“Oh,” Shay murmured, rinsing out her glass and putting it on the drain board, “I would never ask him for a loan. He’s made it very clear I don’t get a penny of it.”
“But legally,” Reese said, leaning against the counter, folding his arms against his chest, studying her, “you own the ranch because your mother left it to you. It was her family’s legacy.”
“That’s true,” Shay said, giving him a confused look.
“Did Ray Crawford make out a will?”
“Yes.”
“Would you mind if I took a look at it?”
“Well,” she murmured, frowning, “sure you can. But what do you hope to find, Reese?”
“From an accounting perspective, I need to know the legal boundaries of your ranch finances,” he assured her. “It’s helpful because it will draw a bigger picture of the ranch and its financial health. Wills often impose, modify, or change things. I’d just like to understand what those changes might be.”
“Okay,” she said, gesturing toward the office. “It’s in the top file drawer. It’s a copy. I have the original document in a safe deposit box at the bank.”
“As it should be,” Reese agreed. He allowed his hands to drop to his sides. “Okay, thanks for letting me look at it.”
“If you see anything, would you clue me in?”
Reese gave her a warm smile. “Shay, you’re my client, in a sense. Accountants work for a business or a person. You’ll always be the first to know after I know.” He saw her cheeks color a little. When she tucked her lower lip between her teeth for a moment, she looked endearing. Now, he was beginning to see a larger picture of Shay. To the world, she put on a game face that was confident, can-do, take-charge, and that showed she was a tough ranch woman running her business. But at home, with him and the vets, Shay was another person. The mask dropped away and they got a woman who wasn’t all that confident. But one thing Shay did unerringly, and that was to follow her heart’s passion. And the four of them were better off for it.
Shay didn’t realize her effect on people, how good and kind a person she really was. Her father had drilled into her that she was unimportant to him and to the world. That she was stupid and couldn’t do math. Reese found himself wanting to have a talk with Ray Crawford about how he was treating his daughter. Reese knew it wouldn’t happen. He couldn’t get in-between a father-daughter relationship. If Shay asked him to, that would be a different story. Then, he could. But if she didn’t reach out for his help . . . his protection . . . Reese could do nothing but step back and watch the damage the man was doing to his only daughter continue.
“Good,” Shay murmured. She touched his upper arm. “Gotta go. I’ll see you and everyone else tonight at 1700.”
Grinning, Reese nodded and watched her grab her Stetson, her work gloves, and hurry out the screen door, off on another project. He stood there for a moment, feeling his flesh warm from her unexpected touch. And damn, had he been imagining what he saw in Shay’s eyes for a split second? When she’d touched his arm, he saw yearning in her eyes. For him. No . . . that couldn’t be. What woman wanted to get involved with a man who had lost everything? Who was wounded emotionally and mentally? Who was scrambling to just try to act normal when normal didn’t exist anymore in his life?
Wandering down the hall to the office, Reese thought about Shay. She was no less wounded than any of the rest of them. Shay did not realize her own formidable strength; she saw herself as weak and sometimes incapable. Damn, he wanted to fix that for her. To help her realize what an amazing woman and human being she really was. Her own PTSD had set her on this passionate course to help other vets. And for that, Reese felt such fierce gratitude that it choked him up.
Halting at the four-drawer file in the office, he pulled open the top drawer. He’d give Shay this, she was good at organizing. All the files were in neat, alphabetical order. Toward the rear of the drawer there was a file marked WILL, and he opened it up, pulling out the document.
Closing the file drawer, his heart still on Shay, he sat down. It was eating at Reese that he wanted to start rebuilding Shay’s confidence in herself. He’d done it before with the men and women in his Marine company. As the commanding officer, his job was to take care of those who reported to him. And Reese was damned good at judging a person’s weaknesses and strengths. And where they were weak, he helped to guide them toward success. Often, he was able to show the young Marine how to turn a weakness into a strength. He prided himself on being able to help, and his company as a whole had been better off.