Chapter 23
CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE
Adam made the turn onto Rising Sun Ranch, his heart filled with gratitude this Thanksgiving season for the golden sunshine that bathed the land.
Mother Nature had been kind, except for that one snowstorm that had left him snowed in at Joey’s momma’s place on Halloween.
There had been a few dribbles of rain this month, but no more snow. So far.
He’d been told to turn down the lane just before the house, and when it came into view, he found Codi’s big white dog-washing bus parked alongside the garage, along with a couple of other vehicles.
She and Bryce and their new baby had come home from the hospital on Thanksgiving morning, only a day ago. Adam did not expect to see Bryce out near the stables at all. He had coordinated this horseback riding morning with Jem Young, who boarded three of his horses here at Rising Sun Ranch.
As he rumbled past the bus and the garage, the ranch came into view with its stables and barns.
He also realized that there were multiple pick-up trucks here.
He’d expected two, as Joey was catching a ride with her uncle Mav and Boston, who had caught wind of the horseback riding this morning and had wanted to come.
Jem had texted Adam yesterday and asked if that would be okay, and Adam certainly didn’t mind.
He hadn’t been on a horse in at least fifteen years, and he figured the more people around to help, the better. But there wasn’t just Jem’s truck and there wasn’t just Mav’s.
Two other pickups that looked like they belonged to men who had plenty of money sat parked in the neat line too. Of course, everyone in the Young family fit that bill, and Adam had no way to predict who else had been invited.
Joey had told him that the big family Thanksgiving party would be on Sunday at Tex’s house on the eastern edge of town.
Adam had been there several times, as that was where the recording studio sat, and as the band had started practicing in the past three weeks, he’d attended a couple of their sessions.
He pulled in next to a truck he’d seen at Tex’s before. He’d seen Otis’s truck only yesterday parked in front of his house, and it wasn’t his. “So it has to be Trace or Luke.”
Adam killed the engine, realizing that both Luke and Trace were here, and with Mav and Jem, that would be four of Joey’s uncles, and then her cousin—and then him and Joey.
“So it’s a family riding event,” he muttered to himself, not sure if he was happy about it or not. He got out, also not sure where to go, and thankfully, only a moment later, Jem exited from one of the stables a handful of yards away.
“Howdy-ho,” he yelled, waving his hand above his head.
He wore a wide smile, and he had a perfect cowboy gait as he walked toward Adam. More people spilled out of the stable behind him, including Trace and Luke, as Adam had deduced. But Blaze also came forward, and Adam’s pulse hopped around the back of his throat for a moment.
“Howdy,” he said to Jem, who had arrived in front of him.
They shook hands, and Jem said, “I didn’t text you about everyone coming, because I figured you’d run for the hills.
” He chuckled and indicated the other broad-shouldered, dark-haired men in the Young family.
“This is my brother, Blaze. He and I rode in the rodeo together.”
“Howdy,” Adam said, reaching to shake the man’s hand. “You’re Faith’s husband.”
“That’s right,” Blaze said.
“Joey was so amazing with those pies,” Adam said. “And she was so grateful that your wife helped so much to get the boxes here in time and all those stickers printed.”
Surprise entered Blaze’s expression, and he nodded. “Yeah. Faith was real excited about that. How many pies did Joey end up selling?”
“Sixty-one,” Adam said, beaming with pride. “It was a lot, especially that second day. And I know she’s already got a handful of orders for next month.”
“I’m real glad,” Blaze said.
They looked to Trace, but of course, Adam didn’t need to be introduced to anyone in Country Quad. “I didn’t know you guys were coming.” He quickly shook Trace’s hand and then Luke’s, and neither one of them smiled.
“Oh, come on,” Jem said. “This is a family horseback riding event on the day after Thanksgiving. You can’t smile at the man?”
“Yeah, you’re not doing a concert,” Blaze said. “My word.” He muttered more under his breath as he turned away.
“Mav and Boston aren’t here yet then,” Adam said, turning to Jem so he didn’t wilt under the combined gazes of Luke and Trace.
“Harry and Belle are on their way too,” Trace said. “I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s fine,” Adam said, flicking a look over to him. “Joey and I have just talked about horseback riding together. It’s something that neither one of us do very often, and I’m trying to become more of a cowboy.” He chuckled and looked at Luke. “How am I doing?”
He wore a blue plaid shirt with a brown leather jacket over it, his blue jeans, cowboy boots, and cowboy hat. If he had dark hair, he could be a twin to the members of Country Quad, but his lighter looks definitely stood out.
