River Road (River's End Series #4) Read online

  But later, Jack gave him access to his personal office, the petty cash funds, and even started letting him make repairs at the main farmhouse. It bolstered a deep loyalty in AJ. He felt obliged that a man as upstanding and honorable as Jack Rydell would give him another chance, and then go beyond that to actually trust him. Jack truly, and with an open heart, allowed AJ to prove himself. AJ responded by striving to prove his loyalty, work ethic, and physical strength each and every day for the Rydells. They had become his family, from a distance of course, since he wasn’t really related to them. He might have been uneducated, but he was no imbecile. He was confident he possessed average intelligence, and clearly understood what his place and status with the family were. But they were all unfailingly polite to him. They were as respectful to him as they were to the reverend and even toward each other. AJ responded to their upstanding behavior by trying to emulate them as much as possible.

  He flung his hat back on his head and adjusted it lower to cover his eyes. He preferred it that way. It dulled the effect of another pair of eyes staring at him. Well, hell! Why was he standing around now thinking about a model-worthy woman before retreating into the vast, bottomless, and hollow memories of his misbegotten youth? There was work to do; livestock to manage, hay bales to move, and he had a meeting with Jack later on.

  There was always something to do and AJ loved that fact. In the off hours and on weekends, Jack asked him to do some side work by helping to build Joey Rydell’s house, currently under construction.

  AJ glanced up towards the blue sky, bright with the morning May sun. Simmering heat was starting to evaporate off the dirt and fields. It would surely be a warm one today. May could be the best month, with its pleasant sun and cooling breezes; if they were lucky, even a light rain that lasted only an hour or two. And other times, the day would foreshadow the stifling heat that became as oppressive as a tight lid sealed over the land.

  He grabbed the bandanna in his back pocket and wiped it over his face. Didn’t matter. Rain or heat, he could work in any kind of weather. He’d done so his whole life. His best qualities were having the arms of a gorilla, the back of a mule, and the determination of a thoroughbred. Unlike his gambling, feckless father, AJ worked. It was the only honorable thing he did, and all he had to offer others, and society at large. He felt he owed a bigger debt to the community than the eighteen months he served in prison, so he worked.

  Jack had started him off at minimum wage, as most ranch hands weren’t very skilled. However, he quickly singled AJ out and began to raise his wages by degrees. Every six months, like clockwork, AJ received what he considered a generous, almost undeserved pay hike. He was earning nearly the same as a guy in a worker’s union. Considering he had no more than an eighth-grade education, that seemed pretty generous to AJ. Jack explained that good, loyal, trusting foremen were hard to find and golden to keep. AJ never knew how to respond to such a compliment. He didn’t get it; so he merely did the work Jack asked him to do.

  When Ian, Jack’s brother and right-hand man, decided to leave, Jack tapped into AJ like never before. Side by side, they managed everything: the horses, the alfalfa, the orchards, and all the building maintenance. Ian’s departure turned out to be the best thing, career-wise, to ever happen to AJ. Then, to his surprise, the brother who was third in line, Shane Rydell, started to stay around the ranch more than he ever had before. Shane never so much as shoveled a scoop of horse shit or fed a grain of barley to a horse for years. However, he began to settle down after meeting the local school teacher. He married her and started to work alongside Jack. Shane was inadvertently pushing AJ backward. He returned to being more of a ranch hand than Jack’s right hand man. It was a bit of a disappointment to AJ, but he fully understood. Family first, family always, and blood was thicker than water. He would have expected nothing less of the Rydells.

  In that time, they expanded the ranch, erecting a series of cabins that eventually became the Rydell River Resort. It was all at Ian’s instigation. AJ was fascinated by the venture and eager to help even though he had no idea of the big picture. Ian just came out one day and said they were going to start clearing the land by the river, which was not too far from the cemetery. After that, they were digging and clearing the site according to Ian’s specifications. They built footings, and concrete trucks filled them, forming the foundation. All of it was new to AJ, who’d never done any real construction work from the ground up before. Both Ian and Jack were patient, showing him how to do different things, the purposes of all the tools, how to use the laser-level to square things up, the safest way to do the prep work, and how to minimize the costs.

