Chapter Nine #2
Would she be available for an interview the following morning?
She said yes without first checking with Trev.
As long as the remaining thirty cows didn’t calve at once, he should be able to do without her for a half a day.
There’d been a subtle shift between them since he’d turned down her unspoken invitation in the barn that night.
He was right about not muddying the waters.
They had a workable relationship; he needed a ranch hand, and she needed a job.
Why mess things up by sleeping together?
Because you want to.
Yes. There was that. And he was the most attractive guy she’d ever known.
But what if sleeping together edged toward something more serious?
Mac had issues with relationships. Okay, maybe not so much issues as lack of practice.
Her relationships tended to be short; when she felt herself falling for someone, she cut and ran.
So much easier than facing inner demons. Safer, too.
Maybe it’s time to give those demons a look.
Mac wasn’t ready.
Thankfully, it had been busy on the ranch over the past two days.
The vet had been called for a C-section, and they had another downed cow, this one with a foot issue.
The steers had tried to escape again over a low spot, but Maclyn caught them before they breached the fence.
Her solution had been to string solar-powered electric fencing across the part that was obviously a mule deer trail, and thus prone to being downed.
The plus side of the heavy workload was that it kept Mac and Trev too busy to concern themselves with more personal matters.
The downside was that Wade insisted on doing his fair share and his limp was getting worse.
She could tell that it was killing Trev to keep his mouth shut about his uncle’s infirmity, but he knew Wade, and she figured he had a plan of action.
She also figured that plan probably involved Wade getting to the point that he was close to hospitalization before he would listen to reason.
A light rain started to fall as she pulled into the ranch yard.
She opened the barn door to park the side-by-side out of the weather, then jumped when a wrench clattered to the ground.
Trev, who’d gone to town that morning, was now working on yet another piece of equipment, getting ready for the spring farm chores.
She pulled the side-by-side into its bay and then rolled the big barn door shut against the weather.
A gust of wind hit the building, rocking the door on its overhead hinges and making Maclyn thankful that she’d beat the storm.
“It’s getting nasty out there,” Trev said.
“Forecast is a bit gloomy,” she agreed. They did seem to talk about the weather more than they used to. Safe topic and all. She put her hands in her back pockets and took a couple of steps in his direction before stopping again. Distance was key. No more sharing hay bales. “I have a job interview.”
Trev wiped his hands on the rag hanging off the side mirror, his expression unreadable. “Congratulations.”
“Want to know where?”
“Not afraid of jinxing?”
“Dawson Meadow Arena.”
“Good reputation.”
“I know.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I may not have to leave my horses here forever.”
“Don’t jinx things …”
She smiled a little. “I won’t leave you in the lurch.”
“I’m not worried about that.”
He should be. As near as she could tell, Jordan was still stuck in his project and Trev’s PTO would end soon.
“I’d best get at it.” He tilted his head toward the tractor. “I need to have this up and running before Jim arrives to fertilize the fields tomorrow.”
“And I need to wash my interview jeans.” She took a backward step. “When the weather lets up, I’ll start work on that rail corral. I might need a hand in a few places.”
“You know where to find me.”
She did. The man was living rent-free in her head.
*
Estelle was on her way out of the house when Trev opened the front yard gate. She smiled as they met on the walkway, but it was strained. Sometimes Wade had that effect on her and sometimes she had that effect on Wade.
“We discussed some household issues,” she said, answering Trev’s unspoken question.
“The washer again?”
Her expression became animated. “I told him not to wash the horse blanket, but he did and now the machine is clogged, and the linens will go unwashed.” She made a face. “Even if it didn’t clog the filter, who wants to wash linens in a machine that’s had horse sweat in it?”
Trev knew for a fact that Estelle always did a bleach cycle after one of Wade’s laundry adventures.
“I’ll talk to him.”
She brushed salt-and-pepper curls away from the side of her face. “He’s worried about you.”
“I know.”
“I worry when he worries.”
Which was what kept her coming back. Trev’s uncle could be stubborn and a touch cantankerous, but Estelle was able to see past the rough exterior to the guy who’d adopted three orphan boys.
“He’s got a good heart,” she concluded. “Even if he clogs the washing machine every now and then.” She pushed her hair back again. “I called a plumber who will get here when he gets here. Until then, the laundry will stack up.”
Not a great time of year for that, but there was always the small washer at the foreman’s house if they got desperate.
“Thanks, Estelle. See you on Wednesday.”
Wade was in the mudroom staring at the washing machine when Trev let himself into the house.
“I heard.”
“You’d think the filter would take care of this kind of stuff.”
“You’d think,” Trev agreed.
Wade shot him a look. “Estelle seem okay?”
“Ready to strangle you, but otherwise fine.”
Wade made a noise that may or may not have been a laugh. “Good. She really lit into me.”
“You had it coming. Isn’t this the second time in two months?”
This time the noise was a laugh, but Wade’s expression sobered a second later.
“I want you to put the Help Wanted ads back up.”
“Are you firing Maclyn?” If so, he had something to say about that.
“I’m going to fire you.”
“Funny.”
“I’m serious, Trev.”
Well, fuck.
He leveled a weary look at his uncle. “Let’s table the matter until calving is done.” This was not a battle he wanted to fight right now.
“Jordan’s coming home.”
“Eventually.” They’d spoken that morning and while things were finally moving along, his brother wasn’t going to be able to come home as early as expected. Leaving a project in the lurch wouldn’t do his reputation as a potential independent contractor any good.
“Hayes will be back in a matter of months.”
“Stop trying to get rid of me.”
“You have a job. With a future.” His uncle scowled at him. “Do you hate it or something?”
“I don’t hate it.”
Wade rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, like he used to do when he was trying to figure out how to deal with whatever trouble his boys had stirred up. “If you decide to quit, it’s none of my business, but”—he leveled his infamous dead eye at Trev—“I won’t have you doing it on my account. I—”
“Can manage. I know.” Trev pulled off his hat. “I’ll do what I have to do.”
“So am I, and right now I’m going to sit down.”
Wade started through the kitchen doing his best to walk with an even stride because Trev was watching.
When he sat in his recliner, Barney the cat jumped onto his lap and Wade began to idly stroke the cat’s ginger fur.
Trev, in turn, headed down the hall to his room.
Wade was stubborn as hell, but that was why he was able to raise three boys with no help.
He’d given them a work ethic. He hadn’t cared if they’d run wild as long as they didn’t hurt anyone, and chores were completed on time.
He’d encouraged them to find careers that weren’t ranch-related once Trev started down the computer science path.
Earn some real money. You can always come back, he’d said.
Judging from his last glimpse of Wade’s obstinate expression, Trev decided now was not the time to remind him of that.