When the Glitter Fades (Cowboys of Whispering Winds) (2 page)

“Good morning, sunshine,” Clay’s baritone voice greeted her.

She felt the corners of her lips curl up into a smile, enjoying the bliss of being in the early stage of a relationship when every conversation was still exhilarating. “Good morning to you too.” 

“Did Cody make it off to school okay?”

“I just got back from taking him to the bus. Gave him his hug from a distance then set him free.” The words were spoken more glibly than she felt. Every parent went through the first-day-of-school blues, right?

“He’ll do fine; he’s a good kid. After all, he is your son,” Clay assured.

Only Clay could use words to reach through the phone and give her an invisible hug. “Thanks.” Seeing the time still lit up on the radio reminded her she needed to get inside. “Hey, I have to run- the meeting’s starting soon; yesterday Dad mentioned there will be some important things to discuss.”

“I should get busy also. There’s a shipment coming in today of new tools and I need to make room for them.” Clay owned Holme’s Hardware, the only hardware store in Bumblton; the small town outside of which Whispering Winds was located.

“Still on for Wednesday evening?”

“You bet. I’ll call you later tonight after I close up shop.” 

“Talk to you soon,” Lanie said, knowing they would still text each other throughout the day. Just little notes to say
thinking of you.

“Have a good one.”

She disconnected the call and jogged inside. From what she could see, most everyone had already arrived. A few people were sitting down, but the majority were still milling about.  In the corner she spotted Allie, her sister-in-law and good friend. Allie looked up, caught her eye then waved her over.

Lanie went to her, grabbing a strawberry frosted donut on her way, not thinking twice about the calories. For the most part, she watched what she ate, but donuts were her weakness.
Everything in moderation
was her motto. Okay, sometimes she ate donuts a little more than
in moderation
, but she always made sure to exercise double on those days.

“How was Cody’s first morning off to school?” Allie asked.

She relayed the same information she’d told Clay. Her spirits were lifted to know Cody had so many people who loved and cared for him, helping to edge out some of the guilt she felt that he didn’t have a father in his life, on a permanent basis. Not that it was Lanie’s fault; she’d done all she could to entice Jeremy into a paternal relationship with their son. In the last year they’d made a lot of progress, until the accident this summer that had cost Jeremy his career. Instead of being thankful they survived, especially since Cody had been in the vehicle with him and his girlfriend, Jeremy had retreated into a shell, mourning the loss of a career he’d excelled in.

“Let’s get started,” Frank Tyndale, Allie’s father, called out, beginning the meeting.

Lanie took a seat and an unsettled feeling came over her that she couldn’t explain. A sense of impending doom, or rather a life-changing event. She mentally shrugged it off, placing the blame on first-day-of-school blues again.

“September traditionally sees a sharp decline in bookings for obvious reasons. Tourist season is over, school’s back in session and winter weather will soon be arriving. This means several things for our staff.”  

Lanie’s thoughts drifted while Frank spoke. She’d heard the spiel before, so many times she could say it almost verbatim. Whispering Winds was owned by the Tyndales and the Callahans, bequeathed to both families by the former owner. The ranch had two major income draws, the horse breeding and sales operation plus the guest ranch. The Tyndale family oversaw the hospitality side, while the Callahans were in charge of the livestock; although, since the divorce, Lanie mainly helped the Tyndales. The dynamics of the two families were complex, but they worked.  They were co-workers, family and friends all wrapped together in a package.

During the fall and winter, when tourists and guests were few, the entire staff worked together to ensure that each guest who did arrive, left one hundred percent satisfied; it was everyone’s responsibility to see that it happened. After that, Frank would continue on describing how some roles would shift in order that no one had to be seasonally laid off at the ranch, even if it meant performing other tasks for several months. That was one of Whispering Wind’s policies that Lanie loved; the continuity of staff really made them more of a family than co-workers. 

“…and I’m sad to announce that Alan Raver will be retiring at the end of this month.” Everett Callahan, Lanie’s father, had taken over the meeting and his words broke into her strayed concentration.

