Chapter Eight
A s Spence followed Hayley’s driving instructions, he thought about her and Bella Knight dealing with a blown-away tent and a storm in the middle of the night. To the casual, self-centered high school observer, the two girls could have been neatly pigeonholed into the book-smart, no-practical-skills niche. He’d discovered that wasn’t true in Hayley’s case; she’d used a rock to break the hasp of the equipment shed and free him. There’d been an account in the local paper’s News of Record about minor school vandalism, and he’d wondered at the time if anyone on the planet would have suspected Hayley Parker.
After the rescue, he’d started to look at her differently. The thing was, she hadn’t looked back, so he’d done what he thought was the gallant thing at the time and let her be, even though he’d been intrigued by the side of Hayley that she hid so well.
Come to find out, she hadn’t wanted to be left alone. Teen years sucked.
The tree that had fallen on the fence was a monster, crowned out at the top and probably four feet around. Some of the branches were red and showing signs of beetle infestation, so it might have been the old timer’s time to go. It would have been nice, though, if it had fallen the other direction, and if it hadn’t taken another younger tree down with it. Two trees. Messed-up fence. It was a good thing that Hayley wasn’t putting cattle in this section for a few weeks.
“We aren’t getting this fixed today.”
“I didn’t expect to.” Hayley lifted the chainsaw out of the truck bed.
“Are you good with that?” he asked as she put on hearing protection.
“I’ve had some experience.”
Another Hayley-ism that would probably startle their classmates.
“What?” she asked, and he realized he was staring.
“Just having a ‘book and its cover’ moment.”
She laughed and, for the first time since he’d arrived at the ranch, he felt the mood give a little. Good.
“Let’s map out a plan of attack. Obviously, you’ll want the wood.”
“Obviously.” Hayley set the chainsaw back on the tailgate of the truck. “I’ve only cut logs into rounds. I’ve never tackled a whole tree, you know, with limbs and everything.”
“There’s an art to it. I don’t know it, but...”
She laughed again, and Spence became aware of a slow curl of warmth moving through his body. Hayley had the most excellent laugh. Low and husky. The kind of laugh that left you feeling gratified if you managed to spark it. Which he’d just done. Twice.
“If it wouldn’t be too much like taking over, I’ll give it a shot,” he said.
“Have you done this before?”
“Lots of times. We have windfalls too.”
“Good. I’ll watch and learn, because next time I may well be tackling it alone.”
“You shouldn’t use a chainsaw alone.” The words came out, echoes of his dad’s safety talks which Reed and Em ignored, and he and Cade listened to.
She tilted her head at him, giving him the feeling that she’d do as she damned well pleased.
More power to her. But... she shouldn’t use a chainsaw alone. And the nutty thing was that he wanted to extract a promise from her. He wouldn’t, because that would be overstepping boundaries.
But he couldn’t quite let it go. “You know that, right?”
She nodded. “I had a protective father.”
“Who turned you loose with a chainsaw.”
“Who knew he wouldn’t be around forever and wanted his daughter to know how to do everything.”
Spence leaned back against the truck. “Everything?”
“There’s not much on the ranch that I can’t tackle. I may not be a master, but I can hold my own.”
He believed her. “You hid your light well.”
“Counseling helped me stop doing that.” She gave him a direct look. “Turned my life around. I could have been like my dad and holed up on the ranch because I felt uncomfortable elsewhere—like anywhere with people. Instead, I’m holed up on the ranch with some kick-ass social skills that I get to use every now and again. Like at your niece’s barbecue.” She cocked her head. “They know you invited me, right?”
Spence nodded, keeping his expression carefully neutral. They would know. Today. He jerked his head toward the tree. “I’ll start and you can spell me.”
Hayley nodded. “Sounds good, boss.”
*
Watching Spence lay into the old pine tree with the chainsaw was kind of awe-inspiring. He worked with the focus of a guy who knew exactly what he was doing. A guy who was used to machinery and power equipment and working with his hands. She’d been serious about learning to do everything on the ranch, but she didn’t think that anyone would find it as fascinating to watch her work as she found watching Spence. She could see the muscles working beneath his blue-plaid Wrangler shirt, the thin fabric sticking to him here and there. She’d love it if he’d take his shirt off but knew that sawdust sticking to damp skin was super uncomfortable, as was hay, which was why one didn’t see many shirtless cowboys, except on the cover of novels.
But it would be nice if the sightings were more common.
The saw sputtered and Spence turned it off, wiping the back of his hand over his damp forehead and leaving a smear.