Luke let his gaze drip down at him all the way to his boots. “You sure look the part.”
“Yeah, you look good, brother,” Trace said. “Perfect for a country band manager.”
He finally cracked a smile, and Jem said, “And…there it is,” with a laugh following.
“Your son didn’t want to come?” Adam asked, switching his attention back to Jem.
Jem’s eyes blazed for a moment, but Adam couldn’t tell if it was angry or if he just possessed a lot of charisma. “The kids got together this morning to start planning a little bit for Gabe and Morris’s birthday party,” Jem said.
“Oh, that sounds fun.”
Adam wouldn’t even know how to start making sure that they celebrated every birthday in the Young family, and thankfully that wasn’t part of his job description.
Behind him, the crunching of tires on gravel sounded, and everyone looked that way as Mav drove down the road and parked next to Adam. He, Boston, and Joey got out, but Adam only had eyes for the white-blonde woman walking toward him.
“Hey,” he said, going to meet her.
He’d lived many days without Joey in them, and he honestly had no idea how. He slid one hand along her waist and leaned down and kissed her quickly. “You made it.”
“How long have you been here?” she asked.
“Oh, only a few minutes,” he said. “Did you know that all of your uncles were coming?”
Joey peered past him and then looked up at him again. “That is not all of my uncles.” She grinned. “But it’s a lot of them. Come on, I heard we’re riding over to Kassie’s and she’s going to have scones with raspberry butter for us.”
“Oh, that sounds fancy,” Adam said. “And very Southern.”
“Well, it should. Kassie is from Louisville.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Adam said. “I had just been hired by Harry before she and Reggie got married.”
“So you must’ve been at their wedding.” Joey raised her eyebrows at him.
“Yeah,” Adam said.
“I didn’t go,” Joey said. “I think only Harry’s parents went—and Bryce’s, since she’s his best friend.” She hooked her arm through his, and they turned back to her uncles.
“All right,” Jem said. “This is our first test, and if you don’t pass it, you can’t ride.” He sounded serious, but he wore a smile in his eyes. “I need everyone who’s a beginner to raise their hand.”
Adam glanced around at the group of men and then raised his hand. “I haven’t ridden a horse in about fifteen years,” he said. He looked over to Joey, who also had her hand up.
“I mean, I rode a little sooner than fifteen years ago,” she said. “But it’s been a while.”
No one else had their hand up, and Jem clapped Adam on the back and said, “All right, everyone passes. You guys come with me. I’m going to put you on a couple of Bryce’s super tame rescues.”
“Blaze, you’re going to grab Cisco, Pebbles, and Little Sister for me and you and Mav,” Jem said. “And we can use any of the horses in the green stable, so Boston, Trace, and Luke—go pick whoever you want.”
“Sounds good,” Mav said. “We’ll meet you out there.”
Jem led Adam and Joey to a stable that didn’t seem to have a color on it. “Are these the permanent residents of Rising Sun Ranch?” Adam asked.
“Yep,” Jem said. “They’re horses that are too old to go back out onto ranches or into service, and Bryce just keeps them here. He says they’re all real tame and used to people and riding, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Who’s in the green stable then?” Joey asked.
“Those are the horses Bryce isn’t going to keep,” Jem said. “He uses some of them to train the others in the yellow and red stables, and then he sells them.”
“Oh, I see,” Adam said. “Red must be his worst candidates.”
“Yep, the most abused,” Jem said. “The skinniest, the ones who need the most vet care, the most skittish. He keeps them there until they’re healthy and strong and able to work with him and Codi, and honestly, usually me or Blaze, and then we move them into the yellow stable.”
“I didn’t know you worked out here, Uncle Jem,” Joey said.
“A couple times a week,” Jem said. “I’ve been helping a lot since Codi’s been pregnant, and now that they have the baby.”
Joey looked over her shoulder toward the house. “I still haven’t held that baby.”
“They just got home yesterday,” Jem said. “From what I understand, Tex and Abby brought a bunch of food over, and they just kept to themselves.”
“Probably the best with a newborn,” Adam said.
“Right.” Jem led them through saddling the horses, and Adam knew about four steps in that he would never be able to do this by himself, not even in an emergency.
Maybe if he came to do it every single day, but that was what it would take for him to remember what all the pieces were and where they went.
Thankfully, Jem got both horses saddled quickly, and he brought out a stool.
“All right, Roo,” he said. “Up you go.”