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“It’s not a discussion I want to have out here. Honestly, I don’t ever want to have the conversation.”
“Curiouser and curiouser.” He winked at her. “You know that just piques my interest even more.”
“Well, it will have to stay piqued until after work when we can talk alone.”
Logan grew serious. “If you’re in danger, you’d let me know. Right?”
She relaxed. “Thanks, Logan. But I’m not in danger. I promise to tell you later. All right?”
“As long as you let me know if whatever it is should be dealt with sooner. Agreed?”
“I agree. Now, get back to building the barn.”
“While you continue pacing.” Logan didn’t wait for a reply before he jogged toward the barn.
Sam assisted a family of four to their cabin, showing them the amenities and handing out a schedule of each day’s events. The entire time, she continued to watch the lodge. The instant Miguel left, she’d find Wyatt or Virgil. One or both would know why he’d visited the ranch.
Leaving their cabin, she spotted Miguel on the front porch of the lodge. Wyatt and Virgil were with him, listening as he spoke in his usual animated manner. Her stomach soured at the sight.
She thought back on all the times he’d tried to explain away his bad behavior. Good-looking with an abundance of charm, he’d become used to getting out of trouble with slick excuses.
Sam rushed to the large barn, ducking inside before Miguel could spot her.
She didn’t try to peek out at him. Busying herself with repairing tack would be a better use of her time than constantly peering out to see if he’d left.
The first piece in the repair box was a frayed throatlatch. Underneath, she found a torn curb strap. She started with it. Her plan had been to spend fifteen or twenty minutes fixing the leather. Forty-five minutes passed as she focused on her work. Finishing, she appraised her work, satisfied the strap would last a long time. Checking the time on her phone, she jumped up.
The guests would be entering the lodge for their welcome reception and orientation. She’d be working with children from twelve to seventeen. Her favorite group.
Dashing across the open area to the lodge, she rushed inside. Halting at Wyatt’s strong voice, she moved behind the adults to the table where ten children stood around. Sam looked at each one, and would’ve laughed if it weren’t for Wyatt’s welcoming speech.
They ranged in size from under five feet to over six. She guessed the oldest were two boys who had to be six-two and close to a hundred and eighty pounds. Sam opened her phone to type a message into her note app.Discuss age groups for those seventeen and under with Virgil.
Waiting until Wyatt concluded, she introduced herself. “I’ve been a ranch hand here for a while.”
A girl of around twelve raised her hand. “What do you do?”
“The short answer is that I do everything the men do with a few exceptions.” She ignored the older boys who snickered. “Tomorrow, I’ll show you examples of what ranch hands do. Anyone who is interested may try out a few of them.”
“I want to ride a bucking bronc,” one of the older boys said, laughing.
“I’ll see what I can do. If you don’t have an activities list for the week, pick one up on the table before you leave. There will be a trail ride on Wednesday. You don’t want to miss it. I’m pretty certain you’ll find the week is full of things you’ll enjoy.”
“What’s going on tonight?” A girl of about fifteen looked eager and ready to learn.
“After dinner, a couple of the boys will demonstrate calf roping. When they’re finished, you’ll have a chance to try it with a calf roping dummy.”
An older boy scoffed. “One of those lame heads stuck in a bale of hay?”
“Ours are better than most. It’s not as easy as you think. Later in the week, you’ll be able to rope a moving calf.”
“One that runs around?”
“Yep. That’ll be on Friday. Well, it looks like the meeting is breaking up. I hope to see you after dinner in the small arena.”
Sam watched her group walk toward the adults. Which at Whistle Rock meant eighteen years old and up. She headed straight for Virgil.
“We really have to change the age categories. It’s real hard to excite boys of seventeen when the others in the group are twelve and thirteen.” She glanced across the room and froze. Leaning against a counter was Miguel Hobson.
