Page 58 of The Cowboy and the Stray

He took a step closer, then stopped himself. I caught the glint of a smile and realized I might not be the only one having trouble keeping it together.

As I started to gather the tools, the fence repair kit fell apart in my arms. Wire went everywhere. Calder chuckled and reached down to help, our hands colliding in the pile of metal. His fingers closed over mine, warm and callused. Neither of us moved for a second.

It was the kind of moment you could almost ignore, if you weren’t me.

He let go, slowly. “You ready to go back?”

“Sure,” I said, only it came out as a squeak. Calder pretended not to notice.

The rest of the crew was already on the porch when Calder and I made it in, so the only reason we didn’t get roasted for being last was that everyone looked too tired to start something. Reid had the good seat, the porch rocker nearest the door. Gray was on the steps with a sweat-dark bandana tied across his forehead like he’d just come in from a rice paddy. Eli was flat on his back on the porch planks, boot heels propped up on a cinderblock. Sloane had the swing to herself and was half-asleep, arms folded tight, chin against her chest, headphones jammed in.

The sun was dropping, but the stone porch was still holding heat. I joined them on the steps, careful not to land too close to Gray. He liked personal space and would let you know if you encroached. Calder set his hat on a post and leaned on the rail, watching the fields like something was going to pop out and attack us if we blinked.

Nobody said a word for a long time. Someone handed down a cold can of beer. Hey, maybe I was officially promoted to grown-up status on the ranch. Eli was the one who brought it, swinging the six-pack by a couple of plastic rings, the rest already dripping with sweat. I drank mine like I was dying of thirst, which wasn’t far off.

It was so quiet, you could hear the air conditioning unit inside cycling, and every time it kicked on, a tiny dust devil whirled off the gravel drive. Even the bugs had knocked off early.

I figured we’d just sit there until dinner, but you could always count on Eli to say something to break a silence, even if it meant starting trouble. He grinned up at me from the porch with a grass stem sticking out of his mouth. “Hey, Twitchy, you planning to park that tractor in the living room next time? Or is the barn enough?”

Well, Ash had started that nickname, and it looked like it'd stuck.

“Only if you want it delivered,” I shot back. “You can sign for it with your face.”

Gray snorted, but it sounded like a bark. “She’ll get the hang of it before the season’s over. Maybe.”

“Is this bullying?” I asked. “Are you hazing me? Is that legal?”

“Hell no,” Eli said. “If it was hazing, you’d have to strip naked and run through the goat pen. We only do that on birthdays.”

This was news to me, but I played it cool. “Good to know. I’ll schedule a birthday for next year.”

“Don’t threaten us,” Reid muttered, but his lips twitched. That counted as a joke for him.

I didn’t mind the banter. It was easier than the silence that always happened when Calder was around, like they were waiting for him to hand out grades. I couldn’t tell if it bugged him or if he liked it that way.

He finally broke in, straightening up and wiping his hands on the back of his jeans. “Sloane. You got a plan for that new fence camera or just gonna talk about it?”

Sloane didn’t even take out her headphones. “Installed by morning,” she said. “Already ordered the mount. You want a live feed to your phone or a dead drop to your email?”

Calder looked at her, but she didn’t open her eyes. “Both.”

She flicked her wrist in a lazy thumbs-up. “Done.”

I looked at Sloane. She had the same jawline and attitude as Calder, but in a more weaponized way. Her shirt was a black fitted tee, her jeans didn’t have a stain on them, and her boots looked sharp enough to cut someone. I couldn’t imagine her fixing a fence, but I'd bet she could make a grown man cry.

“Don’t poke that hornet nest,” Eli leaned over and whispered. “She’ll hack your phone and make it call 911 every time you order a pizza.”

I shut up and drank my beer.

Dinner was stew, and whatever Midge had done to it, it tasted more like gravy and potatoes than meat, which suited me fine.

Eli started in about what he’d do with a million dollars, which mostly involved buying more boots and “a custom saddle for every day of the week,” and Gray one-upped him with a plan to buy out a rival ranch and stock it with nothing but goats, just to see the headlines.

I tried to keep up, but the sunburn and the beer were working together to make my head spin.

Calder cleared his throat. “I’m taking tomorrow off,” he said, stabbing a potato like it owed him money. “I need someone to cover the north pastures.”

Reid nodded, already doing the math on how the work would split. “I’ll take it.”