keep me company.
I couldn’t take the silence for long. There was too much to do. As soon as I could, I packed up and headed back to school, buried my head in my exams and riding until graduation.
~*~
We had a few ranch hands that helped muck stalls, care for the horses boarded here, and general maintenance. Kip, a long-time friend of Gramps, helped out as much as he could. When he wasn’t at the ranch he was at Jack’s, a bar & grill he owned at the edge of town. Kip’s place has been around forever and all the locals hang out there. My parents used to have ‘date night’ there saying they had the best chili cheese fries in five counties.
Since I was taking over management duties at the ranch Kip decided to spend more time at Jack’s with his daughter. Really, I think he has his eyes on his general manager, a sweet older lady named Ellen. He asked me to take a look at his books since that was one of my jobs I did for Gramps during high school.
It’s a Friday night and I need to do go pick up some paperwork and do a few things for him before the bar got too busy. I take a quick shower, throw on a pair of distressed, form fitting, jeans, my favorite leather boots, and a frilly, satin spaghetti strap top underneath my leather jacket. Okay, the top is a little bit indulgent but it makes me feel sexy and a little dressed up. The weather is warm but I zip my jacket up to my chin, tuck my long hair into my helmet and ride out.
When I get to the bar I park my bike near the front and head to the office. The dinner rush is just finishing up. A live band is playing on stage. Soon the place will be packed with locals dancing, drinking, and having a good time. Now that school is out for the summer the students will flood the town and Jack’s. As I weave through the tables I spot Kip and waved to him. He motions for me to meet him in five minutes in the office. I unpack my laptop and get started on the pile of paperwork on his desk.
Five minutes turned into an hour. I was engrossed in numbers and barely looked at a clock. I finished looking over the last of the invoices when Kip finally ambled onto the chair across the desk like he was the visitor and I was the boss.
“Well, I am sorry about that,” he drawled. “Last minute call with a supplier. Some of the liquor is coming up short in my order and I needed to figure out why.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, did you get it worked out?” I had already flagged a folder with a stack of invoices from that vendor.
“Not yet, just trying to get a handle on things. My old sight isn’t what it used to be and paperwork and numbers aren’t my thing. Dottie used to handle that stuff but since she’s been gone I haven’t been too good about keeping up with stuff. I just leave it to Ellen. JT has been kind enough to help me out with estate stuff and whatnot. Ever since Dottie past away last year,” he sighs, “I just can’t seem to get my head around things. He had suggested I get some help and well, since you were back in town I figured you could be a fresh pair of eyes and work with Ellen to get me up to speed.”
“JT? He’s working on the estate? I thought he would be playing football somewhere,” I joke but my heart quickened at the thought of running into JT again. The Tanner law firm has called me a few times. I wonder if he’s handling my Gramps’ estate.
“Yes ma’am. He was playing football in college. He was scouted too but turned it down. Now, he runs his ranch but he does some work for Tanner & Tanner too. Like father like son, eh?” I pretend to mull over his explanation like I don’t already know exactly what JT has been up too. My journal of clippings featuring his success is one of the many items in my ‘treasure trunk’, also known as the old steamer chest in my room. I wipe the back of my hand across my mouth checking for drool. Oh my.
“You should probably meet with him.” Kip says to