Wild Horses by Claire McEwen Page B

gestured around vaguely with his arm. “What do you think of the place?”
    â€œI think you’re a guy who’s not afraid of hard work.” Todd looked back at the pastures that lined the driveway. “I know someone who could haul those cars out for you.”
    â€œI’d appreciate his number,” Wade said. “This ranch is a junkyard, and all the junk stolen.” His smile was devoid of humor. “It’s the family legacy. Even the ranch was stolen, or so the story goes. By my great-great-grandfather.”
    â€œSeriously?”
    â€œYup. It’s an old Benson legend. Supposedly, he won the ranch in a poker game. The guy who lost it accused him of playing with marked cards. Of course my ancestor swore up and down that he hadn’t been cheating. But a year or two later, he named the property Marker Ranch.”
    â€œAnd the name stuck? No upstanding descendant wanted to change it?”
    Wade gave a bark of laughter. “There’s never been any upstanding descendants. Until Nora and me.” He looked around bemusedly.
    Marker Ranch was set in a long, narrow valley. Behind Wade, Todd noticed all kinds of outbuildings, some wood, some old prefabricated metal or plastic, staggered alongside the dirt road that cut through the ranch. He wondered what was in them. Wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
    â€œNora and I haven’t ever talked about changing the name,” Wade said. “But maybe once we get it all cleaned up and it’s a real working ranch, we can decide.”
    â€œI kind of like the name, but I didn’t grow up here.”
    â€œNo,” Wade said hollowly. “You didn’t. Count yourself lucky for that.”
    â€œBut you came back.” Todd wondered, briefly, what life circumstances would induce him to make his family home his own. He couldn’t think of any.
    â€œFor the land.” Wade gestured up, toward the valley sides that rose steeply to meet the first slopes of the Sierras. Out here the mountains seemed to push straight out of the hills, their sheer granite slopes steep and forbidding and breathtakingly beautiful. “I love it out here. The mountains, the high desert. If I can just fix this place up, I’ll have my own piece of paradise. It’s worth facing the past for that.”
    â€œMakes sense to me,” Todd assured him. They were the same reasons he’d been drawn to the area.
    â€œSo did you come out here to apologize to my sister?”
    Did Nora tell her brother everything ? Todd felt his face flush and was glad the brim of his hat shaded his face. “Yeah.”
    â€œShe’s doing fieldwork today,” Wade told him.
    â€œRight. Well, I left her something on the porch. As part of that apology.”
    Wade shifted uncomfortably. “Look, I’m not really used to talking about this stuff. And I don’t know much about what went on between you two. Nora never even told me about you.”
    He paused and Todd just waited. It seemed better to say nothing than say something wrong.
    â€œBut the thing is,” Wade went on, kicking at the dust under his boot, “I lived with her right after you left. She was pretty upset for a long time. And I saw her come home pretty upset again last night.”
    Todd knew the only way he’d earn Wade’s respect was through honesty. “Yeah, maybe that drink was a bad idea. It didn’t go so well. And it ended with my foot wedged so far in my mouth I don’t know if I’ll ever get it out.”
    Wade gave a grim smile at that. “Look, I like you. Hell knows I could use a buddy out here. But don’t cause my sister trouble, okay? She’s a good person—a great person. She’s my only family and she gave up a lot to look out for me. I don’t want to see her hurt again.”
    Todd didn’t know if the sick feeling in his throat was more embarrassment or disappointment. He’d sat across from