Daddy's Girls (5)
“They say we need a new fence out there. I want to see it for myself. Saving you money, Dad,” she teased him. She was scrupulous about watching their expenses, which he expected of her.
“I like that.” He smiled at her and winked at Thad, and then went to saddle his own horse. He loved riding around the ranch, and keeping an eye on things himself. He had an eagle eye, and a sixth sense for anything that might be wrong. He wasn’t a casual rancher or landowner, but a diligent, dedicated one, which was why the business was in such good shape. He delegated almost nothing, except to Thad and Kate, and their ranch hands were closely supervised. It had taken years for him to trust Thad to the extent he did, and he still questioned Kate about everything she did. He left nothing to chance and assumed nothing. He wanted to know about everything that went on, who had done it and why, and what it had cost him.
He was still a handsome man, tall and powerfully built with strong shoulders, long arms, and long legs. Kate and Gemma came by their height honestly, since both their parents were tall. Caroline was more delicate, and blond like Kate.
Thad followed Kate out of the barn on horseback. They rode down a familiar trail as the sun came up, and then took separate forks in the road. He had grown up in the state system, in foster care, south of L.A., and JT was the first important male influence he’d had in his life. He was deeply grateful to his patron for giving him a chance to shine. He had worked for him now for slightly more than half his life. He took none of the advantages he’d been given for granted. He’d gotten an education by taking college classes online, after a GED to give him the high school diploma he hadn’t had time to get before he left school. Working on a ranch, around horses, had been his dream and he was good at it. It was natural instinct since he was an inner city kid and had had a hard life, for the first half of it. Both Kate and her father respected him for how far he’d come. He was a wholesome, honest, hardworking, ambitious guy, who gave as good as he got, and then some. He was loyal to a fault. He considered JT his mentor as well as his boss, and would have died before he let him down. Kate felt the same way about her father, so they had that in common.
The sun was bright as it came over the mountains and warmed them. It was going to be a beautiful day, and they were both looking forward to it.
“See you later,” he said, as he rode off, his battered straw cowboy hat low over his eyes. Kate wore hers the same way, and it suited her with her blond hair tied back. She was wearing a checked shirt and jeans, and the well-worn cowboy boots she’d had for as long as she could remember. They were the staples of her wardrobe, and whenever Gemma invited her to L.A., Kate reminded her that she owned only one dress, which her sister said was pathetic.
“How do you expect to get laid if you dress like one of the ranch hands at your age?” Gemma chided her. “We’re not twenty anymore. You have to make an effort, or you’ll wind up a spinster forever,” she teased.
“Is that what I am?” Kate laughed whenever Gemma said it. “A spinster?”
“Yeah, we both are.” Gemma didn’t seem to mind. She had an active sex life with some of the best-looking men in Hollywood, and wound up in the press with them regularly, much to her father’s delight. She’d been out with many of the biggest stars, though seldom for second dates. There was a lot of movement and shuffling on the Hollywood dating scene, which Gemma seemed to like. Kate wouldn’t have, and she had given up the idea of kids and marriage somewhere along the way. She was too busy working for her father, and told Gemma she didn’t have the time, the wardrobe, or the inclination. “I’m going to drag you down to L.A. again one of these days,” Gemma threatened her. Kate had a good time when she went, but she always felt like a fish out of water. Her sister’s world couldn’t have been more different from her own. They were each doing what they wanted. When she visited, she enjoyed watching Gemma on the set of her TV show, though. It still felt strange knowing that her sister was a star, and people asked for her autograph wherever she went. It was a popular show. Gemma’s celebrity was nothing Kate had ever aspired to, but Gemma had had her nose plunged in movie magazines from the time she was twelve. Hollywood had always been her dream. The ranch was Kate’s.
It took Kate half an hour to find the fence that had fallen. She took pictures of it with her phone, and sent them to Thad, so he could assign a detail to repair it. It was as bad as the men had reported. Then she gave Bear his head, and flew back to the barn at a gallop. She knew the property like her own hand, and could have ridden back blindfolded.
She was in good spirits when she got back to the barn, and her father rode in at the same time. He sat in the saddle for a minute, looking at her. He didn’t notice her often, or how beautiful she was, or even mention it. She had a deep tan and her eyes were bright as he started to say something and she saw him wince, as though he was in pain suddenly. He pressed his chest with one hand, as she hopped off her horse and went to him.
“Are you okay, Dad?” she asked as she reached him, and he slumped forward, and then slid off his horse in her direction. She caught him, and lowered his powerful body to the ground. His eyes fluttered for a minute and then closed. He lay on the barn floor and she knelt beside him. She saw him stop breathing. She felt for his pulse and there was none. She gave him a few quick breaths mouth to mouth, and he still wasn’t breathing as she shouted to one of the ranch hands to call 911, and told him to call Thad after that. Her father was lying completely still, and she gave him a few more puffs of air, felt his pulse, and there was still nothing. She started chest compressions then, as the ranch hands gathered around and watched her as she fought to save her father.