"Life After Death" is my musing about what happens to Jack after he "dies" at the end of S4. The story is actually outlined in a few paragraphs in the epilogue of my story "The Storm". I liked the idea and decided to elaborate on it. I'm hoping others will like it, too.

As always, I don't own any of the characters from 24. The characters particular to this story are mine, though, and I credit my overactive imagination with those. I just wish someone would start paying me for my overactive imagination!

If you read, I am begging and pleading with you to review. I've become a total review addict! I swear that I get back and stomach cramps and am totally depressed when a story or chapter doesn't get a lot of reviews and wouldn't you hate to have me in such a pathetic state so close to Christmas?

Life After Death

Chapter 1:

If he lived to be a hundred, Jack would never forget the first time he laid eyes on Molly Anderson. He had never believed in love at first sight before, but now he understood what all of those poets and lyricists were writing about. She wasn't the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, although she was certainly very pretty; nor did she have the most incredible figure, but she definitely curved nicely in all the right places. Yet, there was something about this woman standing before him. It might have been her haunting green eyes or the warmth and sincerity of her smile. It might have been her pale blond hair. He wasn't sure. What he was sure of was that he wanted to get to know her better. At the same time, he knew that was impossible.

Jack Bauer was a man on the run. In fact, to all of the world, save Tony, Michelle, Chloe and President Palmer, Jack Bauer was dead and his ashes buried in LA next to those of his wife. His family mourned him: his daughter and son-in-law, his aging father… He knew that this had probably aged the Old Man another ten years and for that he felt guilty. Oh, just add that guilt and the guilt he felt over hurting his daughter and Kate and Audrey to the mountain of guilt he still carried around with him over Teri's murder. Once the weight of the guilt got so heavy, adding a little more couldn't really make it any worse. Jack had learned to live with it.

In truth, he hadn't had much time to dwell on that mountain of guilt which at times threatened to suffocate him. He spent the first few days after his escape from CTU just trying to get across the border into Canada without being noticed. He started out by hopping a freight train which took him to northern California. From there he hitched rides from truckers or walked the rest of the way until he reached British Columbia and then east into Alberta. Once he arrived there he needed to find work some place where they wouldn't ask a lot of questions. There was plenty of seasonal work available for ranch hands and Jack was good with horses. Teri's father owned a small ranch and Jack had helped out there for years. Even after her death Jack still helped his father-in-law and brothers-in-law when they needed an extra hand.

Jack liked working on the ranch. It was physical work and he was outside all day. By nightfall he fell into an exhausted sleep on a cot in the barn loft with the rest of the guys. The other hands were mostly younger than he and once it became clear that he wasn't interested in spending every payday with them in town at the bars and with the local whores, they pretty much left him to himself. Any free time Jack had he spent at the nearest library searching vital records databases. He needed to find a new identity for himself if he was going to build any kind of life. He was still young, just over 40, and couldn't spend the rest of his life living on the fake ID that Tony and Michelle had given him. He eventually found a death certificate on a child name Jeffrey McCarthy. The child's birthday was just a few months earlier than his own and he died short of his second birthday from meningitis. That was it. Jack had a new identity. He began the slow process of creating a life for Jeff McCarthy.

As winter approached, the seasonal ranch hands were let go. Jack decided to make his way east again toward Calgary. He had saved enough money working on the ranch to buy a beat up red pick up truck that had seen far better days. But it started when you turned the key and with a little work, he thought he could make due for a while. He found odd jobs and rooms to rent. It was hard to get any steady work when you suddenly had no work history or references and no permanent address.

One Sunday morning Jack ventured out of the room he was renting. It was April and the worst of the winter was over even in this part of Canada. The air was still cool, but the sky was clear and the sun bright. Jack went into a nearby coffee shop. He had done some maintenance work for them a month or so back and a couple of the girls that worked the counter had taken a shine to him. He stopped in to say hello, sat down at the deserted counter and ordered a cup of coffee.

"Hi, Jeff," a young girl said brightly. "You want anything to go with that coffee?"

"Just coffee this morning," he said, "I'm a little low on funds. Do you know anybody who's hiring?"

"Not off hand. Here's the 'help wanted' ads," she said handing him the Sunday paper. "Maybe you'll find something in here. There's always more work around when spring comes." The girl cut a large wedge of fresh apple pie and set it in front of him. "If you'll lift some heavy boxes down from the shelf in the kitchen, then this one's on the house," she explained.

