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Ford follows as I trek across the icy tundra. In the distance, our new barn stands tall and proud. It burned last year after an arson attempt. Thanks to the help of our tight-knit community, we got it rebuilt right in time for winter.
“You okay?” When I hesitate, Ford says,“You didn’t sleep last night.”
Not since I came home from the Marines. Most nights I’m lucky if I get four hours.
I scoff and shake my head. “Christ, Ford. You and that woo-woo shit.”
He flashes a bright white grin. “Maybe so, but I know your surly ass believes it.”
I grit my teeth and ignore him. I want to tell him to mind his own damn business, to knock it off with that in-sync shit, but I can’t. Because he’s right.
I believe it.
So many times, our twin senses have been synced up.
The summer I found him after a gnarly dirt bike accident. One broken ankle, still smiling even as I helped him limp back home.
Christmas, on leave from the Marines, he pulled me from the creek after my horse threw me.
Ford was the first in my family to know I got shot. Before anyone from the higher ups had called my parents, he sounded the alarm and rallied our family.
Somehow, we just know.
I stop, noticing the truck in the gravel drive. “We got company?”
Ford looks back at the lodge and then toward me. “Ruby and Charlie are back.”
“Fuck,” I mutter. I should have made a quicker getaway.
Ford smirks. “You gonna go hide in the gym or come say hi?”
I grit my teeth, hopes of taking out my restlessness on a punching bag dashed, and head for the lodge with Ford.
Currently, the lodge—or Main House—operates as the epicenter of the ranch. Guest bookings. Chow hall. It’s also my place of residence. I live in the annex that takes up the entire third floor. Never needed a place to myself. I don’t sleep long enough. So I keep a close watch on the guests when they’re there, mind my own business when they’re not.
The second I walk up the wide front porch and through the heavy double doors, I’m hit by a cacophony of noise. The brash laughter of my brothers intermixed with a bright feminine laugh.
Bellied up to Bar M are my brothers and Ruby. Charlie and Ruby sit on heavy cowhide stools while Wyatt tends to them, pouring steaming cups of coffee. There’s a box of gas station donuts on the counter, no doubt snagged by Wyatt on a trip into town. Boots and jackets strewn precariously in the living room.
My lips twist into a grimace. It looks like a tornado swirled through the lodge. Leave it to my brothers to make a mess, then leave me with the pieces.
Exhaling a breath, I roll out my shoulders. That cleanliness ingrained into me in the military has been damn hard to shake. I try to focus on my family and ignore the clutter.
At least for now.
I clap Charlie on the shoulder, then pull him in for a tight hug. “Too early for a tan, brother.”
I haven’t seen my brother and his wife in six months, not since they eloped and took off for California where Ruby had surgery to fix her heart. After a detour down south to see family, they’re finally home.
Charlie, his dark beard unruly, a smile in his eyes, chuckles. “All that California sunshine.”
Speaking of sunshine…
Ruby bounces my way. I catch my sister-in-law up in a big hug, letting down my guard for a second. “How about you?” I hold her at arm’s length, sweeping my eyes over her pretty face. “You look good, Ruby.”
She beams. “I feel great.”
I allow myself a rare grin. I can’t help but love her.
