The Christmas Bargain (38 page)

Learnin The Ropes
- Out of work mechanic Ty Lewis is homeless and desperate to find work. Answering a classified ad for a job in Harney County, Oregon, Ty accepts when he is offered the position. Saying goodbye to his sister and his life in Portland, he heads off to the tiny community of Riley to begin a new adventure, unsure about his boss Lex Ryan, a man he has yet to speak with or meet.

Lexi Ryan, known to her ranch hands and neighbors as Lex Jr., leaves a successful career in Portland to keep the Rockin’ R Ranch running smoothly after the untimely death of her father. It doesn’t take long to discover her father did a lot of crazy things during the last few months before he died, like hiding half a million dollars that Lexi can’t find.

Ty and Lexi are both in for a few surprises as he arrives at the Rockin’ R Ranch and begins learnin’ the ropes.

Lesson One

Location, Location, Location

“Git yerself out of thet durn city

 and into God’s country.”

Tyler Lewis read through the classified ad a third time, trying to decide if he was desperate enough to apply for the open position.

Leaning against his truck door with the paper propped on the steering wheel, cold seeping into his back from the rain-splattered window and hunger gnawing at his insides, he concluded he was, in fact, that desperate.

Wanted - Good mechanic able to work on a variety of equipment in Harney County, Oregon. Certification a plus. Wages congruent to experience. Room and board included. Must like animals.

Ty took a deep breath, quickly typed a text message and hit send to the number in the ad before he could change his mind.

If someone had told him a year ago he would be living in his pickup, unable to find a job, and willing to do just about anything that was legal to make a few bucks, he would have laughed in their face.

That was before the garage where he worked for the past seven years decided to lay off all but their newest mechanic to cut costs. Ten months later, Ty had $486 left to his name and everything he owned was packed into his pickup.

Let go with a promise that he would have his job back as soon as business picked up; the once-busy garage in a Portland suburb went out of business within a few months, leaving Ty no hope of being re-hired.

Applying for every open mechanic job he could find, he interviewed for positions doing everything from janitorial work to flipping burgers and couldn’t get hired on anywhere. There were way too many people in the same sinking boat.

Five weeks ago, he gave up his apartment and moved into his pickup. With rapidly dwindling funds, he sold all of his furniture and anything else he didn’t need which left him his tools, clothes, and one box full of mementos from his childhood.

Although it was expensive, the one thing he refused to give up was his iPhone. Without it, he would be completely cut off from the rest of the world. It served as his phone, computer, camera, radio, filing system, and number one job-hunting tool.

Wondering if he’d lost his mind for responding to the latest ad, he was Googling information on Harney County when a tap on the glass at his back startled him.

Looking through the water streaks, he grinned and rolled down the window.

“Hey, you might melt out here,” he said to his sister, Beth, as she stood under a huge umbrella.

“Not likely,” she said with a smile. “Come inside and have some dinner with us, Ty. You’ll freeze out here tonight.  The weatherman said it might even snow.”

“In Portland? You’re talking crazy,” Ty said, stuffing his phone in his pocket and getting out of his truck. Locking the door, he followed his sister across the street and up to the tiny studio apartment she shared with her husband Nate. Ty tried to hide a smile as he watched Beth waddle off the elevator and down the narrow hallway. Eight months pregnant, she was definitely looking the part.

Opening the apartment door, the smell of baking bread made Ty’s stomach grumble in anticipation. Beth gave him a narrowed glare.

“Did you eat anything today?” she asked, as Ty helped her take off her jacket and hung it on a peg by the door.

 Hanging his coat next to hers, he nodded his head.

“What did you eat?” Beth asked, not quite believing his response, knowing he would sometimes only eat one meal a day.

“Half a granola bar.” Ty said, not making eye contact.

Beth sighed and turned into the kitchen that was smaller than her former storage closet. Nate lost his job seven months ago and they gave up their former spacious apartment to cut costs.

She handed Ty a piece of bread slathered with peanut butter and jam before returning to her dinner preparations. Leaning against the wall between the kitchen and the main room of the apartment, Ty ate the sandwich as slow as his starving stomach would allow and watched his sister.

Waiting eight years to start a family, both Beth and Nate wanted to make sure their careers were stable and they could adequately provide for a child. The week after they found out she was expecting, Nate came home with the news he’d been laid off from his job as a technical engineer.

Employed as an office manager for a busy dental office, Beth had great benefits and a good salary. Even with her income, they were forced to give up their nice apartment and move into this tiny studio until Nate could find another job.

