“Yes. We do.”
Jude grumbled the entire way down the drive. The man’s hard work ethic was undeniable, with his loyalty still clearly to Eve and the ranch, despite her brother’s obvious absence, but he hated leaving the land. He’d spent so many years on the ranch that getting back out into town nearly crippled him, though I was grateful for his company. I’d need that loyalty later in the day.
Thankfully, there was reception at the gate, and Suzy picked up faster than I expected, my snow chains barely grabbing in the light slush.
“Mister Texas Ranger! How are things up on the mountain?” Suzy’s voice blared through the speaker where it dangled on my knee, background noise providing additional static.
I gritted my teeth, and threw a cautionary look at Jude, but the foreman sat with his hands pressed to his knees, his elbows locked.
Maybe it was my driving.
“It’s all good, Suzy. We’re good.”
“Uh huh.” Skepticism filled her tone, and I bit back a laugh.
“Fine, that was bullshit. I need hands up here, and Eve needs a friend. Any chance you can come up and bring half the town to work on the ranch for the season?”
“Now you’re swearing? You never cease to amaze. I can’t come up, and I can’t bring the town, but I'll send a truck load of boys back with you. Got a certain Mister here who can’t stay on the back of a cow—uh, a bull—and would love some work. Are you just leaving Red Hart now?”
I grinned at her enthusiasm. “I’m already on the road.”
Jude jerked his head in an abrupt nod.
Nope, that was my driving.
“I’ll have your care package ready to ride when you get down here." Approval coated Suzy’s voice. “And Archer? You’d best be looking after my girl.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” I hung up, shaking my head with a soft laugh.
Suzy was certainly one of a kind. But she loved Eve, and she probably knew something was up. I’d had that sense from her when I was in Beanies before at White Cap. Maybe driving at hellhound speed across the country had been a blessing for more than one reason.
I put my foot down, tearing a trail through the pristine snow, and wondered how many miles I’d make it down the highway before the snow chains failed me.
Not too far, as it turned out. I pulled up outside ofBeanie’s,my truck crusted in mud and slush that wasn’t entirely dry. Apparently only the top third of the drive into town required snow chains, though from the clouds gathering to the north, we might have more luck on the way back, providing the slush didn’t transform into black ice as the chill set in for the evening.
A truckload of young men hung over the back of a white pick up — I thought it was meant to be white — that had seen better days. I eyed them as I locked up my own truck, half hopingthey were the crew Suzy had put together. The other half of me wondered if my truck was safe.
“Archer!” A familiar shape jumped down from the bed of the track and stumbled on the landing. The cowboy managed to catch his hat before it tumbled to the ground, displaying a head of rusty brown hair and a cheeky grin. The entire five foot ten inches of Will Kirk barreled forward, clapping me on the back, then Jude.
The stocky foreman straightened, otherwise not reacting to the newcomer’s presence. He tilted his head down to obscure his face.
I turned back to the compact ball of enthusiasm that bounced beneath his habitual Stetson, noting the lean muscle Red Hart’s prospective rodeo rider had developed. “Can you stay on a bull yet, Will?”
The cowhands on the truck bed hooted and cheered, raining shit on the poor lad.
“Not yet, sir.” Will’s grin turned rueful, his eyes crinkling as he took the ribbing with good natured humor. “Mighta got myself a place on the circuit though. Heard you needed some help?” Bright eyes turned concerned.
Jude coughed into his fist. “Will Kirk spent a recent season at Red Hart, Archer. He… stepped up and filled my role while I was absent from the property.”
I eyeballed Will. “There’s a lot of that going round at the moment.”
“Stepping up or absent?” Will asked, staring me right back in the face.”
I huffed a laugh. “Damn, kid. I’m glad you’re not in Texas, otherwise you’d be stealing the desk out from under my best Rangers.”
“Not you, huh?” Will tilted his head to one side, his dark eyes missing nothing.
My grin never faltered as I returned his study. I’d been away for a whole lot longer than I thought, perhaps. In that time the kid who wanted to ride a bull not only fulfilled that dream, or was on the way to doing it, had taken the reins of his own life and grown up in the meantime.
