Chapter 1
Eero ‘Ro’ McCall
The sound of my phone vibrating from the center console made me exhale a sigh. It was definitely morning, based on the brightness peeking from under the tilt of myJaxson. I was fucking exhausted and dreaded peeling my eyes open but I needed to get moving. The stiffness in my neck and shoulders was enough to convince me that I had to find Phoxes Den before the sunset. I damn sure couldn’t handle another night in this truck. After a thirteen-hour drive to Miller’s Pointe, my back couldn’t take much more of this confinement.
No matter how soft the leather seats were or the amount of leg room it offered, this damn thing wasn’t built for the type of time I’d spent over the past twenty-four hours. After I willed my mind to come to life, I lifted my hat, tossed it on the passenger seat, and rolled my neck to work out the stiffness. My phone was still jumping around in the cupholder so I reached for it, squinting at the screen before I answered and grunted a greeting.
“Yeah.”
“I’m not the source of your problems, don’t take that shit out on me, Ro,” my boy Draemen said with a hint of amusement in his tone.
“You’re calling me at six in the morning. You’re damn sure the source of my current problem,” I muttered, yanking my door open. An icy chill slapped me in the face when I stepped out of the cab of my truck to work the stiffness from my lengthy frame. At six four and two hundred and twenty pounds, no matter how much room a vehicle offered, my body had an expiration date for the time allotted to sit comfortably.
“Thanks to me you have somewhere to lay your head, and if I remember right, a very damn nice place too. So you’re welcome?”
Draemen was a roper who’d spent a few rodeo seasons in Miller’s Pointe. He had worked at Phoxes Den as seasonal help a time or two, so when I was looking for my next stop, he suggested getting me on here. Said it would be an easy place to ride out the holidays, so I was down.
“I can’t thank you yet. I haven’t been hired.” I scratched my head, grateful for the cut I’d gotten before hitting the road. My beard was still in need of a good trim because I refused to let just anyone touch it. I would have to get to that eventually but for now it was in decent enough shape.
“The hell you mean you haven’t been hired? Did you tell Travis I sent you?”
I looked up and down the street, checking out the décor. This was definitely a Christmas town. All of the street was was decorated with holiday lights, red and green ribbon, and wreaths. Most storefronts had trees on display with Christmas lights, some frosted with fake snow.
“Not yet but I will. I just got to Miller’s Pointe at about two this morning.”
I rolled my shoulders then bent side to side to stretch my back. A year of recovery and the pain still felt brand new. I gritted my teeth, working through the pinch that traveled from the center of my spine to my lower back. The ache felt a little better but not enough to celebrate. The thirty degree temperature wasn’t helping. Both my back and my leg were screaming in protest for me to find somewhere warm to set up shop for a while.
“Aw fuck, Ro. There’s no way they’re going to hire you.”
“What do you mean? You said he owed you a favor.”
“He does but not one big enough to get you onto the ranch after they’ve filled all the spots for seasonal help. You were supposed to be there two weeks ago. What the hell happened?”
I brushed a hand over my head then dragged it down my face. “You don’t think you can work something out?”
“Not unless someone bails and you take their position, but that’s not happening. Getting on at Phoxes is like winning the damn lottery.”
I glanced around the parking lot, mindlessly taking in my surroundings. When I’d arrived this morning, the goal had been to find a bed to sleep in and hit Phoxes first thing this morning. Unfortunately not a damn thing in this small town was open so I’d parked in the lot of the bed and breakfast Draemen told me about, figuring I would be safe for a couple hours. The street was dark and quiet when I settled in, unlike now. There wasn’t much going on but an occasional car or truck passed and there were a few parked in the lot of the coffee place across the street, Camp Fire Coffee.
“Shit.”
“You had two weeks, Ro.”
“Yeah.” My eyes moved to the door of the bed and breakfast while my mind toyed with the possibility of just heading to another location. Unfortunately, the pinch in my back made the decision for me. I would have to stay at least a day or two to work the tension from my muscles. There wasn’t another ranch town for at least six hours and I couldn’t do that without a couple nights of good sleep, in a bed.
“Sorry, man.”
“You know anywhere else I can try around here?”
“Not really. Most of the larger ranches that hire seasonally are probably full and the smaller ranchers can’t really afford to bring on part-time labor. They’re cutting costs this time of year.”
“Right, I’ll figure something out. ’Preciate you.”
I ended the call just as a woman stepped out of the front door of the bed and breakfast. She held a phone near her face but had it flipped so the screen was facing the sky and I could hear her conversation because the volume was so high.
I approached, attempting to be polite enough to not interrupt the call yet still get her attention, but she was talking a mile a minute and only flashed a smile, offering a nod as she stopped inthe center of the sidewalk, animatedly throwing her hand before she responded.
“The whole barn door?”