Jack thanked her and assured her that he could move the boxes for her. He opened the employment section of the paper and spread it out on the counter in front of him. At the same time he sunk his fork into the pie and took a bite. The pie was still warm from the oven. Jack could taste the butter and the brown sugar and cinnamon. He was hungry and was tired of eating canned soups warmed over a burner in his room. The pie reminded him of home and Teri and so much that was behind him that he could never have again. He forced himself back into reality and started reading the job listings.

"What kinda job are you lookin' for, Jeff? Somethin' at a ranch?" asked Phyllis. Phyllis managed the coffee shop for the owner, who was her brother. She was pushing fifty and still desperately looking for a husband. She was convinced that "Mr. Right" would eventually come waltzing into the coffee shop and sweep her off her feet. In the meantime, she fussed over customers and fussed at the waitresses. She had a heart of gold and was pretty much loved by everyone in the small town. On top of that, she knew all of the gossip in a fifty mile radius. It came, she said, from keeping your mouth shut while the customers were talking. Sometimes they didn't even realize that you were there, she would tell anyone who would listen, and it was amazing all of the secrets they would let fly within her earshot.

"I prefer ranch work, Phyllis, but most of it is seasonal. I'd like something a little more steady," Jack told her as he looked back down at the paper. "Here's something. Somebody is looking for a 'ranch manager'. That sounds interesting."

"I'll bet that's old Ted Anderson," Phyllis said as she pushed a strand of dyed red hair behind her ear. The last woman Jack saw with hair that color was Raggedy Ann. "He owns a big ol' spread over on the old country road. That man's gotta have a pretty penny in the bank. I'll tell you, if he was a few years younger I might have to make him some of my famous apple pies and delivery them myself!"

"Do you know anything about the job?" Jack asked innocently knowing full well that Phyllis would have all of the details and was just dying to supply them.

"Ted's getting' up in years. I guess he can't manage the place by himself any more. And after the accident he had during the winter, he probably needs the help."

"What happened?"

"His horse slipped on some ice and the two of them ended up in a snow bank. The horse was fine, but Ted broke his leg in two places and dislocated his shoulder. He was lucky that he didn't have any internal injuries from what the nurses at the hospital said," Phyllis said nodding knowingly. "At his age, bones heal real slow. I guess he won't be up to all the work that comes in the spring."

"Doesn't he have any family to run the ranch?" Jack asked. He knew that most ranches stayed within families. One of the sons usually ran the ranch when his father got too old.

"Ted's got two boys and a girl. Ted, Jr. is an architect out in Toronto. Andy – his real name is Carter, that was his mother's maiden name, but everybody 'round here calls him 'Andy' - short for Anderson, anyway, Andy is a Civil Engineer, lives in Vancouver. I guess Ted drove those two boys so hard while they were kids that they never want to see a ranch again. And the girl, Molly, she's a nurse over at Union General Hospital.

"Now Molly, she was the apple of Ted's eye. He was real strict with those two boys and worked 'em like slaves, but not Molly. Ted never raised his voice to that girl; let her get away with anything. See, the boys are a lot older than Molly," Phyllis continued. "I guess she was one of those 'whoops' babies. You know, Ted and Mary weren't bein' too careful and next thing you know, Mary's pregnant. Sad though, Mary was in her forties by then. She had a lot of problems with the pregnancy. We all helped out. You know, took food over and helped with the cleanin'. Molly was born just fine, but Mary developed some kind of infection a week or so later. She was too busy taking care of Ted and the boys and a new baby to take care of herself. They said by the time Ted got her to go to the doctor, the infection was all through her blood. Maybe in one of those fancy city hospitals they could have done more for her, but out here we didn't have that kind of medicine, especially back then. The hospital is bigger and more modern now. I'm talkin' 30 years back and it was just a rinky-dink country hospital. Back then the vet hospital was probably better.

