His Ranch Or Hers. Roz Denny Fox

in the dishwasher and started it running. “It means you’re stuck with me for a few more days at least. Unless you can pull a cowboy out of your hat. There are calves to get to market and bills to pay. Hank only charges for the gas it costs to drive from here to the stockyards. You won’t get a better deal in your lifetime. Plus, greenhorn that you are, you need to see and help with a process that gets done every year.”

      “Okay. But does that mean you have to forgo finding a teaching job?”

      “I told you, it’s probably too late now to secure a fall opening.”

      “You did. You also offered to buy me out. Greenhorn I may be, but I’m not ready to sell. Not until I know if I have what it takes to be a rancher. Just so we’re clear, I had what it took to be a Green Beret.”

      “Touché.” She opened the fridge and pulled out some fresh lettuce from the keeper, crossed the room and set it in Orion’s bowl. She rubbed his ears and the pig all but smiled.

      “Is he full grown?” Zeke asked.

      Myra shook her head. “He weighs about fourteen pounds. Jewell says the full-grown micromini probably ends up twenty pounds.”

      “Do you have a dog to help herd cattle and the like?”

      “Not now. Gramps had a beautiful border collie. Lucy gave out before he did, and he’d had her for so many years he couldn’t fathom loving another dog. He made fun of Orion when I brought him home. But it wasn’t long before I noticed him talking to the pig. And Orion liked to sit with Gramps in his recliner.” She smiled at the memory.

      Zeke smiled back. “Look, if you’re not champing at the bit to get to bed, can we talk bookkeeping? I already know from listening to you speak with the neighbor that I have a lot to absorb about what goes on outside. But if I don’t understand the economics I’ll be sunk before I start.”

      “It’s a boring subject, but if we brew another pot of strong coffee I’ll give you some hard facts and walk you through the software I use.”

      “We’ll have to load that onto my laptop, I guess.”

      “Good idea,” Myra said, dumping what little coffee remained in the old pot. Then she prepared a new one. “In the meantime, I’ll get my laptop. We can work at the kitchen table. There’s a desk in the third bedroom, but it shares space with all of my dollhouse materials and jigsaws and stuff.”

      “About those dollhouses...?” Zeke’s voice trailed off, but his question hung between them.

      Myra sifted a hand through her hair. “I’ll deliver the finished ones to another member of the Artsy Ladies before I leave. I don’t know what I’ll do with the half-completed projects, or the unused material and equipment. But never fear, I’ll clear everything of mine out.”

      His forehead wrinkled. “I’m afraid I’m still in the dark here. Who are the Artsy Ladies?”

      “Some of us formed a group to sell crafts and hopefully save the snowy owls for which the town is named. They’ve always nested in timberland running through Canada and the US. The owls are sacred to our local Native Americans, too.”

      “Okay, I get that,” Zeke said.

      “They’re gorgeous. Wait until you see them in flight, or in their nests if you ride up to the woods. Sorry, I’m getting off track. About the dollhouses... Our veterinarian was born and raised in Snowy Owl Crossing. She first noticed a decline in the owl population when she came home to open her vet practice. Right after I moved here to help Gramps, she organized a committee to look into securing a state wildlife refuge for the birds. It takes money to fight for anything like that. Asking for donations to buy expensive land went nowhere in a bad economy. So some of us decided to hold a Thanksgiving bazaar and all sell crafts. Profits above material costs go to fund our effort. We named our group the Artsy Ladies.”

      “I counted a dozen dollhouses. There’s that big a demand for them?”

      “You’d be surprised. People come from miles around to buy them and the other handmade wares.”

      Zeke looked skeptical.

      The coffeepot gurgled. “If the houses bug you, I’ll make time to haul them away. I’m sure someone can store them until the bazaar.”

      He held up a hand. “It’s okay. I didn’t understand. Why don’t I pour our coffee while you get the computer.”

      “Okay, but prepare to be bored. People born to ranching, like my dad, keep a lot of these facts and figures in their heads. As a math major, I’m different. I like spreadsheets.” She left and came back with a laptop. “Even Gramps said keeping a spreadsheet helped us not to overspend. But so you know, some years you make a profit and some you go in the hole. It’s imperative to be on good terms with your local banker, who’ll float loans to tide you over in bad years. Notes you pay back in a year when stock prices are up and you haven’t been plagued by a horrid winter or summer drought.” Myra fired up the computer just as the lights flickered.

      Zeke shot a glance at the ceiling lights.

      “Don’t worry, we have a generator if the power goes out. Lanterns and flashlights, too.”

      He pulled a chair around to her side of the table and sat.

      His body heat warmed Myra, but left her stumbling over giving him basic costs for cows, feed, bull, labor, transportation, vet and other supplies. “In a fantastic year still only eighty percent of our cows wean calves. Heifer calves weigh less than steers, which bring less money. See this column. For last year I adjusted the amount we earned in stock sales. This year I’ll do the same when we ship.” She discreetly edged her chair away from his.

      Seeming not to notice, he said, “Hmm. You broke even the prior year, but lost money last year. Is that typical?”

      She waved her hand to indicate that it varied. “It’s better than average for a small operation. A big cattle ranch like Dad’s can run four or five years in a row on borrowed money and then have a huge windfall. In an up year you buy equipment or roof the barn. And there goes the profit.”

      “At the risk of sounding obtuse, why keep on keeping on?”

      She sat back and shut down the program. “I guess it’s for love of the land. There’s not much open land left. I can’t explain it, but ranching is a job that gives you a sense of freedom. Isn’t that what you fought for? I know it’s why Eric went into the army.”

      Zeke reached up to massage his wounded shoulder. He didn’t answer her question.

      “That’s enough lessons for tonight.” Feeling too close to him for comfort, Myra abruptly got up, closed the laptop and carried her cup to the sink. “I see it’s still snowing,” she said, looking out the kitchen window. “It’s lessened some, but not totally. So it’s time to take another batch of hay to the cows.”

      “Really?” Zeke frowned.

      “Snow and cold pulls weight off an animal fast. In winter or like with this early snow, it’s day and night feeding. Cattle raising is almost always a seven-day-a-week job, Zeke. There’s also night work during calving. Grab your coat, and if you don’t own a hat with earflaps, there are extras on the rack by the front door.”

      Myra went to the front door and pulled on her boots, jacket and hat. She picked up a big flashlight and led the way to the barn.

      Zeke, who’d had to rush to keep up, didn’t say anything until after they’d loaded the trailer again and he sat shivering on the hay. “If I wasn’t here,” he called to be heard above the tractor noise, “would you be doing this alone?”

      Myra briefly glanced back. “Yes. I’ve gone solo the last two years, once Gramps’s arthritis got so bad he couldn’t take the cold.” From her companion’s pensive expression, she actually wondered if he might seriously be contemplating returning his gift. If that happened, she needed to phone her father in the morning, to be square with him. He needed