Page 11 of Jason's Justice
“Could I stay in the cabin with the kids?” Ilsa asked, and that’s when she found her suspicions were confirmed.
“I’m sorry, Mom, but both bedrooms are being used. To answer you unasked question, yes, Caleb and I are a couple, we’re getting to know each other, and we haven’t moved into the other’s bedroom yet. He has his room, I have mine.” She looked at Erin with a frown. “I thought the Montgomery twins were going to move in here.”
“I thought so, but they called and asked if they couldn’t start work after the first of the year. I agreed, this will give them more time with their family, and I decided that because New Double is in desperate need of help, they could take a cabin over there to be closer to work. If they agree, then they can stay there until the new ranch is built.”
“May I ask who the Montgomery twins are?” Jason asked.
“Two young rodeo riders that love the rodeo, but know they aren’t cut out to be in the arena. They’re from a family of dairy farmers over in Kansas, but they don’t want to work that farm, they’re more interested in horses.”
“I know this isn’t any of my business, but with them working on this new ranch, then moving over to the rodeo one when it’s ready will it give them more experience with horses?”
“Correct, at least I hope it will. They’re great kids, and we met their family, and have had an extensive background check done on them. Not only did Duane do one, but also Jake from Brotherhood Protectors.”
“Ah, so you make sure all your I’s are dotted, and T’s crossed?”
“Correct. No one steps on Riceman property without one being done. Even the three of you.” She only gave a single nod, and they remained silent. “Let’s get moving, please.” Erin started forward and they had to go through some rough terrain to get to the other side where the business part of Broken Two would take place. They stayed there for another thirty minutes, and explained everything. Kevin told his son he’d be over later to walk his business with him. Instead of going back over to Broken, they were able to go out on the road, and halfway back to Erin’s Way, they turned into a driveway. This time, Duane led the way.
“This is where the rodeo ranch will be,” Duane said. “I live here with Laurie. Her daughter is a farrier, that’s someone who works on horses’ hooves, her boyfriend is the local vet. Oh, and Lorissa is also a vet. They live in the main house. Back that way is where Cole, the manager of New Double, and Lois, Laurie’s mother live. Lois will be in charge of planting the garden in the spring.” He looked at Clark, who took up the conversation.
“I won’t take you over there because it’s a mess, but we have construction going on over that rise,” he said as he pointed. “The entrance is further down, we made it that way so the people bringing their horses in won’t bog down this area where people live. Besides,” he chuckled. “That was smoother than trying to go over the hills from here. You can’t see it, but on the other side of that rise, there’s a severe drop off, the construction equipment would never have made it.”
“You’re into construction now?” Jason asked in confusion.
“No, I’m just overseeing everything. I hired the guys, and there’s a foreman, they just refer to me, because Rin is busy with other things. It’s the least I could do since coming home.Eventually, when it’s all built, Naomi, my girlfriend and I, will move to New Double and run that.”
“Let’s go back to the house and go over there,” Erin said. “If I can ride with you, I’ll explain.” They agreed, and an hour later they pulled into the parking area of New Double.”
“I only have one question,” Kevin said as they all exited the vehicles and gathered around. He turned to Erin to ask. “Is there anything you don’t do? You’ve showed us Erin’s Way, The Broken Wheel, Broken Two, discussed The Rodeo Ranch, and now there’s New Double.”
“What’s The Rodeo Ranch?” Erin asked in confusion.
“What you’re doing across the street, it’s that the name of it? Riceman’s Rodeo Ranch.”
“The Triple R,” both Erin and Clark said at the same time and burst out laughing. Erin rushed forward and gave Kevin a quick hug. “Thank you, we didn’t know what to call it. I like it, The Triple R. Oh, don’t forget about Riceman Stallions?”
“What’s that?” Ilsa asked.
“An on-line business. I don’t know how technical you want me to get, but I gather sperm from my stallions, well, I don’t, Tom, the vet, does, but it’s gathered, frozen, and when someone orders it, it’s mailed off. It’s like IVF for horses.”
“Wow,” they said, and this time, they walked the area, and Jason was the one to ask the next question. “Why do these horses look different from the ones over at Broken? I didn’t see the ones at Erin’s Way, but these ones look sleeker for lack of a better term.”
“I know,” Katherine laughed, and answered, “Erin’s Way is full of stud horses, stallions, and some good high pedigree mares. Broken is just like it sounds, the horses come here broken, from being abused by their previous owners, or left at a slaughterhouse, they were rescued and the women you saw in the arena earlier nursed them back to health. That’s whatthe rehabilitation school will do with humans. This ranch was moved from Wyoming to here, and these horses are racehorses. Ones you see on the track in Kentucky and such. The Triple R, will be the wild horses and bulls for the rodeo. Then like Erin said, there’s the online business of stallion dating.” She grinned at her explanation, and everyone joined in. They finished the tour, then went back to Erin’s Way. After the golf carts were returned to the barn, Erin looked at the three newcomers.
“Help yourself to a golf cart, ATV, or gator. That’s the ATV with a box on the back to carry things. We don’t lock things here, because we’re so out in the open. However, we do get a lot, and I mean a lot of traffic in and out of here. Not only the regular workers, but we have other ranchers coming in with their own mares to breed with one of our stallions. Not all the baby making business is done online. We still do it the natural way. I’m only saying this because of the work you’re about to partake in, you might want to lock up the barn. You have the keys to the file cabinets, feel free to use them, but we started using the barn you’re going to be using as a meeting place. We seem to be growing every month or two, and find meeting at the larger cabins isn’t working.”
“What type of meetings?” Jason asked.
“Mainly BBQ get togethers. But we’ll be having our Thanksgiving here. One of the projects I have on my to do list is to install a kitchen. But that can wait until all the other major projects are done. For now, we just use our crock pots, and we’ll bring the BBQ pit over here from the larger cabins. I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you want to lock the outside door, then get with Duane to get a lock and key. He has spare ones in his office.” She turned and pointed to a barn. “That’s in there.”
“Okay, thank you, Ms. Riceman,” Jason began, but paused at her look.
“Please, call me Erin. I’ll let you guys get settled and do what you have to do. If you have any questions, go to Duane, and he can bring you to my office in the house.”
“Thanks again,” Jason said, and held out his hand to shake it. He watched as the others disappeared, leaving the three of them alone in the building with their thoughts of what they had just seen.
“What do you think?” Ilsa asked.
“First, I think we need to unload our suitcases out at the cabin, but I’d like to leave the files in the truck. Then we need to find a grocery store. All I saw was green beans and peas in the pantry. The refrigerator was empty.”
