Page 8 of A Sunny Sweetheart for the Cowboy

Jude rolled his eyes. “It was the best thing offered to me at the time. You know what I really want to do?"

“No, what?" If Jude had secret dreams, he'd never bothered to tell Weston about them. Or maybe Weston hadn’t been listening.

Jude looked up into the sky where a pair of red-tailed hawks dipped and dove in the wind currents. Above them were several puffy clouds and the contrail of a jet. “I want to fly."

“You what?" This was news. And it wasn't something Weston wanted to do any day of the week. Give him a horse between his knees and he was a happy guy. Well, as happy as possible. But flying? No, thank you.

"I talked to Grandfather about it last fall. He might hook me up with some flying lessons."

Weston studied his brother. How was he supposed to figure this? They'd been around each other all winter during the quiet hours on the ranch, and Jude had never bothered to mention it to him. Instead, he’d talked to Grandfather. Since when did the old man really care about the Kline brothers?

Okay, that wasn't completely fair. If he didn't care at all, he wouldn't have bought Sweet River Ranch and invited all of his grandsons to help get the place running smoothly. No one had made the old guy do that. Even Mom, at her finest, couldn't have persuaded Walter Sullivan to do something he didn't want to do.

But Weston had a hard time believing that Grandfather truly cared about their individual hopes and dreams. If he did, how was it that all six of his grandsons found themselves employed by Sullivan Enterprises? Wouldn't one or two at least have made a life for themselves outside of the family business?

Maxwell had. But still, when Grandfather had beckoned, Max had come running, just like all the others.

Maybe Weston's inability to trust that his grandfather had his best in mind was rooted in his struggle to believe that God had his best in mind. He'd have to think on that later. Now, he turned to Jude. “If that's what you really want to do, and the old man is willing to foot the bill, then that's great. I hope it works out for you."

The tension in Jude’s shoulders seem to relax. “Thanks, bro. I've heard Uncle James complain enough times about having to fly to Kansas to pick up Aunt Maribel for business meetings that it kind of got wedged in my brain, you know? I always wished I could fly as a kid, but there was never money for anything like that."

No kidding. Dad had always struggled to keep their family ranch afloat. Mom had worked as a caterer to help make ends meet. That's where she’d honed her great cooking skills that came in so handy now. She had proved herself capable last summer in the Sweet River Ranch kitchen. No one had any complaints. Rather, everyone raved about her cooking. At least one of them had done well in their new position.

Weston had done well, too. But somehow, he kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Yeah, he was totally capable of taking care of the horses and cows and overseeing Joseph, who ran the farming side of things.

No one could quibble with Weston’s expertise, but that didn't mean he felt secure. There was always something. He could never stay out of trouble long enough to do a good job. Sooner or later, someone would notice something he’d done wrong or had forgotten to do, and bam. He’d find himself without a job again.

Blood wasn't thicker than water, especially if a guy hadn't been born into it like him and Jude. The Sullivan cousins were secure. They’d been part of Grandfather’s plans their entire lives, unlike the Klines.

“When were you going to tell me?" Weston tried to keep the aggravation out of his voice. He doubted that he'd succeeded.

"I wasn't sure what you’d think." Jude shifted restlessly on Pepper. “I didn’t know if you'd be jealous. Grandfather would probably let you take flying lessons too, if you wanted."

"Who, me? Not a chance. A horse’s back is as far off the ground as I want to get." He patted Ranger’s neck. “The thought of flying holds no appeal.” Scared him silly, not that he’d let his brother in on that little secret.

“Have you ever been up?”

Weston shook his head. “Never wanted to, plus there's been no place to go."

"I went that one time when the youth group flew to Mexico to help in an orphanage."

“That was after my time.” Weston would have been able to go had he been able to drum up enough financial support, but he hadn't really cared about the mission enough to make the effort. It was one of the few things Jude had grabbed hold of that Weston hadn't.

The trail narrowed, and Weston fell in behind his brother. He should probably pull aside at the next opportunity and rejoin his own cohort, but before he could put action to that, he rounded the next curve in the trail and found the group staring out into the distance.

Darrell had his binoculars to his eyes. “Over there! See on that cliff? Mountain goats! We don't see those every day."

Weston pulled out his own bins and focused on the precipice. Darrell was right. They passed their field glasses around to those who didn't have any, and everyone got a chance to see the goats. By then, more of the riders had caught up with them, and they were equally as excited to spot the distant wildlife.

“What other animals are we likely to see around here?" one of the new hires asked.

Darrell shifted to look at the girl. “Well, there are bears, both grizzlies and blacks. Mostly, we see those at a distance, but sometimes they come in close. There are also mountain lions, but your chance of spotting one of those is very slim. You'll only see them if they want you to, and they’re night hunters for the most part. On hot summer days, you might spot some rattlesnakes on rocks like those over there. Other than that, not much. Skunks. Millions of mosquitoes. Just regular nature."

“I detest snakes, and I’m not so fond of mosquitoes, either.” The young woman shuddered.

“I hear you.” Darrell laughed. "Let me tell you about the time our horses spooked a skunk last summer.”

Good, let someone else tell the stories. Weston glanced toward the rear of the group where Paisley and their riders had just joined them. She raised her eyebrows at him and stared coolly.

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