“No, it did not. Man, she’s a stubborn one.”
Caleb grins widely. “Nothing worth having is easy, isn’t that what you always tell me?”
I chuckle and nod. “You’re right. I appreciate that she sets boundaries and holds them. I hate to say that’s not something I’m used to.”
“It’s why those girls don’t last long enough to meet me,” he replies. “You need a strong woman that’s going to push back and make you better but that’s also soft.”
“Have you been talking to your grandma? Is she in your ear right now?”
He laughs and shakes his head. “Grandma says every cowboy needs to find his cowgirl and that you found yours in Sutton.” He shrugs dismissively before he goes back to eating.
“She’s not wrong.”
“She’s a good woman, Dad.You two will work it out.”
I sit down at the table across from my son. I pull my food back out and start eating.
“Thanks, Caleb. I guess I should have brought you into this sooner. I should have made sure you were okay with it all.”
“I’m fifteen, Dad. Had I not been okay with it, you would have known by now,” he teases. “She’s a good woman, and a good woman for you, Dad. I saw that the first day.”
“Is that so?” I ask with a chuckle.
“It is.”
“You heard any of your friends at school talk about Dr. Reed coming to their places?”
“Yeah, a few of them. They were telling them to shoot all their sick cattle. Even threatened to fine them if they didn’t.”
“They told me the same thing. Did any of the ranchers follow through?”
“None that I know of. Jessup said that his dad called the sheriff because they were asking some intrusive questions. He said they knew things they shouldn’t have known.”
“That’s what I’m hearing, too.”
He cocks his head to the side as he looks back at me. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking this is bigger than what we originally thought.”
“They weren’t asking intrusive questions here.”
“No, but they were asking Frank Bishop the same questions.”
“I’ll ask around some more. Maybe I can get to the bottom of it all.”
I nod. “I’d appreciate it. Make sure your grades and chores don’t fall through the cracks, though.”
“Dad,” he chuckles as he opens his arms wide and gestures all around him. “Have I done that yet?”
“No, you haven’t. You’re such a good kid. You take all the parenting away from me.”
“You’re a good dad, that’s why.”
I chuckle and smile back at him. We eat the rest of our meal in silence. And for the rest of the night, I fight the urge to knock on Sutton’s door again.
I’ll figure out how to get back to her.
The next morning, the sun is hot on my back as I park my truck in front of the feed store.