Gasps of surprise echoed around the room. Alan Raver had worked and lived at the ranch for twenty-some years. Talk had been circulating for several months that he might be leaving, but no one believed he really would.  Whispering Winds wouldn’t be the same without him. Alan and his daughter, Missy, who’d married last summer and moved to a neighboring ranch, were as much a part of Whispering Winds as the Callahans and Tyndales. The meeting was disrupted for a few minutes while several long-standing employees, including Shorty, the foreman of sorts, wished Alan good luck for his future and gave laments for his leaving.

Everett pulled the meeting back together. “With Alan’s departure, we’ll need to find someone to replace his position. We’ve been searching for about a month now, but none of the candidates have been a good fit. When you’ve had the best, you become spoiled.”

The group murmured their agreement. Alan Raver was at the top of his field and would be difficult to replace with someone of equal caliber.

“I know someone.” The words escaped before Lanie could stop them. What the hell had possessed her to speak up? It was one thing to think of the possibility in her mind. It was an entirely different thing to actually make the suggestion. Too late to go back now.

Everyone turned to face her way; her dad stared at her through raised eyebrows.  “Who?”

“Jeremy.”  

The entire room went deadly silent. Most everyone in the room knew the history between her and her ex-husband. 

“I’m not sure that’d be a good idea, sweetheart,” her father answered, his voicing taking on that of a concerned father, not boss.

Lanie stood and walked to the front of the room, making her case for some elusive reason.  “If you want the next best, he’s it. Travers’ Ranch and Jeremy’s father had the highest reputation of horse-breeders outside of Whispering Winds and he could sell music to a deaf man. Not a single person in this room can dispute it.”

“Jeremy’s not stepping foot on Whispering Winds land,” Jase, Lanie’s brother, growled.  He took his role of overprotective brother very seriously, and the bad blood between him and his former brother-in-law ran thick.

“Not now, Jase,” their father warned in a terse voice.

“Just think about it. Everything Jeremy knows, he learned from his dad.” Why was she still defending him, trying to convince her father to consider him?

“If Travers’ Ranch was so good, how come I’ve never heard of them?” one of the greenhorns asked innocently.

“It closed up a few years back, hit some financial troubles,” Frank Tyndale answered.

“Yeah, the old man was just as irresponsible as his son,” Jase snorted, earning him another glare from his father.

There were rumors that Shane Travers had a gambling problem and lost the ranch. No one knew the full story, but the rumors had been widely accepted as truth.

“I’m just asking that you consider it,” Lanie pleaded. She only wanted what was best for Whispering Winds and despite their history, Jeremy was it. At least that’s what she told herself was the reason for suggesting him as a replacement.

“How can you even ask us to bring him here, Lanie?” Jase stood up, the vein on his neck bulging. “Trust is a foundation of our team here. You, of all people, can’t possibly suggest we bring him on board.”

“This isn’t about me and him. It’s about finding someone who can carry out the legacy Mr. Raver began and Jeremy can do that.”

All eyes were on Jase and Lanie, but brother and sister were oblivious. “He’s a lying bag of scum that I wouldn’t trust with my worst enemy’s horse. How the hell am I supposed to put him in charge of our stock when he refuses to take care of his own son?”

“Jase…” she hissed, warning him to shut up before anything more was said. She saw Allie stand and place her hand on Jase’s shoulder, physically giving him the same warning.

“What happens to Cody when he sees his dad here every day but Jeremy still wants nothing to do with him. It will tear him apart, and I’m not willing to see that happen to my nephew.  Did you think about that before you stood up, pleading his case.  Did you sis?”

“Enough!” their father bellowed, his deep shout reverberating against the walls, his arms thrown out mimicking a referee. “This is not the time or place. Meeting adjourned. Jase and Lanie- in my office
now
!”

If she were twenty years younger, she’d topple her brother and pound her fists into him. How dare he imply she’d make any decision without first thinking of Cody’s welfare? It was because of Cody that she’d first thought of Jeremy replacing Mr. Raver when the rumors first started flowing that the older man might be soon in retiring. Jeremy needed something to bring him back to the land of the living, something to remind him he’s more than a champion bull-rider, who might never ride again.

