Hit the Ground (The Kelly Ranch #3)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Caleb

Midmorning, and the sun was already high, beating down on the back of my neck like it was trying to teach me a lesson. Taking the bandanna out of my back pocket, I swiped my forehead and scraped back the loose strands that had escaped my hair tie, reminding me it was past time for a haircut.

I’d get to it eventually.

I scanned the horizon for my crew. A few were scattered close enough, making repairs on a section of fence in the distance. I swiveled my head, surveying the cattle nearby. A gust of icy wind struck my face, blasting the last of the sun’s sweat clean off.

Spring came late to this corner of Wyoming, and it never came soft.

The last patches of melting snow left soggy ground and slick rock, and the wind hadn’t stopped blowing since February.

After a lifetime here, the change in seasons didn’t slow me down.

Rain, snow, or shine, my responsibilities on the ranch were here, so I was too.

Being put off by temperature was a waste of time.

It was what it was, and we rolled with it.

I was out on the western ridge checking fences.

This part of the ranch went on as far as the eye could see, made up of raw, open country scarred with granite and sage, the land more bone than skin.

More cattle moved like shadows in the distance, dark specks grazing between patches of cheatgrass and sagebrush.

A hawk circled overhead, across the wide blue sky.

The radio on my hip crackled to life, and Bill’s voice came through.

“Caleb, think you’d better come back to the stables. Shelby’s here. Says she needs to talk to you.”

I frowned. Bill Eddings had been a hand on the ranch longer than I’d been alive. Not only did he know every corner of this land, he knew me—including my history with Shelby.

“What’s she need?”

“Won’t say. Seems real antsy,” he replied.

“Ask her if it’s about Jesse.”

“Hang on.”

My heart worked its way up my throat as I beelined to my vehicle.

The UTV started on the second try, engine reluctantly sputtering like it didn’t want to make the trip either. I turned toward the heart of the ranch, tires grinding over loose stone and tufts of golden grass stubborn enough to grow in this unforgiving dirt.

Shelby showing up at the ranch couldn’t have spelled anything good.

As far as I remembered, it wasn’t something she’d ever done.

Hell, we might’ve shared a kid, but now that Jesse was thirteen, his mom and I only really saw each other in passing.

Not much to discuss about a self-sufficient kid smarter than the both of us combined.

Just last week, he’d shown me a math problem with the same excitement I’d once gotten when I’d land a touchdown.

The kid was teaching himself calculus from a book he’d checked out at the library.

I didn’t understand a word of it, yet I hung on every syllable.

He never failed to fascinate me with the way his mind worked.

Bill’s voice came through again. “Caleb, she says it’s about Jesse, but it’s not an emergency. She just needs to talk.”

In the background, I heard Shelby say, “Tell him it’s urgent.”

I chuffed, annoyed at the interruption to my day, but relieved it wasn’t an emergency. “I’m on my way.”

“Got it.”

I gripped the wheel tighter. The vehicle jolted over a rut, jarring my spine, but I didn’t slow down. I had a lot to get done today. This would set me back who knew how long, so I intended to get it over with as quickly as possible.

Ten minutes later, the stables came into view. Long and low against the base of a hill, sunlight flared off the metal roof. Bill appeared first, coming toward me as I killed the engine and stepped out into the swirling dust.

He tipped his hat. “Sorry, Cay. I tried to tell her to call you, but she wouldn’t hear it.”

I shoved more of my hair back from my face. “Not your fault, Bill. You’re not my social secretary, and she knows damn well she can call.” I clapped his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. I appreciate you trying to run interference, but I’ll take care of it.”

He tipped his chin toward a row of SUVs and trucks. “She’s waiting by her car. You shoulda seen her face when she walked into the stables. Girl acted like she’s never been around a horse.”

Laughing, I shook my head and moved toward Shelby’s dusty silver SUV. As I approached, she climbed out and leaned against the door. Sunglasses on, she crossed her arms and tapped her foot like she had to display her impatience.

At least I knew what I was about to deal with.

“What’s going on, Shel?” I asked as soon as I was within shouting distance.

Of course, she waited for me to be right in front of her to reply. “We need to talk about Jesse.”

I stood three feet from her, lowering my chin to look her over. We’d had a casual thing off and on when we were teens and into our early twenties. One of those “on” times had resulted in Jesse.

We’d been co-parents all these years, and it’d been all right.

Never too many conflicts or fights. Shelby was easygoing for the most part and a good mom to our boy.

