Page 18 of The Cowboy and the Stray

Or mine.

I stepped out of the shadows, letting my boots fall heavy on the floorboards. Tess whirled, water spraying in an arc, her face draining of color as she saw me. Noah froze mid-throw, the bucket dangling guiltily from his hand.

“What’s going on here?” I asked mildly.

Tess recovered first. She shut off the hose and faced me, head high despite the drips running off her hair and down her neck.

“Noah was just helping me finish the stalls,” she said. Steady as anything, though I saw how white her knuckles were around the nozzle. “I thought a bit of fun would be a good reward for his hard work.”

I looked at my nephew, who dropped his gaze to his soaked sneakers. He understood the weight of ranch work, the importance of making each minute and ounce of effort count. Horseplay wouldn’t keep the fences mended or the calves fed.

But when he glanced up at me, I saw something I hadn’t seen in a while. Pride in a job well done, the simple joy of feeling needed.

And damned if that didn’t put a crack in my armor.

“Is that so?” I turned back to Tess.

She nodded once, sharply. No dissembling. No excuses or flattery. I could respect that.

“Well.” I jerked my chin at Noah. “Best get inside and wash up proper. Dinner’ll be on the table soon.”

He set down the bucket and started to offer a hand to Tess for the hose, but I stopped him and nodded toward the house.

He scooted out, throwing Tess an apologetic look. She just smiled at him, warm and reassuring. I waited until his footsteps faded before turning back to her. She stood straight and tall, meeting my eye like she’d done no wrong. And I supposed, far as she was concerned, she hadn’t.

The hose hung loose in her grip, fat droplets pattering to the floor. She seemed to realize she was still holding it and, with deliberate movements, bent to loop it back on its hook, wiping her hands on her jeans after. I watched her, considering.

“You know,” I said at last. “Most people’d just sweep the floors. Maybe lay down some fresh hay.”

Her chin came up, a flash of challenge. She was a fiery mix of timid and outspoken. I was never sure which Tess I would get.

“I’m not most people.”

“No,” I agreed softly. “That you aren't.” And God help me, that might be the whole problem.

9. CALDER

I stepped out of my bathroom the next morning and headed downstairs. I could tell already it was gonna be a rough day. County meetings were never fun, but they were necessary. I had to keep an eye on things going on in the county, so the quarterly ranchers meetings were a necessary evil.

My hair stood on end, ungovernable, the way it always did when I needed it to look nice. A sure sign that something was about to snap. Most likely me. Or the truck, or a gate hinge, or one of the boys if I caught ‘em slacking. But more than likely? Me.

But I’d been through worse, and with Tess still hanging around, I figured I could survive whatever this meeting had in store.

The suit felt foreign and foolish as I shrugged into it, adjusting the collar like that would make any difference to how much I’d sweat through it by nine. I was used to my work clothes, the dirt and the weight, and the smell of leather. This fabric was too light, too cool on my skin. But I’d need more than dirt and leather to get what I was after today.

I stepped outside, and the air whipped around me. Movement caught my eye near the barn. I looked up to see Tess hauling a wheelbarrow.

She leaned into it like it was about to buck her, boots skidding a little in the dust. I didn’t think anyone else was awake yet, but there she was, scrawny and determined as a flea-bitten mule. Her injuries hadn't been severe, thankfully they'd been mostly superficial or there was no way she'd be able to do any of this.

The distance made it safe to watch her, just for a second. Just to see if she’d notice me looking. Just to see if she’d, what? I didn’t know. Didn’t want to.

I couldn’t turn my back on the chaos of her. Not just yet.

I headed toward the barn, getting closer to Tess and her wheelbarrow of barn muck. I needed to keep some distance. This meeting was too important to get my suit all covered in mess. I hurried around Tess to get to the barn and check on Brimstone before I left.

I heard it before I felt it. The thunk and splat of something hitting the ground really close behind me. She must’ve hit a bump, and judging from the smell, it was a big one. In the next second, I realized the sound of the splat was accompanied by a dampness seeping through the back of my pants.

A wild, discordant sound sliced through the air like a war cry. It took me a second to recognize it as Reid laughing. He'd just come out of the barn. I hadn’t heard him cut loose like that in months, and hell, only a few times in my or his life. I didn’t know whether to be relieved or offended that it took my Sunday best covered in horse shit to draw a chuckle from him.