Preston chomped on a chip sullenly. “Oh, you’ll give me more chores. And I already know which ones. You’ll send me to Coyote Glen to help out little Miss Blue-Eyed-and-Clueless. I saw how you were looking at her at the funeral.”
“Her eyes are green.” Landon said. “And I was only looking at her to see how she was holding up.”
“Uh huh.” Jaxon clearly had his doubts. “Does this mean you’re having second thoughts about Angelina?”
Landon had never had first thoughts about her. Angelina had gone to high school with him and now worked as a vet in a Bisbee clinic that specialized in livestock. Although another vet worked with her, she always seemed to be the one who showed up when Landon put in a call, and it was becoming clear that she wanted to help him out with more than just an occasional cow with pinkeye. He’d taken her out to dinner a time or two to thank her for her help, and she’d invited him to her last office party.
“Angelina and I are just friends,” Landon said.
“And you and Kitty are just opponents,” Preston said. “Try to remember that.”
Chapter Six
Kate didn’t think muchabout running the ranch the first week and a half after her grandpa’s funeral. She and her parents had to sort through decades of her grandparents’ possessions. Fortunately, Dewayne Hughes, the foreman, oversaw a lot of the day-to-day tasks of running Coyote Glen. He was a middle-aged man, who may or may not have had hair underneath his hat. His skin was so tan it seemed to be made of leather, and he constantly had a wad of chewing tobacco in his cheek.
He lived in a small house on the other side of the front pastures: the foreman’s cottage. Kate had never stepped foot inside it. When she’d spent summers in Arizona, she’d seen Mr. Hughes as someone who had no patience, imagination, or sense of humor, and she’d kept out of his way as much as possible. Now she had to work with him five days a week.
During their stay, Kate’s father helped her clean the barn, showed her how to feed and water the livestock, and gave her a crash course in reattaching barbed wire to fence posts. But her family couldn’t stay long. The will limited the time she could have visitors. And besides, her parents needed to get back to their jobs, and Libby had to return to school.
The morning of her family’s departure, Kate went outside to see them off. Her father gave her a long hug. “Love you. Thanks for your help. You’ll be fine. Just call me when you have questions.”
Her mother hugged her next. “Your father hasn’t worked on the ranch in twenty-five years. Ask Dewayne your questions. That’s what you’re paying him for.”
Kate’s father pulled the car key from his pocket. “Cattle haven’t changed since I was a teenager. They still eat the same stuff and give birth the same way.”
Her mother motioned for Libby to get in the car and mock whispered, “When your father lived here, no one used spreadsheets or smartphones. The internet was just a wispy thing made of chat boards and cat memes.” She gave Kate another hug and kissed her cheek. “Thanks for doing this for us. I’m sorry we’ve turned you into a ranch hand for a year.”
“You didn’t do that,” Kate said. “Grandpa did.”
“Well, we appreciate your work,” her mother emphasized. “Remember, at the end of this, you’ll have money to start up your own design business.”
The reminder should have made Kate happy. But any future plans seemed so far away, blotted out by desert hills, red rock, and a hot Arizona sky.
Libby took one last selfie with a background of Palo Verde trees and distant hills. “I wish I could stay. Horseback riding is way more fun than homework. Besides, Preston Wyle is hot.”
“He’s too old for you,” Kate said. “And if he’s anything like his brothers, he’s nothing but trouble.”
Libby sighed meaningfully. “Sometimes the trouble is worth it.”
“I doubt that.” Really, it was a good thing Libby never came to spend summers at Coyote Glen. She was nothing but confidence and flirt. She would have given Grandpa fits.
As Libby got into the back of the car, she sent Kate a knowing look. “If you run into any of that sort of trouble with Preston’s hot older brother, I want details.”
Kate didn’t bother asking which brother. They all qualified.
The car started up and headed toward the drive that led to the main road. Kate waved bravely until they pulled out of sight. And then she was alone. She felt as though she’d been dropped off on island—a desert island filled with cattle.
She hardly had time to wallow sufficiently in self-pity before Dewayne strolled up with a list of chores for her. Time to start her stint as ranch boss. She fed the horses and chickens, gathered eggs, and drove out to the bull pasture. Since the bulls were kept away from the cows for most of the year, they didn’t have as much grazing land and needed extra feed. Then she checked a stretch of fence in the back sections for loose wire. While she did that, she picked up litter that trespassers had left behind and contemplated how much she hated both trespassers and shrub brush.
Missy accompanied Kate as she worked, head cocked in question as though she wasn’t sure why Kate was still here and was really hoping someone better would come along.
That was Kate’s first day on her own.
The next morning when she went outside to face her responsibilities, Dewayne was already waiting for her with a new litany of tasks. “You can’t help with fixing well pumps or patching irrigation pipes, so I’ll handle those. After you feed the animals, check the water tanks and spread manure on the garden.” He pointed to a small mountain near the barn. Even at this distance, the unpleasant scent drifted over every time the breeze picked up.
Kate stared at manure pile grimly. A wheelbarrow, shovel, and hoe lay nearby. “Wouldn’t using a tractor be faster?”
“Yep. But the small tractor’s hydraulics are out. Still waiting for a part.” He nodded to the side of the barn where the tractor stood surrounded by buckets like it was a sick patient.