Page 4 of A Rancher's Vow
It’s not always easy to do what’s right, but we do it anyway.
Her grandmother’s voice echoed in Charity’s head. The woman had passed on now, but she had been the biggest influence during Charity’s teenage years. Grandma Lily had raised Charity and her sister Chelsea after their parents had gone from pretending to be the perfect family to everything blowing apart.
One result of the mess meant Charity hadn’t had much financial support past high school. The past four years had been a struggle.
A knock sounded on the office door a second before it swung open. “Tucker, I wanted to talk to you about—” Tamara Coleman jerked to a stop. “Charity. Well, damn. He actually went and did it.”
“Excuse me?” Charity rocketed to her feet when the older woman entered the room. She’d taught Tamara’s daughters ballet lessons in the past. Married to Caleb, the oldest brother and head of Silver Stone, Tamara was one of those people who had a quiet way of seeming to look into your soul with just a glance.
Charity had no desire to tangle with the woman or get on her wrong side.
Tamara strolled all the way into the room and sat, waving Charity back to her chair. “Tucker. Caleb and I have been telling him to hire somebody for ages. He kept saying he would. I assume that’s why you’re here?”
“Just started,” Charity agreed, eager to be helpful. “If you want to know where he is, I can find out pretty quickly.”
“No, that’s okay. It can wait.”
Charity already had theFinderapp open on the desktop. She’d spent the past thirty minutes making sure she could work it properly. “He’s with Ashton Stewart and Caleb in arena four.”
A long low whistle escaped Tamara. “Damn. Can I see?”
Charity rolled her chair back slightly and gestured to the computer screen. “It’s handy, but the data tracing also makes my skin crawl.”
Tamara stood behind her, leaning closer to examine the little icons that showed up on the overlaid map of the ranch. “Oh, look. Dustin’s riding his favourite trail again.” She pointed to his icon near the farthest north boundary of the ranch before stepping back and shaking her head. “Yeah, I hear you. I’m equally amazed and horrified by technology. Knowing someone could find me that quickly is kind of creepy.”
“Leave your phone behind.” Charity forgot who she was talking to as the impulse to joke kicked hard. “Tucker said they hadn’t quite got to the point of embedding trackers in everyone who works at Silver Stone. It’s on the schedule for next month.”
Tamara’s head jerked up, her eyes sharp behind her hot-pink framed glasses. A moment later, a grin bloomed. “You know, I’ve always liked you. I think you’ll be a good addition to Silver Stone.”
“I like you, too,” Charity said honestly. “I plan to do a great job.”
With a final glance at the screen and a shake of her head, Tamara returned to the other side of the desk. “I suppose I should ask you this question before getting in Tucker’s way. Do you have access to the work roster for the next few weeks? We all had timing issues with girls’ night out last month. I want to make sure Kelli is free before we nail down a new date.”
“I think I can do that. One minute.” Charity opened another section of the computer. She grabbed the pile of paper on the desk Tucker had indicated was scheduling data to be amalgamated. After flipping through a few pages and peeking at the calendar, she hesitated. “I’m going to have to get back to you. According to one source, Kelli works different times than the other. Either I’m not reading it right, or they have her double-booked.”
“It’s probably the double-booked option,” Tamara said dryly. “If you could find out and let me know on Monday, I’d appreciate it.”
“Sure.”
Tamara dipped her chin. “Welcome to Silver Stone. Thanks for dealing with the chaos. And trust me, I know intimately how wild and woolly the paperwork can get around here.”
“You’re welcome. I’m looking forward to the challenge,” Charity said brightly.
With Tamara gone, the rest of the afternoon passed quickly. Charity made her way through piles of data, filed a million papers, and had another impromptu lesson in Silver Stone bookkeeping when Stone brother number two, Luke, blasted into the office with a sheepish expression and a fistful of unfiled receipts.
With a sense of accomplishment, Charity finished tidying the desk.
She was in the middle of pulling on her coat when the third brother of the Stone family stopped in.
Walker Stone was a lean, muscular cowboy. He was softer spoken than Luke and had spent time on the circuit as a bull rider. Just the thought of the danger he’d faced made Charity queasy.
He spoke as he rounded the corner into the office. “I wanted to ask you a question.”
Probably expected to find Tucker, not her. “I can leave a note for Tucker,” Charity offered. “Or if it’s an emergency, I can get a hold of him right away.”
Walker smiled. “Nope, I was actually talking to you.”
“Oh. Of course. What’s up?” Charity settled her purse strap over her shoulder and waited expectantly.
