“Thanks, Josie!” I shouted, trying to block the image of her and Lincoln out of my mind. “I’ll be sure to get right on that.”
“See that you do, Bishop!” she said, waving over her shoulder.
I blew out a breath, running my fingers through my hair. “Fuckin’ Hayes women, I swear,” I muttered, getting up to refill my coffee.
I wasn’t used to sitting behind a desk for long periods. Computers and I didn’t exactly get along. Doug was better at using the damn thing than I was—something he constantly felt the need to tease me about. Josie had been about as patient as I could’ve asked for, but lately, paperwork had gotten out of control.
Ever since the summer when she found out her ex-boyfriend was stealing funds from the ranch, Josie had run a tight shiparound here. We were expected to hand in our receipts the moment we had them, and she promptly filed them away for reconciliation.
It wasn’t that I didn’t have what she needed, it was just that I often got sidetracked and let things pile up until I had to go through everything at once. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, maybe I did need help.
“Bishop!” Dallas, one of our newer workers, shouted my name from the alley. “You got someone here to see you.”
I checked the time, kicking myself for not paying attention. “Gimme a minute,” I called back, grabbing my hat and locking my office behind me.
“Kid’s early,” I said, stopping beside Dallas, who stood at the barn entrance with his hands on his hips. “I like that. We need more people to show that kinda dedication.” We watched as a beat-up red Dodge came slowly up the drive. An orange and white cattle dog stood on shaking legs in the truck bed.
Well, I sure as shit didn’t like that.
I’d never had a dog of my own, mostly because I was hardly ever home, and it seemed like they took way too much time to train, but we’d had dogs here at the ranch over the years. Lennox was always partial to them. Always bringing them home and crying because she’d found them on the side of the road.
That was the unfortunate thing about living where we did. People would drive out here and dump the animals they didn’t want, leaving them behind without a second thought.
I fuckin’ hated people.
The guy hopped out of the truck, and I already knew he wasn’t the one for us. He was tall and lanky, yapping on his cell phone. His clothes looked way too tight, and the aviator glasses he was wearing nearly dwarfed his face. There was something cocky in the way he stood, examining the ranch as though he was judging us.
There was an anxious whine as the dog seemed to glancebetween the owner and the drop from the tailgate. He leaned over to slap the side of the truck, ushering out a curse and command to be quiet. The dog flinched before laying down with its head on its paws, and my stomach dropped.
Dallas gave me a knowing look and shook his head. “Oooh, boy. Need me to call back up?”
“Naw, I can handle this,” I said, toeing my boot along the trim line that broke up the concrete from the dirt. “This won’t take long.”
“I’m sure it won’t,” Dallas said, laughing as he got back to cleaning the stalls.
I stepped forward, raising my hand in greeting. He gave me a simple nod of his chin like we’d been friends for years. Fat fucking chance. And then he hung up his phone and tucked it away in his pocket.
“Nick?” I asked, meeting him halfway.
He smiled. “Yeah, man. How ya doin’?”
I already knew I wouldn’t hire him, but call me curious… I wanted to see what he thought he knew.
“You bring your rope?” I asked, keeping my voice even.
“Sure did,” he said. “It’s in the truck. Need me to get it?”
I widened my stance. “Well, I’m not gonna loan you one, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Alright, man. Whatever you say. You got a horse for me, though, right?”
I dipped my chin. Not that he would need it. We wouldn’t make it that far. “Told you I would.”
“You don’t say much, do you?” he asked, shaking his head. “Man, I heard you were a hard guy to work for, but?—”
“That’s an odd thing to say at a job interview, don’t ya think?” I asked, tilting my head. “You’re more than welcome to hop in your truck and get the hell off the ranch I run.”
Nick’s eyes widened in surprise. “Nope, we’re all good here.”
