Tessa extended her hand to him and as he gave it a firm shake, she noticed his palm was as tough as rawhide and his face as crinkled as dry leather. From what she could see beneath the brim of the mangled hat, his thick hair was a mix of black and gray and his eyes were the color of a black bean. Yet in spite of his hard-weathered appearance, the gentleness in his gaze put her instantly at ease.
“I met Deputy Hollister yesterday and he mentioned you,” she explained. “I want to thank you, Sam, for keeping everything looking so beautiful.”
“Glad to do it. I’ll keep on taking care of things until you don’t need me anymore. That was Ray’s wishes. And I aim to see them carried out.”
“Well, I’ll see that you get paid,” Tessa assured him. “Mr. Maddox left me a sizable sum.”
He scowled. “I don’t want pay, Ms. Parker. Ray has already taken care of that. You don’t worry about a thing. If you need me, I’ll be here. If you don’t, that’s okay, too.”
Tessa was totally bewildered. This man and his late boss were making things so easy for her to stay here. Had that been another of Ray’s wishes? To make her want a permanent home on the Bar X?
“I don’t know what to say, Sam. This is hard for me to understand.” She passed a hand over her damp brow then made a sweeping gesture with her arm. “I don’t suppose you can tell me why Ray—uh, Mr. Maddox—left me this ranch?”
He lifted the crumpled straw hat and scratched the top of his head. “I expected you to ask me and I wish I could give you an answer. Ray never talked to me about such things. The only thing he told me was that, after he died, a young lady would be getting this property and his money. I gave him my promise to keep on working around the place—that’s how Sheriff Ray wanted it.”
Disappointment stung Tessa. Evidently this man and Ray Maddox had been more than boss/employee. If Ray hadn’t given Sam any sort of explanation about her and the will, it was doubtful he’d discussed the matter with anyone else.
“He didn’t say anything about me?” She persisted.
“Ray didn’t talk about his private life. And I didn’t pry. If he’d wanted me to know more, he would’ve told me. Anyway, Sheriff Ray always did the right thing. I expect he had good reason to do this for you.”
Sam’s lack of information hadn’t helped to explain anything. But she wasn’t going to let it discourage her. Somewhere, someone had answers and she fully intended to find them.
Hiding her disappointment behind a warm smile, she said, “Someday I’ll find his reason. For now I’m going to enjoy being here.”
With a wistful look in his eyes, he glanced over her shoulder to the empty holding pens. No doubt there had been a time when the dusty corrals would’ve been filled with weanling calves or cows to be tagged and doctored. Now the ghostly silence of the working area was a sad reminder of happier days.
“You going to hang around until the place sells?” he asked.
Though his question was quite reasonable, the weight of it staggered her. Already the idea of letting this place go was very unsettling. On the other hand, she had to make smart choices for her future. And her life was back in Nevada. Strange, how she had to keep reminding herself of that fact.
“I—I haven’t made any definite decisions yet, Sam. Except that I’m not going to be in any hurry about making plans. So I would be grateful to you if you’d come by and help me see after things.”
“Sure thing. I’ll be around first thing every morning.”
For the next half hour Sam helped her make friends with the cats and gave her a detailed tour of the barn and ranch yard. Afterward, she invited him to a cup of coffee on the backyard patio.
Although he wasn’t exactly a big talker, she was enjoying his company. And listening to him reminisce about Ray and the Bar X might possibly help her unravel the secrecy surrounding the will.
“When the ranch was going full swing, were you the only hand working for him?” she asked.
Reaching for his mug, Sam shook his head. “During the slow seasons I handled everything by myself. When calving season or roundups were going on, two other guys came in to help. See, the Bar X is small compared to some of the neighboring ranches. But acre for acre, it’s a damned good one. All it needs to get going again is a herd of mama cows and a few horses.”
Tessa was about to ask if he’d like to see the ranch back in production, but a woman’s voice suddenly called out in the vicinity of the front yard.
The unexpected interruption quickly pushed Tessa to her feet. “Excuse me, Sam. I’ll go see who that might be.”
Just as Tessa started off the patio, a tall, dark-haired woman somewhere in her early sixties appeared around the corner of the house.
“Hello, there,” she said cheerily. “Sorry about all the hollering. I knocked on the door but didn’t get an answer. I—” Suddenly spotting Sam, she paused and then called to him. “Sam, you rusty old codger! Where have you been hiding yourself?”
Sam scraped back his chair and came to stand next to Tessa.
“Good to see you, Maureen.” He greeted her with a tip of his hat.
He glanced at Tessa before gesturing to their unexpected visitor, who was dressed in a gray, double-breasted dress with a rust-red silk scarf knotted at her neck and matching red high heels on her feet.
“Tessa, this is Maureen Hollister.” He introduced the two women. “She’s your neighbor and owner of the Three Rivers Ranch.”
Still smiling, the woman extended her hand to Tessa. “Nice to meet you, Tessa,” she said while pumping her hand in a hearty shake. “And don’t worry, I can only stay for a minute. I’m on my way to Prescott. My son, Joe, told me you’d arrived, so I just wanted to stop by and welcome you to the area.”
“Joe? You mean Deputy Hollister?” Tessa asked.
Maureen’s smile deepened. “Sorry. All his family calls him Joe,” she explained, then shot a pointed look to Sam. “I hope you’ve been helping this young lady get settled in.”
Scowling, Sam said, “Maureen, I don’t need to be questioned. You know I’ll see to my duties.”
Maureen laughed and then said to Tessa, “He’s a touchy old cuss. But he won’t bite. I doubt he has enough teeth left to leave any damage, anyhow.”
Sam didn’t make a retort. Instead he purposely put a grin on his face to reveal he still possessed a full set of teeth.
After another laugh, Maureen went on. “If there’s anything at all that you need while you’re here, Tessa, just call on us. We like to help our neighbors.”
So this was Deputy Hollister’s mother. Tessa could only imagine what he’d told this woman about their meeting yesterday. That she’d seemed overly emotional and out of her element? He certainly wouldn’t have been lying, she thought dismally.
“Thank you, Mrs. Hollister. It’s very kind of you to offer. Would you like to join us in a cup of coffee?”
Maureen promptly waved away the invitation. “I’d love to sit and talk for hours. But I can’t be late for my meeting.”
“I understand. I hope you can come by another time,” Tessa suggested.
“Oh, she’ll be by.” Sam spoke up in a dry voice. “She keeps the road hot. All you see when Maureen drives by is the blur of a blue truck and a cloud of dust. Roadrunners aren’t even safe when she’s around.”
Instead of being offended, Maureen laughed heartily.