Even though it was Father’s Day, Dr. Montgomery’s busy little neighbor, Kitty Combs, had called him while he was in the barn with the horses. She’d seen Hannah and her Scottish fellow park in the driveway and go inside to visit her parents. First person she’d called was him, she’d said—because she imagined he’d want to get a hold of himself. He’d gripped his muck fork pretty hard then. Wasn’t that why he was cleaning out the stables on his second favorite holiday after Christmas?
Mrs. Combs simply wouldn’t let up.Everyonein town knew he’d gone as crazy as a wild mustang when Hannah had left before. Ben had a young boy to consider now. He couldn’t go off half-cocked like he had with Amber. Look how tragically that had ended.
He’d politely thanked her for her concern when she’d wound down, hung up the phone, and then turned it to silent. Since he couldn’t throw his phone against the wall, he started working again. Great. The whole town was thinking he was going to act like an idiot again.
Good thing nothing drained a man like mucking out the stalls. He was glad Cooper was occupied playing with Tankbecause he was jittery as his young colt, Stargazer. Even his son making him a simple breakfast of cereal and giving him a sweet gift today couldn’t distract him completely. Seeing the handmade blue paper plate prize with one of Reba’s ribbons and#1 Dadwritten in his childish hand hadn’t boosted his mood.
She was going to be living here. On the ranch. He was going to see her every day. The reality had come crashing down on him.
The last thing he wanted was for Cooper to know the toll Hannah’s return was taking on him. He’d lost his appetite. He wasn’t sleeping well. Neither was Flame. Both of them struggled with her return.
“You good?” Will asked, appearing outside the stall with Tank’s mother, Luna. “Reba said Kitty Combs called, being her usual chatty self.”
He shoveled muck into the wheelbarrow as Tank’s sire, Ghost, uncurled from the place he’d been resting and nuzzled his missus. “Yeah, she rang me first about Hannah arriving in town. Wanted to make sure I didn’t go crazy, seeing as I have a son now. I swear I didn’t consider how much talk Hannah coming home would generate.”
For the last couple of weeks, people had watched him like he was the new animal in the proverbial zoo. He liked his privacy as much as the next man. The only saving grace was that Amber was away on some buying trip in Jackson Hole, although he was sure she’d heard the news about Hannah coming back. He couldn’t wait for that encounter. She hated Hannah more now than she had before, blaming Hannah for him not giving her a chance.
Will grabbed another mucking fork and started helping. “You’ll manage. In this case, Dad’s famous advice is probably your best. Say as little as possible.”
“Right,” he dryly answered.
“Reba also told me something interesting.” Will pausedand leaned on his pitchfork. “You moved my stuff from the main house into yours. Why?”
He wiped his nose with his sleeve when it started to itch from the hay particles in the air. “Because Cooper and I thought you’d be happier living with us—seeing how you’re giving up your cabin to Hannah.”
“Yeah, Cooper said it would be fun to have Uncle Will across from him when I asked. Ben?”
His tone had him pausing and looking over, legs braced apart. “What?”
Will’s full-tilt smile made him jittery. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“You know what.”
Will started working beside him again, thank God, saving him from having to explain the offer was his way of bridging the gap his brother had been so upset about when he’d shared how he’d been feeling. God, way too many feelings were in the air right now, a regular feelings blizzard, if you asked him.
So he did what he did when a whiteout hit. He shoveled next to Will, savoring the feel of his muscles straining while they worked in tandem. He even laughed when his brother started sneezing uncontrollably, but he made sure to check if Will’s injury was giving him any trouble. His brother could perform most of the chores he had before the accident. Certainly, he was McAllister stubborn enough to try. Didn’t mean he needed to if it pained him, though. Ben had quietly passed it to all their ranch hands to make sure to watch out for Will but keep his pride intact. So far, they’d done pretty well.
Cooper ran in a few times, wishing him a happy Father’s Day. Little buckeroo did that all day, even when it was someone’s birthday. No one corrected him because it was absolutely adorable.
Reba swung by to see if he wanted a slice of her famouscaramel apple pie before Sunday dinner, since it was his favorite, clearly testing his mood. He declined, making Reba cock that sassy brow of hers before she left the barn, muttering to herself.
“It’s that bad?” Will exclaimed, wiping the sweat off his forehead.
He set the pitchfork on the ground and leaned against it. “I’m fine. Stop asking me.”
“If you gave me a better answer, maybe I would.” Will gave him a wide berth as Ben left the stall and headed to the equipment room. “What can I do to help you right now?”
“Let me handle things my own way.” He secured the pitchfork. “No offense.”
“None taken, brother.” He raised his hands before following Ben to the tack room. “I noticed Hannah’s old saddle looked good as new. You clean it up in all that spare time you have?”
He pulled his saddle off the rack and headed to Flame’s stall. “I looked after her horse while she was gone. Now she’s back. Pretty simple, if you ask me.”
“Except you’ve ridden Flame practically every day she’s been away.” Will rubbed the horse behind her ears as Ben saddled her. “You’re going to have to reintroduce them.”
“What do you think I’m doing? Look, you worrying about me like a mother hen isn’t going to work. I’m the older twin?—”
