Eve hadn’t anticipated the traps this temporary marriage would present.
And she’d barely been married twenty-four hours.
Chapter Eight
“Congratulations on your marriage,” Roddy told Hayden later that morning as they drove through the gates of the Willow Creek Ranch. “Didn’t even know you were dating.”
“Surprised you, did I?” Hayden drove over a rise and glanced about the ranch, wishing he’d had the right to kiss Evie goodbye this morning. Seemed wrong to leave her like that, even if their marriage wasn’t real.
The Willow Creek property used to be a horse-breeding operation before Hayden’s grandfather purchased it. It was a fairly flat spread, far enough away from the mountains bordering the valley that its pastures were relatively free of rocky outcroppings. Even before Hayden pulled into the ranch yard, he could see right away that the house and outbuildings needed attention.
“I expect you’ll be having a shindig to celebrate when your brothers get back,” Roddy went on, bringing Hayden back to the present. “Sure will be nice to have young’uns at the ranch again.”
“Nice?” Hayden scoffed. “Roddy, you used to say my brothers and me tried your patience.”
“That’s true too.” The old man chuckled. “But it’s been way too quiet around here since you boys bolted off.”
“I suppose that’s fair.” Hayden slowed as they entered the ranch yard.
The two men fell silent as they unloaded the saddled horses and then rode into the nearest pasture, one of many on the property.
“Roddy, we’re only supposed to have a hundred head on this ranch.” By Hayden’s estimation, there were about twenty more cows than that in this pasture alone.
“Clyde and me moved more heifers out here last year.” Roddy sounded as if he hadn’t approved. The short, wiry old cowboy glanced around. “Looks like we’ve got some calves.”
Not nearly as many as the size of the herd would suggest. Had the heifers aged out? Was poor nutrition impacting fertility? Hayden didn’t know.
“Why wasn’t that move marked in the ledger?” Hayden’s gelding tossed his head. The big chestnut wanted to run. Hayden sat back in the saddle, reins firm. “Easy, Red.”
“Clyde was old-school.” Roddy shrugged his bent shoulders. “If he had time to make a record, he made a record. And if not…”
Hayden groaned. “And if not, he ensured my job figuring things out would be torture.”
“He didn’t do it on purpose.” Roddy was always quick to defend Grandpa.
“Then why did he do it?” Hayden wondered aloud.
“He was tired after you boys left.” Roddy shielded his eyes from the sun, looking eastward. “He let things go.”
Hayden spotted a bull pawing the ground nearby, one that looked younger than any bull on the ledger and cranky enough to be a caution. “It’ll take days to match each cow to their paperwork.” He needed certified cattle for the next big livestock auction a few weeks away. And there were still the other ranches to cover. Grandpa had purchased property all over the valley.
“If I were in your boots, I’d just start over with a fresh list.” Roddy leaned on his saddle horn. “What’s here is here. Make a list of ’em. We need to tag this year’s calves. Separate the young bulls from the herd. Decide which to keep.”
It was as good an idea as any.
“Okay, Roddy. I’m on board. Let’s move the bulls into one pasture and the cows into the other.”
And start from square one.
*
Later that afternoon, Eve finished reading several case studies involving orthopedic care and closed her textbook with a satisfied sigh.
When she’d first studied nursing ten years ago, it had been sink or swim. Every topic, every clinical application, and every dosing procedure had been new. The terminology had been daunting. Now, Eve had the field experience and vocabulary to absorb the material and more easily put it into context.
She climbed out of the corner of the couch and stretched, still thinking about the material she’d been reading until she realized…
The house was too quiet.