Friday morning, Travis, Ned, Maisey and Brett gathered in the kitchen: the designer had finished the render and was setting up the video while they looked over the blue prints one more time.
Ned didn't comment on the master suite door being open or the room empty, he could tell from the designs that Maisey had found Lizzy's letter.
They made themselves comfortable on the furniture and the video began. A drone had done the aerial work, it showed Brett and Travis with the herd, the lake, and masses of empty land in all direction. There was over four hundred acres of land, littered with pockets of forest, hills and tiny lakes. That was the Bogs now. The Bogs of the future started next. The render showed the driveway with the house as it stood now, a garden with fresh vegetables growing that was five times the current size: the video showed an apple orchard, three giant barns close at hand and along the other side of the house and garden a row of small houses, one, two and three bedrooms like townhouses and the cookhouse and store house for dry goods and food storage. The scene swept away and there were line houses and corrals at intervals all across the land next to feed silos and water towers with shelter for hay. There were solar panels on all the buildings. There were line houses near every little lake and any that were big enough had water wheels churning water into irrigation chanels that connected and drew water to all of the land. Travis pointed out efficiencies of having extra line houses with supplies for winter time for the cattle and the cowboys who would need to be sheltered there and nodded at the water wheels.
Tears were in Ned's eyes as the video, "it's exactly right."
Brett and Maisey shared a smile and Travis waited. "We can have a survey team here Monday," they were told, "We will start with the kitchen and replacement bunk house now, and move to the new barns. I would wait on line shacks and other things until spring thaw. If there's no issues the main items can be finished by the end of next year and we can add line cabins and the equipment near each of them one at a time as the operation expands."
Brett shook his hand, "I'll have some rules your crew needs to be aware of, this is a working ranch and I can't have people in the way."
"Not a problem Mr Franks', once the bunks are up our crew will live in them during the project, with your permission, it will reduce costs."
"That's fine and if they want to live in trailers on the land that direction that's fine too. We'll have to change a fence but there's a gate over that way we can open up for deliveries and for them to use for incoming and outgoing traffic. It's my hope that most of the construction won't interfere with our operations."
"Our foreman will connect with you and your foreman next week."
Brett shook his hand a final time and the designer left. Travis wasn't far behind him, heading out to check the fencing supplies. Ned stayed for lunch and then Maisey drove him back to Medicine Hat so Brett could get the chores done with his crew. That new fence was going to take a lot of work to get done before the construction crew showed up.
It was a little after four when Maisey got back, "Who's trailer is that?" found Brett in the barn helping change hay in the stalls. He looked at her and then followed her out to the yard, groaning when he saw the trailer, "What's the matter?"
"That trailer belongs to Anthony 'Tiger' Franks, my third cousin: he rodeos for a living and we usually only see him every second year, with everything going on I forgot he'd be here."
"Is he like Junior."
"Anything but," Brett stepped further out of the barn grinning at the man who had come out from behind the trailer, "a huge flirt and good for a laugh, but not like Junior at all."
"Who ya callin' a huge flirt?!" Anthony laughed, "Not me, surely?" Brett shook his hand as Anthony came to greet them. Maisey watched him come: he was an older version of Brett--she would have called them brothers if he hadn't said they were cousins. She hoped that he had some of the same traits Brett did and none of the ones Junior did.
"Never you old man," Brett laughed, "Tony, this is Maisey, she's a pretty special lady." Maisey learned on the door frame to the barn.
"Be still my heart," Tony clutched a hand to his chest dramatically, "My little cousin Brett has been smitten by a goddess!" He went down on his knees and reached his hand toward her, and fluttering long lashes over his green eyes, "Alas, fair maiden thou hast struck me with your beauty, wilt though forsake him and tarry with me for a fortnight?"
Maisey raised an eyebrow, "I thought you said he was a flirt, all I hear is terrible butchering of Shakespeare."
Tony grinned, "I like this one," he dusted off his knees, "Straight shooter an' no stranger to bull shit. Where's Ned?"
"Home in Medicine Hat, you just missed him." Brett told his cousin, "We've got lots to catch up on cousin, give me an hour or so to finish up with some things and you finish getting your rig set up and I'll come visit before we go out."