"So Mary died and Ted was left to finish raisin' the boys and Molly. Ted, Jr. left for college two or three years later. Andy went a couple years after that. Once they were gone, it was just Ted and Molly. She was just the sweetest little girl. You'd see Ted walking around town with her. You never saw a man so devoted to a little girl. He just idolized that child. She was kind of a wild teenage. I guess lotsa teenagers go through that stage. Like to drive her old Daddy crazy with worry, though. Then she went off to college and became a nurse. She met some doctor and was married to him for a while. I don't know much about that 'cause they didn't live 'round here. Nearly broke ol' Ted's heart having that girl livin' so far away from him. She eventually divorced him and moved back to town. Now she works over at Union General in Labor and Delivery. I know some of the girls that work there. They say she's just the best nurse. She takes special care of those new mothers and makes sure they aren't having any problems. I guess she doesn't want any of those babies to end up motherless like her."

The two girls behind the counter were thoroughly engrossed in Phyllis' story. They smiled and made quiet sympathetic noises and nodded all at the appropriate times. Jack, on the other hand, wasn't all that interested in the Anderson family history. He was, of course, sympathetic to a man who had lost his wife at an early age and had to raise children on his own, but right now he was far more interested in hearing about the ranch.

"So, Anderson has a big spread?" he asked trying to sound casual.

"Second or third largest cattle ranch in Calgary," Phyllis said nodding.

"What would he be like as a boss?"

"Ted's a hard-headed old Swede," Phyllis said, "but one of the nicest men I've ever met. Told ya, if he was a little younger I'd be interested in him. He'll be tough, but fair. And his bark is a whole lot worse than his bite."

"Maybe I'll call him," Jack mused.

Phyllis handed him a cell phone. "If ya want some privacy go in the back and talk."

"Thanks, Phyllis, I think I will," Jack said taking the newspaper with him.

Phyllis watched him go. Nice ass, she thought. Jack was definitely on her radar screen. He was handsome and single – two of her prerequisites – but he lived in a room in a boarding house and worked odd jobs. He was certainly educated; she could tell that by the way he spoke. She also had seen him several times at the library with an armload of books about the American Civil War and World Wars I and II. It bothered her to death that she couldn't seem to find out anything about him. He never talked about himself or any family. No one seemed to know where he came from or why he was settling down in this godforsaken rural section of Canada. He was always so pleasant, but he never really smiled or seemed happy. Oh, well, she thought, if Ted gives him a job, at least he's got a stable income. That would bring him up a rung or two on her husband-hunting ladder.

Jack spoke with Ted Anderson on the phone and arranged an interview for later that afternoon. This wasn't going to be easy. Jack had to convince Ted Anderson that he could manage a ranch without offering any references. He had gotten along well with the manager of the ranch he worked on in Alberta, but he was using a different name then and couldn't very well ask for a reference using the name "Jeff McCarthy." No, he was going to have to find a way to sell himself without providing any work history. Despite the long odds at getting this job, Jack tried to remain positive. He went back to his room at the boarding house and packed his meager possessions into his truck and headed out toward the Anderson ranch.

The ranch sat back off the road on a picture-perfect tract of land. Jack turned off the road and onto the long driveway. He marveled at the scenery on the way to the house. Banked snow still sat along both sides of the road, but past those white mounds, stretches of green grass was visible. Jack imagined how beautiful this must be when everything was green and the cattle were grazing in the pastures. He pulled his old truck up to the house and stepped out into the cool April afternoon. He had barely set a foot on the porch when the door opened.

"Mr. McCarthy?" the woman said. She looked to be about sixty and had light eyes and dark hair. It was a combination that gave her an exotic look.

"Yes, ma'am," Jack answered.

"I'm Lila Briggs, Mr. Anderson's housekeeper. He's in his study waiting for you. Let me take you there."

The woman led Jack through an entrance hall and living room and into a darkly paneled study. Ted Anderson sat on a big, soft-looking leather chair with his leg propped up on the matching ottoman.

"Mr. McCarthy's here," Lila informed him.

"Thank you, Lila," he boomed. Even sitting in a chair Jack could tell that Ted Anderson was a big man. He guessed that Anderson must be almost six-two or six-three and was broad across the shoulders. He had a thick shock of white hair and bright green eyes. Jack put his age at about the mid-seventies. He reached out to shake Jack's hand. His grip was strong and his hands calloused from so many years of hard work. "McCarthy," he boomed again. "So glad you could come out here on such short notice. Sorry that I can't get up. This damn bum leg has been keeping me in a chair much of the day. My daughter comes over as often as she can and she takes me for a drive so I don't go stir crazy inside these four walls. The doctor says I should be back on my feet and riding my horses again in another couple of months. He says I'm just impatient. I miss being in the saddle. Well enough about me. You didn't come out here to hear an old coot go on about himself. You came out here to see about a job."

