Page 28 of Roaring Fork Wrangler

I smirked. The asshole had no idea, in the same way he had no clue how many hands were on the payroll. “What’s your role?”

“I don’t have anything to do with the cattle.”

That much was obvious. “Well, seein’ this isn’t your office, I’d say you should be the one to leave.”

He got up and came around the desk. I had a good foot on the guy and fifty pounds of muscle, which I made sure he noticed as he shuffled past me.

“One more thing. You mentioned the former owners. Who owns the place now?”

He raised a brow. Yeah, I was being heavy-handed with him, but I knew firsthand never to let someone like Hoss Schultz think he’d ever have anything over me.

“I can’t answer that yet.”

Meaning, he didn’t know.Good.

As with Hoss,I didn’t get a good feeling about Jed. In fact, there wasn’t a single man out of the twenty who showed up who impressed me.

Yeah, New York was different than Colorado, but in my experience, cowboys were cowboys regardless of where they hailed from. There was a code we lived by.I doubted there was one amongst those gathered here who subscribed to it.

“Is this everyone?” I asked Jed.

“Just about.”

I leveled a glare at him. “Anyone else not here in fifteen minutes will be removed from the payroll.” I stalked into the barn, then returned to the office and started making a list. Near the top was changing the locks on the door and buying a damn space heater. Before that, though, I needed to figure out where I was supposed to live. There wasn’t a ranch manager worth two shakes of salt who lived in one of the bunkhouses. It was as much for the cowboys’ sake as mine.

I was digging through files I had to admit were meticulously kept when I heard a knock at the door. I was about to tell whoever it was to come in, a practice that would be commonplace at the Roaring Fork. But until I had a better handle on the guys who’d be working for me, it wouldn’t be a good idea for them to think they could just walk in.

When I got up and pulled it open, I saw Hoss and Jed head to head a few feet away. “Yeah?”

Schultz got a few more words in before Jed nodded and walked away.

“I came back to give you these,” he said, handing me a set of keys. “The cottage a few yards from the barn is where the previous ranch manager lived.”

After stuffing them in my pocket, I leaned against the doorjamb. “How long have you two known each other?”

“Jed? Hell, I don’t know.”

“Guess.”

“Few years.”

I nodded once, pulled the door closed, and walked away after making sure it was locked. Two things would be updated on my list this afternoon. First, where I’d be living for the next few months. Second, I’d add Jed’s name to the list of those who’d be let go.

I wouldn’t send him packing right away, though. I needed to get a better lay of the land before I did.

9

JUNIPER

We’d just finished opening our gifts on Christmas morning when my mother’s cell phone rang. Since most of our relatives were here, I couldn’t imagine who might be calling.

“Thank you for letting me know, Mrs. Miller,” she said a few minutes into the call, looking straight at me.

I knew without her needing to say it that Miss Cena had passed.

I spentthe time between Christmas and the week after New Year’s looking for more job postings and making a note of the few new ones that had popped up. Rather than look desperate by sending a message when everyone else in the world was still on holiday, I set a reminder to reach out closer to the end of the month.

My mom had called Mrs. Miller a couple of times, asking if there’d be a memorial service for Miss Cena, but she said she wasn’t aware of one. If she’d askedwhether Cord was still at the Lilacs, she didn’t say, and I didn’t bring it up either.

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