"Slim's?" Tony grinned, then for dramatics, he struck a Shakespearean pose, "I shall attend forthwith and await your hearken." Maisey shook her head and moved toward the house.
"Feel free to mooch dinner in the bunkhouse," Brett told his cousin, "talk later." Tony bowed dramatically and headed back toward his trailer with a tip of his cowboy hat. "Sorry about him," Brett told her following her up onto the porch, "He loves to ham it up for the rodeo crowd and sometimes forgets to turn it off."
"He's obnoxious," Maisey said bluntly.
Brett grinned, "That's part of what makes him a great rodeo clown." He watched her and realized she was tired. "Are you sure you want to go to Slim's?"
She nodded, "As long as I can play pool all night I should be good."
"I can handle that," Brett wiped his forehead, "You need to be able to tell me when you've had enough though." She looked up seeing the scenes from the video when she looked out over the land and nodded, "I don't want you to stay just because you think I'm having fun or want to be there."
"I promise," she nodded, "Now go get your chores done I need a nap and and then I'll get cleaned up."
"You want me to stay?" He asked
"I want you to go bring Tony up to speed on things," she nodded toward the trailer, "He seems like the type who needs to know the lay of the land so he doesn't go sticking his foot in his mouth." Brett grinned, "I didn't realize how exhausting healing would be. Doc says not much longer before the ribs are good to go as long as I keep doing next to nothing but he agreed I'm well enough for pool, though he made me promise no fancy stuff." Brett laughed and stepped down off the porch, "If I'm not up when you're back, you can wake me at six thirty so I can shower before we go."
Brett was grateful that she was once again anticipating what needed to happen. He finished in the barn then gathered his cousin and a rifle and headed out to the lake area, while they drove Brett told his cousin about Maisey's experience there. They reminisced about working for Ned and summer nights at the lake. Tony had been there for many of them. As they walked he told his cousin about Ned's decision to retire and leaving the house to Maisey and the ranch to him.
"Are you two together?" Tony asked.
"It's complicated," Brett sighed while they sat on the tailgate. "She's got a past that's not ready to let go of her yet and I'm not willing to push it. But she's as much mine as the ranch is," he told his cousin, "She just doesn't know it yet."
Tony shook his head, "And you're letting her go to Slim's at rodeo time?"
"Wasn't my idea," he admitted, "I tried to talk her out of it, but she's determined not to let her past keep her back anymore."
"Is he local?"
Brett laughed, "How did you know it was a he?"
"A hunch."
"No, he's not local, he's in prison for it." Brett frowned, "Prison is too good for scum like him."
"Oh don't worry cousin, with you an' me lookin' out for the fair maiden no harm will befall her."
"She's right, you are obnoxious," Brett laughed and Tony feigned hurt. "Just watch her," he sobered, "If you think you see fear in her eyes it's probably real. You step in or get me or Doc if you think it's necessary."
Tony understood. His own mother had been an abuse victim, though he didn't think he'd ever shared that with his cousin. Lizzy and Ned's had been his safe haven from boyfriend after boyfriend who thought it was okay to hit a woman. Many of his own scars were from protecting her.
They found old signs of the wolf but nothing fresh and definitely no where it would like for a den. Brett was relieved but still worried for why it would have been up there when Maisey was.
"She needs a guard dog," Tony said, "if these tracks are from the same wolf, she's lucky she's alive: doesn't make sense a wolf stalking and not attacking its prey."
"Unless it had already fed," Brett stooped to look at a track, "She's allergic though, so can't have any animals in the house."
"I didn't say a pet, I said a guard dog. An animal trained to trail and protect her when she's out on the land."
"She would never agree."
"So don't tell her." Tony was serious, remembering his mother, "Brett, if she's been hurt she's vulnerable. If she trusts you and doesn't feel like she needs a body guard on your land she's foolish. You obviously can't babysit her so get a damn dog you can train to keep her safe. She will see the wisdom eventually." Brett shook his head and Tony knew his cousin wouldn't do something without the girl's involvement. He turned his back to his cousin, considering some sly options.