  They didn’t have to take time from their busy schedules to actually teach AJ or give him the required skills. But they often did. Low and behold, all the little squares of concrete were soon framed and the cabin roofs were put on. Finally, AJ learned they were building cabins and planning to open the ranch up to people as a vacation destination. AJ never pried before then. He always knew it was their place, their family, their stuff, their horses, and their buildings. He didn’t want to overstep any boundaries, despite how he was salivating with curiosity. What was going on? Why were they doing this? When Jack finally explained the plan to him, AJ’s surprise must have shown on his face. Jack even apologized for not realizing AJ didn’t know what they were up to. He always insisted that AJ just ask, and speak up; it was fine, and he was glad for AJ to know what the plan was.

  Still, AJ didn’t broach the subject. He held his tongue, because he knew his place.

  He wasn’t about to jeopardize that.

  As for learning the cabins were part of a new concept, the Rydell River Resort, to say that AJ was shocked was putting it mildly. That Jack would let any fool, stranger, thief or con-artist—like AJ’s dad, for example—have access to his land, his horses, and his river was beyond reckless. Jack explained that the family was expanding and the decision was not just Jack’s. He described how they intended to respond to the entire family’s needs, not just Jack’s. AJ reacted by finding even more reasons to respect the man he worked for.

  After the cabins were all finished up, they opened up their private land to strangers. Vacationers from around the state and beyond came there. Most were coasties from the west side of the state, looking for sun, heat, and horses, i.e., the country experience. As if it were a freak phenomenon or tourist attraction. The Rydell River Ranch was a working horse farm, which made it monumental for some people to experience. AJ didn’t fully understand the urge; it was merely work to him. And home. And his life. It was never a photo op for AJ.

  Jack specifically asked AJ, along with Pedro, Caleb, and Jordan, the other ranch/resort staff, to please leave the guests alone. No sleeping with the women; no making friends or enemies with the men. It wasn’t out of snobbery because they were considered the ranch hands or hired help. It was because Jack did not want the possibility of any lawsuits arising, and aimed to keep things running as smoothly as possible. He hoped to limit the ranch and resort’s contacts and crossover as much as possible.

  Since AJ had no desire to hobnob with vacationers, never having done such a thing in his damn life, he was more than comfortable with that. The resort was on the high side of the main house, with its own access, cabins, check-in office, and grounds. A white fence separated it from the fields, pastures, his own living quarters and river access, barns and working roads. All AJ’s domain, essentially. He saw it as his boundary line of freedom. The resort was his idea of hell.

  So seeing that woman today wasn’t something he often encountered. No one ever missed the turnoff before. It was the first driveway the vacationers saw from the main road. And the resort had a huge sign that was pretty hard to miss. AJ shook his head. He knew little of the amenities. He thought it best to mention the encounter to Jack, and hope she didn’t leave. He feared he might have scared her away with his bumbling knowledge.

  AJ quickly loped towards the orchard. He went to the barn seeking a new sprin
kler head to fix the one that was busted by Pedro when he accidentally hit it with the mower. With the sprinkler head in hand, he found the crew moving down the orchard rows with pleasing efficiency. He turned off the water line and started fixing the sprinkler head for the next few minutes. When it was repaired, he turned the water back on. It pumped up from the river into the orchard before spraying out of the heads in lazy circles, catching the sunlight in colorful prisms of refreshing, little rainbows. Nodding with satisfaction, he caught up to the crew and started helping them thin the orchard. They already did the pruning early this spring, before anything bloomed, but Shane decided this particular section needed more thinning.