"Yes, sir. I'm very interested in the ranch manager position."

"Good, because I'm interested in hiring someone. Tell me about your experience, McCarthy."

"I've worked on ranches since I was high school. At one time of another, I supposed I've done just about every job on the ranch," he told Anderson. That wasn't a lie. He had helped Teri's father since he was sixteen. "I've drifted a bit and I've had some other jobs, but right now I'd like to settle on a ranch and try and put some years in. I need some experience with the details of running a ranch. If the opportunity presents itself someday, I might like to buy my own little spread."

"That didn't really answer my question, son. Have you had any jobs in these parts?"

"No, Mr. Anderson. I'm new to the area."

"Where were you before this?"

"I worked a little in Alberta. Before that I was working in the U.S."

"You Canadian?"

"Yes, sir," Jack lied without flinching.

The conversation continued with Ted asking questions and Jack dodging them as best he could. Anderson sighed and changed positions in his chair with some difficulty. He was a coarse, straight-talking gentleman who finally looked at Jack and said, "Son, you haven't given me one straight answer since you got here. You walk in and tell me you want to manage my ranch but you don't have any references. I get the distinct feeling that you're hiding something from me or maybe you're running from something. Tell me why I should hire you."

"Sir, you're right. I am running. I'm running for a lot of reasons. Those reasons are personal and I don't want to explain. I need to start over. I assure you that I'm not in any trouble and I won't cause any trouble. If you want me to prove myself, I'll be happy to do that. Give me two months. If you'll give me the room and board, you don't have to pay me. At the end of the two months, if you're satisfied with my work, you can pay me the back pay and hire me on. If you're not happy, you tell me and I'll leave. No questions asked. Do we have a deal, sir?"

There was something about Jack that Ted Anderson liked. "How can I pass up that deal, Mr. McCarthy?" Ted reached out his hand to shake Jack's. "The room's in the barn loft. You get the room on the right with the attached bathroom. The other two hands, Dylan and Kurt, share the room in the back. Don't let them tell you otherwise. Come back tomorrow morning around 8 o'clock ready to work."

"If you don't mind, sir, I'm ready to move in now. I have all of my things with me in the truck."

"Okay," Ted said sounding surprised. "I guess you were pretty sure you'd get the job."

"No, sir. I was renting a room by the week and my week was up. If you didn't make me an offer, I'd go back to the boarding house and hope that a room was still available."

"Head over to the barn. Kurt and Dylan should be around there somewhere. Get settled in. Lila will bring supper over for the three of you at 6 o'clock before she leaves for the day."

A voice in the doorway broke into their conversation. "Daddy, I hate to interrupt, but it's time for your medicine." The voice belonged to a pretty blond who Jack estimated to be in her early thirties. He knew instantly that this must be Molly Anderson.

"I hope those fool doctors know what they're doing feeding me all of these medicines," Anderson complained. "McCarthy, this is my daughter Mary Louise. She's a nurse over at the hospital and in her spare time she tries to mother me."

Jack extended his hand. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Anderson." He was immediately struck by her smile and her eyes. Her handshake was firm but her touch was soft.

"Likewise, Mr. McCarthy," she said. "And everyone calls me Molly."

"I'm Jeff," he said. He locked onto her eyes and found it difficult to let go. Jack felt something stir in him that he hadn't felt in a long time. He allowed himself to enjoy the touch of Molly's hand.

"McCarthy's my new manager, at least on a trial basis," Ted told his daughter.

"That's wonderful!" she exclaimed. Her green eyes caught the waning afternoon light and Jack thought he could see them sparkle. "Daddy's been so worried about not being able to run the ranch himself that he's been driving Lila and me crazy. When can you start?"

"Right now," Jack replied. He felt himself smile. "I'm going over to the barn to settle in."

"I'll tell you what, give me a couple of minutes and I'll show you the way and introduce you to the other hands."

"That would be great," Jack told her, still unable to stop staring at her.

Molly showed Jack to his room. Actually it was a little apartment with a small kitchen and sitting room, a decent sized bedroom and an attached bath. "It's not much, but it's comfortable," Molly told him. "My brothers and I have all lived up here at one time or another. I used it when I was in college and I came home for the summer."

