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My dad sighed. “I don’t know on what planet he thinks people will be able to keep a secret from your grandmother, but he and your Uncle Nathan have it in their heads it’s going to be a surprise.”
“She won’t hear it from me, but if you send me the details, I’ll make sure I’m off. I was planning to go to Vesper for the weekend in a couple of weeks to hang out with Julius, so I’ll probably spend the night at the ranch.”
“Good deal. I know your grandmother loves having you close by.”
“She does, and it’s always fun to hang out with them. You know I always come home with some unbelievable story about what Pops and Nathan got into when they were kids that I can use to my advantage.”
“Alright, I’ll let you go so you can go join your friends.” Then, in the background, I could hear Pops telling him to tell me he loved me and that if I needed anything to just give them a call.
“Okay, tell Pops I love him too, and I’ll talk to you guys later.”
“I’ll tell him. You have fun with your friends tonight.”
We ended the call, and I walked to the couch, grabbed the remote, and flipped through streaming services until I found the newest episode of one of my favorite shows. Then I pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped it around me. It was one of my favorites that my mother had knitted before she’d died when I was a kid, and it always made me feel better.
I was doing just fine here on my own. I had a job I loved, my own apartment, and plenty of stuff to keep me busy. I didn’t need a boyfriend to be happy.
Nash
I spun my chair around backwards and then swung my leg over the seat before sitting down. “This was a long ass week, man. I’m so glad I’m not working this weekend.”
“I thought you liked your new job out at the Double C,” Cody said, taking a drink of his beer.
“Oh, I do.” I hadn’t been working at the horse rescue but a little over four months, and I already knew it was going to be a long-term job for me. “But just because I love the work doesn’t mean it isn’t exhausting. We got in two new horses from a farm over near Summerdale that had been starved half to death through simple neglect. I’ll never understand it.”
“That sounds like it sucks, but at least you’re doing something worthwhile out there instead of having to put up with Old Man Walker’s bullshit.” He knew exactly what kind of a man my former boss, Elmer Walker, was. I first met Cody when I took one of the jerk’s old beat-up work trucks to his shop to be worked on. Cody was an honest mechanic, and yet he still had the honor of being on the receiving end of Walker’s sharp tongue when the man didn’t like the price for the repair.
“That’s true. And the people at the Double C are great. The owners are the best. And Murphy is so good with the horses. I swear it’s like she can read their minds.”
“Sounds like a much better place than where you were before. Oh man, look at that.” Cody motioned to the television over the bar, which was normally playing a sporting event of some kind. I looked up to see that a special news report about a fire in an apartment complex over in Vesper had interrupted the ballgame that had been playing. “That’s a huge fire.”
“Hey, Will, can you turn that up?” I called over to the bartender. He nodded, and I glanced at Cody. “You’re right, that is a big one, and my brother’s a firefighter in Vesper, so I want to listen to this until I find out if he’s fighting this one.”
“Oh man, that must be scary for you.”
I shrugged. “I’m sure you know how it is since your husband’s in law enforcement.”
“Yeah, luckily, not much happens in River Gorge, but I still worry.”
“I imagine so, but honestly, I’m used to it. It isn’t just Keith, it’s my whole family. My dad’s a retired firefighter, my sister Becca is a paramedic, and my other brother Danny is a Marine.”
“Oh wow, you have a whole family of heroes.”
“Well, all of them but me. I’m just a simple cowboy.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, Nash.” He motioned toward the screen where a guy in turn-out gear was talking to the reporter. “Is that your brother?”
“Nah, that guy’s from a different station. My brother works out of Station sixty-nine.”
“Station sixty-nine? Really?” Cody asked with a chuckle.
“I know, right?” I grinned. “Believe me when I tell you we’ve all given him plenty of shit over that one. Doesn’t look like his station is working this one, though.”
“Oh, look, Raffie and Landon just came in.” He waved his arm in the air to grab their attention. Both men had originally worked at the Bluebird Ranch here in town, but after Raffie got married, he’d stopped working and now only volunteered his time at the horse rescue where I worked. I didn’t know Landon very well, but according to Raffie, Landon was an excellent horse trainer and had taught him everything he knew. They waved back in acknowledgment, and after stopping at the bar for a beer, they made their way over to our table and sat down.
“Hey, guys,” Raffie said before taking a long drink of his beer. “What are y’all up to tonight?”
“Not much, just grabbing a beer and waiting on Eli to get off.” Cody motioned to me and asked, “Landon, have you met Nash?”