“Your turn.” He looked as if he didn’t want to say the words, but knew that he’d better give her equal time.
“I’m only good for two tanks, then I sputter out too.”
“We should be able to get it done with one.” He picked up his water bottle, taking a long swig.
This would be a good time to suggest taking off his shirt.
Hayley kept her expression neutral as she turned her back to the man and filled the chainsaw tank with gas, but she was pleased that she was able to poke fun at herself. Work was eating away at any residual self-consciousness—although it appeared that she was the only one who still felt self-conscious. Spence seemed to have fully recovered from her kamikaze, baby-daddy request.
“Hey,” she said after replacing the gas cap. “I might have a line on someone to take Andie’s place.”
“Someone who’s not me?”
“You’re going to be needed on your ranch at the end of the month.”
“We’ll see.”
“What does that mean?”
“Henry promised that he’ll retire then, but I’m doubtful, because he’s already supposed to be retired.”
“Maybe someone should talk to him and find out what’s going on?”
He raised the bottle again, watching her as he drank. “We did.”
“Then why . . .”
“He’s afraid. That’s what Reed thinks anyway, and I agree. Henry doesn’t know how to fill his days.”
“Send him over here.” Hayley was only half kidding. She pulled down her safety glasses, adjusted her hearing protection and started the saw, following Spence’s lead as she started sawing rounds from the area of the trunk where he’d taken off the branches.
And this was only the beginning. They still had to assess what they needed to fix the fence, load the rounds into the back of the truck, and make who knew how many trips to deliver the wood to the ranch. It would be great if they could get a trailer, or the two-ton truck, to the windfalls, but they’d barely gotten the pickup there. The “road” that had brought them there was a washed-out nightmare.
After the saw sputtered out, Hayley set it on the tailgate. Her muscles were vibrating from the saw and she ran a hand over her left forearm.
“Not a bad day’s work,” Spence said. “All we have left is the loading.” He started working his way through the pieces of wood. “The T-posts are salvageable. Except this one.” He touched the post that was bent to the ground with his boot, then walked uphill to the wood brace set that kept the fence from sagging too much. He took hold and shook it.
“We should replace that brace,” Hayley said.
Spence nodded. He hated replacing braces, but it had to be done.
“Right.” He turned to her as she pulled the band out of her hair, letting it loose around her shoulders. It looked like liquid fire, but remembering the purple hat comment, he kept his mouth shut about it.
“Let’s load what we can and call it a day,” Hayley said. “I need to pay the boys when I get back, and I have a bunch of stuff to do in the gardens.”
“You need full-time help.”
“I’m working on it,” she said. “I never had labor issues before, so this is kind of new territory, but... yeah. Working on it. I’ll have someone hired before your dad’s surgery.” She hoped.
The search wasn’t going all that well. Social media, notices on bulletin boards, word of mouth—all that she’d gotten in the three days since she’d started looking for help were inquiries from people she knew she didn’t want to hire. Either they had a rep for poor performance, or they came off as skeezy when she spoke to them on the phone. But surely there was someone hirable out there who needed work.
Spence nodded. She thought he might have had something to add, but instead, he opened the cooler, reached in and retrieved a metal water bottle, which he tossed to her. The condensation on the sides made it slippery and she almost dropped it, but didn’t.
“Thanks.” She unscrewed the cap as he gave her yet another of the just-a-little-too-long looks that made her wonder what was going on in his head.
“Anytime.” He gave her a noncommittal half smile and, as he turned away, undid a couple of snaps on his shirt.
Hayley bit her lip, then drank.
*
Hayley and Remy the Pig went for a walk before bed that evening. Remy still seemed to be looking for Vince, scanning the driveway as they walked, as if expecting his car to suddenly appear.
“It shouldn’t be much more than a year. Two at most,” Hayley promised the pig. “No matter what, you have a home with me.” She might have to look into fostering another animal to keep Remy company. Adoption was also an option, but with the baby project, it seemed best not to make a long-term commitment.
The wind carried the scent of warm grass and earth, mixed with the promise of rain. Hayley hoped it was only rain and not a downpour, or hail, or any of those exciting weather events. She wanted to get the fence fixed before Spence took off again. She had a feeling that since he’d left once already, that he’d leave again as soon as he was able. It was what he did.
And you will stay here.
It was what she did. She loved her ranch, loved her life. At times, it was a tad lonely, but she knew from watching her two parents, who lived wildly different existences, that she would choose a touch of loneliness over whirlwind romance any day. Her dad had been content with his life. Her mom—Hayley didn’t know. She might get great satisfaction from starting and ending relationships.