She was also a fine-looking woman, with her thick blonde hair, curves that looked good in a tight pair of jeans and, when she took those sunglasses off, bright-blue eyes that were nice to look into.

There’d been hope—and not just from her—we’d end up together. The pretty homecoming queen and heir to the Kelly ranch. There’d been a time she would’ve jumped if I’d said I wanted to do the whole family thing with her, but we weren’t a real match, and we’d both moved on from each other.

“We need to talk…in the middle of my workday?” I groused.

“Yeah, Caleb. You’re either working or busy. Not much time to sneak in a conversation that needs to be had.”

“You could have called.”

“I could have, but I didn’t.” She dropped her arms, sighing. “Sorry if I alarmed you by showing up here unannounced. Jesse’s fine, all right? But I do need to talk about him—and you and me.”

I frowned. “You and me? There’s no you and me, Shel.”

Her mouth puckered like that had tasted sour to her. But if she was trying to imply there was something between us, I’d missed a chapter or two. That was news to me.

“Cay…”

I canted my head. “Shel, I’ve got a list a mile long I need to get done. If Jesse’s fine, I can’t think of anything else we need to talk about. Clearly, you’ve got something on your mind, though, so how ’bout we get on with it?”

She took her time huffing, showing me how displeased she was with me. “I’m thinking about moving.”

“Okay.” I couldn’t see what that had to do with me. Shel had lived in a couple different places over the years. As long as I had the address, it was none of my concern. “Why’s that urgent?”

“Because I’m thinking about moving to Denver.”

I did not hesitate. “Not with Jesse.”

She flicked her hand out like this was a casual topic. “I’m not leaving my kid behind. Of course Jesse would come too. It’s only a three-hour drive, so—”

“No.” My hands balled into fists, and that wouldn’t do, so I rested them on my hips. Getting mad over something that wasn’t going to happen wasn’t in my wheelhouse. “I’m shutting this down. You move to Denver, I’ll work with you on making sure you see him, but you’re not taking my boy.”

She shoved her glasses to the top of her head, giving me those sky-blue eyes, and batted her lashes at me, like that’d have any effect.

“Nothing’s set in stone. But I’d like you to really think about it before you fight me. I—”

I shook my head. “Not fighting you, Shel. It’s not gonna happen. There’s nothing to fight about.”

She blew out a heavy, exasperated breath. “There’s better opportunity in the city. I don’t think I have to tell you Jesse is outgrowing the schools here. He needs—”

“Nope.” My hands were balling again, so I tucked them into my pockets. “This conversation is finished.”

I started to turn, and she scrambled toward me, her hand landing on my bicep. “It’s not only Jesse who needs a bigger pond. There are a lot more jobs in Denver, and Kent has a lead there.”

I stopped dead in my tracks. “So this is about your boyfriend, and not our son, right?” My jaw worked back and forth to keep my voice steady. “You’ve been dating this guy…what? A few months? And you wanna uproot your life and Jesse’s for him? I thought you were smarter than that.”

Her cheeks reddened, and not with embarrassment. No, I’d set her off, and I was about to get it.

“Six months,” she hissed. “Kent and I are very serious, if you must know. And not everyone has been handed a cushy life on their family’s ranch. He’s had to work for everything he has.”

I almost laughed. Sure, this land had belonged to my family for generations, and I was lucky as hell for what I had, but Shelby implying I didn’t work my ass off had to be a joke. But I wasn’t feeling particularly humorous, and she kept right on going.

“The job market in Sugar Brush is tiny. Kent has friends in Denver who’ll put good words in for him at their companies if we move down there. And the schools are really good. Jesse will have access to—”

I put my hand up. “No. You and Kent want to move; have at it. Jesse isn’t going, and I’m done with this line of conversation.”

Her mouth flattened into a hard line. “Don’t make this difficult, Caleb.”

“It isn’t difficult at all. Open and shut. It’s done.”

Groaning, she tossed her arms out to the side. “I’ll have to talk to my lawyer then.”

“You need to take a step back and realize what a bad idea this is.”

“And you need to stop being so damn stubborn,” she clipped.

It’d been said before, and maybe there was some truth to it. But when it came to my son, I wouldn’t compromise. I already had to miss him on the weeks he lived with his mom. No way was I missing a single other second.

I tipped the bill of my hat. “Have a good day, Shelby.”

She could linger in her anger all she wanted. I walked back to my vehicle, my mind already on the tasks I had to get through.