Love on the Buchanan Ranch (A Romance Story) (4 page)

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Several hours later, she was ready. She had map quested the directions and was even more confused about the location. The directions led her about an hour outside of Dallas, to what seemed to be nothing but a large ranch that raised longhorn cattle, quarter horses, and had their own man-made lake on the property. She wasn’t going to let anything scare her off at this point. She got into her car and looking at herself in the rear view mirror as she left the driveway she told herself, “This is going to be the start of your new life. You can do this.”

She laughed and thought about how she hoped the job came with insurance to pay for the psychiatric help she would need if she kept talking to herself.

The drive was a pretty one, she had to admit. As she left the city of Dallas and drove out into the suburbs she passed big, beautiful ranches with green pastures and large trees. She found herself thinking about how nice it would be to live outside of the hustle and bustle of the city. Somewhere where the pace was slower and your regular customers ordered regular coffee with a pitcher of sweet cream on the side, rather than an espresso or a latte.

When she at last had reached the address that Ted had given her, she started to get a little nervous that perhaps she had been duped. The numbers were clearly posted on a large, stone mailbox at the road, but beyond that all Stacey could see were miles of white fence and green pasture, dotted with cattle and horses, and leading up to what may have been the largest house she had ever seen. It sat back about a mile off the road, but she could see from where she sat that it sprawled out in all directions. There was not a restaurant in sight, however, and the butterflies in her stomach began to get out of hand. Just as she was thinking about starting the car and heading back home, a large, white Ford pick-up drove up behind her.

Stacey watched as a man jumped out of the lifted truck. He was a small man, in height anyways. He probably only stood about five feet tall in his ostrich skin boots. He was almost as round as he was tall, and had on what looked to be an expensive, possibly custom-made, suit and a large, tan cowboy hat. He approached the driver’s side window with a smile, his round cheeks almost smothering his eyes when he did.

Stacey wasn’t sure what to do, but trying to stay calm and not get caught up in her over active imagination, she rolled the window down.

“Hi, Stacey? I’m Ted!” the little man said with that same Texas drawl Stacey had heard on the phone earlier. “I’m sorry I’m a little late. There was a darned cow in the road up a piece, I had to call the hands to come out and get him out of the way.”

“Its fine,” Stacey said, “I wasn’t sure if I was in the right place.”

Ted laughed, “I shoulda told ya the restaurant wasn’t right here, I apologize. It’s been a busy week and I’m just not thinking clearly. Mr. Buchanan wanted to meet ya before I took you on over to see the place. I hope you don’t mind. It’s his place, and it kinda means a lot to him. He had it built for his missus a few years back, but she passed on before they could get it opened. We thought he was gonna have it bull dozed there for a while, but then all of a sudden he says, “Find me somebody to open the restaurant, and so here we are.”

The little man said all of this without taking a breath. Stacey felt slightly overwhelmed and wondered if she were taking a risk being out here alone with this odd little person.

“So if you want to follow me on up to the main house?” he asked, tipping his hat at her and not waiting for a reply before heading back to his pickup. Stacey watched him grab on to the pull bar that had been strategically placed near the driver’s side door and swing himself up inside. He tipped his hat once more, and maybe winked? Stacey shook her head at herself, again wondering what she was doing as she put the car in gear and proceeded to follow him up the long driveway.

As they approached the house, Stacey could see more clearly how large and beautiful it was. It was made of wood and almost looked like a series of two story cabins that had been joined together. There was a sprawling lawn out front with what looked like a life-sized bronze statue of a longhorn bull situated in the middle. It was all impressive, but what Stacey found the most amazing was the huge lake that spanned out behind the home. She couldn’t really tell from her current angle, but it looked as if the water came right up to a dock at the back of the home. The large glass windows that spanned the front of the property must have been tinted because they didn’t allow a view into the inside of the home from where she exited her car and now stood. The top story was also surrounded with windows, and a wrap-around balcony with huge oak staircases at each end.

“Pretty, ain’t it?” Ted asked, startling her as he came up from behind.

“Yes, it’s beautiful,” Stacey said.

“Mr. Buchanan had it built for his bride when they first got married forty years ago. They made a few upgrades to it since then. Other than the missus, this house and ranch are his pride and joy.”

“I can see why,” Stacey said, honestly. Ted led her up to the massive front door and she stood nervously waiting as he rang the bell. A pleasant looking older lady answered the door.

“Ted,” she said, embracing the little man, “Come in!” and then turning towards Stacey she said, “And you must be Miss Martinez! Welcome, I’m Mauve.” She led Stacey into the foyer as she warmly shook her hand. Stacey couldn’t help but look around in awe. What she had thought was a top story was something akin to a catwalk that spanned the top of the thirty-foot ceilings. The walls behind the banister were lined with windows and bookshelves. The living room was wide-open with a huge, stone fireplace in the center, and the room was filled with light coming in from the huge windows that she had seen from outside.

“Please have a seat, Mr. Buchanan will be right with you. Can I get you some coffee, tea?” Mauve asked them.

“I’d love some coffee, Mauve,” Ted said, and Stacey added, “Sure, coffee would be great.”

“I’ll be right back then,” she said as they sat down on the huge sofa that wrapped around the entire big room.

