“I’m learning from the best,” he replied, gesturing to the trail of dust Taft was leaving.
“How’s the foundation going up at the construction site? I haven’t gotten up there yet.”
“Fine.” Dusty cracked his neck. “Your brother is moving slow, dragging that leg of his. He’s pushing too hard.”
So he’d been right about the reason behind Will’s damaged hand. “I’ll talk to him. But first, I need to call Skip and get moving on this land deal. I don’t like Taft knowing.”
“Could be Skip mentioned it,” Dusty offered, tipping his cowboy hat up.
Ben shook his head. “I don’t think so. Skip knows to play this close to the vest. Keep an eye out for any strange behavior from any of the hands. I don’t want to get paranoid, but Taft isn’t above throwing money around. That includes people. I would hope we treat people well enough, but most men can be bought.”
Dusty swore a blue streak. “I’ll check around. I don’t like this. It’s hard enough to keep this ranch going every day with cattle, least of all worrying about people turning Judas.”
He slapped the man on the back. “I know it. But we need to look.”
He feared it was the Judas they didn’t expect that could do them in when they weren’t looking.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Hannah touchedthe sunburned skin on her nose as she finished dressing for their date.
Date.When he’d used the word, her heart had given a leap. Yes, they were having a date, and she told herself to be smart and to keep her heart open. Because the direction they were headed felt right…
She frowned at her nose. Even with sunscreen and a hat, she’d gotten too much sun, but it had been worth it. Hiking up and around familiar trails on Wild Mountain, they’d found a treasure trove of more plants to add to her blooming herbal supply.
“Hannah!” Neil called. “There’s a cowboy here to see you.”
She ran down the stairs, excited to see Ben. How nice of him to pick her up at the door. She practically danced her way there, grinning at their multiple drying stations. Nearly every counter or table was covered with old towels or tablecloths Reba had given her, plants and flowers laid out carefully on top—the same setup in her healing space. Creating an apothecary was critical work, and since plants had to be carefully dried to prevent mold, it took precious time and space.
When she arrived at the door, she faltered. Instead of Ben, their guest was anactualcowboy standing on the front porch.
He tipped his well-used, dusty hat at her. “Ma’am. My name is Hudson Sanders, and I work with Barney and the horses. Everyone around here knows about you helping Dylan Prentice and that scrape on Ben’s little mare. I went down to your healing place, but it was closed, so I hope it’s okay that I came here. I got in the way of an angry mustang we’re breaking, and the darn thing got me in the ribs.”
Hudson then ripped open his shirt, the snaps popping. She gasped at the reddening inflammation and the darkening tissue on his right side, and before she knew it, she was stepping closer to examine the wound as Neil shifted to give her space. “Goodness! Do you feel like the mustang broke anything?”
“It’s possible, ma’am. I’ve had a broken rib a time or two being a bronco rider, and it hurt like the dickens to laugh. Maybe you should tell me a joke so we can find out?”
Another tough-as-nails cowboy and one with a sense of humor to boot. “Come inside. I’m sorry. What’s your name again?”
“Hudson, ma’am.” He reluctantly stepped back on the porch. “No need to put yourself out. I only wanted to see if I could pay you for a bit of salve. I need to get back to work. We’ve got a lot of horses that need handling right now.”
She’d dealt with cowboys before. “Of course, but how about I wrap some herbs around your ribs to take the inflammation down and heal any possible fracture? Tomorrow, before you start work, you can take it off and shower, then put some salve on it.”
He finally stepped inside with them. “Sounds mighty fine. Barney didn’t think you’d mind helping, especially with the boss making you a healing place. I hope that’s right.”
“Of course it is.” She led him over to the table. “You tell the hands to come if they need something.”
Tipping his hat again, he smiled tightly. “Much appreciated. It’s tough to take time off to make an appointment to see the doc—your pa—in town. He probably couldn’t see me tomorrow or the next day. Except Barney told me Will’s hand looked almost normal today, and after how Dylan Prentice’s head healed up after that hit he took in the baseball game with Hastings, near every cowpoke on the Triple M thinks you’re a miracle worker, ma’am.”
“The herbs are the miracle workers,” she replied. “I’m just the lucky one who gets to introduce people to their healing.”
“Mighty modest of you, if you don’t mind me saying. But thank you all the same.”
She picked some freshly picked mullein leaves and wrapped his ribs in bandages. After she’d bound them, she gave him a small tin of plantain salve. “The famous salve everyone’s talking about. Apply it as often as you feel you need. I think you’ll be mostly fine in a couple of days, but if you still have problems, we can wrap your ribs in mullein leaves again. It sets breaks, and since ribs are tough to heal, the plant’s a good helper.”
“Thank you again, ma’am.” He started closing his shirt. “What do I owe you?”
She winced, remembering Ben asking for a price list. “Well, I don’t rightly know yet. There’s been so much foraging to do. How about I get back to you?”
