”

Elsie cocked her head. “For what, dear?”

“Welcoming me into your home,” Beth said.

“You’re very welcome. And you can call me Elsie.”

Beth nodded and slowly closed the door behind Dan’s mother. She sank into the peach Parsons chair next to the dresser and dug in her tote for her phone, punching in her cousin’s number.

“Hey, Beth. Dan called to let us know what happened. He said you’re staying at his mother’s.”

“Yes.”

“Elsie is a hoot, isn’t she?”

“She is.” Beth released a short laugh “Actually, all of the Gallaghers that I’ve met are nice. I like them.”

“They’re good folk.”

“So, is everything okay at your place?” Beth asked.

“Yeah. We lost power, but I have a couple backup generators. That snow plays havoc on the trees and then they hit those wires, so we’re used to dealing with it.”

“Could that happen here?”

“Elsie has generators, too. Everyone does up here. You’re safe.”

Beth glanced around the cozy room. Safe.

“Are you okay, Beth?” Ben asked. “You sound...off.”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

“Remember, everything is going to work out.”

“Do you think so?”

“I do. Beth, this storm is huge. It’s on all the national news channels. Storm of the year, they’re calling it. That practice in New York will realize soon enough that there was nothing you could do to get there.”

“I hope you’re right. I’ll leave a message with them and then try to reach someone through the answering service in the morning.”

“Good.” He paused. “And, Beth, Dan is a good guy. You can trust him.”

“Will I need to?”

“You have to trust someone.”

“I’ll give that some thought. Thanks, Ben. I’ll check in with you tomorrow. Tell Sara and the babies hello.”

“I will.”

Beth punched in the number of the clinic. The out-of-office voice mail message droned in her ear, advising her that the clinic was closed and offering her the number for the emergency doctor on call.

Frustrated, she put the phone down, then plugged in the charger and turned off the volume. She’d call again later. Leaning back against the soft padding of the chair, she stared out the window at the still-falling snow.

Her glance moved to the worn leather Bible on the oak bureau. She got up and put the book on the bed, flipping through the pages. What had Elsie said?

God has a plan for you.

“I certainly hope He’ll let me in on the plan soon.”

* * *

Dan looked up as one of the garage’s big doors swung open, blowing in a gust of wind and snow flurries along with his mother.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

Elsie shut the door and then pushed off her hood. “Yes. Your guest is resting.” She stomped the snow from her boots. “Amy is coloring. I gave her the walkie-talkie.”

He nodded. “Quiet is good, right?”

“Mmm-hmm,” she replied.

Dan continued his task of checking supplies in the storage compartments of the snowmobile and restocking his emergency medical tackle box. It was routine to have everything ready to go for the next emergency call.

Elsie walked around the building, stopping to examine the vehicles. She lifted the tarp on Joe’s brand-new oversize pickup. The truck had been put away since the accident. Joe couldn’t handle the gearshift after he lost his right arm.

“Will Joe be able to change gears in his truck with the prosthesis?” Elsie asked.

“Sure. He’ll learn how. Remember, he’s going to have occupational therapy. Until then he can use his old automatic truck.”

“Think he’ll follow through with therapy?”

“I think Joe will do anything he has to, in order to get his life back to normal.”

“I hope you’re right.”

She wandered over to examine the on-call calendar tacked to the wall.

“Need anything in particular?” Dan asked.

“No. Just came out to chat.”

Dan’s ears perked up. He sensed trouble coming. “Chat” was code for his mother trying to ferret out information he was not interested in dispensing.

“So,” Elsie continued. “Beth certainly is a surprise, isn’t she?”

Dan froze for a moment before he raised the brim of his hat to better assess his mother. Yep. She was on a mission. “A surprise?” he slowly asked, keeping his voice void of emotion.

“I just mean she’s such a sweet girl. And so pretty. Did you notice?”

Did he notice? A mental picture of Beth’s dimples and soft blue eyes distracted him from his mother’s words for a moment. He shook his head, bringing himself back to reality. That reality was that he liked his life just the way it was.

“She’s on her way to New York,” he said flatly.

“Oh, I know.” His mother’s tone was musing and Dan shivered.

Silence stretched.

“It’s been six years and you haven’t even been on a date,” Elsie observed.

Dan sighed. Okay, well at least now they were on familiar ground. The same old story he heard week in and week out. “I have a daughter to think about.”

“Oh, pooh, Amy isn’t the issue here.”

“What is the issue here?” he returned.

“You.”

Dan said nothing for a long moment. He didn’t think he was gun-shy. Sure, he’d made a mistake six years ago, but he’d learned plenty since then. He’d like nothing more than to settle down in Paradise with someone special. That someone special just hadn’t come along yet.

His mother meant well, but he didn’t have the energy or desire for a debate. “I’m thinking that if you want to fix someone you should take care of Joe. He’s got a chip on his shoulder bigger than the valley.”

His mother paused and tilted her head, eyes narrowing. “True. One project at a time.”

Dan bent down for a final check of the supplies, and then stood and dusted off his hands.

“What’s next?” Elsie asked.

“I’ve already looked in on the cattle and brought a few pregnant heifers into the barn.”

“Problems?”

“I don’t know, but they were acting strange, so I want to keep a closer eye on them. I’ll check them again during the night.”

“What’s the feed situation?”

“I’m about to put out the hay and feed cakes.”

“I can help.”

“You’ve covered for me all morning. Take a break, Mom.”

“I merely fed the chickens and the herd dogs. Even Amy can handle that.”

“That’s one less thing for me to do.”

“I’ll help with the cattle,” she said.

Dan exhaled and faced his mother. “You don’t trust me to do Joe’s job?”

“Of course I do. All I’m saying is that ranch work is safer in pairs. Everyone knows that. Look at your brother. If he’d only waited for you...” His mother’s lips thinned, and for a brief moment her shoulders sagged with grief for her eldest son.

Dan couldn’t deny her logic there. If Joe had waited for him to help with that tractor repair he might not have lost his arm. But Dan wasn’t going there. Not today. He’d just end up feeling guilty over something that wasn’t his fault. Joe was stubborn and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon.