Page 92 of The Cowboy Who Looked Again

“Great to meet you.” Danny shook their hands too. “You live here. It’s such a beautiful home.”

“Thank you,” Oakley said. “Our foremen.” She indicated Uncle Ward and Uncle Preacher. “They’ll be over what you do here on the ranch. Ward and Preacher Glover.”

“Thank you,” Danny said, stepping past Ranger and Oakley. “I am gonna work real hard here, I promise you that.”

Link watched him pump Uncle Ward’s hand and then Uncle Preacher’s. Neither of them said a single word, and neither of their faces moved an inch. Link turned his head away to hide his smile, because his uncles were putting on a show, plain and simple.

And when Uncle Cactus stepped next to them and said, “We have a rule on this ranch, son,” Link dang near burst out laughing.

Danny looked at his tall, broad uncle and said, “Oh.”

“This is Cactus,” Daddy said, and they’d so rehearsed this. “He’s the second son behind me.”

“Why’s he here?” Misty asked, folding her arms and giving Cactus a shrewd smile.

“Because someone has to keep Bear from doing something senile in his old age,” Cactus said without missing a beat. Link did let his laughter loose then, as did several others.

As Link sobered, he said, “Hiring Danny is going to be the least senile thing any of us does.” He gave the man a grin as wide as the sky. “Trust me.”

“I’m here,” someone called from the front door, and it sounded like Aunt Etta. Sure enough, she walked into the kitchen a moment later, carrying a big pot of something. Her husband, August, came right behind her, as did all three of their children. Hailey belonged to them too, but she didn’t live at home anymore, so Link wasn’t shocked not to see her.

Their oldest son, Joey, carried a huge tray of rolls that had been perfectly baked and browned, and Link’s stomach roared for bread, butter, and strawberry jam. The twins, Nash and Nellie, carried a bowl each, and Uncle August set down cardboard bowls, plastic utensils, and a bag of bottles and containers.

“What do we have here?” Misty asked as she moved over to the island to help unpack the food.

“Misty,” Nellie said, right in her face. “Momma made chicken pot pie stew. You are gonna love it.” The ten-year-old lived life with a certain enthusiasm that Link could barely maintain

“I’m in love with it already,” she said kindly. “Etta, this is my brother, Danny.”

Etta threw her hot pads on the counter with wild abandon and stepped right over to Danny. She already wore a big smile to go with her bright blue eyes, and she gripped him by the shoulders. “Look at you.”

Someone in the room stifled a laugh, and someone else cleared their throat. Link wasn’t sure what to do. His heart hammered at him a couple of times, but the way Momma and Aunt Oakley just stood there when they could’ve intervened had rendered him silent and still too.

“What a handsome man you are,” Aunt Etta said. “Yep, I think you’re going to do just fine here.” She released him and stepped back. “My kids.” She indicated them and then her husband, introducing them all around.

“Nice to meet you,” Danny said, looking a little shell-shocked. In fact, his lips had barely moved when he’d spoken.

“Let’s eat,” Aunt Etta said. “Unless we’re missing people still.” She lifted the lid off her pot of chicken pot pie stew. “Are we?”

“No,” Daddy said. “We’re all here.”

“Enough to start,” Uncle Ward said. “Dot and the kids are headed over, but we can start without ‘em.”

“Then let’s start,” Momma said. “I think I just heard Link’s stomach growl from here.” She gave him a lopsided grin, and Link only smiled. A certain nervousness continued to run through him, though his family had been accepting and welcoming of Danny.

He prayed that having Misty’s brother here wouldn’t cause any problems, that he’d never have to reprimand or fire the man, and that everyone would be happy here at the ranch.

“And you just put the tack back where we got it,” Link said several days later. “And?—”

“We brush down the horses and put them away,” Danny said. “I can do it.”

Link looked over to him. He’d done every task asked of him since he’d come to the ranch. Sure, Link had found him icing his back and his shoulder in the evenings, because ranch work wasn’t a walk in the park. But he showed up on time in the morning, he listened, and he worked hard.

Link hadn’t heard a word of complaint, and even Cutter had texted Link to say that Danny was welcome company in the evenings.

“I can do it,” Danny said. “Really, Link. If I need help, I’ll grab someone.” He moved to take the saddle over to the shelf. “Lord knows there’s a cowboy every five feet around here.”

Link grinned at him and said, “Okay. I have to go down to Preacher’s for a meeting.”

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