"Ally?" Kat opened the door to the house and Caleb and Ally pulled away quickly, but not before Ally shivered at the sensual look Caleb had given her.
"In here, Kat." She turned to Caleb and looked flustered. "I usually don't behave this way with someone I've just met."
"You just did and I loved it." Caleb grinned at Ally. I'm leaving because I do have work to do." Caleb finished off his drink and turned to Kat. "Hey, Kat."
"Caleb?" Kat turned to Ally and then back at Caleb again. "Now what did my sister do?"
"It's a good one, but I'll let her tell it. I've got work to do before the sun sets." He turned to Ally."What's tomorrow look like"
"The plumber's company called and said I get a free inspection on the plumbing and the AC. They're coming over in the morning."
"So, you'll be staying out of trouble?"
"I believe so." Ally felt a little hurt, but Kat started to laugh.
"Never say never where Ally is concerned. Thanks for taking care of my little sister." Caleb left and Kat turned to Ally. "Well?" Ally just shook her head.
Caleb and Jeb finished off the chores and settled in for the evening, but both of them were concerned. Two of their cattle were missing and couldn't be accounted for. The TSCRA, Texas Southwest Cattle Raisers Association, had warned of increased cattle theft during these tough economic times, but Caleb thought he would be immune. The loss of two cattle seemed insignificant but
under current law, theft of less than ten head of cattle, horses or exotic wildlife is a state jail felony. A new proposition stood in the works that would change current law to allow for a third degree felony.
"I think we need to contact TSCRA to report this," commented Jeb. "Maybe those kids didn't poison the cattle like we thought they did."
"I think those kids were just a diversion because they wouldn't be smart enough to pull something like this off," offered Caleb.
"Something like how did that snake get in Ally's pool?"
"We need to talk to the sheriff." Caleb pulled out his cell phone and reported the missing cattle.
"What's up Caleb?" asked the sheriff.
"I think there's something more serious going on," explained Caleb.
"I trust your judgment, Caleb. I'll contact the TSCRA and we will get right on it."
"I need to call Ally," said Caleb as he looked for her number.
"Why?" asked Jeb.
"You know how crazy she is and could wind up shooting one of the rangers."
Jeb laughed. "Good point. Trouble just seems to follow her." Jeb watched as Caleb made the call.
"Ally, its Caleb here."
"Caleb? What's wrong?" asked Ally.
"We got a bunch of cattle thieves on the loose."
"Again?" Kat prepared to leave for the night, but she saw Ally's shocked expression and sat down at the table with her.
"Knowing you're not familiar with Texas, let me explain how it works. Stealing cattle is easy because the thieves can take the cattle to market on the same day and get good money for it without being detected. We have Texas rangers who police herds which have been targeted and these rangers work with the police. "
"I guess this is a dumb question, but how do they steal them?"
"No, it's not a dumb question. You've never been around cattle. When you have lots of acres, it's hard to police them twenty-four seven. Thieves can cut the fences and just haul them away. When we notice some of the herd missing, we report it to the police and to the TSCRA."
"You're right, Caleb. I didn't know."
"What's going to happen is the TSCRA will send out some rangers to look over and police the ranch, so if y'all see someone strange, don't go shooting your gun or else y'all get arrested."
"I wouldn't shoot at anyone unless they were shooting at me," said Ally quickly. "Remember, I fired it in the air the other day, not
at
someone."
"I know, but I'm just telling you. Now, if you see someone driving a truck other than mine, call me el pronto."
"I will, Caleb. I feel so badly for you. Here someone has poisoned your cattle, those teens and now someone is stealing them from you. I'll do anything to help you since you've been so good to me."
"That's what we do here in Texas. We help each other out." Caleb had to smile at Ally's sincerity. "Remember, no shooting."
"Caleb," warned Ally.
"Ma'am." Caleb ended the call with a chuckle. He just loved to tease her.
"So, now someone is stealing his cattle? Ally, that's terrible." Kat looked at her little sister with concern. "It's got to be rough to be a ranch owner these days with more people being vegans and now stealing? I don't envy him at all."
"You're right. He sounded really down." Ally shook her head. It had been a day.
