Devon pulls me into a bear hug next. “Miss me, brat?”
“No,” I say, pushing him away.
He grins. “Liar.”
We spend the next few minutes catching up while Daddy tells me about a logging contract they’re finishing outside Jackson, and I steal some sips of his coffee.
That’s when the door beside mine swings open.
Axle steps out onto the porch, wearing faded jeans, work boots, and a gray T-shirt stretched across his shoulders, and his smile is unfairly broad this early in the morning. Being as he snuck out of my cabin only a few hours ago, sometime after I fell asleep.
His dark hair is still damp.
His gaze lands on me first, then on the two men standing beside me, and he starts walking over.
Daddy follows my line of sight and smiles. “Well, I’ll be.” Dad nods toward Axle. “I know that boy.”
Boy.
Axle reaches us. “Morning.”
“Morning, Axle,” I say.
Daddy points at him. “Cabe’s brother.”
Axle smiles. “Yes, sir.”
“I thought so.” Daddy sticks out his hand. “Delmar Asbury.”
They shake.
“I remember you.”
Axle looks surprised. “You do?”
“Sure do. Haven’t seen you since you were running around these ranches, getting into trouble.”
A laugh escapes me. “He’s still doing that.”
Daddy chuckles. “You and your brothers were a handful back then.”
Devon steps forward.
Unlike Daddy, my brother looks like he’s meeting a celebrity.
His hand shoots out. “Devon Asbury.”
Axle shakes it. “Good to meet you.”
“I’m a big fan,” Devon says.
Axle looks slightly uncomfortable. “Is that right?”
“Absolutely. I saw you win in Cheyenne last year.”
Axle’s eyebrows rise. “You were there?”
“Sure was.”
