“When did your rustling problems start?”
“About a month ago. We were missing two or three at first as far as I could tell. This last one was a major haul. But what you’re implying is a mighty thin thread between events.”
Fiona shrugged. “Thin but plausible. Did they leave a forwarding address?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Can you ask your buddy, Hoover, to run down information to try to find them?”
Jake rubbed his forehead. “I’m not sure the wisdom of that. I think Hoover is getting a little testy, according to you, with your meddling. And I got a lot to do here.”
“I have the time to follow through on any information he can give us, if you give him the call.”
Jake picked up the phone and dialed. “Hoover, please. This is Jake. Would you have him call me? Thanks.” He hung up. “There, I called.”
Fiona sank into the overstuffed chair beside the desk. “What are you going to do about the ranch?”
“I don’t know. Opal is thinking about what she wants to do. I can’t rush that process. I haven’t heard back from the bank on my application for a loan.” He looked at her and shrugged. “I’m not hopeful. Opal still is saving relatives, and she may opt for dividing up the ranch in pieces and giving it to them.”
“Olympia is looking for a ranch.”
“Olympia? She wants to live in Harney Valley?”
“For her it would be an investment. I doubt she’d spend much time there. She might be looking for a ranch manager if a deal goes through.”
Jake shook his head. “My next ranch will be my own. I’m tired of working for someone else. I put a lot of effort into this place. I was hoping to buy it. But that probably was an impossible dream. As a matter of fact, I called a real estate broker this morning to see what else is available.”
“I admire your persistence. I think you’ll get your own ranch, one way or another.”
“You bet.”
Samantha, Tillie’s younger sister, arrived that evening. She was slight and wistful and lived near Seattle. She had gone there to work for Microsoft. Opal remembered her talking mostly about yoga and art. She wrote poetry and spoke of things Opal never thought about. But she was a dear and peaceful child, the only one in the family. She had not called ahead to tell anyone she was coming. But that was like her. She blew in and blew out like a rain squall, but she usually brought sunshine and not rain.
Opal was with Fiona and Jake by the horse corral, watching Sweet work Fancy, the mare, when the car pulled in.
“Who’s that?” Opal shaded her eyes, trying to figure out who would be coming by this late in the day. “It doesn’t look like Olympia’s car.”
Fiona looked. “No. I talked to Olympia earlier. She might not be back till late, if at all.”
Jake said, “It’s a small car. I don’t recognize it.”
Fiona and Jake stayed at the corral, while Opal walked to the front of the house. She broke into a smile when she saw Sammie get out of the car.
“Hello, gal, don’t you let a person know when you’re coming?”
“It’s great to see you Aunt Opal,” said Sammie.
They embraced in a big rocking hug.
“My, my, my,” said Opal, “you still look not a day over thirty. I don’t know how you do it.”
“Genes. If stress were any indicator, I would have been dead long ago.”
“You take after the Crawford side of the family, you lucky girl. Well, come on in. I hope you’re here to stay for a while. Are you on vacation?”
Sammie didn’t move to follow Opal. Instead she raised her hands over her head, looked up, and slowly turned in a 360 degree circle. “It’s so beautiful here. I always forget how beautiful my home country is.”
“Is city life getting to you again?”
“A little.” She paused in her circle dance and sighed. “Tillie called me last night.”
Opal nodded. “I figured as much. And the peacemaker has sallied forth.”
Samantha smiled and shook her head. “She unloaded on me. She only calls when there’s some kind of crisis. Unfortunately, there’s a crisis a minute these days with her.”
Opal looked off into the distance, off into the violet rose sunset. “I really don’t know what to do with her and Howie.”
“Neither do I, but I thought between the two of us, we could come up with something. But I came to see you first and foremost. Tillie told me about the treatments and all.”
Opal lifted a shoulder. “We all got to die of something. It looks like I know what mine will be.”
Sammie stroked Opal’s back with a light, caring touch. “You have always amazed me. I hope I will have your resilience when I get to be your age.”
“Ranching does it.”
“That’s what has kept you going all these years.”
Opal rubbed her arms. “It’s cooling down and the mosquitoes are getting bad. Come in. Have you had dinner? Can I get you something to drink?”
This time Sammie followed Opal across the wood porch and in the front door. She stopped in the living room. “Just like it always looks. This place smells like home to me.”
Opal hugged her again. “Your mama tried to keep a good house.”
They both laughed.
“The key word is try,” said Samantha.
“I was thinking to have the place re-decorated.”
“Don’t you ever. It would change the smell. It might start smelling new or something.”
“If Tillie gets it, who knows what she’ll do.”
“Tillie isn’t going to get this place.”
“They’re in a bad way.”
“She said you’re going to sell to Jake.”
“I want it to stay in one piece, and Jake would keep it together and build on what Henry and I started. He’s responsible for the fine shape the ranch is in now. The nieces and nephews each want their chunk. They’d rip it apart and destroy it. If I can prevent that I will.”
“You should sell to Jake. It’s your ranch.”
Opal sighed and shook her head, gazing around the great room. She hated the thought of giving it up. She wasn’t ready to go, but she didn’t have much say in the matter.
Sammie said, “Tillie and Howie have made their choices. They need to pay the consequences.”
“They’ll be out on the street, did she tell you that?”
“We both know Tillie is a drama queen. They’ll find something or someone to bail them out. You’re an easy touch, Aunt Opal.”
She sighed. “You’ve told me that before. Can I get you something to drink?”
“Do you have any white wine?”
“I have a boatload of wine. Fiona and Olympia are wine drinkers. Did you hear about them?”
“Only what Tillie tells me, and she’s never complimentary.”
Opal was sitting at the kitchen table with Samantha when Jake came into the kitchen after dark with Fiona. Sammie went to Jake and hugged him.
“Good to see you, Jake. Opal and I have been solving the problems of the world.”
Jake smiled. “Have you met Fiona? She’s good at world problem solving.”
Sammie gave Fiona a hug. She was that kind of girl. “I’m Samantha, one of Opal’s endless relations but, hopefully, one of the nicer ones.” She turned to Jake. “She’s been telling me the problems you guys have been having. I’m sorry to hear it.”
“Yep, it’s been one thing after another,” said Jake.
Fiona sat down at the table with Samantha and Opal. Jake slid a glass of wine in front of her, mixed a whiskey for Opal and himself, and poured Sammie another glass. He figured this would be a long night. When this family got to talking and drinking it could go on until the wee hours of the morning.