Summer Days
Page 19

“Today’s milk will be aerated by the walk.”
She smiled. “I’m not sure it works that way. I swear, Athena needs a hobby.”
“Too bad you can’t teach her to read.”
“I’d worry if she learned, she would take over the world.”
“You should put the goats with the llamas. If they really will protect the herd, then the llamas can keep the goats from getting out. Or at least alert you if Athena makes a run for it.”
“I could try. I haven’t wanted to put them together in case they get attached.”
Because one way or another, this arrangement was only temporary, and Heidi wouldn’t want her goats hurt by missing a friend.
Dante would say she was taking her goat responsibilities too seriously. A few weeks ago, Rafe would have agreed. Now he knew that Heidi was sensitive to those she considered to be on the outside. Those who didn’t belong.
They walked down the main road. About three miles from the ranch, a path cut through the trees. The branches overhead were thick enough to block direct sunlight. The temperature was a good ten or fifteen degrees cooler, and leaves and pine needles crunched underfoot.
Just when Rafe was sure she was lost, they stepped into a clearing and a whole other world.
The sound of large construction equipment echoed off the trees and the side of the mountain. From where he stood, at the west end of the site, he would guess about eighty or ninety acres had been cleared. The main building was massive—right now just poured foundation and steel beams—but he could see what it would be. Several stories, with a view of the mountains.
When he’d heard about the casino, he’d had Dante pull information and had studied it on his computer. Still, the renderings hadn’t prepared him for the sheer size of the project.
“Impressive, don’t you think?” She pointed to the far end. “That’s one of the parking lots. There will be a multilevel structure on the other side. The big building is the casino and resort. I’m not sure how many hotel rooms they’re talking about. At least a couple hundred, maybe more.”
She kept talking, explaining the layout and how the design had kept old-growth trees to line a walking path. That there would be a spa and several restaurants.
A pretty blonde woman with short hair and a ready smile joined them.
“You and your bad goats,” she said with a laugh. “What’s up with Athena?”
“I know.” Heidi gave her a quick hug. “She’d ride a motorcycle if she could get a license. Nevada, this is Rafe Stryker. Rafe, Nevada Janack.”
He shook hands with the woman, then glanced at the signs on the sides of the construction trailers. “Any relation?”
“I married into the family. Tucker’s around here somewhere. Come on. I’ll introduce you.”
Rafe went willingly. He wanted to know a lot more about the project. He and Dante hadn’t talked about what was going on here since Rafe had first discovered the casino. Now that he saw the scope of the project, he was reminded of the possibilities.
* * *
RAFE HELD THE PHONE to his ear with his left hand and made notes with his right. “I need to see everything you’ve pulled on the casino project. Not just the plans, which you sent me.”
He waited while Dante typed in his computer. “Got it,” his friend said.
“The guy in charge, Tucker Janack, says there will be over three hundred hotel rooms. There’s a casino, spa, golf course. There’s also going to be an outlet mall, but another company is developing that.”
“Too small for Janack?” Dante asked.
“Probably. Depending on time of year, staffing and events. They could have upward of five hundred employees there. No way Fool’s Gold has that kind of labor force just sitting around. Which means bringing people in. Lots of people.”
“They’re going to have to live somewhere.”
“Exactly.” Rafe pressed a few keys on his computer. “You have it?”
“Right in front of me.”
Rafe stared at the outline of the Castle Ranch. Done to scale, it showed the main house, the barn and the fence line. The main road was to the south, and several smaller roads provided natural boundaries.
Assuming a standard lot size of five thousand square feet, a modest three-bedroom house with attached garage, keeping a few acres around the ranch buildings for his mother and her animals, there was more than enough room for a hundred homes. With plenty left over for future development.
“You doing the math?” Rafe asked.
“It’s a sweet, sweet number. Considering how cheap the land is, I’m a happy guy. You’re talking serious profit levels.”
“Tell me about it. We wouldn’t have to do anything fancy. We’ll add the most popular upgrades. Some landscaping.”
“With employees coming to work for the casino, they’ll be desperate to buy. That means motivated buyers.”
Rafe wrote frantically. “We can arrange our own financing. Give people a break for going with our lender and make more money on the mortgage. We’ll have to get the town to agree.”
“I’ve done some preliminary research. The town is business-friendly. The mayor has a reputation for being easy to work with. No crazy zoning requirements. As long as we’re building up to their standards and not playing fast and loose with the rules, they’ll make it go smoothly for us.”
“Good.” Rafe wasn’t interested in building crap, he just didn’t want to waste profit when he didn’t have to. “To think this all started because my mother wanted to buy back this damned old ranch. Now this could be one of our biggest projects of the year.”
“As long as the judge rules in our favor.”
“She will. Heidi won’t be able to come up with the money.”
“Plus, we can show that our plan helps the community,” Dante added. “Your goat girl is going to find herself out on the street.”
Dante chuckled, but Rafe didn’t join in. While he still wanted to win, he found it difficult to imagine the Castle Ranch without Heidi and her goats. Where would she go?
He told himself it wasn’t his problem, but wasn’t sure he believed the words. Not anymore.
“We could give her a couple of acres. For the goats.”
Dante laughed. “Good one, Rafe. Like you’ve ever given anyone anything.”
His partner was still laughing when he hung up. Rafe set down his phone and stared out the window. Profit over anything—he’d long believed that. Money was the only way out, the only way up. He’d been poor, and it sucked.
In high school, his English teacher had made them all read Gone with the Wind and then watch the movie. In class, his friends had laughed when Scarlett O’Hara had held up the wizened turnips, declaring that, as God was her witness, she would never be hungry again. He hadn’t found the words funny. He’d lived them.
