Page 35 of The Cowboy Who Looked Again

“He’ll always have a place here,” Ward said. “And yeah, if he wants to be here, we’ll make sure he’s got a house, all of that.”

“I think he’ll be okay,” Preacher said. “He knows who he is, and that’s one of the most important things a man can have.”

“Let me talk to him,” Link said quietly. “Okay? I’ll talk to him about it, and honestly, I wouldn’t mind if he moved to the Top Cottage with me. It’s two bedrooms, and that would still be a step up from us sharing.” Which was how they lived now.

Cactus whistled again, and he motioned left in big sweeping motions.

“All right, boys,” Daddy yelled. “Peel right and left, and let’s get ‘em back where they belong.”

Link moved into position with his uncles, too much space between them now to keep talking. He grinned and grinned at the dozen or so dogs that could probably round up the cattle by themselves. One of them, probably a retriever named Lula, barked every so often. She loved to talk to the other dogs, but the heelers and collies simply ran and ran and ran.

He loved this life, here on Shiloh Ridge, and since most of the cattle were on the left, and he’d gone right, he had a few slow moments to pray, “Lord, am I being stupid starting something with Misty again?”

He wouldn’t be leaving Shiloh Ridge, Three Rivers, or Texas. Misty wasn’t here permanently. But she said we could be serious, he thought.

He listened, trying to hear the guidance of the Lord. Not much came through, but Link experienced a tiny pinprick of peace in the very center of his heart. He wasn’t sure what that meant, but God had never stayed silent when Link needed to do something. So maybe a relationship with Misty simply wasn’t on the Lord’s radar right now, because it wouldn’t be a bad thing.

“Bless me to know how to become the man she deserves,” he whispered. “I want to be everything for her. Her best friend. Her partner. Her Prince Charming.”

And he’d do anything he had to do in order to make that happen.

The scent of smoke and flame met Link’s nose the moment he left the cabin through the back door. Behind him, Mitch laughed in his strange, too-loud voice. Cutter spilled out of the cabin behind them too, while Link looked to his right, down to Misty’s cabin.

He’d told her he’d meet her at the bonfire, because with the loose cattle, regular ranch chores had been delayed, and Link hadn’t known when he’d be finished.

“Smells like Uncle Ward has the fire going.” He signed as he said it, and Mitch nodded.

My momma made her chili for tonight, Mitch said. I can’t wait.

Aunt Willa did make a mean pot of chili, and Link grinned as they crossed the grassy area behind their cabins to the trail between a couple of fields. Beyond that, the barns and stables lined the road, and Uncle Ward had built a beautiful family picnic spot on the ranch, sheltered from the winds and eyes of anyone who came to the ranch.

They continued talking and laughing as they made the fifteen-minute walk, and Link brought up the rear between two silos before the picnic area opened up. Dot kept the gravel immaculate, and the picnic tables had just been re-stained so they shone with lacquer.

His momma spread a bright blue tablecloth over one of them, and Aunt Oakley helped her straighten it and clip the corners in place. They moved to another one, where a flowery pink tablecloth covered that picnic table.

Aunt Etta and Uncle Bishop worked with Aunt Holly at the food table, setting out pan after pan of something baked. Four large pots of what Link assumed was chili stood down the table too, with stacks of bowls beside them.

Children ran and played, as there were still some younger kids in the Glover family. Heck, Link’s own baby sister had just turned twelve. Sunnie held one end of a jump rope while Hazel, one of Uncle Mister and Aunt Libby’s girls, jumped over it. Pearl Jo, Ace and Holly’s daughter, held the other end of the rope, with other cousins waiting for their turn.

The youngest Glover—a little boy named Brantley—had just turned six, and he was Mister and Libby’s youngest. Aurora and Oliver Walker had three children now, and their youngest was only eighteen months.

So the age-range at Shiloh Ridge literally went from one to eighty-three, as Grandmother Lois had reached that age on her last birthday. Link expected to see her at the bonfire tonight too, though she didn’t live at Shiloh Ridge anymore. She came up for family things all the time, and sure enough, he saw her arrive with Aunt Ida and Uncle Brady and their four children.

Their twins, Johnny and Judy, were seventeen now, almost seniors in high school, and they came over to Link, Cutter, and Mitch. Link often hung out with the older teens in the family, and he fist-bumped Johnny, who asked, “Did you see what’s for dinner?”

“I know Aunt Willa made chili,” Link said.

“And Auntie Etta and Uncle Bishop made cinnamon rolls to dip in it,” Judy said.

Link’s mouth started to water. “Oh, boy,” he said. “That’s a winner.” Then he laid eyes on Misty and Janie, who’d arrived from the homestead side of the picnic area. Perhaps they’d just gotten back to the ranch from their job down in town and had parked there instead of going home.

Link’s stomach did a flip and a flop and growled at him for the long afternoon without feeding it. And his mouth watered even more, this time for the gorgeous woman who’d just found him and had smiled.

Mitch’s hands moved, but Link couldn’t tear his eyes from Misty. “Give me a second,” he said to his friends and cousins, and then he headed Misty’s way.

Chapter Twelve

“Hey, beautiful,” Link said, and Misty could get used to being greeted like that every single day.

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