Unfortunately, it was beginning to come clear that Bob Finchley didn’t possess that steady hand. Winter in Chance Creek was always a tricky time, but in the months since Finchley had taken the helm, they’d lost far too many cattle. The General’s spies in the area reported the ranch was looking run-down, and his daughters hadn’t been seen much in town. The worst were the rumors about Cass and Finchley—that they were dating. The General didn’t like that at all—not if the man couldn’t run the ranch competently—and he’d asked for confirmation, but so far it hadn’t come. Finchley always had a rational explanation for the loss of cattle, and he never said a word about Cass, but the General knew something wasn’t right and he was already looking for the man’s replacement.
Our daughter runs a tight ship, and I’m sure she’s been invaluable on the ranch.
He had to admit what Amelia wrote was true. Cass was an organizational wizard. She kept her sisters, the house and the family accounts in line, and not for the first time he wondered if he should have encouraged Cass to join the Army back when she had expressed interest. She’d mentioned the possibility once or twice as a teenager, but he’d discouraged her. Not that he didn’t think she’d make a good soldier; she’d have made a fine one. It was the thought of his five daughters scattered to the wind that had guided his hand. He couldn’t stomach that. He needed his family in one place, and he’d done what it took to keep her home. That wasn’t much: a suggestion her sisters needed her to watch over them until they were of age, a mention of tasks undone on the ranch, a hint she and the others would inherit one day and shouldn’t she watch over her inheritance? It had done the trick.
Maybe he’d been wrong.
But if Cass had gone, wouldn’t the rest of them have followed her?
He’d been able to stop sending guardians for the girls when Cass turned twenty-one five years ago, much to everyone’s relief. His daughters had liked those about as little as they liked the overseers. He’d hoped when he dispensed of the guardians, the girls would feel they had enough independence, but that wasn’t the case; they still wanted control of the ranch.
Cass is a loving soul with a heart as big as Montana, but she’s cautious, too. I’ll wager she’s beginning to think there isn’t a man alive she can trust with it.
The General sighed. His girls hadn’t confided in him in years—especially about matters of the heart—something he was glad Amelia couldn’t know. The truth was his daughters had spent far too much time as teenagers hatching plots to cast off guardians and overseers to have much of a social life. They’d been obsessed with being independent, and there were stretches of time when they’d managed it—and managed to run the show with no one the wiser for months. In order to pull that off, they’d kept to themselves as much as possible. He’d only recently begun to hear rumblings about men and boyfriends. Unfortunately, none of the girls were picking hardworking men who might make a future at Two Willows; they were picking flashy, fly-by-night troublemakers.
Like Bob Finchley.
He couldn’t understand it. He wanted that man out of there. Now. Trouble was, when your daughters ran off so many overseers it made it hard to get a new one to sign on. He had yet to find a suitable replacement.
Without a career off the ranch, Cass won’t get out much. She might not ever meet the man who’s right for her. I want you to step in. Send her a man, Augustus. A good man.
A good man. Those weren’t easy to come by in this world. The right man for Cass would need to be strong to hold his own in a relationship with her. He’d need to be fair and true, or he wouldn’t be worthy of her. He’d need some experience ranching.
A lot of experience ranching.
The General stopped to ponder that. He’d read something recently about a man with a lot of experience ranching. A good man who’d gotten into a spot of trouble. He remembered thinking he ought to get a second chance—with a stern warning not to screw up again. A Navy SEAL, wasn’t it? He’d look up the document when he was done.
He returned to the letter.
Now here’s the hard part, darling. You can’t order him to marry Cass any more than you can order Cass to marry him. You’re a cunning old codger when you want to be, and it’ll take all your deviousness to pull this off. Set the stage. Introduce the players.
Let fate do the rest.
I love you and I always will,
Amelia
Set the stage. Introduce the players.
The General read through the letter a second time, folded it carefully, slid it back into the envelope and added it to the stack in his deep, right-hand bottom drawer. He steepled his hands and considered his options. Amelia was right; he needed to do something to make sure his daughters married well. But they’d rebelled against him for years, so he couldn’t simply assign them husbands, as much as he’d like to. They’d never allow the interference.
But if he made them think they’d chosen the right men themselves…
He nodded. That was the way to go about it.
In fact…
The General chuckled. Sometime in the next six months, his daughters would stage another rebellion and evict Bob Finchley from the ranch. He could just about guarantee it, even if Cass was currently dating the man. Sooner or later he’d go too far trying to boss them around, and Cass and the others would flip their lids.
When they did, he’d be ready for them with a replacement they’d never be able to shake. One trained