Chapter Eleven
The next morning, Ally let Tank out and looked out onto the ranch. She didn't see any animals or unusual behavior, but since she planned to be home all day, she would keep her eyes peeled. She sat at the kitchen table and organized the list of recipes Kat had given her, the prices they discussed and tried to put together a brochure. Ally had looked at the Chamber of Commerce's website and jotted down a company who specialized in brochures. When she got her car back, then she would go visit this company. You wouldn't find her driving around in that monster of a loaner.
At ten o'clock, the plumber came to inspect the house's plumbing for free. Ally showed him where the toilets, the hot water heaters and the outside hoses were located. Within a half hour, the other workman came to inspect her furnace and air conditioning unit The weatherman on the news predicted a cool day with a chance of severe storms and Ally shivered as the wind whipped around the house. After an hour, the plumber came to speak to her about suggestions he would make based upon his inspection.
"The plumbing is good," he assured Ally. "But all four of your toilets are in need of major repair. Because you have a contract with us, I can fix all four of them today for eight hundred dollars. Would you like me to start?"
"What?" asked Ally. "The house is only two years old, how can the toilets be bad?"
"They are, ma'am. Look at this one." He walked over to the small powder room and flipped up the toilet lid. "See how stained they are?"
"That's just the lid," replied Ally.
"Not only that," he replied as he took off the top of the tank. "See how rusted it is inside?"
Speechless, Ally just stared at the repairman. Obviously, he knew she had money and tried to squeeze it out of her. If anything, her dad would look at the toilets. Lord knew how many times she and Kat had jammed up the sinks and toilets with their hair. "No, I won't be having this done today," she replied coolly
"Are you sure? Ma'am, those toilets are in really bad shape."
"Nope." Ally held her ground.
"Okay." He sighed as if she had made the biggest mistake ever. He had her sign the invoice only after he noted that 'customer refused repairs' and gave her a copy.
"Thanks, ma'am." As he left, the other repairman came in the front door. He had been in and out, running up and down the stairs going into her attic examining the equipment.
"I'm done with my test and would like to share the results with you."
"We can sit at the kitchen table," suggested Ally, not liking the long list he had prepared on his legal-sized pad of paper.
"Let's start here," he began as he covered one side of the page. "Your Trane is new and the start up time is very good. You just need to make sure you change your filters at least once a month."
"Okay, and the other?" asked Ally dubiously.
"It's in pretty bad shape," he began seriously. "There is an oil leak and it needs a new motor. So, what I've done is prepared a list for you." He removed the paper hiding two columns of a list of items, which needed repair. "Here is what it would cost to have these items repaired and this list is what a brand new Trane would cost to be installed."
Ally gasped as she looked at the first list where the price listed at ten thousand dollars to have the unit fixed. She almost fainted as the cost of a new unit for twelve thousand dollars. "You've got be kidding me," she exclaimed. This house is only two years old."
"Sorry, ma'am, it's been sorely neglected."
"I'll get back to you on this," said Ally, barely breathing. They both stopped short as the wind howled throughout the house and the skies turned a menacing black. Lightning strikes shattered through the skies. Rain came pelting down at a horizontal angle.
"Looks like a real Texas-style storm," commented the repairman. "Look, you have at least twenty-four hours to make your decision, but you do need to do something." He stopped talking as he watched part of Ally's fence blow down. One of the outside plants Kat had bought for Ally rolled precariously and landed smack into the pool, darkening the water.
"What is going on?" screeched Ally as she jumped up in a panic.
"Ma'am, I can fix your fence quickly for now, but I don't know what to tell you about your pool. You're going to have to get that out of there."
"Why me?" Ally supported herself against the kitchen counter while the man repaired her fence in the pouring rain. "It's not going to make any difference," muttered Ally under her breath. I can't believe I need an entire new unit." The repairman didn't even bother to come back into the house and left in his truck. The phone rang and Ally grabbed it quickly hoping to hear Kat on the other end.
"Hello?"
"Yes, this is Dean calling from the dealership about your car?" He paused dramatically. "It needs new brakes and the piston heads need to be replaced, so we're looking at about five thousand dollars."
"What? I checked with the dealer before I moved here. That car has a warranty until next August," said Ally firmly.
"It does? Let me check." Ally could hear him tapping away at the computer. "Yes, the piston heads are covered, but the brakes aren't. The warranty brings it down to twenty-five hundred dollars."