Mauve was back with the coffee before Mr. Buchanan came in. When he did, Stacey couldn’t help but notice how he seemed to fill the large room. He was one of those people that some might say “Sucked all of the oxygen out of the room.”

He was tall; at least six-four or five and his shoulders were broad. He was a handsome man for his age, but looked more like a ranch-hand than the owner. He wore a pair of wrangler jeans and on his feet was what appeared to be a pair of leather moccasins. He didn’t wear a hat, but the dark brown hair that was touched with grey at the sideburns carried the imprint of one. He held out a large, calloused hand in Stacey’s direction as she stood and said, “Hello, I’m Bobby Buchanan.”

Stacey shook the rough hand and introduced herself as well. He asked her to please have a seat, and she sat back down as he greeted Ted.

“So, Ted here tells me you might be interested in opening a restaurant.”

“Yes, I would love to hear more about it,” Stacey said, becoming more curious about these people by the minute.

“Well, it’s just a small diner on the outskirts of the property as you get into town. I had it built about five years ago, for my wife. She had always wanted to have a restaurant of her own. Unfortunately we waited too long getting around to it. My Lily passed away just after it was done, so it’s been sittin’ awhile.”

“I’m very sorry for your loss,” Stacey told him, almost wishing she were as sad about her widowhood as he was.

“Me too, young lady,” Buchanan said, “But anyways, I needed to make a decision to tear it down or start it up. I’m going with the starting it up, if we can find the right person to run it. I’m a rancher. I’d rather not have anything to do with the operations of a restaurant. What I would need, and am looking for here, is someone who can get it opened up, deal with the hiring, firing, etc. Make up a menu, I guess, and see if we can get it to turn a profit or not, before I go ahead and tear it down.”

Stacey wasn’t sure what to say. It was one of those things that sounded too good to be true. It would almost be like having her own business, except that she wouldn’t be the one making all the money. But, it was never about the money to her. She could do this, she knew she could. All she needed to do was convince this man that she could.

“I would love to apply for the job,” she said, “and see the place, if that would be okay?”

“Ted will take you down to see it, and if you like what you see, he can show you the house too. If it suits you, we’ll give it a shot. You get together a list of what you’re gonna need and Mauve will pick it up from you in a week or two and we’ll get going.”

Stacey wasn’t sure what she had just heard. Before she could process it, the big man was standing and offering her his hand once more. She stood as well and shook it, her head spinning a bit. As he left the room, Stacey turned to Ted and asked, “What just happened? What house?”

Ted laughed, “Mr. Buchanan is somethin’ of a no nonsense kind of guy. He gets feelings about people. He must think you’re okay, ‘cause he just offered you the job…and the house.”

“What house?” Stacey asked again, still confused.

“There’s a little house out on the edge of the property, not far from the diner. He’s offering it as part of the salary for managing the restaurant. You are not obligated to live there, it’s just, what do you call it, a perk? Anyways, the salary he’s paying you will be pretty decent if you’d rather commute, or find your own place nearby.”

“Oh, no, I’d love to see the house,” Stacey told him. She was having a hard time believing this was real, and as she was leaving the house behind Ted she made sure no one was looking and pinched herself. It hurt; she guessed that was a good thing.

The diner literally sat on the back edge of Buchanan’s property. It was a cute little place with an old time counter with colorful vinyl seats bolted to the floor around it. The equipment was all new, the floors and walls shiny and bright. Stacey was so excited she could hardly contain herself. Ted suggested they walk “up the road a piece” and see the house. It was a pretty little cottage type home with two small bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen and small office. The small yard was fenced and had rose bushes growing on either side of the walk. Stacey wanted to pinch herself again. Her luck just wasn’t this good. She was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“So what do you think?” Ted asked her.

“I think I’m dreaming,” Stacey said, without thinking, and then said,
“I’m sorry, it’s just all so lovely, more than I was hoping for, that’s for sure.”

“Can I take that to mean you accept the job?” Ted asked.

“Absolutely!” Stacey said, feeling better than she had in literally months. She felt a little prickle at her back and told her imaginative self,
“See there, the wings are growing back.”

She and Ted discussed salary, and how many people Stacey could hire to help her run the place. Before he left, he actually handed her the keys to the restaurant, and the house. Stacey was so afraid that she was going to roll over and wake up.

Stacey walked back down the road to where they had left her car, near the diner. She was daydreaming about what her life would be like now. Free to make decisions with no one telling her she was “too simple” to be able to run a business on her own. She knew it was just a silly little diner, and she wasn’t convinced that there were enough people in this little town to keep it afloat, but she intended to give it her best shot.

She thought about Victoria as she walked, and wondered if she had any experience in waiting tables. At the very least, maybe she could give her a cashier or dishwasher position, and thus fulfill her promise to help the girl.

Lost in her thoughts, Stacey didn’t notice the broken piece of fence just off to her right. She also didn’t notice the large bull with the four-foot long horns on either side of his head standing in the road in front of her, until she was nearly face to face with him. She screamed, and the big animal snorted, blowing green snot at her as he did. Stacey started to back up slowly, knowing enough about animals to know that if she ran it may spook him further.

The bull pawed at the ground with one foot in what looked to Stacey like an aggressive stance. He blew snot out of his large nares once more and began to advance towards her.
Now this is more my luck!
She thought as she ceased to care what you were supposed to do in situations like this and turned and began to run.