her mind.
James dumped her because he couldn’t bear the thought of being married to someone who had a “questionable lineage,” as he referred to her family. The break up didn’t devastate her as much as it probably should have.
He was as shallow and pompous as they came. The fact she’d once thought him charming and wonderful made her question her sanity and vanity. Eventually, she realized James had been more interested in how much the ranch was worth than he was her.
The girl she was a year ago was so different from the woman she’d become since her father’s death.
At twenty-nine, she owned a successful ranch she was determined to keep running smoothly or die trying.
The only real problem was that her dad had withdrawn funds from several of his investment accounts and she couldn’t trace any record of what he had done with the money. Exactly $500,000 was unaccounted for and she really needed to find it. The ranch was in no means hurting financially, but that was a lot of money to disappear into thin air.
She spent hours poring over bank statements, record books, and files. As a financial planner, she handled all of her dad’s investments personally. Or so she thought.
After his funeral it came as a shock to discover a paper trail leading to a series of investments she knew nothing about, only to find he’d made odd withdrawals from each for the total of half a million dollars.
Unable to find paperwork that he invested the money elsewhere or any record of the funds in any of the ranch books, she wondered what he had done with it. Donated it? Gambled it? Purchased something she had yet to find? Buried it?
The endless possibilities gave her a headache.
Lexi went upstairs to her bedroom and changed out of her church dress into jeans. She tugged on a tank top and a flannel work shirt then braided her hair.
The pastor and his wife invited her to stay for lunch. Not eager to return to the quiet house on the ranch, she joined them and their boisterous children for a lively lunch at a local restaurant. She spoke with them about her need for a new housekeeper and they promised to help find some candidates for the job.
Once she bid the pastor’s family goodbye, she ran by the grocery store and picked up a few supplies before driving home. She thought about her new mechanic and what a good job he was doing when she happened to look up and see him sitting in his truck, as handsome as ever. The bright blue of his eyes and his alluring smile still lingered in her thoughts.
After making a cup of tea, Lexi took it into the office. She stared at entries in a ledger book for an hour before she gave up, put on her boots and coat, and wandered outside.
A deep breath of cold winter air cleared her head. She decided to check on the cows Swede had penned up in the barn waiting to calve. He was worried they might require help calving and brought them in from the herd.
They ran fifteen hundred head of Hereford cattle, many of them registered. The ranch produced enough hay to feed their livestock. In addition, they sold one-ton bales, wheat, and barley to diversify their earnings.
Lexi’s passion, however, was horses. She loved to ride and train them. Her dad never liked the idea of getting into breeding horses, so he kept just enough working horses on the ranch to get the job done.
Now that he was gone, Lexi fully intended to start a breeding program with quarter horses. Despite bad roads and Swede’s repeated warnings about her not going, she drove to Reno last week so she could pick up a new stud horse. He would start her down the road to her dreams for the ranch. As soon as she finished the spring farm work, found the missing money, and got the ranch back on track, she was ready to move forward with her plans.
In the barn, she checked the five stalls where cows contentedly enjoyed the warmth away from the cold outside. One first-year heifer appeared restless, so Lexi stepped into the stall and assessed the
James dumped her because he couldn’t bear the thought of being married to someone who had a “questionable lineage,” as he referred to her family. The break up didn’t devastate her as much as it probably should have.
He was as shallow and pompous as they came. The fact she’d once thought him charming and wonderful made her question her sanity and vanity. Eventually, she realized James had been more interested in how much the ranch was worth than he was her.
The girl she was a year ago was so different from the woman she’d become since her father’s death.
At twenty-nine, she owned a successful ranch she was determined to keep running smoothly or die trying.
The only real problem was that her dad had withdrawn funds from several of his investment accounts and she couldn’t trace any record of what he had done with the money. Exactly $500,000 was unaccounted for and she really needed to find it. The ranch was in no means hurting financially, but that was a lot of money to disappear into thin air.
She spent hours poring over bank statements, record books, and files. As a financial planner, she handled all of her dad’s investments personally. Or so she thought.
After his funeral it came as a shock to discover a paper trail leading to a series of investments she knew nothing about, only to find he’d made odd withdrawals from each for the total of half a million dollars.
Unable to find paperwork that he invested the money elsewhere or any record of the funds in any of the ranch books, she wondered what he had done with it. Donated it? Gambled it? Purchased something she had yet to find? Buried it?
The endless possibilities gave her a headache.
Lexi went upstairs to her bedroom and changed out of her church dress into jeans. She tugged on a tank top and a flannel work shirt then braided her hair.
The pastor and his wife invited her to stay for lunch. Not eager to return to the quiet house on the ranch, she joined them and their boisterous children for a lively lunch at a local restaurant. She spoke with them about her need for a new housekeeper and they promised to help find some candidates for the job.
Once she bid the pastor’s family goodbye, she ran by the grocery store and picked up a few supplies before driving home. She thought about her new mechanic and what a good job he was doing when she happened to look up and see him sitting in his truck, as handsome as ever. The bright blue of his eyes and his alluring smile still lingered in her thoughts.
After making a cup of tea, Lexi took it into the office. She stared at entries in a ledger book for an hour before she gave up, put on her boots and coat, and wandered outside.
A deep breath of cold winter air cleared her head. She decided to check on the cows Swede had penned up in the barn waiting to calve. He was worried they might require help calving and brought them in from the herd.
They ran fifteen hundred head of Hereford cattle, many of them registered. The ranch produced enough hay to feed their livestock. In addition, they sold one-ton bales, wheat, and barley to diversify their earnings.
Lexi’s passion, however, was horses. She loved to ride and train them. Her dad never liked the idea of getting into breeding horses, so he kept just enough working horses on the ranch to get the job done.
Now that he was gone, Lexi fully intended to start a breeding program with quarter horses. Despite bad roads and Swede’s repeated warnings about her not going, she drove to Reno last week so she could pick up a new stud horse. He would start her down the road to her dreams for the ranch. As soon as she finished the spring farm work, found the missing money, and got the ranch back on track, she was ready to move forward with her plans.
In the barn, she checked the five stalls where cows contentedly enjoyed the warmth away from the cold outside. One first-year heifer appeared restless, so Lexi stepped into the stall and assessed the
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