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“Well, shall we?” Hazel turned off the ignition and turned to me.
“Yes, we shall,” I said back to her, pushing the truck door open. I double checked my front pocket, ensuring that I had the cash from my bag to buy Takoda more dog food. Wade had generously let me use their cattle dog’s food, but I was ready to stop mooching off the family as soon as I could.
“Hazel!” A voice called out, and I stopped as I shut the truck door, my eyes landing on a handsome cowboy—I had no idea who he was, but Hazel’s face went bright red.
“What’re you doing in town?” she asked, shifting her weight from heel to toe in her boots. “I thought you were in Wyoming?”
“I flew in to see my family,” he replied in a Texas drawl, pulling her for a side hug. “I can’t believe you’re here. How’s the ranch with all this damn rain? I heard that we’re just on a short break.”
“We don’t have any power and we’ve lost some cattle, but we’re making it,” she answered, her tone of voice reserved. I stayed mostly hidden on the other side of the truck, letting the uncomfortable scene play out.
“That’s too bad,” he said, exhaling sharply. “If you need any help—”
“Oh, we’ve got it,” she cut him off, waving him off. “Thanks for the offer, though. I really appreciate it.”
“Right, of course,” he grunted, rubbing the black stubble on his chin. “Well, it’s sure good to see you, Hazel.”
“Yeah, of course.” She spun around, giving me a look and nodding to the store. “We better get going, isn’t that right, Cheyenne?”
“Uh, yep,” I said quickly, hopping up onto the sidewalk and heading into the store. “You better hurry, Hazel.” The handsome cowboy rolled his eyes as Hazel gave him a small wave and hurried after me, her boots thudding across the tile floor.
“Thank you,” she huffed, grabbing a basket. “That’s Tanner Murphy—we dated back in high school, and no matter how hard I try, I just can’t let him go.”
“But he seemed to make you very uncomfortable?”
“Yeah, well, that’s just what happens when you’re as awkward as me. It’s a problem of mine.” She laughed, shaking her head. “But did you hear him say there’s more rain coming? Have you heard anything more on that? Like when it’s supposed to hit?”
“No, I haven’t,” I admitted. “I don’t really check up on the weather.”
“It’s moving in tonight,” a man standing by the produce said, looking up from the apple in his hand. He was a good ten years older than us, and had the same cowboy look as most people in the town—only not nearly as attractive with his shaggy blonde hair. “It’s supposed to move in by around seven, I think. They’re predicting another four to six inches of rain.”
“Are you serious?” Hazel’s eyes went wide, as she glanced down at her watch. “That’snotgood. We need to hurry up and get back—I don’t think anyone is prepared for that much more rain. Thank you, Rhett.”
“No problem,” he replied, before shooting us both a wink. “Let me know if y’all need any help with anything. You know we’re just a town over. We ain’t got it as bad as you guys.”
“Thank you,” she said to him, before pushing the basket forward with a purpose and turning to me. “We need to befast.If we get that much rain, we’re going to lose a lot more cattle.”
ChapterEighteen
Wade
“Come on, Takoda. You can’t spend the whole damn day eating horse shit out here in the barn,” I said to the little border collie mix, shaking my head in amusement as he chewed on more manure. “That’s so gross, dude. I swear your mom would kill you if she knew that you were doing that...”
Or maybe not.
I shrugged, continuing to sweep the aisleway of the barn. Usually, I would’ve been out and about on a horse, helping everyone else, but with having to babysit the dog...
I was grounded to the barn and the house.
“Wade!” Dad’s voice called out, catching me by surprise. “Are you out here?”
“Yeah?” I looked up from the broom as my dad strode down the aisleway, heading right for me. “What’s up?”
“Hazel just called and said they’ve predicted another four to six inches of rain this evening. We’re gonna have to move the horses to the pasture with those cattle. I know for sure they’ll get flooded out at this point. I don’t know how much more rain that river is going to take before it starts wiping out our loafing sheds out there.”
My stomach tightened into knots. “Surely, we won’t get that much rain. I don’t see how we could keep getting so fucking unlucky.”
“Language,” Dad warned me. “But I do have to agree. I don’t know what the hell is going on with Mother Nature having put her bullseye on us. I don’t know what it’s about, but we’re going to just have to buckle down and deal with it.”