  They ended their chores for the day, and stored the tractor, the mower, and the old farm truck in the barns before placing all the other implements into the proper tool sheds. Always a neat and tidy ship, that was what the Rydells ran. AJ was sure to keep everything in tip-top shape and exactly where it belonged so the Rydells could use it at any time.

  Jack was in his office in the main horse barn. AJ knocked on the half-open door. “Hey, Jack, do you have a moment?”

  Jack pushed away from the small desk he was sitting at. “What’s up?”

  “Just letting you know the orchard’s done. There are only a few more limbs to prune on a small number of trees, but Pedro said he could handle those the rest of the week.”

  “That was quick. You must have pushed them hard.”

  “Just a few days’ work. Nothing special about doing a job.”

  Jack smiled. “I wish everyone agreed with what a full day’s work is as you and I do.”

  AJ stood there, his hat in his hands, which he always removed before Jack. Sign of respect. Jack was maybe in his late thirties, and not that much older than AJ’s own thirty years, but the position and stature Jack demanded and deserved was light years ahead of AJ.

  “What’s up next?”

  Jack leaned back, lacing his hands together behind his head, and his chair squeaked. “Get Caleb and Jordan on the sprinklers tomorrow; got some hot weather moving in, so let’s make sure the alfalfa gets plenty of water. Found some goat’s tail growing along the east pasture. Damn stuff will take over before you can blink. Can you get them out there scouring for it around the area?” AJ wasn’t sure of the actual name for the prickly weed that wasn’t native to the valley, but consistently popped up in their fields. Its prickles were long enough to cause serious problems. Any time they found one, they combed the area to pull out as many as they could find. They didn’t dare risk the chance of it spreading. “They’ll get it done.”

  Jack’s lips pursed. “Only because you’ll be on their ass. Never understood how they could be Kailynn’s blood. But you keep them tolerable, at least. And Ian stays off my ass for that.” Kailynn was Ian’s girlfriend. The two brothers, Caleb and Jordan, were a bit lazy and unenterprising. However, they were good enough farm hands as long as AJ stayed glued to their asses.

  “They’re good guys.”

  “Yeah? Matter of opinion. But Erin said there’s a big group coming into the resort tomorrow. They reserved most of the stable horses for a long ride. Could you help her out with that tomorrow?”

  AJ nodded. “’Course. If Erin needs it.” His heart dipped. He had no love for the paid horseback riding. The inexperienced riders didn’t handle the horses right or appreciate them if they did manage to ride them even marginally correct. But Erin, Jack’s wife, who ran the horseback riding for guests, was every bit as upstanding to AJ as Jack was.

  “Thanks.” Jack cleared his throat. “Well, hell, all these damn women…” he grumbled. AJ crossed his arms over his chest. What was his next task? “Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for Erin and Allison, but damn! You won’t believe the latest thing they got together and decided.”

  He bit his lip, trying to imagine little, five-foot-nothing Erin ordering Jack about. She might have been the only one who could get away with it. “What?”

  “They wanted to hire a landscape artist. Here. For this place. Can you even imagine? What the hell? I know what they are. But designing how and where we grow stuff? Here? I’m confused; it’s as if they didn’t realize we’re a goddamned working ranch. And we grow stuff. Important stuff. Food.” The reproach was thick in his tone. “I couldn’t even argue. Then Shane, the wimpy little jerk, agreed it wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

  “Uh, what is it? The artist, I mean? Do they plant stuff?”

  “Oh, first, they design it, which costs a fortune too. Anyway, I told them no. We can buy our plants at the local nursery and I can dig a hole as well as the next guy. So…”

  AJ sighed. “So that means I’m now a landscaper?”

  “Well, no. We are. You and I. I wouldn’t just punish you without taking some of it myself. But yeah. They want to landscape all around the main house, our houses, and all the cabin areas as well as where the guests might walk.” Jack sneered when he muttered guests in lip-curling disgust. AJ dropped his head, pressing his lips together to keep his own smirk from showing. Jack was as much a fan as AJ in his “affection” toward the resort people.

