Page 5 of Dependable Cowboy

“Excellent. Bessie’s in need of her hot lime treatment.”

Ah, poor Bessie. The dairy heifer was getting up in years and had a reputation for falling victim to minor ailments off and on. Pete Duncan, the family veterinarian and youngest brother, had come up with a treatment plan for Bessie’s latest condition of mange, something Aaron and Sam had to deal with since Pete was away at a conference. They’d also provide the cow with an injectable drug known as ivermectin to make sure to restore her to health as soon as they could.

The Duncans weren’t the type to rid themselves of any animal they could help. It was yet another reason why Aaron respected and appreciated them. Bessie might serve a specific use, but she was also half pet. Especially when it came to Pete, his wife Lilliana, and Whitney. Sam’s wife might be tough as nails and work harder than half the men, but she was all soft and gooey on the inside.

Those kids—the twin’s genders were still a secret since they wanted it to be a surprise—would be lucky to have her as their mama. As well as having Sam as their daddy.

With Bessie’s treatment taken care of, Sam waited for any other of the ranch hands to take off to see to their duties then pulled Aaron aside. It was something Sam had done more than once. But what Sam told him today sent him for a loop.

“Newbie, I want you to become my managerial apprentice,” Sam said, referring to Aaron as “Newbie” even though he’d been withthe ranch for three years now and there were other people there newer than him. “I need a right-hand man to pick up the slack for me, and you’re it.”

“I’m honored,” Aaron told him, and truer words had never been spoken.

Sam patted him firmly on the back. “Comes with more than a decent raise, too. You’ve earned it by proving yourself reliable. I’m going to be tied up for the next little while if not for the next eighteen years straight. I need to know that my duties for this ranch are in good hands whenever I have to focus my attention on more important matters elsewhere.”

Aaron let his mouth slide into a conspiratorial smile. Sam would never say such a thing in front of either retired patriarch Jim or the eldest son and current general manager of the ranch, Bryce. They each liked to say and think that ranch business came before everything else, but their wives would be quick to tell a different story.

Also, Sam, in Aaron’s estimation, at least, had his priorities straight.

“From here on out,” Sam went on. “I’ll be doing some extra training on what to do when certain emergencies come up and how to handle some of the other basic business I hadn’t already shown you. You’ll be ready when I have to take a step back for a while.”

That was another thing Aaron liked about this job. They didn’t just throw their employees to the wolves. In the two positions he’d had previous to this one, it was sink or swim with next to no guidance or leadership. Yet that had never been the case here.

Not once.

“I’m your man,” Aaron felt something powerful burst in his chest. It gave him such a sense of pride to know Sam trusted him like this. Especially considering he was only twenty-eight. There were a lot of other ranch hands on the property who’d been there longer, though he could admit that they weren’t as dedicated as he was.

“Yes, you certainly are. Now, let’s get back to it.”

After returning down the bumpy driveway to his home, Aaron took a long shower to work out the kinks and aches then slid his dinner for one into the microwave. He’d been a bachelor ever since Joy had left him, and he didn’t regret it.

It was fun to play the field and meet new women all the time.

He kept things light with them, letting them know up front that he wasn’t in the market for anything remotely serious. The last time he’d been more serious minded about romance it’d bit him in the rearend.

No more of that. Thank you very much.

As he chomped on his single serving of lasagna, he kicked back in his recliner in front of his large television, a baseball game playing. But he couldn’t seem to hone in on it, despite it being his favorite team.

Today had been such a mixed bag. First, the blast from the past that was Joy Taylor, then a promotion out of the blue. Life could be so unpredictable sometimes.

Yet rather than focusing on his promotion and raise, all he could think about was his old flame and what her being around might mean for his future.

CHAPTER THREE

Enrolling Karaat Rocky Ridge Elementary had proven to be form-heavy enough that Joy had to concentrate on what she was doing, even if it was simple. But apartment and house hunting had been anything but. She’d had to wait on apartment managers to unlock doors or come out of their offices and for real estate agents to show up. It’d given her extra time to contemplate how she felt about seeing Aaron Hunter again.

In a word, she would probably have to say flabbergasted.

She didn’t know why his sudden presence had struck her like a lightning bolt. It wasn’t like she didn’t know that he lived here. He, like many others born and raised in Rocky Ridge, had never left here. But being so near him after so long had almost overwhelmed her.

Registering all his similarities and differences. Like the fact that he seemed to be wearing his hair shorter now. Or that he had a round scar on his left cheek that hadn’t been there before. Yet the eyes, heavy brows, and ready smile… Those had all been the same.

She couldn’t stop thinking about him, about their interaction.

It downloaded a torrent of memories through her brain. How they’d napped next to each other in kindergarten and became fast friends. How they’d shared lunch in the fifth grade with her trading her dessert for his fries—French fries were always her favorite. How they did their homework together on the phone in middle school and went to all the dances together only dancing to the fast songs.

Those had been the days.

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