Heartsong (Singing to the Heart Book 2) by Sara Walter Ellwood Page B

head and watched as Beau reached under the bottom rail with his tongue to capture a few blades of grass growing around the fence post. “I wouldn’t do it, but I don’t have the responsibility you do.”
    No statement was ever truer, but she wasn’t signing any contracts yet. The idea of leaving the ranch scared her to death. Would the judge think she was stupid for not taking a good-paying job on the ranch? Or could she prove that she can make it on her own merit?
    “I haven’t decided, but I can’t wait until I do. If I leave, I have to have a job.” She’d cashed out the retirement fund Sam had set up for her. It wasn’t much and wouldn’t last her more than two months if she decided to leave the ranch, but it added a bit of padding to her bank account.
    As she reached for Beau’s reins, a wave of sorrow hit her. There wouldn’t be anything left of the ranch she loved in a few months. She’d seen too many beautiful spreads destroyed by the corporations buying them up and turning them into nothing more than cattle factories.
    “These people even bought Jesse’s Bobo.” She swallowed at the lump in her throat.
    “That goofy duck you gave him for Easter a few years back?”
    “Yep.” When Jesse was five years old, he’d gotten the biggest thrill from the duckling following him around the yard as he looked for the eggs Frankie had hidden. For the past several years, the duck had seemed more content to stay on the small lake in the pasture closest to the house rather than waiting to waddle after Jesse, but Jesse still loved it and letting it go would be just one more hurtful thing. “I’m so glad your sister took Frankie’s cats and you took Sam’s dogs. I would’ve loved having them if Momma wasn’t so allergic...”
    “You know we’ll love them, Micki.”
    She knew, but it seemed like she was giving away everything her sister and husband loved. Looking toward the big white house through the orchard, she sighed. She wasn’t ready for starting over. “The household goods are going to auction on October first.”
    “I saw the sign at the gate. I’m sorry, Micki.”
    Not wanting the sympathy she heard in his voice and wishing she’d kept the sorrow she felt to herself, she glanced back at him and headed toward the barn with Beau trotting beside her. “C’mon. I’m done here.”
    Once they were in the breezeway, he began to remove the bridle and saddle. She led Beau into his stall. Cash filled the trough with water, then the feed bucket with grain. While she used a currycomb to groom Beau, Cash took the horse’s protective boots and bridle into the tack room. He had been unusually quiet for the past few moments. For as long as she could remember, which had been most of his life, Cash was a chatterer.
    Hoping she hadn’t hurt his feelings, she leaned against a stall door and crossed her arms over her chest. When he returned from the tack room, she said, “What’s on your mind?”
    He glanced down at his boots and kicked the straw covering the concrete floor. “I wish I could’ve bought this place--stock and all.”
    She pushed away from the stall and dropped her arms. “Why?”
    He looked at her, and she wished she could see his brown eyes, but the brim of his hat hid them in a shadow. “Then you wouldn’t need to worry about anything.”
    She swallowed so hard it hurt. Cash was one of her closest friends. “Cash, I...”
    He let out a sigh loud enough she’d heard it from across the space of the breezeway. “I know you think I’m a kid. I love this place, too, Micki. I’ve been working here since I was thirteen.” He cleared his throat and closed the distance between them. When he was standing before her, boot to boot, he pushed back her hat and met her eyes. “I hate seeing you like this. You worry about everyone, but you don’t think about yourself.”
    Glancing away, she bit her bottom lip. “I’m okay.”
    But she wasn’t okay. Ever since Gabe had walked back into her