Halle Ford allowed her gaze to soak in the hill country that surrounded her family ranch. She’d been fortunate to travel around the country and world, but her heart always remained in Shadow Creek, Texas. Bluewood Ranch appealed to her inner cowgirl more than her slick corporate CPA job in Austin ever had. She leaned on the fence and sipped her morning cup of coffee, relishing this private time, her version of meditation. The split cedar logs that circled the paddock were as familiar as her father’s hug had been. As long as she didn’t think about how much he’d spent on the fancy fencing before he’d died. An eastern spotted lizard was on the top of the fence, sunning himself in the late summer sunshine. “Hey, little guy.” He ignored her, stretching his neck and displaying his brilliant green skin covered with flamboyant spots to his advantage.
Running her father’s ranch had always been a far-off dream, but Chancellor Ford’s sudden death in a horrific car crash six months ago had turned her dream into a nightmare. Besides facing the fact that Dad was gone forever, she’d had to come to terms with how he’d been killed. He’d been taken away by a hit-and-run driver, the same woman who’d terrorized Shadow Creek for decades until her imprisonment. Her terror had continued after her escape from prison and until her presumed death six months ago. Thanks to cop-bribing prison-escapee Livia Colton, Halle’s life had been shattered and she had inherited Bluewood Ranch. At present, Bluewood wasn’t faring well financially, much to her heartbreak. Even with her accounting and business acumen that she’d sharpened at that high-powered marketing firm in Austin, she’d been unable to bring the ranch back to life.
Yet. It had only been a little over six months, and the first six weeks or so after the accident didn’t count as far as she was concerned. The shock of Daddy’s death and her transition from an office career to running Bluewood had been tough. The move back to rugged, beautiful Shadow Creek from her well-appointed Austin condominium had been an adjustment in and of itself.
A soft whinny floated on the chilly morning breeze and she smiled as she recognized Elvis. The gelding was a gift from her dear friend Jade Colton. Jade ran Hill Country Farms, an off-track Thoroughbred rehab center. Jade had also sold Halle’s mare Buttercup to her after Chancellor Ford’s sudden death. Jade had known what a new horse would mean to Halle. Buttercup, along with Elvis and the other horses, had kept her from going over the edge after Daddy’s death. Murder was more like it.
Not for the first time she wanted to hurl the blue stone-fired mug at one of the boulders that sat in the makeshift rock garden between the ranch house and paddock. To smash the ceramic into lethal shards, as her heart had been when evil Livia Colton had killed her father. Even after being apparently killed in a freak flash flood right after the accident, Livia still haunted Halle. She wasn’t one for superstition but it was hard to remain practical in the face of such tragedy. More than once Halle wished she could bring Livia back from the dead so that she could confront the murderer. She had destroyed so many dreams in Shadow Creek.
The reminder that she wasn’t the only one who’d had her life torn apart by Livia Colton was little consolation but it did shake her out of the pity party she was brewing. She needed to focus on what she could change and at the moment that meant getting new tours scheduled. Horseback riding classes and pony rides brought in steady income, but nothing increased Bluewood’s revenue as quickly as the overnight tours. Halle loved showing her guests the best trails that wound through Texas Hill Country. Most of her groups were families, and as summer ended, kids were back in school. Her group tours dwindled, making her cash flow as spotty as her lizard buddy.
Her phone vibrated in her back pocket and she ignored it. The house phone was the main business line so she only answered her cell at her convenience. This was her rare quiet time in the day, the one part she kept sacred to herself unless she was on the trail with a ranch guest. After the vibration stopped, a second, shorter vibration informed her there was a voice mail.
“Dang it.” She pulled out the phone and saw that the message was from Jeremy Kincaid, her neighbor and friend. Halle pressed the callback button. Jeremy picked up immediately.
“Good morning, Jeremy.”
“Halle, how’s it going?”
“Right now, out here next to the stables? Great.”
Jeremy chuckled, low and deep. “That’s why we live here, right? Hey, I’m sorry to bug you so early but I’ve got an offer for you.”
“Okay.” She straightened from the fence and turned around, leaning her back against it. It wasn’t a secret that she was having trouble keeping Bluewood afloat, but Jeremy wasn’t about to offer her a pity job, was he?
“Don’t sound so grim. It’s a good thing. I have a friend in town who’s investing in the Austin tech scene, but he knows nothing about the area or Texas. I thought that if he booked a trail ride with you, it would be a perfect immersion experience for him.”
Relief thrummed through her. Jeremy was offering her a new client!
“Of course. When is he thinking of coming to Bluewood? And do you have any idea how long he wants to stay?” She figured a full-day ride would be what a techie business friend of Jeremy Kincaid’s would desire. Since Jeremy was a millionaire and famous in his field, chances were his friend would be successful, too. Longer than a day away from business would be unbearable to a type A techie, no matter how rich. And there wasn’t Wi-Fi on the trail.
“That’s the hitch. He’d like to start tomorrow, and he agreed to three nights, the better part of four days.”
She put her mug of coffee on the fence post and the spotted lizard darted away. “Three nights? Is it just him?” She’d taken out individual clients before, but she made sure they were safe with an indiscreet background check courtesy of Shadow Creek’s local PI, Adeline Kincaid, Jeremy’s new wife. She wasn’t sure one could be done on such short notice, but if anyone could do it for her, especially in these unusual circumstances, it would be Adeline.
“He’s looking at a sizable investment in our area, maybe involving virtual reality. It’s something Shadow Creek and Austin would benefit greatly from. Since we’ve been friends for so long, I suggested he immerse himself in the local culture and start with you.”
Relief that Jeremy knew the man so well allowed for a glimmer of hope. “A four-day trail ride isn’t going to tell him much about Austin.”
“No, but he’ll understand what makes a Texan tick. And I can vouch for him, Halle. He’s safe, the real deal. You don’t have to take an extra ranch hand with you.” Jeremy must have heard the trepidation