Time had healed the old wounds. She’d moved on in life without him, learned how to be a single mother with the support of her family. There were times she still wanted to hate him for all the lies and cheating, but she refused to hold onto that anger. Bitterness would only breed discontent and she wouldn’t give him that control over her life. Her only concern with Jeremy was his relationship with Cody. About a year ago, she’d seen a definitive change in him. He’d initiated outings and weekends with Cody, making them more frequently as each month passed. Lanie didn’t know what had sparked the change, but the impact on Cody was tremendous.

Then the accident occurred, changing everything. Someone ran a red light, plowing into Jeremy’s vehicle. Cody had suffered a broken leg. Jeremy and his girlfriend, at the time, had two broken legs and Jeremy had been warned his day of rodeo were more than likely finished. Falling into a pity-party, Jeremy refused to see his son, barely willing to take a phone call. Every time she had to see Cody’s crestfallen face, her heart shattered into a million pieces. 

There was a good dad lurking in Jeremy; she’d seen a glimpse of it, knew the person he could be. She’d be remiss in her role as mother if she didn’t try to bring that part of him back out in the open, for Cody’s sake.

“Lanie, my office now,” her father snapped, than stomped away.

Looking around, she saw that everyone else had made themselves noticeably absent. Her dad’s hard stare set her into motion. Even though she was thirty years old, she was intimidated by Everett Callahan’s scowl.  

Allie waited by the door of the office. “Are you okay?”

“Your husband’s a first class jerk.”

“Hate to break it to you, sweetie, but he was your brother long before he was my husband.”  Allie gave her a sympathetic smile. “Try to take it easy on him; he’s only looking out for you.”

“I know.” Lanie sighed, reluctantly accepting Jase had meant no foul. 

“You better get in there. Your dad’s pretty pissed.”

“Great,” she groaned. She was in for an earful.

“I’ll be in my office if you need to talk,” Allie offered, giving her a supportive squeeze on her shoulder.

Everett Callahan stood behind his desk, a sure sign his ire was up. “What the hell did I, along with the entire staff of Whispering Winds, just witness in there?” His voice was a steely, even calm and sent chills through Lanie. Her father was an animated speaker, making frequent use of inflection and tone to emphasize his point. Few times in her life, did she remember hearing this even tone of voice. Allie was right; he was pissed.

“You’re not giving any credence to the idea of Jeremy coming here, are you?” Even with the tension radiating from him, Jase managed to sit casually in a chair, his arms draped over the chair’s arm, his Stetson resting in his lap. 

“We’ll discuss that in a minute. Look up there on the wall. What does number nine say?” Their father pointed to a framed, hand-written list on the wall that had been there for years, courtesy of their mother.  

Callahan Family Rules.
 
Over the years, the list had expanded as situations arose. The ninth rule was “Dirty laundry doesn’t get hung out to dry.” Lanie swallowed hard, engulfed with embarrassment, only now struck with the fact the entire staff of Whispering Winds had witnessed the ugly scene between Jase and her. Glancing sideways at her brother, she saw that he, too, had slunk a little lower in the chair, a tinge of red to his cheeks. His jaw was still clenched, however, and she knew the subject was far from closed.

“I never, in my life, thought that at my age, I’d have to bring my
children
in here for a disciplinary talk. It takes a lot to shame me, but I can honestly say I am embarrassed about what just happened in there.”

Lanie cringed at his emphasis on children. “I’m sorry, dad.”

“The behavior both of you displayed was childish and unprofessional, to say the least; you especially, Jase. Any other employee would have received a write-up for causing a scene like that, if they still had a job.”

“Sorry,” Jase mumbled, though he didn’t look very contrite for his actions, only the aftermath of them.

“It better not happen again and I mean it. Just because you’re my son, doesn’t mean I won’t put you on an unpaid leave. Not only did you disrespect your sister, you disrupted business. Behavior like that won’t be tolerated. Do you understand?” At the moment, Everett Callahan looked every bit the part of an uncompromising, tough cowboy.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now let’s discuss this like rational adults. Lanie, you must have had a reason for suggesting Jeremy. What’s the story? Why do you feel so strongly about bringing Jeremy here?”