“I want to stay. I like it here.” He perched on the edge of the chair nearest Ashton. “Put your leg up and rest it.”
“Yes, Mom,” Ashton teased.
Ben was about to explain yet again how he felt, but he held the words to himself. “What is it like here in the spring?”
Ashton smiled. “Gorgeous. It’s lush and green, and there are plenty of new calves. It’s my favorite time of year, with new life everywhere. Winter always seem slow, with the snow and weather. It’s our job to make sure everything survives so that when spring arrives, we can flourish. Everything ramps up in the spring. I run a couple thousand head, and I bring on extra hands for the summer months. I don’t need that many in the winter, though I do have some guys who watch over the more distant herds for me.”
“Are any of the horses pregnant?” Ben asked.
“Not this year. My favorite horse, Annabelle, needed a year off, but come spring, she’ll mate, and next year we’ll have a new foal from her. I’m looking forward to that.” Ashton finally seemed to relax a little. “Have you ever ridden?”
Ben snorted. “I’d never seen a horse up close before until I ended up in your barn. In the dark it took me a second before I realized what they were.” It seemed kind of stupid now, but at the time he had been so frightened. Then again, he’d been terrified for the whole two weeks he’d been on the run. It had been a long and erratic route that had brought him here. “Maybe I can learn to ride sometime.”
“That would be good. Marcel can work with you. He’s been riding since he could walk.”
“What about you?” Ben asked. “Can’t you teach me? Then maybe we could ride together?” Now that would be great, getting to see Ashton’s ranch on horseback, riding off into the sunset like they did in the movies, just the two of them.
“I don’t ride anymore,” Ashton told him, his lips drawing into a straight line. Ben couldn’t help glancing down at Ashton’s leg and then up to his pain-filled eyes.
Ashton blinked but sat up straighter when the door opened and the sheriff came inside.
“I found where your shooter was hiding and where Lucy was standing when he was shot.” He met Ashton’s gaze. “There was no way he could have missed if he was after a kill shot. The shooter had built a berm out of snow and was maybe seventy-five feet away. If he was using a rifle, Lucy would have been impossible to miss if the shooter had any skills at all.”
“Shit, that close?”
“Yeah. We gathered what little evidence there was. I was able to find the bullet, since it left a trail of red. We’ll see what it can tell us.” Probably not much. Ben was aware that analysis took a while and wasn’t nearly as fast as it seemed to be on TV.
“Thank you,” Ashton told him, sounding tired. “I’ll call if we figure out anything here.” He yawned and covered his mouth with his hand. “Anything from Gary?”
“Oh, he’s cooperating. I reminded him that just because we let him go last night, that doesn’t mean that charges can’t still be filed.” The sheriff flashed a very fast smile and then left the room, letting the outside door bang closed behind him.
“Shouldn’t you go lie down?” Ben asked once the house was quiet. “You were up until midnight, and it’s still early.” He sat back a little. “Is this place always such a hive of intrigue?”
“Hell no. This was a great place to grow up. That’s why I came back here. I had a pony when I was a boy and a horse as I grew older. I used to spend hours riding. My first pony was named Randall. I had him for a long time. After I outgrew him, Papa wanted to sell him, but I convinced him to let him stay. Randall was here up until a few years ago when he passed away. I used to ride all over the ranch.” Ashton’s eyes seemed to grow heavy as he leaned back in the chair.
Ben stood quietly and got a blanket out of the bedroom, then spread it over him before sitting once again.
“There’s a spring on the property, and that feeds our water system. That’s part of the reason Henderson wants our land so badly. We have our own supply, but he has to rely on the creek from our spring. He only gets what we don’t use.” Ashton sighed.
“Isn’t there some sort of agreement about the water? Use rights and things like that?”
Ashton nodded and tugged the blanket around him. “Yeah. But basically it says that he gets what he gets. It’s enough to keep his place going, but Henderson wants to expand. I’m not a water hog and we don’t use any more than we need, but some years when things are really dry, the land soaks up most of the water before it reaches his place. It’s the nature of the west. People have fought for years over something as basic and vital as water.” Ashton turned toward him. “If Henderson was smart, he’d spend more time working on water retention and conservation measures. I did that. There are ponds on the property that funnel runoff and snowmelt so we can use that water for the cattle. Running this place is as much about managing water as it is about managing the livestock.” His eyes seemed to be growing heavier, and Ben didn’t want to move in case he disturbed him.
Some of the lines around Ashton’s eyes evened out, and his features relaxed as he dozed. Ben was quickly coming to enjoy these quiet moments. He hadn’t had many of them in the past two and a half years. His life had revolved around whatever Dallas wanted. It hadn’t taken Ben long to figure out he was never going to have a moment’s peace as long as he was under Dallas’s thumb.
“You should relax too,” Ashton said.
“I should find something to do,” Ben said. “If I’m going to stay, I need to make myself useful.” Ashton smiled but kept his eyes closed. “How is your leg? Does it ache?”
“Un-huh. It does a lot of the time. I need to rest it more, but with a place like this, there is always work to be done.” He sighed. “I should get my butt out of this chair and check on the horses. With Lucy injured and Marcel taking care of him, someone has to see to them.”
“Marcel is looking after the horses. He just got back and went out to the barn. I can see him through the window. I’m going to clean up after breakfast and see what I can put together for lunch. You stay where you are and get some rest.” Ben was pretty sure they were all going to need to take advantage of whatever quiet time they had.
“THE GUYS are here,” Reg said as he came in the back door. Ben flashed him a look and tilted his head toward the living room, wordlessly telling him that Ashton was sleeping, as he finished up the dishes.
“Do you need his help, or have you guys already developed a plan?” Ben asked.
“I’ve got this,” Reg said. “But Ashton likes to be involved.”
Ben could understand that. “He’s resting.” He pulled his hands out of the water and wiped them on the cloth. “That leg of his… he has a lot of pain.”
Reg sighed. “I know. Ashton was one of those guys who could never sit still, you know. He used to go from sunup to sundown and had more energy than anyone I’ve ever met. Then everything changed. It takes a lot of energy to manage and live with that kind of pain.”