He’d taken the charity baskets the town had given, vowing that when he grew up, he would be the richest man he knew. That no one would ever take advantage of him. That he would always win.
Dante was right. Giving away a few acres for Heidi and her goats made no sense. When the judge ruled and he got the ranch, she would be out, and he would have it all.
* * *
HEIDI WAITED ANXIOUSLY while Cameron McKenzie listened to Persephone’s heartbeat. He’d already examined the goat, checking her legs and hooves, feeling her pregnant tummy. He removed the stethoscope from his ears.
“She’s fine.”
Heidi released the breath she’d been holding. “You’re sure? I can’t believe how far she walked today. All the way to the construction site and back.”
“Goats walk. They like it. She’s a healthy girl.” Cameron stood and petted the goat. Persephone nuzzled his hand.
“Now, if only we could figure out how to keep Athena contained,” May said from her place by the door of the goat house.
“She’s a smart girl,” Cameron said, packing up his bag. “You’re going to need a more secure lock on the gate.”
“This is my third attempt to find a lock she can’t open,” Heidi said. “It’s tough having a goat who’s smarter than me.”
“We should put Rafe onto the problem,” May told Heidi. “He’s good at that sort of thing.”
Heidi wasn’t sure there was anything Rafe wasn’t good at, which made him dangerous. She couldn’t seem to stop thinking about him, wondering what he was doing and when she would see him next. When he smiled, she felt all gooey inside. The man was trouble, and she already had enough problems.
The three of them walked out of the goat house. Cameron looked past the barn, to the corral where the three llamas grazed.
“You’re doing wonders for my large-animal practice,” he told May. “I’ve handled a few alpacas, not so many llamas. I’ll read up on them.”
“There are sheep, too,” May told him.
“Sheep are easy,” he said. “Any others on the way?”
May smiled. “I don’t want to spoil the surprise.”
Uh-oh. “Does Rafe know?” Heidi asked.
“Of course not. He would tell me I’m being silly. You’ll have to wait and see, like everyone else.”
Heidi held up both her hands. “I’m okay with that.” She glanced toward the house, where Rafe was on his cell phone, pacing back and forth on the porch, obviously in an intense conversation with someone.
“I look forward to whatever else you bring to the ranch,” Cameron said. “Nice to meet you, May.”
“You, as well.”
They shook hands. Cameron turned to Heidi. “You okay now?”
“Yes. Thanks for coming. I guess I’m an overly concerned goat parent.”
“I like that in my clients. You know how to get in touch with me.”
He walked to his truck and climbed in.
“What a nice young man,” May said, as Cameron started the engine, then waved before turning his truck around and driving away. “Very handsome.”
Heidi thought about Cameron’s dark hair and green eyes. “I guess. I don’t think of him that way.”
“Is he married?”
“Yes. Cameron got married a couple of months ago. But it wouldn’t matter if he was single. He’s not my type.”
“No chemistry?”
“None.”
“I see.” May glanced toward the porch. “It’s hard to predict which way the heart will fall.”
Heidi opened her mouth, then closed it. Talk about a minefield. She was going to stay safely out of that conversation, she thought. If she was smart, she would also stay away from Rafe, but she didn’t seem to be very bright when it came to him.
Fine—she would risk her feelings, but she would stay out of his bed. Because to cross that line would be to gamble with everything she had.
* * *
THE FOOL’S GOLD SPRING Festival always fell on Mother’s
Day weekend. Many a father had taken advantage of that fact, bringing his wife to the event and letting her choose her own gift. Sunday morning, the food vendors served brunch fare, and the jewelry designers did an especially brisk business.
The weekend celebration started on Friday evening with a chili cook-off. The winners (and losers) sold their entries all weekend long. Saturday morning, there was a parade featuring kids on bikes and pulled in wagons, all decorated with flowers and ribbons. Family dogs accompanied the children, the furry family members also festively dressed.
Rafe winced as a Great Dane in a dress strolled by.
“That’s just wrong,” he muttered. “What happened to dog dignity?”
Heidi laughed. “She looks adorable.”
“She’s humiliated.”
Heidi looked at the dog’s happy face and wagging tail. “I think she’s channeling her inner diva. Maybe next year I’ll dress up Athena and bring her to be in the parade.”
“She’ll eat the dress.”
“Maybe. But she’ll be pretty until then.”
The streets were crowded with locals and tourists. Even though it was still a couple of hours before noon, the smell of barbecue filled the air. Heidi sniffed the scent.
“You did say something about lunch, right?” she asked.
“Don’t worry. I’ll feed you.”
After she’d come in from milking, she’d found Rafe sitting at the kitchen table. Weekends had a different rhythm at the ranch. The hired construction guys had the two days off. While Rafe often went out and continued the construction projects on his own, the pace always seemed slower.
After she’d stored the fresh milk in the mudroom refrigerator, he’d surprised her by asking her if she wanted to go to the festival with him. She’d known that saying yes was risky, but she had been unable to resist. So here they were, blending in with the other people watching the parade.
When the last of the kids on bikes had gone by, Rafe suggested they tour the booths.
“You sure you feel all right?” Heidi asked.
“I can play tourist.”
“I’ll believe that when you buy a Fool’s Gold refrigerator magnet.”
“Mom would love that.”
“May enjoys most things.”
He chuckled. “I’m ignoring the implication that I don’t.”
“I didn’t say that. I’m sure you have your moments.”
They walked toward the booths. The crowd grew around them, with kids running between them. When they reached the corner, Rafe grabbed her hand and drew her close.