Rumors: The McCaffertys

  “But she didn’t ask any of her partners before letting you go,” Kelly clarified.

  “Not that I know of.”

  “None of us heard a word,” Matt said. He grabbed a poker from the blackened tool set on the hearth and jabbed at the logs in the fire. Flames crackled and embers spit sparks. “Since Dad died, Randi was in charge. She’s always been pretty independent.”

  “To a fault,” Thorne grumbled.

  “And since each of us—Slade, Thorne and I—only owned a sixth of the spread apiece, we let her do her thing. We—well, at least I figured if she needed my help, she’d ask for it.” Matt’s mouth tightened and he seemed a bit ashamed as he tossed a chunk of mossy oak onto the old andirons. “To tell you the truth, I thought she’d give it all up after one winter of ranching. Even though she was in Seattle, working at the newspaper, she was responsible for what went on here. I figured she’d want to sell out.”

  “To you?” Kelly asked.

  “To whoever would buy, but yeah, I thought she’d come to either me or one of my brothers.” He let out a disgusted breath. “Guess I was wrong.”

  Larry’s anger had dissipated. “It’s a helluva thing,” he said, his lips folding in on themselves. “She fires me, then within two weeks ends up having a baby and fighting for her life.”

  “And you took your old job back.”

  “The brothers asked me.” His green eyes narrowed a bit. “It took a little persuadin’, let me tell you. I don’t like bein’ let go.”

  “I understand. Did you ask her who would be handling the place after you left?” Kelly asked. “This is a pretty big ranch, and since she didn’t live here, how did she expect to keep things running smoothly?”

  “Good question. One I didn’t ask. Guess I was too hot under the collar.” He took a step closer to Kelly and a shadow of concern darkened his gaze. “You know, I have this feeling…and it’s nothing she said, mind you…but just a sense that she wanted to just hole up and be alone. She didn’t fire the hands, just me, so maybe she