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Denver
Thunderclappedoutsidemywindow and my eyes flew open.
I looked to my alarm clock: it was only four in the morning.
I had to be up in an hour. Wind howled outside as the rain pelted the metal roof above me. The weather didn’t call for rain today.
I got out of bed and went to check on Caleb. Of course, the kid still passed out. The little shit could sleep through a goddamn tornado. I headed back to my room and swiped my phone off the nightstand.
“Sir,” Jigs answered.
“Everything alright?” I asked, turning on my TV to the weather channel. Shit.
A fucking cold front.
In the beginning of summer.
“Yup. We’ve been up for the last hour.”
“This freak storm took us by surprise. We got moms and calves out there.”
Those calves were still new to this world and weren’t prepared for low temps just yet. I had a secondary barn in pasture two. It was huge, bigger than the barn here. I purchased it two summers ago because we were in for a bad winter. Thank fuck I did, or we would have lost half of the herd, like the ranches around me did. That was a hard season.
“We’ll get on it.”
“I’ll be down there in a few. Saddle up Ranger, would you?”
“Yes, sir.”
I hung up and looked back to my bed. My dreams were of her again, green eyes, dark brown hair, and a laugh I couldn’t hear. I scratched my bearded jaw.
What the fuck was wrong with me?
Why was this woman stuck in my fucking head?
I still didn’t even know her name. Beau did but I refused to ask. The last thing I needed was for my cowboys to think I was interested in her.
After leaving Caleb a note, I went downstairs, made a quick breakfast scramble for him, and left in it the microwave. I didn’t know how long I would be gone. On the way out, I grabbed an apple for myself. When the cows were safe, then I would make everyone breakfast in the bunkhouse.
Caleb would come, too. That boy eats more than a grown man.
On the porch, I was greeted with cold rain and harsh winds.
Fucking hell.
Good morning, Hallow Ranch.
“GoodLordson,youeat more than your father did when he was your age,” Jigs said through a chuckle.
“I’m just hungry, Jigs,” my son answered between bites.
It was mid-morning. The cows were safe, and breakfast was almost done. The storm hadn’t let up yet, and it wouldn’t until tonight. No telling what the farmers in the county over were going to do. It was currently forty degrees outside, and the temperature was continuing to drop.
Bacon was frying, pancakes were done, and there was a new pot of coffee brewing. Everyone was at the table except for Beau and me; he was standing at the window, a cup of untouched coffee in his hand, staring out at the rain.
“Beau, get your ass to the table,” his father ordered. I shot a look at Mags, who had his chair tipped back, his face buried in a book.Dracula.How fitting. Lance and Lawson were bullshitting back and forth, Caleb sitting next to Jigs.
My father died before Caleb was born. Jigs has been a part of this ranch since my father ran it. He knew my secrets. He helped me bury a body when I was a boy. When Caleb was born, I saw him as a blessing. I didn’t resent my son for what his mother did to Mason and me. Caleb wasn’t at fault.
