I shook his hand. "Call me Spencer."
"Spencer, then," he said with the same tight smile. He had short-buzzed, gray and white hair, and his dark goatee appeared to be slowly turning the same color from the outside inward. "Eli Holt, nice to meet you."
"Arabella is this way," I offered, opening the door wider for him to come through. I led him out of the small foyer that opened to the kitchen area and over to the living room where Arabella's matching plaid couch set was under the threat of being swallowed by the monster tree.
Eli hesitated at the edge of the living room rug, his eyes turning into saucers as he took in the massive, brightly lit desert pine. "Festive," he commented.
Arabella stood from the couch, but she didn't offer her hand. "Hi, Eli. I'm Arabella. Sorry if I don't shake—I've had a… cold." I snorted, and she ignored me. "I don't want to pass it on."
Eli waved that away, perching on the edge of the loveseat. "It's that time of the year. Nice to meet you, Dr. Rook. Spencer and Azura filled me in on the situation, and Spencer was kindenough to send over the paperwork for the property. It does appear that you have senior water rights, so the lack of water being fed to your ranch is certainly an issue."
Arabella perked up at that, her wan features lightening hopefully. "I kind of figured I was screwing something up."
"On the contrary, unless you, yourself, dammed up the water source, you should be receiving water from two rivers that run through your property. Now, this one—" He stopped, pulled a folder out from his briefcase, and then handed Arabella a property map. "Lark River—this runs through your neighbor's property before it reaches yours, but you have what we call easement. Your property is older, and the owners of the neighboring property actually bought that parcel from the original owners of this ranch. You get first use of the water source."
Arabella's brows drew together a fraction as she surveyed the map. "My ranch hand, Jay, said something like that. But they wouldn't stealallmy water, would they?"
"Well," Eli hedged, scratching his head, "I hesitate to speculate. However, it is unusual that you aren't receiving enough water to care for what you've listed as an incredibly modest number of livestock here. The ranch is equipped for livestock numbers well above what you care for. I'm frankly shocked you've run dry for more than a year."
Arabella had her cold, calculating face on. I could see the gears turning in her mind as she went over possibilities. "Let's say the Scotts are stealing my water. What, then?"
"Well, given the evidence we've compiled here, I would suggest hiring a hydrologist to double-check that there are no unaccounted-for obstructions. Then, we can draft a cease-and-desist letter to the Scotts if we find evidence of tampering."
A spark of anger ignited in my chest. "Wait, that's it? A letter?"
Eli looked like he got this reaction frequently as he shifted a look my way. "Initially. I'm afraid that the legal system for water disputes is a lengthy business. Rarely does anything get sorted out quickly." He paused, his eyes shifting. "If ever. Water disputes are as old as the West itself."
"Great," I muttered.
Arabella kneaded between her brows, and the gray tint to her complexion had returned. "So, what you're saying is, until the snow melts, we have to make do."
"At a minimum," Eli confirmed. "I'm sorry I don't have a faster solution for you."
Arabella nodded wearily like that was the kind of luck she was used to. "Makes sense." She drew in a breath before fixing him with a calm smile. "I did take pictures this fall when Jay scoured our property's water sources for issues. We found no obvious obstructions. Would that help?"
"Certainly," Eli nodded. "I can begin a process of interviewing other neighbors to see if they are facing similar issues. I'm afraid we will have to wait until the spring to hire the hydrologist. In the meantime, we can begin a paper trail by drafting a letter to the Scotts asking for clarification about their understanding of water usage between your properties."
"That's a start," Arabella said wearily. Worry pulled at the corners of her eyes, and my heart ached for her. This damn ranch had been nothing but trouble for her, and I couldn't understand why she was throwing her entire life away for it.
"Again, I wish I had more immediate answers for you," Eli said with genuine sympathy. "As a temporary measure, we could reach out to a neighboring ranch to procure a temporary water rights lease."
I folded my arms. "Wait. So, this other ranch might be stealing her water, and you're suggesting Arabellapay themfor her own water?"
"Well," Eli hedged uncomfortably, looking me up and down like I might crush his head with my biceps, "speculation rarely leads to logical solutions, Dr. Spencer."
Arabella seemed to have disregarded my righteous indignation, and her forehead creased as she thought. "The Arroyos have a parcel on the other side. I could speak with them."
Eli nodded, looking away from me with a nervous twitch of his fingers. "I am happy to assist you in securing a temporary lease."
Arabella and Eli went over specifics like the amount of water she needed access to and viable channels to divert a source to the well, and then he said a perfunctory goodbye, promising to be in touch after his initial letters had been sent. Arabella walked him out, and as she closed the door, she let her forehead rest against the oak front door. I stood behind her, silently fuming over the whole thing on her behalf. "I can feel you brooding," she said.
"Far be it from me to remind you that you are hanging on by a thread physically and mentally over this ranch, and then you married someone you don't even like to maintain that insanity," I replied dryly.
She rolled her forehead against the door to peer at me. "I like you."
Like she'd plucked a guitar string in my chest, my heart vibrated. "Your face says you want to replace my coffee grounds with cat litter."
Her lips twitched, and I noticed that little beads of sweat had broken out on her forehead and her skin looked gray again. "You're completely insufferable, but I might have been—" She paused straightening, and her throat bobbed. "Well, I don't know my own limits sometimes. Thank you for helping."