  “You know, if not for my brothers, and their right to have wives and kids so our kids will have something to do with this place, I’d never have built a goddamned hotel here. It’s like they come here to pat us on the head, and say how cute we are with our little horse farm out here in middle of nowhere. If it were just my decision, it would have forever remained the Rydell River Ranch.”

  AJ nodded, a little squeeze tugging near his heart. But Jack wasn’t alone. Jack had three brothers, two sons, a wife, and now a sister-in-law and another one probably someday. He had plenty of responsibilities, as well as people whom he owed to take into consideration. AJ couldn’t fathom it. There was no one in his life. His dad, sure, until he was sixteen, but that barely came to a combined total of three or four months out of the entire year when AJ was actually with him. “But it’s not just you, and therefore we need to start landscaping the place.”

  “Indeed we do.” Jack stood up. “Walk with me, I’ll show you what they have in mind. All the ranch or orchard work comes first, of course. Start this whenever you have some free time. If you choose to work at it on your own time, you can, just be sure to keep your hours and charge me.”

  He followed Jack, and they started out of the barn. They always saw eye to eye. Both slipped their hats on as the sun grew brighter to the left of them. “You know, I’m not an artist when it comes to plants. You’ll have to tell me what you want and where.”

  “Like I know one bush from another,” Jack mumbled.

  “Well, I sure don’t.”

  They started towards the main ranch house. It was nothing less than magnificent to AJ. Rising from a small mound, lush grass fell down all around it. A porch surrounded the two-story log home that had a central river-rock chimney and other accents of river rock all around the base of it. It once housed all the Rydells, but recently, Jack and Erin built their own house further down the river. Ian’s house was nearby also. Shane moved with his wife, Allison, into a house near the orchards, overlooking the rest of the ranch. The youngest son, Joey, only lived in the main house whenever he came home on leave from the Army. Right now, and for the first time ever, the house was unoccupied. AJ heard Jack mumbling in the last month or so, about his brothers turning it into some kind of restaurant or gift shop for the guests. They had yet to convince Jack to do that, however.

  Jack stopped and stared at it, squinting against the light. AJ wondered if Jack missed living in the house he was raised in, as well as his own two sons. “It’s apparently not fancy enough with just the grass. They concurred it needed more flowerbeds running the length of the porch and an island right here in middle of the lawn. Then they want me to pave the driveway and parking area, just to keep the dust down. Like a little dust ever hurt anyone. All these fancy-ass sedans and SUVs don’t appreciate their gleaming exteriors having a little real earth on them. Anyway, from here, we’ll put the same
flowerbeds… which are actually bushes with bark or gravel around them… the landscaping, I’m told, over here.” He kept walking around the ranch and pointing out where the next beautifications were to occupy. Eventually, they were standing before the ten mini-log cabins that hugged the river’s edge. Like tiny clones of the main ranch house, they had small, covered porches on the front, and viewing decks off the back. The views were of the river that ran down the ravine from the cabins.

  “And right off, Erin wants flowers outside along all the cabins. So the grass will need to be removed in front, the soil tilled and… the flowers freaking planted.” Jack nearly shivered at the word “flowers,” as if Erin were asking him to pole dance in front of a crowd. “All the flats of flowers are under the lean-to near Shane’s shop. You can’t miss them.”

  “I’ll get started tomorrow.” Flower gardening. AJ cringed at the idea. He agreed with Jack. Having all grass made it easy. They had an industrial-sized mower deck that regularly tagged along behind any number of their tractors, and a smaller, riding mower to use around the buildings. It still cost plenty in gas, maintenance, time, and manpower just to keep the grass mown. Now all these new landscaping needs? They turned to leave. “Hey, there was a guest, a tall lady who pulled into the ranch house today. She had all these questions about the resort, which I’m not real familiar with, so I might have steered her wrong. I’m sorry if I mighta scared her off.”