After months of Nate’s applications being rejected, they both were worried about what would happen when the baby arrived. Beth originally planned to take three months of maternity leave, but now she was thinking more along the lines of  two or three weeks. Nate might have to become a stay-at-home dad if things didn’t turn around soon and none of them could begin to think how they would squeeze a baby into the cramped living space.

From the entry door, there was the tiny kitchen to the left. A hallway to the right led to the bathroom which was separated from the living and sleeping area by a long double-sided closet that essentially made up a divider wall.

Ty looked around the open room, taking in the couch and small television, the one end table with a lamp, the small kitchen table surrounded by chairs, and the big king-sized bed that took up the bulk of the floor space. Even if he felt right about intruding into Nate and Beth’s home, which he didn’t, there wasn’t room for him.

Stepping back into the kitchen, Ty leaned against the counter and watched Beth stir something in a big pot. The mouth-watering aroma of chicken and herbs filled his senses. The last good, hot meal he’d eaten was with Beth and Nate four days ago.

Getting odd jobs through friends and acquaintances, Ty was mostly paid in cash. He saved what he could, but always bought a few bags of groceries and brought them over to Beth and Nate. In trade, she cooked him a hot meal while he made use of the bathroom, taking a long, hot shower and stretching out on their couch for an hour or two.

Without a home of his own, he sometimes parked across the street from Beth’s apartment when he wasn’t out job hunting or hanging out at the library researching jobs.

Since it was February, it was too cold and wet to stay outside much. He would certainly be glad when spring arrived. Winter was definitely not the best time to be homeless.

“What can I do to help?” Ty asked, washing his hands at the sink, ignoring the pangs of hunger that ripped through his stomach.

“Set the table?” Beth asked as she peeked into the oven, holding her hand under her rounded belly as she bent over. Before she could stand up, a gasp escaped from her lips and she gripped the counter.

“You okay, sis?” Ty looked at her in concern as he dried his hands. If she went into premature labor, he was the last person she wanted to be around. He couldn’t stand to see a woman cry, suffer, or be upset.

“Yeah, the baby is pretty lively today, is all,” she said, grabbing Ty’s hand and holding it on her stomach. He left his palm where she placed it and could feel tiny little kicks against his hand.

“I tell you, he’s going to be a first-class kicker on the football team,” Ty said, smiling at thoughts of his future nephew.

“She could also be a ballerina or a soccer player,” Beth said with a twinkle in her brilliant blue eyes, the exact same shade as Ty’s.

“So have you and Nate finally settled on names?” Ty asked as he gathered up plates and silverware, setting them on the table.

“We’ve got the list narrowed down to a dozen each.”

“Wow, that is real progress,” Ty teased, putting the butter dish and napkins on the table.

He and Beth both looked up as Nate came in the door, tired and dejected. Nate spent his days filling out applications, participating in interviews, and trying to drum up some interest in his resume. The past few months he grew accustomed to hearing he was overqualified, too experienced, or they couldn’t afford someone with his skill set. Those doing the hiring didn’t even give him a chance to say he’d happily take a huge cut in pay just to be employed.

Hanging up his coat and putting his umbrella next to Beth’s, he gave her a warm hug before extending a hand to Ty.

“Hey, bro, good to see you,” Nate said, loosening his tie and unbuttoning his shirt.

“You, too, man,” Ty said. “No luck today?”

“No. You either?” Nate asked as he carefully brushed off his suit jacket and hung it in the hall closet.

“Maybe,” Ty said, leaning against the wall between the kitchen and the rest of the open apartment so both Beth and Nate could hear him.

“What’s ‘maybe’ mean?” Beth asked, sticking her head out of the kitchen to look at Ty. “Care to expound on that?”

“I fired off an inquiry for a mechanics job in Harney County. The requirements were pretty vague, so I’ll see if I get a response,” Ty said, nonchalantly.

“Harney County? Isn’t that somewhere in Eastern Oregon, in the middle of no-where?” Beth asked while Nate changed his clothes in the bathroom.

“Southeast, I think,” Nate said as he reappeared, wearing faded jeans and a sweatshirt. “What would you be doing?”

“I’m not exactly sure. Do you have yesterday’s classifieds?” Ty asked as Beth brought a basket of hot rolls to the table. The steam escaping from around the edges of the napkin caught Ty’s attention and he shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from snitching one.

Nate pulled the paper out of his briefcase and gave it to Ty. Snapping it open, Ty scanned down the column of ads, placing his finger on the one listing for a mechanic. “This one,” he said, handing the paper to Nate.