She pressed a cheek on top of his head. "Tell me. What all did you do while we were gone?"
CHAPTER15
Jericho paused inside the barn door, staring at the pair walking toward the house. Dinah looked more like a doting mother than Lucy had most times he'd seen her with the children, especially those last few years.
Sean was telling her something, his hands waving in wild gestures. The boy hadn't seemed as sad since coming to the ranch as his sister had, but Dinah had still managed to bring him to life in a way none of the rest of them could.
As the two disappeared into the house, he turned back to the barn's interior. Gil had already removed the saddle from Dinah's horse and was brushing down the gelding's sweaty coat.
Jericho set to work doing the same for Pinto, doing his best to ignore the way Gil watched him.
Did he think Jericho had been staring at Dinah? Notjusther. And not for the reason Gil probably thought. She was pretty, no man could deny that. But it was the person within he couldn't stop thinking about.
Best start a conversation before Gil asked about her. Jericho lifted the saddle from Pinto's back and turned to hang it on the bar. "I think it's time to build the fence." That should send his brother's thoughts in a different direction.
"No." Gil shook his head.
They'd had this argument so many times. "A fence is the only way to show people this land isn't free to roam."
"It'll only keep decent people out. The ones we really want to stay away will just find a path around it."
Jericho sent him a glare. "We don't want anyone coming on our land, decent people or not."
Gil turned to him, folding his arms to lean over the gelding's back. "You know, Miles had a thought that might be worth ponderin'. He said we should cut a trail starting at the base of the next mountain over. A path that'll lead people up the hill to the house without bringing them up from the creek."
Jericho eyed him. "What good would that do?"
"It'll keep people from comin’ up through the strawberries where we don't want 'em."
He frowned. "We don't want 'em at the house either." Maybe that was better than people finding sapphires in the creek, but only by a little. “And that will be an open invitation.”
Gil’s nose twitched like he was fighting for patience, but his hint of a grin never slipped. "Who says we don't? Not all of us are as ornery and unfriendly as you."
Jericho turned back to Pinto, putting his back to his brother. "You're not making me want to say yes, Gil." Not that he would agree to invite people here, even if his brothers promised to do his chores for a year.
"Jericho."
Something in his brother's voice made him turn.
His brother’s expression had lost its usual pleasantness. His eyes glinted in a way that made him look like a stranger. "It's not fully your decision. The boys and I want to take a vote."
His insides twisted, a fear tightening in his chest that he'd not felt since Lucy told him she was carrying Derek’s child.
He swallowed hard, trying to keep his voice steady. "A vote?"
His tone softened but his eyes remained hard. "You can't always be the one who decides things. We're a family. Families should make decisions together."
Jericho clenched his jaw. "I'm not trying to decide everything. I just want to protect you all."
Gil's voice gentled more. "I know that. But sometimes you have to take a chance. Trust each other."
"I don't want to take a chance." He turned his back to his brother again. "We've already learned what can happen when you trust the wrong people."
"I'm not suggesting we trust everyone who comes through here. But we can't completely shut ourselves off from the world either."
Jericho didn't respond. Lucy would never have gone wrong if he'd made her stay on the ranch instead of going with him to Helena. Even then, she would have been safe if they hadn't allowed Derek to ride with them.
It had all started with trust.