Was that healthy?
Hayley decided not to judge. She only knew that she hated feeling things crumble around her, hated the truths she knew about a person shifting, changing.
So, if they do that, maybe they aren’t truths?
“Too much serious thought,” she said to the pig, who gave her a look from under her wrinkled brow. “Let’s talk about you.”
Her phone rang before the pig could reply, and Hayley smiled as she answered.
“Andie.”
“Hey,” the girl said. “I thought I’d check in and let you know that Greta is well, and everything is working out.”
“Excellent.” The Marvell Ranch’s gain was her loss, but she was happy for Andie.
“I have ten horses to get ready for the sale in Billings in October.”
“Dream job?” Hayley asked.
“The dreamiest,” Andie replied with a laugh. Her tone sobered as she asked, “How are things on the Lone Tree? I heard you haven’t replaced me yet.”
“Spence is helping me with that monster tree, and then he’s making pipe corrals.”
“But he’s temporary, right?”
“Afraid so. I haven’t had a lot of luck finding someone full time, but come fall, there should be people available.” After ranches let go their temporary summer hires.
“I’ll keep my ear to the ground. If I hear anything—”
“I appreciate it.”
A dust devil came bouncing down the driveway toward them, and Remy turned toward home. Hayley turned, too, hunching her shoulders against the wind.
“I asked my boss here if he thought Carter Hunt had anything to do with you not being able to replace me, and he told me that it’s just the way things are sometimes.”
“I agree.” Hunt’s beef was with the Kellers, not with her. She’d leased the water; it was a done deal. It wasn’t like he could harass her into breaking the contract.
But he might want to make it unpleasant to lease water in the future.
She’d cross that bridge when she came to it. In the meantime, “Keep in touch,” Hayley said as she followed Remy back to the ranch. “Stop by the Farmer’s Market if you’re in town. I’ll give you some pansies.”
“Which I would plant outside my cabin,” Andie said. “But I work six days a week until the sale.”
“Maybe we’ll get together after the sale.”
“I’d like that,” Andie said, before saying goodbye.
Hayley tucked the phone into her pocket and continued toward home, several pig lengths behind Remy.
Everything had worked out for Andie and there was no reason it couldn’t work out for her. Warm air wafted over her from behind as she continued down the road and, again, she could smell rain. A low rumble shook the ground beneath her feet and Remy broke into an awkward lope. Hayley also picked up the pace and, by the time she and the pig were back at the house, drops of rain were splatting on the gravel.
Remy shot into her little house, and Hayley dashed up her sidewalk. A year ago, she might have spent a rainy evening sipping tea and catching up on back episodes of her favorite television shows.
Tonight she’d drink wine and peruse the donor catalog. If she was going to have a baby next year, she had decisions to make and, being an overachiever, she wanted to be ahead of the game.
*
Overwhelming.
Hayley set her laptop aside and leaned her head back against the sofa cushion, squinting against the sun slanting in through the east-facing window. She’d made next to no progress the night before, having nodded off shortly after finishing her wine, but she made up for it by waking up early and resuming her search.
Her overwhelming search.
She was quite possibly going to have to make a spreadsheet of sperm donor characteristics, because these men were jumbling together in her head. The initial donor profiles were streamlined, listing basic physical characteristics. A quick click and Hayley could read family and medical histories, educational background and health habits. Another click and she could read an interview and listen to a personal narrative.
What if she chose wrong? What if these guys weren’t who they said they were?
That’s probably more of a possibility with a guy you meet the normal way.
Yes, but when you meet face-to-face, you can read vibes.
Hayley was a believer in vibes. The catalog profiles were so cold and unengaging.
She reached for the notebook where she’d been making a short list that was actually pretty long. At this rate of vetting, she might get pregnant late next year, but this wasn’t a process to hurry along. Her thoughts drifted to Spence and the easy solution he’d represented.
She was glad he’d turned her down. Totally. He would have been excellent in many ways, but there was too much potential for complications.
Or maybe she was focusing on potential complications as a way to make herself feel better about being turned down. Whatever. The result was the same. She was shopping for the father of her child in a catalog because Spence wanted to be part of his future child’s life. Complications.
So why the pang of regret?
Hayley answered her question by scowling at the legal pad with the short list written on it. Because choosing a father this way was an onerous task that lent itself to overthinking.
Argh.