"It's great," Jack said. He liked the cozy space. It was far more than he had expected.

"Come down into the barn and I'll introduce you to the horses. There're a couple you can chose from." Molly trotted easily down the steps and into the barn. "This is Cleo," Molly told him as she petted a medium sized black mare. "She's mine. That's her son over there. I named him Caesar. He's a hellion! I've been trying to break him, but I'm not having a lot of luck. His father is headstrong, too, but this guy is impossible."

Jack listened to what Molly was saying but was more interested in the lilt in her voice as she said it. He followed her dutifully through the stable but the whole time he watched how her body moved, the back and forth swish of her hips. He was enchanted by this woman and he had no idea why. What he did know was that it had to stop. She was the daughter of the man who had just hired him on a trial basis. He couldn't allow himself to get involved with her. Considering his past, he really didn't feel that he should get involved with any woman.

Molly seemed oblivious to Jack's eyes on her. She continued down the line introducing him to the animals like they were members of the family. "This is Heidi," she said, "and this is her half-brother Tucker." Molly was pointing out two large strawberry-colored horses. "Heidi has a wonderful disposition. If I was going to pick out another horse for myself, it would be Heidi. You might want to ride her and see if you like her."

"I'll do that," Jack said unable to make his mouth form a more intelligent sentence. He petted Heidi's nose. "After I settle in I think I'll take her for a ride around the property." Jack thanked Molly for her help and watched her leave. He shook his head as if to break the spell that she seemed to have over him. Heidi whinnied and nuzzled his hand. He turned and smiled at her. "Okay, I understand, girl. You want to get out for a while. Let me get my things and we'll take a look around."

Jack retrieved his truck from in front of the house and moved it to the side of the barn. It took him less than fifteen minutes to move his few possessions into the apartment. Another half hour and he was riding Heidi across the wide expanse of the ranch. He loved it. The late afternoon air was crisp and the sky was blue with a few wispy clouds occasionally dulling the glare of the sun. Molly was right; Heidi had a wonderful disposition and she immediately took a liking to Jack. She carried him gracefully across the pastures and down the unpaved road that wound around the ranch.

He eventually dismounted and was walking her back to the barn. Molly came out of the barn with Caesar was on a lead and quite obviously unhappy about it.

"Did you have a nice ride?" she asked.

"It was great. Your father has a beautiful place here."

"I'm glad you like it," Molly replied. "I'm going to go work with Caesar for a while."

"Be careful with him, he doesn't look happy," Jack told her.

"He's not happy, but he'll get used to it." Molly smiled as she walked away.

Jack watched her still not sure what it was about her that he found so bewitching. He took Heidi into the barn and gave her water. While she was drinking, Jack stood at the door of the barn and watched Molly with Caesar. She had taken him to a fenced enclosure 30 or 40 yards from the barn where she now stood petting his nose and talking quietly to him. Little by little she eased a saddle onto his back but not without his putting up a fight. Then she started leading Caesar around the enclosure. Jack was impressed with the ease with which Molly handled the difficult animal. He turned his attention back to Heidi, who he already considered "his horse". She pushed him lightly with her nose as if to tell him that she still needed to be brushed. He smiled and scratched her ear as he took her back into the barn to brush her.

Jack ran the brush over and over through Heidi's soft coat. He was reveling in his good fortune. He already loved this place: the scenery, the people, the horses. This was going to work out for the best; he could just feel it. Jack's thoughts were soaring when they were interrupted by a scream. The voice belonged to Molly. He dropped the brush and ran from the barn.

"Molly!" he shouted. He ran toward the enclosure where she was walking Caesar. The horse was rearing wildly and, as Jack got closer he could see that Molly was on the ground near the fence. "Molly!" he shouted again hoping for a response.

He reached the fence and in one swift move put both hands on the top of the split rail and vaulted over it. His movements further angered the horse who was kicking his front hooves high in the air. Jack grabbed one of the reins and pulled it sharply. It took him a moment but he was able to get the horse under control and tied to a fencepost.

By the time Caesar was settled, Molly was sitting up against the fence. "Hey, are you alright?" Jack asked dropping down to his knees next to her.

