Page 13 of Saving Jared

Jared smiled at that. “We’ll look forward to having you back.”

“Hi-ya!”

“Oh my.” Mrs. Owens grimaced and twisted in her saddle at one of the hand’s call. “It looks like we’re falling behind.” She cast a grin at her husband. “We’d better get going, Charles. Wouldn’t want the trail boss to fire us now, would we,” she said on a slight chuckle. Then whooped out her own, “Hi-ya,” as she turned her horse and trotted off.

“She’s something else, isn’t she?” Mr. Owens said with a laugh before taking off after her. “Hold up, Al.”

“Theirs is a love match for sure.”

Jared glanced to his right. The ranch’s foreman, Russ Smithers, sidled up beside him astride his horse, while his deep brown gaze locked on the older couple.

“They are that,” Jared answered with a smile. "That Mr. Owens is a lucky man."

"Yep," Russ said distantly as he continued to stare after them. And it might have been a trick of the light, but a fleeting look of longing crossed the other man’s bronzed, dark brown features. "If you’re ever truly fortunate enough to find a good woman like that, don’t let her go." Then the other man said low as his gaze traveled over the herd, "You’ll live to regret it."

"Are you—"

An obviously forced chuckle left Russ before he hurriedly said, "Don’t pay me any attention. It’s been a long day."

If Russ wanted to drop the subject, he would. “So, any problems?”

Russ shrugged, any hint of melancholy gone as he focused back on him. “Nothing much. Just the same old same old with one or two of the guests who think they know more than we do.” He pulled off his hat and fanned over his face. “Gotta love having experts on hand to show us how it’s done.”

Jared grinned. “I know what you mean. I’ve had to deal with a few of those the last couple of days. It never fails we have at least one or ten each week.”

“Right?” Russ said on a laugh, then let out a deep sigh as he reset his hat atop his shaved head. “I gotta be honest with you, Jared, I’m looking forward to Sunday afternoon when we’ll have the ranch back to ourselves again.”

“For the most part.” Willa would be under his roof for the foreseeable future when she wasn’t working. So, it wouldn’t be completely back to normal.

“How’s that?”

“Hmm?” Jared leaned forward and peered way past Russ to where Jude followed behind the tail end of the drive. “Willa Taggert’s staying with us for…” He met Russ’s gaze. “Well, it could be for a while.”

Russ tensed. “She is? Has something happened?”

Jared frowned at the concern in the other man’s voice. Then he couldn’t help his surprise at the tight press of Russ’s lips, while the rest of his expression remained shadowed by the brim of his hat.

“Nothing she won’t work out,” Jared told him with some caution. Had Willa and Russ ever spent any time together? He didn’t think so. “She had a dust-up with her brothers over that firefighter calendar she posed for.” A flush of color darkened Russ’s jaw. “I take it you’ve seen it?”

Russ cleared his throat and tugged at the blue and white bandana around his neck, before tipping back his hat. “Kind of. A couple of the hands had the calendar.”

Jared didn’t like the sound of that. From Russ’s stony expression, he didn’t either. Curious. Jared didn’t interfere with the personal items the hands who lived in the bunkhouses kept, but found himself saying, “I’d rather they didn’t have it hung up. So, if you—“

Russ held up a hand. “Already taken care of.”

“Good,” Jared said with more satisfaction than he probably should have, while Russ nodded and repositioned himself in his saddle. It looked like it wasn’t just Jared and Willa’s brothers who—

“Hey, you two,” Jude yelled out as he rode up. “Are we working or what?” He pulled Hulk Smash to a stop and kept the sorrel steady as his irritated gaze bounced between them.

Jared and Russ shared a grin before Jared gave his brother a critical eye. “You sure have been salty lately. Not spending enough time at the bakery for some sweets, maybe?” He gave Russ a pointed, conspiratorial look and a quick wink. “I never knew my brother had such a sweet tooth until just recently. I guess I noticed it about the time Emma’s Delectables opened up.”

“You don’t say.” Russ lips twitched before he sobered with a mock serious expression. “Come to think of it, I’ve noticed his truck in front of Ms. Flowers’s place the last two times I’ve been in town.” He tilted the brim of his hat back and leaned forward on his saddle horn. “She sure makes a delicious lemon muffin.”

“I think Jude likes the brownies. Chocolate is—“

“Are you two done yet?” Jude huffed and narrowed his gaze on Russ, then Jared. Hulk Smash shook his head and snorted before doing a sidestep. Jude pulled on his reins and frowned after one of the guests who had brushed up against the horse’s flank. Then he draped himself over the Morgan’s neck and gave him a pat, saying low in his ear, “Steady, Bruce.”

“So now he’s Bruce?” Jared didn’t think that was much better than Hulk Smash.

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