“We’re rotating animals into barns,” Link said, raising his hand halfway at the same time. “Making sure everyone has shelter and that our water systems don’t freeze.”
“Same here,” Henry said. “We’ve been wrapping pipes and checking heaters in every building, rotating horses, and cleaning more regularly. Wet hay is bad business for horse’s hooves.”
“What about feed?” Finn asked. “Everyone stocked up?”
“I’m good through March for my few horses,” Colt said. “But I’m worried about the orchards. If we get another hard freeze, it could damage the trees.”
“Have you been covering them?” Alex asked.
“As much as we can,” Colt said. “But there’s only so much you can do when you’ve got hundreds of acres.”
“Maybe you need more seasonal help if the weather stays nasty,” Tate said. “We’ve brought on a few extra people at the produce farm.”
Colt nodded and typed something into his phone.
“Birthing season’s in full swing too,” Dawson said. “We’re expecting about fifty calves between now and April. I’m already losing sleep over it.”
“If you need help, call me,” Conrad said. “I’ve got experience with difficult births, and my neighbor used to work on a sheep farm in Montana. He knows how to get babies through bad weather.”
“Anyone can call me anytime,” Link said. “We have cowhands at Shiloh Ridge I can dispatch.”
“Yeah, and we have hundreds of calves being born too,” Gun said. “But Wilder has been great with scheduling, and he’s been teaching me, so if you need help managing that, I know we’d sit down with you and go over it.”
“I’m good with horse care,” Rock said. “And happy to help anyone if something comes up.”
“I can help with any veterinary questions,” Jake said. “Sometimes a quick video call is all it takes.”
Finn beamed at him, thrilled he’d volunteered himself as a resource. The conversation continued to flow, with some of their more vocal members—Henry and Conrad and Link—speaking the most. But plenty of others piped in when necessary, and he saw more than one person taking notes.
This was what he loved most—the willingness to show up for one another, no matter what. He closed his eyes and let the words dull into a distant roar in his ears as he prayed.
Lord, thank You for bringing us together today. I ask for Your protection over our ranches, our families, and our animals as we face the challenges of this season. I pray for Dawson’s daddy and his momma, that You’d grant them peace and comfort. I ask for safety as we work, wisdom as we make decisions, and strength to keep going when things get hard. And I thank You for this community—for friends who show up, who help, and who remind us we’re never alone.
Finn opened his eyes, the reality of the men and women around the conference room table rushing back at him. Lacy’s hands moved like lightning, and when Mitch wanted to say something, she called out, asked his questions or said his piece, and the conversation continued.
Finn’s heart had never felt so full. He caught Ty’s eye, who gave him a lopsided smile, and then looked at Jake. He wore bright hope in his expression, and Finn knew that despite Ty’s protests about being here, or Jake’s reluctance to come, they belonged.
They all did.
Pure gratitude filled him for the third Thursday of the month, for this band of brothers and sisters, and for the small town goodness that made Three Rivers feel like a little slice of heaven on Earth.
17
Elaine Walker pulled up to the gray brick historic building at the far end of Three Rivers’s Main Street. She lifted her coffee cup from the console, reached across to the passenger seat for her bag, and got out of her car.
She wasn’t sure why the short walk from the small parking lot into the quaint office space she’d rented filled her with such a zing of pride, but it did.
It’s because you’re doing something with your life now,she thought as she entered the co-op office space and climbed the stairs to the second floor.
She rented the entire floor, which had once been three bedrooms and still had its own bathroom. The big living area held an eight-foot desk for herself. A kitchenette had been built into the far wall, and Elaine set her bag on the counter there and started another pot of coffee.
After a few years of trying to figure out what she wanted to do, while she worked jobs here and there just to see what might tickle her interest, she’d decided to start a foundation that would help women in small Texas towns support themselves.
She worked with single moms, widows, married women, and singles of all ages: helping them find better educational opportunities, apply for scholarships and business funding, get the health insurance they needed, research schools for their kids, anything at all that might improve their quality of life.
She’d initially funded the foundation with her own money, which had come from her parents. All of the Walkers a generation older than her were billionaires, and she wasn’t sure what her aunts and uncles had done for their kids, but her parents had set up trusts for their children when they were born.
When they turned twenty-five, they got access to the trust and no longer had to consult Momma or Daddy about what to do. Not only that, but Elaine’s older brother Conrad was a financial wizard, and he had been managing the family’s money for years, hers included.
