Weston Ranch, Fisher's Story (6 page)

"Why not
sale
to me then
? If
you
need the mo
ney, I can get a loan," h
er plea
d
idn't
work on him. She knew what
she said
was
the wrong thing
as soon as it came out of her mouth
.

"When
you
understand Claire, then we might revisit the subject. I need to get to bed. I have to check the cattle early in the morning.
Come on, I will run
you home,
"
Fisher gathered
up
the beer bottles and placed them in the sink.

"No. I'll walk.
It's
a
five minute walk
,
and
I need it,
"
s
he got up and moved to the hall way.

Fisher walked Claire to the door. He opened the closet beside the front door
,
and handed her a sweater and gently kissed her forehead. The sweet gesture
wasn't lost
on her. The cold hearted man
wasn't
as cold hearted as he wanted her to believe.
She could feel his eyes on her as she stepped off the porch.

She started the sl
ow trek down the gravel drive.  There
was still light out
side, being the summ
er
,
the days were long
. The walk allowed her time to collect her thoughts. She
was confused
as to why Fisher
wouldn't
sell when he clearly needed the money.
His parents assured her that they had acreage to spare. The Weston
’
s owned over
a thousand acres
. She needed about fifty to be comfortable. Surely he would see it was a smart business move.
She debated about asking Asher, but decided against it.
At least Fisher cared enough to put his own business aside to step in and help his parents.

She would take the loss and look elsewhere for land. She
was severely disappointed
. The la
nd was
pivotal
to her
needs.
However, she also understood that Fisher was a proud man, and
wouldn’t
fail his parents. She would accept it.
She needed the acreage for the camp. The land
that
her and her sisters own
was about
fifty
acres total, divided up between the three of them
.
H
er share
wasn't
going to be enough.
She
o
pened the door to her home, just as
Maddie
walked
in
to
the living room.

"Why did Fisher take you home
from the Zumba c
lass
?"
Maddie
asked
,
pausing the
television
that she had blasting.

"I wanted to talk to him about t
he land. It
didn't
go over well,
" Claire sat down on the sofa with a plop.

"You can always use our land,
"
s
he said
, sitting down next to her
.

"I wish, but the layout is all wrong
and it is not enough space
,
" Claire leaned back and closed her eyes. She could hear
Maddie
rustling around. She told her what her next step would be.

"I will go to the realtors tomorrow a
nd see what else is available,” she continued talking.
Maddie
didn't
respond. She opened her eyes to fi
nd her sister had left the room. S
o much for moral support. Claire went to her room
,
which
had a connecting shower
. She stripped her clothing and jumped in, letting the pulsing of the water sooth her knotted muscles
from her Zumba workout
and the hot water relieve her stress from dealing with Fisher.

Fisher watched has Claire made her way home. She was relentless when she wa
nted something. He closed the door, flicked the lock
and made his way back to the kitchen. His mother walked in from the back entry door
.
She
was accompanied
by his father. He rubbed his hand over his face, feeling the beginnings of
faint
hair stubble. "What did you guys do today?"
He asked
them
politely.

"There is nothing much to do aro
und these parts when you are old as us," h
is mother joked. His father placed his hands on her shoulders. It was a common gesture his father did when his mother
was upset
by something.
H
e was about to be chastised for something.
He was never too old to be scalded.

"Was that Claire that just left?"
His
mother
asked.

"Yes, she was
looking
for Ash," h
e
lied,
see
ing
that neither one of his parents believed him. This
was proven
true
when his father grunted
.

"Don't lie to your mother
,
Fisher.
We heard most the conversation.
You
weren’t
being quiet about it,
" h
is father
said
, s
howing his displeasure at his son's behavior.

"Why would
you
not sell her the land? We need the money. We use that portion for grazing
. We could survive without it,” he said.

This is what Fisher hated
the most
. His father
was
supposed
to be retired, but he was still trying to run the show. Fisher had reasons to why he
didn't
want to sell. He just
wasn't
going to share them.
Not yet at least.
T
he
money situation was another thing he
didn’t
want them to know.
He already poured his
own
personal money to keep
the ranch
going.
He needed to talk to Asher about taking over the books from
their
mom.
Her system
wasn’t
working.

"I have plans for the land that I do not need to share right now. The ranch is moving up under my running. I have only been at the wheel for a year.
It will take more time fix the damage.
P
lease
don't
question me on this.
" Fisher saw his father's
jaw tick. He
clearly wanted
to say more.

"L
eave Fisher
alone
dear
.
He is right.
You
are retired
, let him do his job,
"
h
is mother eased out from his father’s grasp.
It was
satisfying
that his mother stuck for him.

"It’s alright mom, I understand that it is hard for dad. Just leave it be for now. I will think on it
,
if that will make
you
happy,
"
Fisher
made this statement towards his dad.

His father
nodded
. He and mother went upstairs to their room. It was nine o'clock, late for them to be still up. Fisher wanted the land for a
speci
fic
purpose and Claire could move on and buy from someone else. There
was
more than on
e
spread that could offer her what she needed
and
for the right price.
He
couldn’t
believe that
he
revealed so much to her about his family's financial problems. His parents obviously overheard their conversation
and probably that part of it
. He knew that he would be dressed down by his father
by the end of the day tomorrow
,
out in the fields when no one was around.

Chapter Four

Claire met Asher for lunch at the local diner
the next day
. Everyone she remembered welcomed her with opened arms. She
had
just ordered a
vanilla
milk shake when her sister slid into the booth beside Asher.

"What are you two love birds doing?"
Lexie
asked as she grabbed a menu, clearly making herself at home. Claire
didn’t
mind, but she was second guessing Asher. H
e went from being light and easy
going
to being stiff and stodgy.
Tension flowed off of him.

"We
aren’t
lovers. I was a
bout to ask Ash about the
ranch,
" Claire cleared up the part about
being
lovers. She was
not about to
le
t that rumor
around
in
the
small town.

"I honestly
don’t
know anything about the business side of the ranch. I am a ranch hand. I own a small part over at the east end of th
e property line and I do my share of the work.
Nothing to what Fisher
does or
owns
now
.
As far as him not selling you land, I can't
actu
ally say on
e way or another as to why.
I’m
sorry I
c
ouldn'
t
help
you
out
,
sweet cheeks
,
"
h
e answered her,
utter
ly
ignoring
Lexie
.

"Are you sure
you’re
not lovers
,
swe
eee
et
che
eee
eks
?"
Lexie
mimicked Asher on the last word
s
, drawing it out.
A
ppar
ently,
Lexie
was not
in a
happy
mood today
.

"Do
you
mind? We are trying to have a conversation. Go do som
ething
worthwhile
for a change,
" Asher lashed out at her. Claire glanced between the two. She had never seen
Lexie
intently pick at someone before. That was usually
Maddie’s
department.
Asher made stiff movements trying to move away from
Lexie’s
hands that were waving furiously as she
was
started
talking
again
.

"What the hell is your problem with me
,
Ash
?"
Lexie
asked
,
getting
out of the booth, heedless to the heads that were turning to the sound of raised voices.

"
Go
home before the waitress asks us all to leave. Claire and I have things to dis
cuss that do not pertain to
you
,
" Asher sneered at her.

Claire
was fascinated
at the scene she just witnessed.
Lexie
left the diner quietly.
The usually calm and collected Asher was running a hand through his hair, a clear sign that he
was agitated
.
She
patiently
remained quiet
,
waiting for Asher to explain what
the hell
she had just s
een
. The last she knew, Asher
was hung
up on
Maddie, always ignoring Lexie.