Page 13 of A Heart Falls Cowboy Christmas

“You’re going to,” Dustin warned. “Even if we figure out the perfect way to go about this, it’s going to shake up everything and everyone.”

“I’m sorry—” Frank began, but Dustin cut him off.

“Shaking up is okay when it’s done with the right heart,” he said softly. “When it’s done out of love, not desperation or fear.”

Frank dipped his head. “Yeah.”

“You got a timeline?” Dustin asked.

“Nope. Only we need to get the cows started toward the barn or we’ll never get there.” Frank smiled as they reached the edge of the arena and turned for the main barn. “You’re steady for all that I just threw at you.”

“I know I’ve got a solid family behind me, no matter what we decide in the end,” Dustin said.

Frank nodded again. “I’m glad.”

Brain still reeling, Dustin made a decision. “Let me think about it for a while, and I do mean more than a couple of days. You’re right. I think going to my brother with a few questions answered is the right place to start, but I want even that to sit for a bit. Let my own thoughts settle.”

“That’s all I ask. That you think on it.” Frank slid off to get the barn door. “Call if you need info, but it’s in your hands now. I’ll wait to hear from you. And if that takes until the summer, or longer, so be it.”

Then he ignored the topic entirely as they went and took care of the horses then joined Charity and Caleb’s family at the main ranch house for dinner. They sat and played cards afterward, and the entire time, the older man came off as easy and relaxed as could be, while with one single thought, he’d flipped Dustin’s entire world upside down and sideways.

4

“Pretty amazing to watch.”

Mack stepped up beside Brad, shoulders bumping through their thick winter coats. “It’s liquid pouring out of hoses. Think you’d be pretty used to that by this point in your career.”

“Concrete isn’t water,” Brad offered dryly. “I’ve done my bit out here for the morning. Fire codes, such as they are at the moment, are being met. What were you dealing with over on the roadside?”

“They have safety cones set up, but not far enough. They’ve got permission to use the entire lane, so I adjusted the flagman and gave the trucks more room to manoeuvre.” Mack pointed to the flagman in his bright yellow vest. “Casey said the pour is going well from what he can tell, and the foundation should be in place before shutdown this afternoon.”

On Brad’s other side, Ryan Zhao hummed, his blue-black hair moving easily as he nodded in approval. “Timeline fits. So far the developers are rock stars, although it’s a little early to do too much cheering.”

They all stared a little longer at the concrete trucks lined up to head into the work site.

Construction on the new community hall was fascinating, at least at this point when everything was right out in the open. The security fence around the building site had gone up two weeks ago, and stage one of the process had begun. Low wood frames filled with rebar and more lines of a thick red tubing than Brad had ever seen before slowly appeared, creating a ghostly outline of the future innards of the building.

Two days ago, the underfloor heating for the different spaces in the single story building had been completed and was now disappearing under the steady pour of concrete from the long hoses directed by the construction foreman. A team of four raked and pulled the batter-like substance into position, while two other men had started to smooth the mixture with long-handled tools that seemed to float over the tacky surface.

Ryan spoke again. “Not having a forced air furnace in the building is going to make it so much more efficient. Cheaper to run, better control over zones⁠—”

“Says the man who proposed the change in the first place.” Mack muttered.

“When you’re right, you’re right.” Ryan glanced over at Mack, a small smirk on his lips. “Oh, wait. I mean, when I’m right, I’m right.”

Mack scratched the ridge of his nose with his middle finger.

“Now, children,” Brad scolded, but he laughed at the same time. “I guess we can’t stand here all morning watching the floor show. You think everyone’s ready at the hall?”

Every month they gathered all the volunteer firefighters from the Heart Falls area and did training of some sort. Physical, or technical, or something to keep their community of volunteers strong and connected. As fire marshal for the area, Brad did his share of running the training, but Mack was chief in Heart Falls, and Ryan and two others each lead teams.

“Alex texted me. He and Ashton have the teams assembled and started training drills already,” Ryan assured him as the three of them turned away from the construction site and paced toward the fire hall. “With no formal training in January, they’re probably a little out of shape.”

“Still think it was the right idea, though, giving all the volunteers one month off. January is tough enough with school starting up again and all the rest of it.” Mack tucked his hands in his pockets and took a deep breath. “Also, it was damn cold then. February is feeling kinder, so far.”

“Good for the concrete to set,” Ryan agreed. “And the one month off was needed. The Christmas party was a blast, and between that and the Tacky Threads idea, I think the teams are in fine shape, at least on the non-physical side.”

“Brooke still good?” Brad asked Mack.