Falling For The Rancher. Roxanne Rustand
escape the vision of Darcyâs expression.
Sheâd been clearly embarrassed, but heâd also caught a hint of desperation and bitter disappointment. So what was going on with her, for this auction to matter so much?
And who in the world was Edgar?
* * *
Hefting another bale of fragrant alfalfa that the farmer had just tossed down from the hay wagon, Logan looked over his shoulder at the approach of an unfamiliar car.
A moment later, the woman heâd met after the auction last night stepped out of the vehicle and approached him with a hand shading her eyes from the morning sun. Hannah, if he remembered correctly, though last night heâd been so tired he didnât know for sure.
âI called the clinic, but Marilyn said you were taking care of a hay delivery. So I decided Iâd just bop out here. Beautiful drive, anyway, with all of this timber and those rocky bluffs. I always loved coming out to Docâs place for his annual barbecues.â
âI couldâve saved you the trip if Iâd had your number.â
âThatâs why I wanted to see you in person.â She laughed softly. âBeth and I are hoping you wonât get off that easy.â
âIâm sorry, butââ
âHonestly, I think youâd be better off if you just let it stand. Good PR and all that.â
He tipped his head toward the house. âEven if I wanted to help yâall out, I just donât have the time. I can barely get in the door with all of the moving boxes stacked inside. Itâll take days to finish fencing the pasture and longer to take care of repairs in the barn.â
âButââ
âAnd then thereâs going to be extensive remodeling at the vet clinic. A lot of time just getting the new practice going, and weâre still in foaling and breeding season, which means long days and even longer nights when I start seeing clients.â
âLast year a guy backed out,â Hannah said darkly, as if she hadnât heard a word about his complicated life. âIt was the talk of the town for months when the winning bidder demanded her money back from the youth group, and that started a big flap about the future of the auctionâliability, worries about lawsuitsâbut without this big fundraiser, too many deserving kids will miss a wonderful opportunity. This year weâd been praying there wouldnât be a single glitch to jeopardize the auction concept. But now there is. You.â
âThis reminds me of a conversation I had with Beth at the cafe.â He stifled a laugh. âDarcy has some pretty convincing friends.â
âMy fiancé likes to say Iâm forthright.â Hannah rolled her eyes. âOthers just say stubborn. But if itâs for a good cause, why not?â
There were now a good twenty bales waiting for him on the ground. The man on top of the stack was holding another and eyeing him impatiently. âIf thatâs it, then...â
He turned to get back to work, but she touched his arm. âPlease.â
âLook, Iââ
âIf you donât care about the kids, well...â
âIt isnât that I donât careâI just donât have time.â
âThen think about Darcy and what she gave up for you.â
âWhat do you mean?â
âSheâs single, you know, with no family around to help. Her little cottage is a wreck, and sheâs been trying to hire a good handyman for months. But the good ones are booked âtil after the end of the year. And now, with her job in jeopardy since you showed up, she might have to sell and move. The cottage needs a lot of work before it can be listed.â
Baffled, he shook his head slowly. âHow could just twenty hours of labor make enough difference, then?â
âShe wanted to win Edgar. Sheâd been saving for months, hoping he would get the work started and then be willing to keep working for her. Heâs a wonderful craftsman, but takes very few new clients.â
âThen she shouldnât have bid on me.â
âThatâs what I say. But she has a soft heart. She felt bad for you when no one else would bid. Iâm sure she didnât want you to face any ridicule.â
âIâm sure I couldâve handled it,â he said dryly.
âMaybe so...but with half the town angry over you threatening to fire the entire vet clinic staff, why add more fuel to the fire? Andââ Hannah bit her lower lip, as if deciding how much more to say ââthe other woman who drove the bidding up is...well, I think Darcy went so high âcause she was trying to save you from a potentially bad situation. Very bad.â
The man on the hay wagon cleared his throat. âHey, Doc, I need to get back to the farm. You want me to just keep pitching these off or what?â
Now there were a good fifty bales tossed into a jumbled pile on the ground, and at last one had landed wrong and broken. The farmer was muttering under his breath.
âIâll be with you in just a second.â
He turned back to Hannah. âWhat if I made a donation to cover Darcyâs bid instead of doing the work?â
Hannah folded her arms over her chest. âFine, donate the two twenty-five. Except Darcy is still left high and dry. No Edgar, and no other skilled craftsmen are available until January...at least. Like I said, this is a small community.â
âFine. Iâll do it, then,â he said on a long sigh as he lifted a bale and started into the barn.
But long after Hannah left, questions kept spinning through his thoughts as he stacked bales into one of the box stalls he was using to store hay.
So Darcy had been struggling to save up for this auction? He knew what she was being paid at the clinic, and saving up a few hundred bucks for her beloved Edgar shouldnât have been any big deal.
Yet apparently she was strapped for cash.
So what was her problem? Credit card debt? A gambling problem? Sheer irresponsibility? She didnât seem like the type, but then, his own sister had mired herself in debt from online shopping, and heâd had to bail her out more than once so she and her kids wouldnât lose their condo.
And then there was his ex-fiancéeâwho had been far worse. He knew all too well how a person could be caught up in a web of embezzlement.
So maybe this unexpected situation wasnât so bad after all. If he completed the auction obligation to her, heâd have a chance to observe her situation and see if he even dared keep her around for the next two months.
Desperate people could end up doing desperate, illegal things, and he wasnât going through that situation ever again.
* * *
Logan logged onto the computer at the clinic on Monday morning and continued the search heâd started at home late last night.
âMarilyn, can you come in here, please?â he called out.
Darcy came in instead, wearing the new clinic uniformâmaroon scrubsâplus her white lab coat with the Aspen Creek Vet Clinic logo on the front pocket, and a stethoscope around her neck. âSheâs out in the parking lot helping Mildred McConaughy bring her dog in. Can I help you?â
âI need to order some equipment,