Page 2 of Spur of the Moment
Bailey caught the fifty-five pound Australian Shepherd in his arms when he jumped up again, licking at his chin. “Well, given the only woman in his life abandoned him, he didn’t have much of a choice with all us guys around.”
My jaw dropped. “I did not abandon him! I had to go to school. Dorms don’t allow dogs. Especially crazy ranch dogs.”
“Shouldn’t have gone to school, then,” Brandy mumbled from where she stood in the door to the barn.
“Don’t make me kick you off this ranch, Brandy,” Reed said as he came around the corner of the barn wearing leather chaps and his beaten-up straw cowboy hat.
Brandy rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. “Kiss my ass, Reed.”
Bailey set Rouge down and he ran off, kicking up dust with his paws.
Ignoring Brandy, Reed came over to stand by Bailey. “You bring the hay?”
Bailey nodded, finally taking his eyes off me to face Reed, hiking his thumb in the direction of his Chevy. “Got it all loaded up if you want to help me stack it.”
“Why’d you bring hay? Don’t we still grow our own?” I asked.
He turned back to face me, his eyes assessing me before he spoke. “Your dad needs more. Guess you guys are bringing in too many rescues to keep up.”
“Yeah, someone needs to be taken off recruiting duty.” Reed pointed a glare at Brandy, who was leaning against a wood support beam.
“What can I say? I have a hard time saying no,” Brandy said, a smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth.
Reed grunted. “That's been obvious in the past.” He turned to head toward Bailey’s black Chevy K10.
Brandy scowled at him as he stalked off.
I raised my eyebrows, turning back to Bailey. “Some things never change, do they?”
He nodded once, turning on the heel of his boot to follow Reed. I watched him walk away, then made my way over to the fallen ladder. “What’s his problem?”
Brandy pushed off the post she was leaning against to help me pick it up. “I think he’s butthurt you didn’t tell him you were back in town.”
“Why would I?”
She arched an eyebrow at me.
“What?” We hauled the ladder up, propping it back up against the side of the barn.
“You seem to forget you two were best friends before you left.”
“We most definitely werenotbest friends. We were barely friends, if that.” I kneeled down and began collecting the nails that littered the ground, tossing them into the bucket.
“So, you’ve been helping my mom find rescues?” I asked her, changing the subject.
“I was for a bit. We went a little overboard, if you couldn’t tell. Your dad capped us and now makes us run all the possible rescues by him first.”
I snorted out a laugh. That sounded like something my dad would do. He ran a tight ship around here, but he loved the work. He did it to make sure the rescue stayed afloat, and we all appreciated it.
I finished collecting all the nails on the ground and stood up with the handle of the bucket in my hand.
“No way in hell are you getting back on that ladder, Lettie,” Reed shouted over to me from where he was stacking bales of hay with Bailey under the carport.
I stood up, placing my hands on my hips. “Dad wants me to rebuild the barn, so I don’t have a choice.”
Reed shook his head. “Bailey can do the roof."
I gaped at him from where I stood. “You think I’m incapable?”
