“I can tell.” He looked over to her. “How long are you here?”
“I leave tomorrow,” she said. “It’s a long drive, and I stay overnight in West Yellowstone.”
“Sure,” Bryce said, his gaze stuck on the mountains in the distance too. “You ever think about coming back to Coral Canyon?”
Bailey hugged herself, though the afternoon sunshine lent warmth to the cold air. “All the time,” she admitted. “All the time.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
Tex Young stood on his heated back deck, a mug of coffee warming his hands as he watched his brother-in-law open the barn doors. Several teens and kids hovered around Wade, who knew all of them though he’d never asked to be part of the enormous Young clan.
He wore his prosthetics today, and Luke, Jem, and Blaze had gone downstairs to the yard to help with the horses too. Tex sipped his coffee, enjoying his birds-eye view of the people he loved best.
The late November air held a bite, but that hadn’t stopped him from suggesting they get the horses out and give them the exercise they needed. Blaze’s girls loved to ride, and all of Jem’s kids did too.
Wade and Cheryl’s kids could always be persuaded to ride a pony as well, and he looked over as Trace easedup to the railing next to him. “Hey-o,” Tex said. “I can’t believe I have room for this coffee, but it’s going down.” He chuckled, because he’d definitely gorged himself on the Thanksgiving meal Abby, her mother, and his had put together.
They’d had people sitting in every available seat, as the ranch house here where Tex had grown up wasn’t exactly huge. He had pushed out the back a bit and then added on this big deck. He and Abby had installed heaters a couple of years ago, and it provided enough space for all of them to sit down and eat.
“There’s pie,” someone called from inside, and Tex groaned.
“I’m with you on that one, brother,” Trace said, chuckling. “I can’t stay away from that Cajun chicken that Cheryl makes.”
“It’s so good, right?” Tex had eaten plenty of that—along with the smoked turkey and then a couple of sweet and sour meatballs too. All of his brothers had brought sides, and Tex didn’t want to be rude by not sampling everything.
“You two aren’t riding?”
Tex turned toward Otis as he stepped outside and brought the sliding door closed behind him. The chatter from the house dimmed, leaving Tex with the cold country air and only the sound of those squabbling over who would get to ride first down by the barn.
“Nope,” Tex said. “I’m afraid everything I just ate will come up if I try to get on a horse.”
Otis chuckled and moved to stand on Tex’s other side. “I sent OJ and Ana down with Joey.”
Sure enough, Joey appeared at the corner of the house, leading the way toward the barn. Adam strode at her side, tall and strong and quite handsome in his dark brown cowboy hat. Joey held Ana’s hand, and OJ—ever the life of the party—skipped ahead, then turned back to say something to everyone.
Tex’s heart warmed at the sight of them, because the four of them looked an awful lot like…a family. He cut a look over to Otis, who likewise watched his children and Adam.
Tex held his tongue, because in situations like this, Otis had to be the one to start the conversation. So he took another sip of his coffee, enjoying the heat in his hands and his throat.
“My fingers needed this break,” he said.
Trace grunted in agreement, though he didn’t say anything. Tex knew his brother still played his guitar daily, but Tex hadn’t been doing that. Being out in the studio again had definitely brought some aches to his old joints, though he did love playing and singing and being with his brothers.
He watched as Grace, Bennett, and Carver got to ride his horses first. Blaze and Jem stayed with the kids who had to wait their turn, and Wade led a few more over to his ranch, where he opened his stable and started getting out his horses.
“Would you look at that?” Trace said from beside him, and Tex glanced over to him. Trace nodded toward the stable, where Joey helped Grace to the ground, and Adam swept Pippa into his arms.
Tex’s youngest daughter squealed in delight, and shegrinned at Adam as he set her in the saddle. “Our new manager’s got a way with kids.”
“And with Joey,” Otis added quietly, his tone carrying a hint of fatherly concern.
Tex understood his brother’s worry. As the oldest of the nine brothers, he’d watched the family dynamics shift and grow over the decades. Joey had always been one of the gentler souls among their crew, and Adam Harmon definitely had a way with Tex’s quieter niece.
“He’s a good man,” Tex said, knowing Otis needed to hear it. “Harry and Bryce love him, and I’ve never seen a man work as hard as him.”
“All things I know,” Otis said. “I just worry about what might happen if they don’t work out.”
