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“Yeah, but if yours are fatter than mine…”
I waved a hand. “Doesn’t help me at all if my neighbors aren’t thriving. We all depend on each other. Branding season, everyone turns out and helps everyone else by turn—you, included. We’ll all come up and make a day of it, sorting calves, giving shots, and doing ear tags.”
“Really?” He let out a sigh of relief. “I was going to ask you how that worked. With the neighbors, I mean. I have a small bunch, so I just assumed I was on my own. Figured I’d hire a few kids from town who know how to rope and flub my way through it.”
“Nope. It’ll be a quick day at your place, but we’ll get a few guys. Speaking of which, you still look short-handed here.”
“Yeah. I was having trouble finding anyone who knew what they were doing and didn’t already work for someone else.”
I nodded. “I know some guys you could check out for your foreman. And some kids, too—we always have some high school kids working for us part-time, learning the job and stuff. This is too much to tackle without hiring good help.”
“Tell me about it! Oh, that’s another thing I was going to ask you. I heard you raise dogs.”
“Not at the moment, but we have in the past. You could really use a good Border Collie. It would be like having an extra cowboy at your right hand. I have a one-year-old male I was training this summer I could let go. Unless Evan decides he needs him—guess I need to check on that.”
“Already trained? That would be great if you could sell him to me. You know, I’m kind of jealous of you guys, having a whole family to keep things running.”
“It’s nice. Most of the time.” I toyed with my empty plate for a second. My family was everything, even when they frustrated me. I wouldn’t have it any other way. “You haven’t said much about family. Got any?”
Austen shrugged. “Not much worth talking about. I was an only child, and my parents were divorced. My mom died a few years ago, and I never got along with my old man.” His brow clouded, and he stared at his empty glass. “And then… well, like I said, it’s not worth talking about. What about you?”
I squinted. “Well… you know, three brothers, plus Cody. He just got married, but the rest of us are single. I guess Marshall’s not… I’m not sure what Marshall is.”
Austen chuckled. “The girl from the pub? The one with the long dark hair?”
I snorted. “How’d you guess?”
“He wouldn’t stop staring at her until he got over to her table. I hope it works out for him.”
“Yeah,” I mused softly. “Me too.”
“But no one special for you, huh?”
I frowned at my plate. Special? Jess was more than special to me. She was that tender place beside my heart that ached whenever I saw beauty, or truth, or something worth writing down. She was the words that flowed from my pen, and she was the feelings that were too big for words. But she wasn’t mine, and there didn’t seem to be anything I could do to change that. I hesitated, then just shook my head. “No.”
“Yeah,” Austen sighed. “Not for me anymore, either. I did meet someone, though.”
“Really?”
His face softened, and he got a huge, sentimental smile. “She’s… she’s incredible. I’ve never met anyone like her. Beautiful and smart and… and sodifferentfrom other girls. I don’t even know how to put it into words.”
“Well, congratulations. Have you asked her out?”
He shook his head, and his smile dropped. “No. She barely gave me the time of day. I talked to her for a while, but she was all business, no matter what I tried.”
“Too bad. Maybe you need to step it up a little.”
“You think? Like, what, flowers?”
I laughed and held my hands up. “I’m not the person to ask. You don’t see women hanging around me all the time, do you?”
“They would if you were in California. Good-looking guy like you, friendly and helpful, and wearing a cowboy hat? You bet you wouldn’t be lonely.”
“Well, I’m not in California.”
“Yeah,” he sighed. He got up to get the milk jug from the fridge and topped off both our glasses. “Maybe I’ll try flowers. At least there’s no way to treat that like a business conversation, is there?”
“Not unless she’s a florist.”
