Chapter Seventeen
H appy to be out of school, Billy got in his truck and headed up to the ranch. The upperclassmen were excused from classes during calving season in spring and for the cattle roundups in fall. They had extra homework to make up for it, though. He’d do everything from home if they’d let him. Without Emily, Griffin, and Shiloh around, the place just wasn’t the same.
The horses were his sanctuary.
Building the house kept him sane.
They were making decent progress. Now that the plumbing, electrical, and ductwork were in, he and Jake had to get going on the insulation. The drywall was set to be delivered next week.
His back to him, Tanner stood at the crossties with Airdrie. The Friesian mare, happy to see him, whinnied a greeting as soon as he came inside. Horses are always communicating. From ear positions to tail swishes, every movement and sound told him what a horse was feeling.
“That you, Billy?”
“Expectin’ someone else?”
“Never know around here.” Tanner let out a chuff, methodically rubbing the currycomb in a circular motion. “Hand me that brush, would ya?”
“How you doin’, Airdrie?” Heavy with foal, Billy ran his hand along her flank.
“Our girl’s just fine.” He gave the horse a pat on the rump, then looked his way. “How’re you doin’?”
“I’m all right.”
“You sure about that?” Tanner slowly tipped his head to the side as if studying him. “You’re lookin’ a little bit…mopey.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Billy tossed him a dandy brush and changed the subject. “The boys still headin’ back in today?”
“That’s what Kellan said.” And with a bob of his chin, Tanner returned to his grooming. “We best get ready for ‘em.”
Two dozen horses were coming in. Billy went right to it, preparing to untack and care for them. Sweat dripping off his brow, he filled hay bins and water troughs in the pasture where he and Tanner would turn them out to rest and recover once they checked them over. Chasing cows down a mountain for three nights and days, he knew there’d be cuts, abrasions, and wounds to treat. Hooves that needed trimming. He assembled the supplies, ready for that, too.
The only thing left to do now was wait. Fuck, how he’d come to hate the word.
Billy needed to be doing something. Anything. Everything was fine as long as his hands were busy and his mind had a task to focus on. The more laborious, the better, too, so at the end of the day, he could pass out in his bed and dream a dreamless sleep. His days and nights ticked by faster. The waiting was easier that way.
He left the tack room, twisting his sweat-drenched hair back into a tie, to see Shiloh, Cassie, Arien, and Emily breeze in through the open barn doors. A breath of fresh air with an infectious smile, her green eyes lit up the moment she saw him. She broke away from the girls, her arms outstretched, moving toward him in all eagerness.
“Hey, pretty girl.” Hooking an arm around his wife, Tanner kissed her. “What’re y’all doin’ here?”
“Griffin texted Shiloh. They’re close and she wanted to be here to meet him.”
“And you’re missin’, Kel, ain’t ya?” He winked with a sly, lopsided grin. Surely, he’d kept her occupied while his brother was away, but now that they were married, Arien wasn’t shy about showing the world how fiercely she loved them both. Knowing her and Kellan as he did, Billy had no doubt they’d disappear into the house together as soon as he got off his horse.
“Course, I am.” Smiling up at Tanner, Arien palmed his cheek. “But it gave me an excuse to come see you, too.”
“You don’t need no excuse.”
“I know.”
Tanner lifted Arien off her feet and, wrapping her legs around his waist, he kissed her as if no one else was here with them to witness it.
Shiloh burst into a fit of giggles.
Cassie rolled her eyes.
Emily reached him then. “Billy.”
Leaning against the tack room door, he swept her into his embrace and pressed her tightly to his chest. Her warm, soft body molded onto his had to be the most wonderful feeling in the world. She just smelled so damn good—so good he wanted to eat her. Except he couldn’t. So he closed his eyes, reveling in all the sensations bombarding him, and smoothed the hair down her back.
“Hey, sweet cheeks,” he whispered and kissed her crown. “How’s my girl?”
Before Emily could answer him, he heard Cassie croon. “Awe, would you look at him? He reminds me of a little lost puppy in a pet store window.”
“Does she always have to be such a bitch?” Arien asked, her legs sliding off Tanner’s hips.
Shiloh pursed her lips, rubbing the baby bump that wasn’t noticeable yet. “She does.”
“Just an observation. Wasn’t meanin’ to be.” With her lips curving into a smirk, Cassie lit a cigarette. “And for your information, Griffin didn’t text Shiloh. It was me .”
She exhaled a plume of smoke, sauntering her way out of the barn.
