Page 83 of Roping Her In

“This is a mighty fine piece of property,” Clancy said, and their conversation got put on hold as Robbie arrived with another cow.

Jake got to work on it while Clancy held it with the confidence of a man who’d worked with a lot of cattle. “If you or your brothers ever find yourself bored and need some work,” Jake said. “I know lots of guys with hobby farms or ranches of all sizes. We know the people who own the orchards. There’s always seasonal work that needs to be done.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Clancy said. “Thanks so much.”

“And have you met Finn Ackerman?” Jake said. “Because he runs a small ranch owners’ meeting on the third Thursday of every month in the back room of the IFA, and you’d be more than welcome. Or whoever’s in charge of your ranch.” He glanced around and checked off the cow they’d been looking at. “Of course, like five of the Glovers come, so probably all of you Blackwells could come if you wanted.”

He chuckled, but Clancy shook his head. “You don’t want to get all of us in a single room, trust me.” He seemed like he might be joking, but at the same time, he totally wasn’t.

Conrad returned with their mid-morning wares, and Jake, Clancy, Robbie, and Jason tapped out of the rotation for checking calves for a fifteen-minute break.

Jake sent a quick text to Hailey, just to check on her, but he wasn’t surprised when she didn’t answer immediately. Surely she’d had a slower start than him, but once the cattle had started being branded, she’d have plenty to do.

He drank his whole bottle of lemonade and ate the hot ham and cheese sandwich Conrad had brought before his phone made any noise at all.

Things are going great down here, Hailey said.

Great, Jake said. I can’t wait until lunchtime, so I can see you again.

A bit of foolishness ran through him at that text, but he’d spoken true, and he didn’t want to be embarrassed about his feelings for Hailey.

The break ended soon enough, and Jake got back to work, now counting down the minutes until Sammy Glover would ring the lunch bell, and they’d all gather together to eat.

31

Hailey turned where her navigation app instructed her to do so. She’d known Conrad had purchased the property bordering his on the south, but she hadn’t realized that it was the only parcel of land between his hobby farm and the enormity of Seven Sons Ranch.

It only spanned two acres wide at the highway, and three at the eastern edge of the property, twenty acres back.

He’d said the acquisition had added fifty-four acres to his farm, where the place where he lived with his family was a ten-acre property on what used to be the southern highway of town.

Shiloh Ridge and Seven Sons had always existed out here, but now there were some side streets that held a dozen or so houses. This property had probably once been isolated from the rest of town, and as Hailey trundled down the dirt road with towering trees on both sides, she felt like she was entering another world.

She rolled down her window, though she had just gotten off work at Feline Friends, and six p.m. was probably the hottest part of this April day. This property was quiet and serene, and it spoke to Hailey’s soul in a way that felt personal and calming.

Conrad had agreed to meet her at the house to do their interview; he wanted a farm manager with some veterinary expertise. While Hailey had not studied ranch management, she had managed restaurants, and they had dozens and dozens of moving parts—and came with a staff.

Hailey adjusted her grip on the steering wheel, working to loosen it and then tighten it again as her nerves made themselves known. Did she really want another management job?

Conrad had confessed in a text with laughing emojis that he really just wanted more land for his miniature donkeys, and he wasn’t that interested in cultivating it or adding a bunch of different animals. She knew he hadn’t told her everything, and she had a list of questions for the man he needed to answer before she even considered taking this job.

Hailey pulled up to a farmhouse which needed a fresh coat of paint. She was actually surprised that Conrad hadn’t done that yet, as he’d owned this property for at least nine months. It was a sickly pale yellow and reminded her of unpleasant bodily fluids.

As she got out, she noticed that the roof looked new, and that some painting had been started on the porch. Conrad came out the front door, grinning. He laughed and raised his hand as if she wouldn’t see him.

“Howdy, Hailey.” He came thumping down the stairs with his cowboy boots banging against the wood and shook her hand.

“Hey, Conrad,” she said easily. She couldn’t believe he was interviewing her for this job when she knew he had male family members, as well as countless others, who could take care of this place a lot better than she could.

“How are things at Feline Friends?” he asked.

“Just great,” she said. “Thanks for meeting me after work. I hope I’m not keeping you from your wife and kids.”

“Oh, it’s the Walker Lady Luncheon tonight,” he said dismissively.

Hailey blinked at him. “The Walker Lady Luncheon?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I mean, they do it in the evening now, but they used to meet during the day. My sister does it with all the cousins and in-laws in the Walker family, and that includes Glory Rose.”