Page 18 of More Than a Little Spark

“A little.But I’ll do it after I shower.”He slams the door of the truck.“Where’d you go?”

“I visited someone at the hospital.”

His brow knits.“Who got hurt?Is everyone on the ranch okay?”

Concern is etched on his face, reminding me of how much the folks on the ranch feel like family to this kid.For the first time in his life, he has stability, and threats to any part of it rattle him.

I drape an arm around his shoulders.“Everyone here on the ranch is all good as far as I know.But a friend of Ms.Rose, Dallas’s wife, was in a car accident.I took some dinner up to the hospital for her.She’s going to be okay though.”

“I bet Ms.Rose was worried.I’d be upset if something happened to Mason or even to Bailey.”He tosses his backpack on the couch.“’Cause she’s my friend too.”

Raindrops splatter on the ground outside, and both of us stop to listen.

Fred grins.“We made it!I don’t hear thunder, so I’m gonna shower.”

“You do that.”I yank the dirty clothes out of his backpack and deposit them in the hamper.

He’s already had dinner, but since he is growing like a weed, I expect he’ll want a snack while he works on schoolwork.So while Fred showers, I prep him a plate.And while doing so, I occasionally glance at my phone, checking to see if Daphne has texted.

When it comes to relationships, I’m far from an expert.But even though it makes absolutely no sense, I’m thinking Daphne is kind of interested.Maybe.And that thought makes me smile.I have no clue what to do about it.We lead completely different lives, and it’s not like we’ll just run into each other in town.Sadly.

But she made a huge point of informing me that she was single, and that made me wonder if she was giving me a hint.The next time I see her, if she’s still showing interest, I’ll gather up my courage and ask her for a date.Am I crazy for even thinking she’s interested?Likely, but it should be pretty easy to figure out.I think.

“The two holesjump-started the draining process.”Kent shakes his head at the muddy mess around the stock tank.“We gotta get those fish out.”

On the ranch, we keep fish in the stock tanks to cut down on mosquitoes and some of the nasty growth.Fish help keep the tanks clean.

I grab buckets out of the bed of my truck.“That’s why I brought these.What are the chances I can get them all in one scoop?”

He laughs.“Slim to none.Too bad the boys are at school.We could’ve had them catching fish by hand.It looks like we’ll be having all the fun.”

Dragging the bucket through the water left in the bottom of the tank, I gather more than half the fish.Now comes the fun part.“I’ll go in, and you can handle the bucket.”

“Deal.”

Thank goodness for waterproof boots.I climb into the tank, careful not to step on any of the remaining fish.Then I stand still, poised to scoop up the next one that swims within reach.

With a small bucket, I scoop the first few without too much trouble, and I quickly drop them in the bucket that Kent’s holding.But the last two are making this way more difficult than necessary.Don’t they know I’m trying to save them?

While I’m chasing the last two, Kent is using a five-gallon bucket to scoop out the remaining water.It helps shrink the area where the fish can flee, and it empties the tank.

I lunge toward the two fish with my bucket and land on my belly in the water.It’s cold.And face first in cow-saliva water is not where I want to be.

Kent is trying to hold back a laugh and loses the battle when I shake my head, sending water spraying in every direction.

“Laugh.It’s funny.”I scoop out a bit more water, then nab the remaining fish.“Now that our residents have all been evacuated, we can start repairs.”

Fish are cheap and easily replaceable, but I couldn’t just leave them to dry out while we did the repair.Keeping the fish alive was worth a little extra work.

Kent sets the bucket of fish in the shade, and we start the repair.While I wipe down the sides where we’ll be working, Kent gets the brush attached to the drill.Then I run the brush along the interior, cleaning everything up before we add the water weld putty.

By the time the holes are patched, Kent and I are both covered in mud.

I drop the tailgate on my truck.“Let’s sit while we wait for it to set up.”

Kent sits on the opposite end of the tailgate.“I was talking to Poppy last night.The guys had so much fun with their sleepover.We’d be open to having Fred over again on a regular basis.”

“Awesome.I know Fred would love that.And they’re welcome to stay at our place too.They could stay at your house one weekend a month and at my place another weekend.If that works for y’all.”

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