“Didn’t Griffin tell you not to smoke near me?” Waving a hand in front of her face, Shiloh coughed and gagged. “It ain’t good for the baby.”
Cassie flipped her sister the bird and kept on walking.
“She did that on purpose.”
“Are the two of you ever gonna get over your bullshit?” Billy wanted to know. Hell, they all did. Most sisters were close, or at the very least amiable, but not these two. They bickered all the time, and honestly, it had grown tiresome.
Looking at him, Shiloh only shrugged. “Even when we were little, Cassie was never very good at sharing.”
Right. He knew better.
His brow raised, Billy gave her a look that told her so.
Shiloh crossed her arms over her chest. “What happened with Reed wasn’t my fault.”
“Seriously, I don’t know how Griffin puts up with it.” He put on his hat, and taking Emily by the hand, he shook his head and led her toward the door.
“He loves me,” Shiloh said.
“And your sister,” Billy reminded her. “Seems like you keep forgettin’ that part.”
“Who’s Reed?”
“Reed Archer.” Emily spun around and walked backward for a step. He’s Griffin’s brother.”
“Griffin has a brother? Why didn’t I know that?”
You were sittin’ not a dozen feet away from him, girly .
He showed up for his brother’s wedding, surprisingly, but considering everything that transpired that night, it was likely Arien couldn’t recall meeting him. Then again, maybe she never got the chance to.
“What happened?”
“Not now,” Tanner muttered low. “Okay, pretty girl?”
“Gotcha.”
He heard them first. The continuous, low rumble of “moo” created a constant hum in the background of hooves hitting the ground, snorts, bellows, and the sound of the boys guiding the herd home. Cattle are better when handled calmly. The ranch’s cattle are all used to being handled horseback, and they’re used to the boys being quiet around them, but sometimes a cow has a mind of its own.
Like his father and grandfather before him, Griffin Archer knew a thing or two about herding cattle. He’d been sitting saddle from the time he could walk. More than his physical capacity, it was his indomitable will that was his strength. Kellan didn’t make him his lead rider for nothing. The guy didn’t know the meaning of the word, quit. It simply wasn’t in his vocabulary.
A critter broke away from the herd and took off, going back in the direction they had come from. In the blink of an eye, Griffin went chasing after him. The steer ran fast. He rode faster. His arm raised overhead, he twirled the rope, moving only his wrist. Billy counted in his head, one, two, three, four, waiting for him to throw the rope. The lariat soared through the air, capturing his target.
Arien looked awestruck, watching him. “Damn, he should be in the rodeo or something.”
“Nah, that ain’t real cowboyin’. It’s just showin’ off.” Flipping her hair back, Cassie held her chin high. “What you’re seein’ out there? Now, that’s the real thing.”
Archer turned his horse around and trotted their way. Cassie hopped over the fence and ran toward him. He swooped her up into the saddle, peppering kisses all over her face. She didn’t appear to care that he was covered in dirt and grime, or stank of cattle and sweat. With her arms clasped around his neck, and her smile a mile wide, Billy had never seen her look happier.
“Miss me, baby cakes?” His lips quirked up into a devious grin. Kellan dismounted and handing the reins to Tanner, he kissed his wife like he hadn’t seen her for three years, never mind three days.
But then sometimes, a day can feel like a year. Billy knew that all too well.
With his hands gripping her ass, Kellan smashed Arien against the bulge in his jeans. Whimpering, she climbed him like a tree.
“Yeah, I’m thinkin’ you did,” he rasped with a loud smack to her bottom.
“Asshole.”
“You know it.” And he kissed her again.
“Go on, you two. I got work to do here.” Looking on, Tanner shook his head and chuckled.
No resentment.
No jealousy.
Billy saw nothing but absolute love for his brother and the wife they shared shining in his eyes. He squeezed Emily tighter. “You know what that means.”
“Yeah,” she said on a sigh. “I do.”
“I’m so happy I got to see you.” Gazing into the green eyes that loved him, he tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear.
He didn’t want to let her go, but for him and Tanner, the day was just beginning. Griffin was getting off his horse. Billy should take the stallion off his hands. Instead, holding onto Emily, he watched him get down on his haunches and kiss Shiloh’s tummy.
Cassie’s face crumpled, but Griffin didn’t see it.
“Think they’re ever gonna be okay?”
Billy held her to him tightly one more time.
Lighting another cigarette, Cassie walked away.
Don’t look like it.
“I sure hope so.”