Stella Bagwell - The Rancher's Request

That afternoon, as Juliet drove to the Sunset Manor, she asked herself, as she did many times since leaving the Dallas Morning News, if she was wasting herself in this small town with its tiny paper that consisted of mostly local social events. She was a good journalist and she’d written pieces on everything from crime to politics. But the city pace had been exhausting and the pressure to meet deadlines enough to give her stomach problems.

If she could manage to get five minutes of her father’s time, he’d tell her it was a hell of a waste to go through years of working and scraping for funds to get herself through college then wind up writing about births, deaths and weddings. But she wouldn’t take five minutes of Hugh Madsen’s time even if he would give it to her. Just as she’d not taken a dime of his money when she’d been working her way through college.

Hugh was a man that was for one person and one person only. Himself. Even before her mother had died, Juliet could remember him being gone from the house for days on end. There had always been some big deal he was making, the next pile of money to be made. Every now and then he’d hit it big with some new venture, then a few months later be filing bankruptcy.

Even when her mother had become seriously ill, Hugh hadn’t changed his high-rolling ways. He’d always made charming promises to his daughter and his wife, but he’d rarely, if ever, come through with them. As far as Juliet was concerned, her mother had died of a broken heart rather than cancer. She’d simply lost her spirit to fight for her life.

At the nursing home, Juliet interviewed the birthday honoree, then took pictures of the woman among her family and friends. The social room was festooned with bright colored balloons and strips of twisted crepe paper. A stereo was providing ballroom music and several old, but agile couples, were dancing and holding hands like young lovers. It was a festive, uplifting scene and as Juliet walked down the wide corridor of the building, she felt a little better about the world.

Maybe there was hope for her yet, she thought wryly. Maybe by the time she grew to be an old woman she would find the love of her life.

Juliet was walking along, musing over that thought, when she passed an open door to a resident’s room. An older man with thick, dark hair and slumped shoulders was sitting in a wheelchair and at his feet, a young girl was reading to him from a small, leather-bound book.

The girl’s voice was sweet and clear and somehow familiar. Juliet paused in the corridor for a closer glance and was totally surprised to see Gracia Sanchez.

For a moment Juliet questioned the wisdom of making her presence known to the girl, even if the door was open to the private room. But the last time she’d seen Gracia, she’d been crying and fleeing across the lawn. She wanted to make sure the girl had gotten over the embarrassing incident.

Quietly, Juliet stepped to the open door and knocked on the facing. “I’m sorry for interrupting, Gracia. I just happened to see you and I wanted to say hi.”

“Juliet!”

Jumping from her seat on the low stool, the girl ran over to Juliet and flung her arms around her waist. Juliet was so surprised by the unexpected display of emotion that for a moment she was at a loss for words.

“I thought I’d never get to see you again!” the girl exclaimed as she stepped back and grabbed Juliet’s hand.

Juliet smiled at her. The girl was dressed in blue jeans and a yellow T-shirt with some sort of logo printed across the front. She looked like any normal girl her age rather than the miserable child she’d seen on the front lawn of the ranch.

“Well, I never expected to see you here today,” Juliet replied. “Are you visiting a friend or relative?”

Gracia looked fondly over her shoulder at the man in the wheelchair. “That’s my grandfather, Mingo Sanchez. He likes for me to read the Bible to him. So I come every other day after school.”

It was difficult for Juliet to determine the man’s age. His face wasn’t that lined with wrinkles, but the twist of his mouth aged his appearance. A wide scar ran from his temple to the back side of his head. Seeing the hairless strip of skin made her wonder if he’d had to undergo some sort of operation.

“That’s very nice of you to spend your time with him. Has your grandfather lived here long?”

Gracia tilted her head to one side as she thought about Juliet’s question. “Maybe two or three years. I can’t remember exactly. He got hurt. Do you want to come in and say hi to him?”

Juliet hesitated. She wasn’t all that good with handicapped people and besides that, she had a feeling that if Matt found out she was anywhere near his father, he’d be snorting fire. Still, she didn’t want to hurt the girl’s feelings.

“All right. Just for a moment.”

With her hand still closed around Juliet’s, Gracia led her over to the man in the wheelchair.

“Grandpa can’t talk, but he understands what you say to him,” Gracia explained to Juliet, then spoke to her grandfather in a rapid spate of Spanish.

Once she was finished, the man lifted one hand weakly out toward Juliet. She stepped forward and shook it gently.

“Hello, Mr. Sanchez. My name is Juliet. I’m a friend of your granddaughter’s.”

He nodded and managed to give her a slow wink. The flirtatious greeting told Juliet the man must be the exact opposite from his son.

Gracia said, “I’ve already told him about you. I told him about Daddy being rude to you, too.”

Embarrassed heat swept across Juliet’s face. “Oh. You shouldn’t have mentioned that. It’s already forgotten.” At least, she liked to tell herself he was forgotten.

Gracia twirled a strand of hair around her forefinger as she studied Juliet. “Uh—what are you doing here? Do you have family here, too?”

Juliet shook her head. “No. I’m here doing an assignment for the paper.”

“Oh. Then you have to go back to work this evening?”

“For a while.”

The girl’s expression fell flat. “Gee, I was hoping we could go for a soda or something.” She glanced at a big watch on her wrist, then added hopefully, “Daddy won’t be here to pick me up for another thirty minutes.”

Then that meant Juliet had time to be long gone before the man showed up.

“I’m sorry, Gracia, I really need to get back to the office. But if it’s okay with your grandfather, why don’t you walk with me to my car?”

“Well—it’s not like having a soda together,” she said halfheartedly. “But it’s better than nothing.”

In another rush of Spanish, Gracia explained to her grandfather that she would return in a few minutes. Juliet told the older man goodbye and then the two of them left the room.

As they walked down the wide, tiled corridor, Gracia said, “It always makes me sad when I come to visit Grandpa. I want him to get well so he can come home to the ranch. He was my best friend. We rode horses together and he was training a cutter for me so that I could compete. But now—” She broke off with a wistful sigh. “Well—I’m just waiting for him to come home.”

Sadness for the girl filled Juliet’s heart. “There isn’t anyone else on the ranch that could train your horse for you?”

Gracia’s head tilted from one shoulder to the other. “Sure, there is. But it wouldn’t be the same. My grandpa is the best. He trained champions. It’s got to be me and him and Traveler.”

“I understand,” Juliet replied. “And I’ll pray for your grandpa to get well. Sometimes that’s the best medicine of all.”

Gracia’s expression was a mixture of hope and appreciation as she glanced up at Juliet. “That’s what Cook says, too. But I don’t think my daddy believes prayers will do anything. He goes to mass, but he never smiles when he leaves the church. He’s always mad. Guess ’cause Mommy is gone and Grandpa is kinda lost to us, you know.”