Hayley got up from the sofa and headed to the kitchen when she heard the tractor fire up. She and Connor and Ash had worked out a routine when they’d first hired on. They met in the afternoon to report progress and get instructions for the next day, then Hayley invited them to get a cold drink from her fridge before they headed back to Marietta to do whatever teen guys did after a long day’s work. In the mornings, they simply went to work, following the instructions from the previous day.
Hayley watched through the window above the table as the tractor started moving toward the field and, a moment later, Connor whizzed by on the ATV on his way to check the waterers and mineral feeders. Any minute now, Spence’s truck would pull into the ranch and park next to Ash’s, and she would casually amble out the door, boots on, gloves in hand, ready to spend the day working shoulder to shoulder with the guy who made her nerves hum. She could see the two of them starting something, but she could also see it falling apart. Like her mom, she started her relationships on a high, expecting the best, only to watch things start to crack and crumble as time went on.
She turned away from the window and headed for the mudroom. It was good that Spence had turned her down. She wanted a baby, not a relationship and, even though Spence’s freewheeling lifestyle indicated he wasn’t a relationship guy, his insistence that he be part of his kid’s life suggested that he was.
She liked the man, and with all things considered, the best place for him to be was in the friend sphere.
Which left her with the damned catalog.
*
“And that’s it.” Spence reached out to shake the post they’d just set—the last of the eight they’d had to replace, three due to the windfall, five due to rot. The Lone Tree Ranch had long stretches of old fence, and although Spence gave the Parkers extra credit points for maintenance, all fenceposts eventually gave in to weather. Hayley had more work ahead of her in this pasture, but things were good for this year.
Hayley eased herself up onto the open tailgate, opened her water bottle and drank. Spence came to sit beside her, keeping a few inches of sun-warmed metal between them. Hayley opened the cooler next to her and pulled out his bottle, handing it to him before leaning back on her palms.
“I love ticking a project off the to-do list,” she said, surveying the taut fence. “There are posts to be replaced along the boundary fence, but it’s not pressing.”
“What would you like to tackle next?” Spence asked.
“Pipe corrals?”
He nodded at the ground. “I can do that alone.”
“Wanna bet?”
He glanced at her, caught the playful challenge in her eyes, and somehow managed to keep from leaning closer and nudging her with his shoulder. The last kiss they’d shared had convinced him that they shouldn’t touch too often—or at all.
“I heard from Andie,” Hayley said conversationally.
Spence accepted the shift of subjects. They’d discuss pipe corrals later. “How’s she doing?”
“Well. Really well.”
“Then I guess she’s lucky that Carter Hunt can’t take criticism.”
“It did all work out in the end,” Hayley agreed. “Too bad that doesn’t happen all that often.”
“Maybe it’s a time thing.”
“How so?” She shot him a curious look.
“You know... it may not be the end yet, so you don’t know if things have worked out or not. I’m sure that Andie thought that getting fired was the end.”
“And it was.”
“But with time, things worked out. Like they tend to do.”
“Well, aren’t you the optimist?”
Spence laughed. “You make it sound like a fault.”
“No. Not at all. It just smacks of... dare I say it?” She lifted her eyebrows in a serious way. “Romanticism?”
“What makes you think I’m not a romantic?”
“Are you?”
Her skeptical tone made him want to smile, but he kept a straight face as he said, “I have my moments.” Not many, but some. He eased himself off the warm tailgate and tipped his bottle back one last time before capping it.
“Give me an example,” Hayley said.
“You want specifics?” he asked as he turned toward her.
“I don’t want to know about your love life,” Hayley said with a wrinkle of her nose. “I want to hear about a romantic gesture or belief.”
“I believe in happy endings,” he said simply.
She blinked at him as if those were the last words she expected him to say. “I don’t.”
“For real?”
“I don’t believe that romantic happy endings are a given,” she amended. “Or common. So that makes me a...”
“Curmudgeon,” Spence said solemnly.
Hayley burst out laughing, distracting him from the whisper of regret he’d felt at her assertion that she didn’t believe in happy endings. Everyone should believe that things can work out in the end. If you don’t, then...
He didn’t know, but he went against the promise he’d made himself and moved closer to where Hayley sat on the tailgate, coming to stand directly in front of her. She met his gaze as he set a light hand on each of her knees.
“Things do work out, Hayley. Look at my parents.”
“The exception that proves the rule?”
He cocked his head at her. “If you put your mind to it, you can think of other examples.”
“Few and far between.”
“But worth trying for, don’t you think?”
She gave him a mild look that belied the steel beneath her words as she said, “I do not.”
