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“I guess it is.” He put a foot on the bottom rail. “How’s Dad doing?”
“He’s making progress. We walk every day. He goes to physical therapy three times a week. And we’ve been to the weight room twice. Sawyer has been helping with that.”
“Great. I can definitely see a change in him. Thank you for getting through to him.”
“I enjoy his company.”
He grinned. “Wow. I thought Lucy was the only person who enjoyed his company.”
Ember laughed. “I finally met Lucy the other day. She’s quite the woman. What’s their story?”
“They’ve known each other since grade school. Dated for a couple of years in high school. Broke up when she went off to college. Dad will never admit this, but I think he married my mother on the rebound. He never really got over Lucy. But she returned twelve years after they broke up, married and widowed. It took them another five years to become friends again. He was busy raising Genny and me. Then Noko died and that threw him for a while. But now, they’re pretty close.”
“Well, I’m glad they have each other.”
“I think she’d be fine becoming more than friends with him. But he’s too damn stubborn and set in his ways. He’s been single for forty-four years.”
“That’s a long time.”
“Yeah. Long time.” He patted the top railing. “I’ll leave you to your riding. If you can’t get anyone else to ride with you, I’ll take you out once I get back from moving the herd.”
“Like a cattle drive?”
He laughed. “Sort of. Only we’re not taking them to market. We’re just moving them to a lower pasture before the snow comes.”
“When are you doing that?”
“We’re leaving in the morning. The boys will be coming with me. Sage will be here to help with Dad and keep an eye on things. So if you need anything, she’ll be in charge.”
“Well…have fun?”
“I don’t know about fun. But it’ll be nice to get out for a few days.”
“I’m sure it will. I’ll see you when you get back.”
Jake, Sawyer, J.T., and four of the men headed out on horseback at daybreak. This was the first year Jacob hadn’t gone, and they were all aware of it. Jake went to see him before they left, and Jacob pretended it was no big deal and promised he’d be going along in the spring when they moved the herd back up to the higher pastures. But Jake knew it was a hard pill to swallow for his father. He hoped, come spring, Jacob would be able to accompany them.
It was a gloomy day with gray clouds covering the sky. Rain was expected late tomorrow, which would be halfway through the trip. If all went well, they’d be returning the day after that.
There wasn’t much conversation, and Jake found himself thinking about Ember riding Button around the pen. She looked good on a horse. If he was honest with himself, she looked good off of a horse, too. He shook his head and caught up to J.T.
“Did you bring your phone?” It was a stupid question. His kids always brought their phones even when they were headed to the backcountry with no service.
“Yeah.”
“Check the weather again before you lose service. It sure looks like the rain is going to hit sooner than tomorrow afternoon.”
J.T. took out his phone and pulled up the weather forecast. “It’s moved up. It’s going to hit tonight.”
“Dammit. How much?”
“It’s going to come down for the next twelve hours or so. A slight break tomorrow night, and then more rain.”
“No snow, though?”
J.T. shook his head. “No. Low forties.”
Jake sighed. “Okay. I guess it’s going to be a wet cattle drive.”
