Daddy Takes Charge by Amelia Smarts

Author:Amelia Smarts [Smarts, Amelia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stormy Night Publications
Published: 2019-02-28T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

The next morning, Jackson set out for the range. After the first quarter-mile, he urged his mare from a walk to a trot. The sun was only just peeking out over the horizon, and the air was crisp with early morning chill. Still, Jackson’s blood ran hot as thoughts of Lydia occupied his mind. She was back in the office, where she would spend the day organizing and filing receipts.

Though he craved her presence, Jackson was glad to spend the day building fences on the east lot with some of his hands. The labor would leave him sore and tired, but he always felt more accomplished after a day working outdoors. When he remained in his office doing paperwork and making phone calls, he felt unsatisfied, like he hadn’t done an honest day’s work.

The path ahead was rocky, so he slowed his mare to a walk and allowed her to pick her own pace through the narrow descent. The path snaked through tall Ponderosa pine trees that emitted a sweet vanilla scent. It was an aroma he’d grown up with. It meant he was home.

Outside among the trees, in the range, by the creek—those were the places he belonged. Nearly all of his good childhood memories consisted of being outside. Riding with his father, fishing, and rolling down hills on round hay bales had filled the days of his carefree youth. His dad had shown him how to train a horse, how to round and graze cattle, how to birth calves, and various other labors around the ranch.

Teaching Jackson the business side of ranching had been more of an afterthought, something the senior Kane had wearily explained while he was winding down to retirement. Jackson never took to it. He never learned how to properly compare the cost of doing business with the financial output. Then to make matters worse, Chet Morgan had stolen money from him, which seemed to mark the beginning of the ranch’s decline.

When Jackson confronted Chet, Chet didn’t even try to deny it. The aging foreman had had the audacity to blame the theft on Jackson, saying he’d only stolen what was owed to him after Jackson had failed to increase his salary with the cost of living. Jackson refused to be guilt-tripped, but when Chet argued that he’d put the twenty thousand dollars into a savings to fund Lydia’s education, Jackson had relented and allowed him to keep it. He fired Chet, but he didn’t try to get the money back. Even when Lydia was a young teenager, Jackson could tell that she was bright and would thrive with access to education. He’d had a soft spot for the girl as far back as he could remember, and he’d had no qualms about allowing the money to be used for her benefit.

Jackson and his horse exited the cluster of trees. The land opened while Jackson’s mind simultaneously cleared. The land was his meditation. He cantered the next mile to where he and Ryder had decided to extend the fencing to increase the grazing area.

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