“That’s sad, Hayley.” He hadn’t meant to say that. The words simply slipped out.
“Not for me. I like friendship, Spence. Much more manageable and comfortable and—”
“Are we friends?” Her muscles stiffened beneath his hands, then a smile curved her lips. A smile that had him wondering if she honestly felt like smiling, or if she was gaining control of the situation. Using techniques she’d learned in counseling.
“It feels like it.”
Her voice was low and husky, her expression surprisingly open, considering the fact that she apparently found the topic of happy endings somewhat threatening.
“It does,” he agreed, giving her knees a gentle pat before stepping back. He felt like kissing his friend, so putting some distance between them seemed a wise move.
Hayley eased off the tailgate, dropping a few inches to the ground. “Well, old buddy, I have stuff to do to get ready for the Farmer’s Market tomorrow.”
“Then we should head back to the ranch, old pal.”
Their gazes held for a moment, then they broke into grins at the same time, bringing relief to the moment, but not erasing the underlying tension. Spence wondered what it would take to do that. Probably a couple of miles of distance, but then he’d still be thinking about her.
Hayley shook her head and started loading tools. Spence did the same, focusing on the job at hand in an effort to keep his eyes off the woman who was starting to drive him crazy.
What was it about human nature that made you want what you couldn’t have?
*
“No basil?” Carol Bingley, Marietta’s resident gossip, gave Hayley a stern look. Hayley had no reason to feel nervous around the woman, except that she seemed to know everything, and people suspected that what she didn’t know, she made up.
“The plants were just a little too small to bring this week,” Hayley said. “Next week, for sure.”
“Fine.” Carol gave a small sniff. “I’ll take these pansies.” She set down two seedling six-packs, then opened her wallet and handed Hayley her fifth twenty-dollar bill of the morning. She was going to have to find change soon if someone didn’t stop by and pay with ones and fives.
She smiled at Carol after she counted out four precious one-dollar bills, then carefully set the plants in a paper bag. “Thank you.”
“I’ll be back for basil next week,” Carol said.
“I’ll set aside a couple plants for you.” And she’d make sure she had a lot more change. Last week and the week before had been no problem, but this week...
Hayley blew out a breath as Carol turned away, then the woman abruptly turned back, effectively blocking the young couple approaching her table with a flat of tomato plants.
“You certainly have ruffled Carter Hunt’s feathers,” she said with a satisfied smile.
Hayley managed to stop herself from asking for details—no easy task in the face of Carol’s I-know-secrets expression. This was not the time or place to delve into such matters. The young couple who’d been waiting to pay for their tomatoes moved past Carol and set the flat on the table, giving Hayley an excuse not to answer. A few seconds later, Carol drifted on to the next booth to see what kind of trouble she could stir up there, and Hayley made an effort to relax. So what if she’d stirred up Carter Hunt? He was the guy causing trouble. She was merely helping a neighbor. A friend.
Yes. She was helping a friend and his family.
And, honestly, she had ruffled the man’s feathers, which felt kind of good, given his behavior.
Hayley enjoyed brisk sales for the remainder of the day, and by the time one o’clock rolled around and the vendors began breaking down their booths, she had only two bouquets of cut flowers, which she gave to the jewelry maker next to her, and a few assorted six-packs of veggie starts left.
With the exception of Carol’s unsettling remark, she’d had a good day. Andie stopped by to fill her in on the new job, which was going well, and she’d gotten to chat with several old classmates and one of her former teachers. Coach Michaels, who appeared to be a fixture at the market, stopped by and purchased flowers for his wife, and Hayley wondered for the zillionth time if he was aware that she was responsible for the biggest trophy in the case at Marietta High School.
No. Of course not, but Hayley had never been one to need accolades.
She just wanted to feel good about life, good about herself. She wanted to have a baby, raise that child to the best of her ability, and pass the ranch along to the next generation. She would make a family of two, as she and her dad had been. Maybe, if she was lucky, she’d have another child and it’d be a family of three. Regardless of family size, at the end of the day, she wanted the satisfaction of knowing that she’d built a good life and that she’d done it by not taking chances that didn’t need to be taken.
Other people were free to take those chances. People who didn’t know the push-pull of welcoming in, then ultimately ushering out, a new stepfather every couple of years. Hayley might not have lived with her mom full time, but Reba’s lifestyle had left a mark on her only daughter.
Hayley’s phone rang as she turned onto the Lone Tree driveway and bumped over the cattle guard, and she felt a little flush of guilt when she saw her mom’s name on the screen.
