All for a Cowboy

Shae set down the photo, wanting more than anything to reach for her wine and empty the glass.

“Would you like some wine?” she asked, realizing she hadn’t been at the top of her hostess game.

“Please,” Miranda replied, sounding as though she needed it as much as Shae. “Then let’s sit and talk about this...situation.”

“Yes,” Shae said on a drier note than she’d intended as she walked the few feet to the kitchen to pull the chardonnay from the fridge. “Let’s.”

Miranda leveled a candid look at Shae when she returned to the living room. “I know at first glance this situation doesn’t cast me in a positive light, what with Jordan having suffered his accident and all, but trust me—there’s more to this than meets the eye. He would have done this regardless. It isn’t like he’s here to recuperate.”

“I see,” Shae said as she handed off the glass of wine.

Miranda took a quick sip. “I know what I’m about to say will not go farther than this room.”

“Of course not.”

“If Jordan stays it’s for one reason only—to cause me trouble. It’s always been like that between us.” Miranda gestured with the glass. “There was a reason Hank wanted me to have the rights of operation on all of his property. Even he saw that Jordan’s hatred of me was way out of proportion. We thought he’d outgrow it, but he never did.

“The years while he was home were hell on Hank.” Miranda bit her lip, studying her glass. “More painful than you can imagine. Finally they had it out and Jordan made it very clear when he left this ranch that he was never coming back. Now he’s returned and it’s not because he wants to live at the High Camp. This is the only way he has now to get back at me for what he perceives as the many wrongs I did him.” Miranda let out a small huff of air. “He thinks I stole his father from him. If I walk away now, who knows what his next step will be? He won’t leave me alone. I promise you that. He never has.”

Shae didn’t know what to say. What did one say when her boss poured out family secrets? Nothing.

Miranda gave her head a disgusted shake. “I wish I hadn’t backed down so many times in the past. Let him have his way in the name of peace. Because it was never enough. It only encouraged him to push harder. Maybe this time, when he sees that I’m not backing down, he’ll move on.”

“So...he’s going to be there and we’re going to work around him.” It sounded as if she definitely had a job—if she was willing to become embroiled in a family drama.

“Essentially, yes.”

Shae felt compelled to say, “I don’t think he’s going to cooperate.”

“Then there will be consequences.”

This wasn’t what Shae had signed on for. Not even close.

“Shae.” She looked up to see Miranda studying her intently. “If you see this through, I’ll make it worth your while.”

“How?”

“First of all, let’s address what I want. I want a satisfactory proposal for a unique guest property that I can have up and running by early summer next year. The emphasis is on unique. Something my other two ranches don’t offer. I want to use the existing structures—the cabins, the bunkhouse, the bathhouse.”

A reiteration of what they’d agreed upon less than a week ago, so Shae simply nodded.

“It’s more important than ever that this proposal be viable.” There was a steely note in Miranda’s voice, very much like the one in Jordan’s earlier that day when he’d asked if Miranda was at the ranch.

“I understand,” Shae said. Miranda’s initial I’ll-see-what-you-can-do-before-I-commit attitude had changed radically now that Jordan had become involved.

“Jordan must know that I’m not backing down. I will use the High Camp as I see fit. Hank wanted me to have the rights and I’ll exercise them.”

Shae’s stomach was starting to knot at Miranda’s adamancy, but if anyone could go face-to-face with Jordan, it was her. She’d already done it once and survived.

“If he can live with the changes, he can stay. I don’t care,” Miranda said matter-of-factly.

But it was pretty obvious she did care, and after hearing what she had to say, and seeing Jordan’s reaction to her, Shae understood. Jordan’s hatred had been palpable and it had to be unnerving for Miranda to have him nearby.

“Do I need to be concerned about being at the High Camp alone with him?” Shae asked.

“Not after I get done. I plan on meeting with my stepson. Straightening out a few legal issues. After that, you’ll be fine. Now...let’s talk compensation.”

“Yes,” Shae said, meeting Miranda’s gaze full-on, figuring if she didn’t go for the brass ring now, she might never get another chance. “If I see this through successfully and Jordan...comes to accept the situation...I’d like my old job back.”

“That can be done.”

“And I’d like to have a contract of employment instead of working at will.”

Miranda tilted her head, a small smile forming on her thin lips as she studied Shae. “That’s a possibility, as long as everything at the High Camp works out in a satisfactory manner.”

“You want Jordan gone,” Shae said, finally addressing the elephant in the room.

Miranda smiled, setting down her still half-full glass and standing. “If you can do that, you can have a job for life. However, I will not put that burden on you. All I want is a viable proposal in which Jordan’s occupancy of the ranch does not interfere.”