set of her TV show, though. It still felt strange knowing that her sister was a star, and people asked for her autograph wherever she went. It was a popular show. Gemma’s celebrity was nothing Kate had ever aspired to, but Gemma had had her nose plunged in movie magazines from the time she was twelve. Hollywood had always been her dream. The ranch was Kate’s.
It took Kate half an hour to find the fence that had fallen. She took pictures of it with her phone, and sent them to Thad, so he could assign a detail to repair it. It was as bad as the men had reported. Then she gave Bear his head, and flew back to the barn at a gallop. She knew the property like her own hand, and could have ridden back blindfolded.
She was in good spirits when she got back to the barn, and her father rode in at the same time. He sat in the saddle for a minute, looking at her. He didn’t notice her often, or how beautiful she was, or even mention it. She had a deep tan and her eyes were bright as he started to say something and she saw him wince, as though he was in pain suddenly. He pressed his chest with one hand, as she hopped off her horse and went to him.
“Are you okay, Dad?” she asked as she reached him, and he slumped forward, and then slid off his horse in her direction. She caught him, and lowered his powerful body to the ground. His eyes fluttered for a minute and then closed. He lay on the barn floor and she knelt beside him. She saw him stop breathing. She felt for his pulse and there was none. She gave him a few quick breaths mouth to mouth, and he still wasn’t breathing as she shouted to one of the ranch hands to call 911, and told him to call Thad after that. Her father was lying completely still, and she gave him a few more puffs of air, felt his pulse, and there was still nothing. She started chest compressions then, as the ranch hands gathered around and watched her as she fought to save her father.
She kept up the steady rhythm of the breaths and chest compressions for what felt like hours before she heard sirens in the distance. As soon as she did, Thad ran in and knelt next to her.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. I think he had a heart attack,” she said and continued CPR. The paramedics arrived in force then, and took over. The head paramedic was a man she’d gone to school with. Caroline had dated his younger brother in high school. He asked her for the details, as one of his men continued giving Jimmy CPR, and another took out a defibrillator. When the defibrillator instructed them to, they administered a shock, as Kate and Thad stood near, watching what was happening. Kate clutched Thad’s hand. She could tell the defibrillator hadn’t worked. They’d been working on him for an hour, when Kate’s old schoolmate turned to her and shook his head. He stepped away from JT then and came over to her. They had done everything they could, and Kate and Thad had seen it. None of it had worked.
“I’m sorry, Kate. Sometimes you just can’t bring them back. I think he went instantly. Did he have a history of heart problems?” She shook her head and had told them that in the beginning. It was just his time, with no warning. Kate looked as though she was in shock.
“How can that just happen? He was fine when I left him this morning.”
“It’s terrible to say, but sometimes it’s better like that. He led a great life and was a terrific guy.” They covered him then, put him on a gurney to take him to the ambulance outside, as the ranch hands stood staring, and Kate cried in Thad’s arms. He was crying too.
“Oh my God, Thad…he was sixty-four years old, in perfect health.” And now he was dead. Neither of them could believe it, as they stood there crying.
Juliette ran into the barn. She arrived just in time to see them carry Jimmy out on the stretcher, with his face covered, and she ran to him, uncovered him, and bent to kiss him. They put him in the ambulance then to take him to the hospital morgue, until Kate could recover