Talk about timing. She pulled over and answered.
“I...” Her mom cleared her throat. “I wanted to let you know that I am booking a cruise and will not be continuing the island tour with John-Paul.”
John-Paul, not Jean Ralphio.
“What happened, Mom?”
“Nothing? Everything?” She sniffed. “I’m fine. In fact, I’m looking forward to getting onboard the Seabreeze Star .”
“Kind of a rapid change of plans.”
“But necessary.” Hayley was about to ask why, when Reba added, “I just wanted you to know where I am. I’ll text you the cruise information.”
“I appreciate it, Mom.” She hesitated, then asked, “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” Her mom’s voice sounded stronger. “I’m looking forward to some time alone.”
Hayley wondered if she needed to be concerned about that, since she’d never known her mom to want time alone.
“Call me if...” Hayley cleared her throat. “Call me.”
“I will. Thank you, sweetie. I’m... doing well.” She sounded almost surprised.
“Glad to hear it, Mom. And I mean it—call me if you need to talk.”
After Reba ended the call, Hayley sat for a moment. Her mom was approaching fifty. Could it be that she was now looking for something other than a guy to share her life with?
The ‘looking forward to time alone’ comment gave Hayley hope in that regard. She didn’t want her mom to be alone; she just wanted her to have that capability.
*
Spence was putting away his equipment when Hayley’s truck pulled into the Lone Tree Ranch. He hadn’t gotten as far as he wanted on the pipe corrals, having had to stop to help Ash with a tractor problem, but he’d made headway. He set his gloves and goggles on the tailgate of his truck, then crossed the drive to help her unload.
“Good sale day?” he asked after opening the topper door. There were empty flats and the canopy cover she used to keep the sun off, but only a few plants.
“An excellent day,” she said. “If I keep this up, I’ll have my greenhouse paid for in five or six years.” She gave him a smiling glance, but it faded a touch too soon, leaving her with a pensive expression as she reached in to pull out the flat of plants.
“Is everything okay?”
Not a question Spence asked often, because he was a believer in people asking for opinions rather than offering unsolicited input, but there was something about her expression that caused his protective instincts to kick in.
“With me, it is.” Her voice was muffled as she pulled a second flat of plants from the truck. “My mom called and gave me another reason not to believe in happy endings.”
“Trouble in paradise?”
“Maybe a little.”
Spence pulled the folded canopy from the truck. Together they walked to the shed where she stored the canopy and extra flats, then continued on to the greenhouse where she put the plants back to continue growing for next week. By the time they closed the greenhouse door, it was obvious that Hayley had nothing more to say.
He didn’t want to press her, but if there were things—
“I’m fine,” she said, as if reading his thoughts. “I think my mom might be fine too. She left what’s his name—or vice versa, I don’t know—and is now taking a cruise alone.”
“Think she’ll end it alone?”
Hayley pressed her lips together, but couldn’t stop a weary smile from forming. “No,” she said as she gave him a sideways look. “My mom will probably leave the ship engaged.”
“Come on,” Spence said with a gentle smile before jerking his head in the direction of the corrals. “I’ll show you what I got done. I’m a day behind, but...”
“If you get anything done, it’s more than I had.”
“I’ll finish them. It’ll make sorting, loading and shipping your cows so much easier.” He cocked his head at her. “How do you manage that? The sorting and loading?”
“Vince and Dad and I had a system using the old corrals, and Dad had friends who helped out at branding.” She pushed her hair back. “They still help, but they’re close to aging out. Connor and Ash have volunteered for this year, and Vince will come for the weekend, if I ask.”
“If I’m here during fall branding, you can call on me too.”
“I will,” she said. “Do you think you’ll be here?”
“No telling. If Dad gets back on his feet earlier than expected, as he always seems to do, or if Cade comes home for good as he’s hinted, and if Henry continues to make himself useful with or without pay, there’s nothing keeping me here.”
“You don’t want to stay?” She spoke causally, but he sensed it wasn’t a casual question.
He would stay if he had reason, but he decided that it wasn’t time for those words to cross his lips.
“Call of the open road and all that.” He paraphrased what Reed had said about his traveling ways. “Speaking of which... Lex’s party is tomorrow. Do you still plan to attend?”
“I’m not sure how ‘call of the open road’ brought us to a party.”
“My mind jumps around a lot,” he said.
She met his gaze. Smiled. The veiled concern he’d sensed when she’d asked if he wanted to stay was gone.
“What time shall I arrive?”