Page 84 of Cowboy Daddies

Most of the guests would be leaving in the morning, though a few other couples had also booked the extra week to relax. Their hosts made the last evening an outdoor celebration with a bonfire and a barbecue. There was even live music.

The ranch boasted an all-cowboy band that was happy to play for the guests. They knew a lot of old-time cowboy songs, folk music, and now and then they threw in a few modern hits, done in their own style. It was the perfect backdrop and left everyone feeling mellow and relaxed.

Carter had claimed a log by the bonfire, and he sat with his arm around Ally, humming along to the songs he knew. The audience was encouraged to sing along if they knew the words, but he wasn’t much of a singer. He had no intention of adding his rough voice to the beautiful harmony.

Finally, when the fire had begun to die down and the band had claimed plates of food and moved off to relax, Ma and Pa called for their attention. Carter was expecting it. They were big on speeches, and it was the final night.

“We would like to thank you all for being part of this adventure,” Ma began, smiling. “We hope that you’ve learned a few things here, and that you’ll take some of these new skills home with you.” She wasn’t talking about riding and tying knots, of course, but the real reason they’d all come.

She leaned against Pa as she continued. “Helping people has been more than a career for us. It’s been our passion, our dream. For almost forty years, we’ve been able to live that dream … but now, it’s time for it to end. You will be our last group of couples at the Second Chance Ranch.” Her voice got furry toward the end, and Pa took over.

“This session has been special, at least in our minds, because we knew it would be the last. We couldn’t have asked for a better group to end with.” For a second, Pa’s eyes seemed to rest on Carter, and his mouth quirked up at one side before he continued.

“We’ve watched each of you grow with pride and we hope your time here is something you’ll remember fondly for the rest of your lives. I know some of you will be here for another week, but after that the guest quarters will be closed and the ranch will be listed for sale. We are hoping to find buyers who want to continue our mission, or at least keep the place as a working ranch, but this is the end of the road for us.”

“We’re looking forward to retiring someplace warm. Forty-plus years of ranch winters is more than enough,” Ma added with a laugh.

They wrapped up their speeches as a special dessert was wheeled across the deck and parked next to the tables of food. The six-layer cake was done in the ranch logo colors, and ‘So long’ was written in an elegant swooping script around the top layer. The guests begin lining up for a slice.

He kept the scowl inside, but it irritated him that the other guests didn’t seem to care that an institution was dying. The idea that the ranch was being sold probably struck them as sad, but none of them had taken the emotional hit that Carter had. While he sat there staring into the fire with his stomach twisted in knots, they filled their faces with cake.

The ranch would be sold. Ma and Pa would head south, and then what? He’d never see the place or them again, and after he’d only just discovered that he’d been welcome here the whole time. He swallowed hard and felt a hot prickling behind his eyes.

“Are you okay?” Allegra was looking at him, forehead furrowed.

“Yeah, I—” He stopped and shook his head. He wasn’t okay, not really. “I can’t believe they’re selling the place.”

“Maybe they’ll find people to buy it who will keep everything the same. We could still come back,” she said, after a short hesitation.

He didn’t say anything, just squeezed her against his side and buried himself in memories. Eventually people began to trundle off to bed. Allegra went to say goodnight to some of her new friends who were leaving. While she was gone, Pa made his way over and took a seat on the log.

“You look hypnotized,” he said. “Careful you don’t fall in.”

Carter blinked and dragged his attention from the bed of coals. He had been enthralled by the glowing and shifting of colors. “Sorry, I zoned out.”

“You looked a little lost, son. You doing alright?” the older man asked.

“I’m not sure.” Carter shot him a look and then shrugged. “This trip brought back a lot of memories and … cleared up some misconceptions on my part. Big emotions all around and then finding out you’re selling the spread sort of blew them up.”

Pa was silent for a few minutes, gathering his thoughts. “It was a hard decision to make. Not one we came to lightly. But we’re getting up there in age now. Ma’s arthritis is a misery in the winter, and we’re just not going to be up to the full-time job of running this place forever. We don’t have anyone to inherit it when we’re gone, so we figured it was best to make the decision on our own, rather than have it made for us.”

It all made sense. Carter understood the reasons, and how could he begrudge them a peaceful retirement? He just couldn’t find the words to explain how he felt. “Do you think it will sell fast?”

“Hard to say. Oh, we’ve had plenty of offers over the years, but we’re not selling out to a corporation, or parceling it off piece by piece to developers. We want to keep it intact and that could take a while. Why? Thinking of making another visit? You know you’d be welcome, and not as a paying guest.”

That sounded nice. He wondered how hard it would be to talk Allegra into coming back in a month or two. “I wouldn’t mind that. You sure it wouldn’t put you out?”

Pa shook his head, chuckling. “No. You know, Carter, we never had kids. We wanted them. Always thought we might get around to it, but it never happened. You were the closest thing to a son we ever had, of course you’re welcome.”

He grabbed a stick from the ground and used it to stir the coals. “Anyway, we’re going to work hard to find a buyer who will love this place the way we did. We’re willing to work with the right person to make it happen.”

“I hope you find them. The ranch deserves a second chance too,” Carter said quietly.

Pa dropped the smoking stick onto the coals, where it flared up briefly. “It does. I’m sure someone out there will see that, and we’ll know the right person when we see them.” He cleared his throat, clapped Carter on the back, and got to his feet. “I’m glad you’re going to be here for another week. Once most of the guests leave, I’m hoping we can spend some time with you and your lovely bride, just the four of us. We’d love to catch up with you.”

He was gone before Carter could do more than nod, and then Allegra returned. She had a piece of cake the size of her head, and insisted on trying to feed him bites, but her aim was terrible. It was impossible to feel lost, when the love of his life was giggling and smearing frosting across his face every time she missed his mouth.

That led to other things and when they headed back to their cabin, they were busy with each other. Sleep should have followed, but Carter struggled to get there. His body demanded rest, the only problem was that his mind wouldn’t shut down.