"I think my pride is bruised a whole lot worse than any of my body is," she said wryly as Jack helped her up. She felt her face flush red. It was the truth; her pride really was hurt a whole lot worse than her body. She was embarrassed to have been thrown so easily by a colt. Worse than that it had happened in front of someone she didn't even know; someone she had just met a few hours earlier but felt this strange need to impress. "He's a lot stronger than I expected."

"Did you hit your head? Are you sure you're okay?" Jack continued to be concerned. He wasn't sure why he was so connected to Molly after just meeting her, but he already knew that he was afraid of losing her.

"I'm okay, Jeff. Really," she said assuredly. "Thanks for your help. I'm not sure how I would have gotten him under control. I think tonight's session is over. I'll take him back to the barn."

"No," Jack said. "If you stop now, he'll have won. He needs to know that he's not in charge. Right now he knows that he's calling all the shots. Give me some time with him so he learns that what he did isn't acceptable."

"Help yourself," she said with a shrug that was deliberately placed to suggest indifference. In truth, she wasn't indifferent at all. She wasn't sure what she was except confused.

Two years ago, as her divorce was finalized, Molly had sworn off men. She decided then and there that no other man was ever going to have the chance to make a fool of her the way Zach had. She had made good on her promise. The only man she had answered to in those two years had been her father. Several men had asked her out but she had politely turned them down. More recently, no one had asked. She assumed that the word that Molly Anderson wasn't interested in a relationship had gotten out. Her father told her she was being foolish. "Molly," he would say, "not every man is out to hurt you. Just because Zach did, doesn't mean that you should write off all men. There are lots of good men out there, Molly. You made one mistake. Don't pay for it for the rest of your life."

Now as she watched Jeff McCarthy walk slowly toward Caesar and untie his reins, she wondered what it was about this man that was attracting her attention. The reason Caesar had been able to throw her so easily was that she wasn't concentrating on him. She was thinking about this handsome stranger who had just appeared and, for some odd reason, had taken her breath away. She was wondering if he had noticed her, too.

This is crazy, she thought, I know nothing about this guy. It was true. Even her father admitted that he was taking a chance on McCarthy but felt that he didn't have a lot to lose. He would keep a close eye on the man and hope that everything worked out. If McCarthy stepped out of line even once, Ted Anderson had told his daughter, he would fire him immediately. Ted tended to trust his instinct, and his initial impression of Jeff McCarthy was that, although he would not tell Ted about his past, he was not really misrepresenting himself. He just had a past that he wanted to forget. A man should have that right, Ted told Molly. We've all made mistakes, some bigger than others. If he just needs to start over, this is as good a place as any.

Molly sat balanced on the split rail fence watching this blond, blue-eyed ball of energy that had just walked into her life. He certainly knows how to handle a horse, she thought as she watched him trying to tame Caesar. He had managed to get onto Caesar's back twice now. Each time he held his position for a minute or two while Caesar tried everything he knew to get rid of this nuisance that was perched on his back. Then he would dismount and give Caesar some time to relax. He never took his eyes off of the horse and Molly never took her eyes off of him. What had this man done to her? She had never felt this way before. It was as if Jeff McCarthy had reduced her to jelly. Even Zach hadn't done that to her and she had loved him more than she thought possible. This has to stop, she thought as Jeff finished the session and brought Caesar back to her. But in the same breath she realized that she could barely speak when he handed her the reins.

Jack's first two months on Ted Anderson's ranch passed quickly. Before he knew it, it was June and the busy summer season was in full swing. Ted was now making his way slowly around the ranch with the help of a cane. He had tried riding his horse, Big Jake, but found that it was too hard to get onto the large animal. Jack suggested that he ride Caesar who was smaller and who, with patience, he had been able to turn into a good riding horse.

"I've got to hand it to you," Ted told him. "Not long after Caesar was born I told Molly that he would never be any good for riding. He has a wild streak like his father. But you proved me wrong and I'm a pretty good judge of horses." Ted handed Jack an envelope. "This is your first two months of pay. You'll find a small bonus in there as well. You're working out far better than I every expected. I'm glad I took a chance on you. It was one of the smartest moves I've ever made."

"Thank you, sir," Jack replied as he took the envelope. "I appreciate your confidence in me."

"What I want to know," Ted pondered, his green eyes meeting Jack's blue ones, "is how a CIA agent born and raised in southern California ever learned so much about horses and running a ranch, Jack."