Melissa sat in her quarters in MACO territory. They had been given shore leave and while she knew what her men used to do with this time, she herself rarely, if ever took personal time. In fact the last time she had taken any personal time, her own father had shot her…so down time was not really something that she relished. Her mother was with her sister and brother in law. They were currently in Hawaii. She had no desire to go there. She could go home, but she didn’t really want to deal with her ex either. She knew that he and his new wife had left the home that belonged to Melissa’s grandmother, Nick was very good about going over and doing maintenance on it every other week to keep it in good shape for when Melissa finally decided to return to Tombstone. Her job was part of the reason for their separation, he didn’t like having her so far away and he couldn’t handle the dangers that she faced so rather than try to work things out, they divorced and Nick had remarried.

So now…Melissa sat in her quarters…looking at the walls and wondering what to do…Finally, she gave up and grabbed her duffel bag, home she would go. She headed for the transport hub and headed for Tombstone and the house that she needed to put ghosts to rest and move on with her life.

It was twenty four hours later and Melissa was dropped off in front of the house. At the side were the three horses that Melissa owned and the hand was out taking care of them. Melissa waved as Hank came over “Ms. Tafoya.. Welcome home. How long are you here for?” He asked. Melissa smiled “I’ll be here for about four days and then I have to leave again.” She said “Could saddle up Apple, I’m going to take a ride out to the bluffs as soon as I change.” She said. Hank nodded “Yes ma’am. Apple has been anxious to get out. I took Dapple and Gray out yesterday and was going to take Apple out today, but hadn’t gotten chores done yet.” He said “She’ll be ready when you are.” He said walking away to do as Melissa had asked.

It had been too long since Melissa had been riding. She was an expert rider, but her skills were definitely rusty. She took a shower and changed before heading out to the barn. As promised Hank had Apple saddled and ready to go. Melissa took the reins and led the horse out of the pen and climbed up and headed off towards the back of the property to the bluffs that overlooked town. One of the reasons her grandparents had bought this property was the view and the fact that there were no neighbors for several miles. Since Melissa had been gone, most of the cattle had been sold off, however, she planned to buy a couple head and get a couple more men to work the ranch like it was supposed to be run. She would be discussing that with Hank in the morning.

After spending the afternoon out on the bluffs, Melissa returned to the house, she brushed, fed and watered Apple and looked around for Hank and found him in the tack room “So, would you have dinner with me. I have some things I want to discuss with you.” She said “I’m ordering chinese so you don’t have to worry about me cooking.” She laughed, although Melissa was an excellent cook, she didn’t feel like spending time making a meal. Hank gave her a wary look “Of course. Can the missus join us too?” He asked motioning his wife over, Melissa smiled at Bett “Of course, I’ve missed both of you.” She said “Say an hour, we’ll meet in the big house and have dinner and talk.” With confirmations from both of them, Melissa headed to the house to clean up and rinse the dust off.

An hour later, she was sitting at the table with large portions of food put in bowls sitting on the table as Hank and Bett came in from finishing up evening chores “What’s on your mind Melissa. I saw something in your eyes this afternoon… You did some thinking out there on the bluff didn’t you?” Melissa chuckled “You could always read me like a book Hank. And yes, I did some thinking…I want to get this place up and running again as a working ranch. No, I’m not leaving the military or my post on the Bonnie…that’s where you two come in, you will both be in charge. I want you to leave that house you’re renting and move into this house. I’ll just borrow a bedroom every now and again when I come back.” She looked between the two of them as they stopped eating.

Hank leaned back in his chair “Now Melissa, you know your granddad worked this place for years before he passed. Your Gran tried to keep it going. That when she hired Bett and I. We are supportive of your idea, but who does the hiring and firing?” He asked “I don’t want to have to wait for your permission to do something with the business when you’re off on your duty station.” He said taking a long drink from his glass of tea. Bett smiled gently “I’m willing to do whatever you need me to. YOu know that I’ve got my business degree, I can keep this ship humming.” She said. Melissa looked at the two “I trust both of you, otherwise, I would not have even considered this. You and Bett will have full hiring and firing authority. I trust that you will do right by me and keep me informed of what’s going on.” She said “Tomorrow, I’m going into town to reinstate the Alvarez-Barber Brand. I will need both of you to come with me to put your names on the paperwork for the ranch as persons of trust to make all decisions regarding the ranch and buying and selling of cattle and whatever else you think will work on the land.” She said “If you want to plant crops, go for it.” She said “What do you say?” She asked leaning back in her chair.

Hank looked at Bett and then back at Melissa “You got yourself a deal.” He said “We’ll be here at 8 a.m., the lawyer opens at 8 and we can have breakfast at the Old Ranch House. You remember Emma, she bought that and has brought it back to life.” He said “I know that there’s a cattle sale going on in Tombstone on Wednesday if you want to go with me, we can get the first couple head of cattle.” Melissa nodded “Sounds good. Let’s finish eating.” She said “Then we can go out and see what all we need to get fixed up to be ready for cattle.” She said passing over some Mu Shu and mandarin pancakes.

The following morning as agreed everyone met in town at the attorney’s office and got everything set up to begin ranching again. The land had a natural water source that came straight from the mountains and it ran right through the property. Water rights and other documents were signed, payments were made and everything was ready to go. Melissa even updated her will to leave the property to Hank and Bett should something happen to her while she was on the Bonnie. While in town, they went to the auction yard, where the cattle had already been brought in for the sale the following day, Hank and Melissa walked through the yards and decided which lots they wanted to bid on and how much they were willing to spend. Bett kept notes on the amounts and nodded as she looked at the bank account balances “We can spend about 500 credits per head.” SHe said “And still make a profit when we sell next spring, that will include any calves that come from this herd.” She added.

The following morning, the trio headed to the auction and by noon they had bought four head of cattle that would be delivered by the end of the week. Melissa smiled, it felt good to be working with cattle again. She also looked at possibly getting a 1/2 head of sheep and decided against it, stick with cattle for the moment. If Hank and Bett wanted to get sheep, they had her blessing. Once the cattle arrived and were off loaded, Melissa spent one more night at home and then had to head back to ship. That morning, Hank and Bett started moving into the house, Melissa stood in front of the house and smiled at the couple “Hank, you take care of Bett and we’ll be in touch on a regular basis. If you need anything, you have access to the account, just get it....that includes anything that you and Bett want, not just for the ranch. The hands will be starting this afternoon so they can help with afternoon feeding. If you have any problems. Take care of it.”

Melissa climbed into the hover car and headed for the transport hub to return to the ship. She looked back at the house as she drove away and vowed that it would not be another three years before she returned.