Page 3 of My Cowboy Freedom
Chapter 2
Sky
A moment of bone-melting fear came over me. What if Sterling Chandler changed his mind? What if he took one look at me and decided I wasn’t Rocking C material? What if he’d made the job offer, but he’d never expected me to take him up on it?
Maybe he didn’t even remember making the offer in the first place!
But wait.I had the letter. There was no chance he could take it back without flat-out going back on his word, and if nothing else, Chandler was a man of his word.
So this was more like my first day of school, except back then my dad had been right beside me.
Be sure your friends are right on the inside and not just on the outside.
Right.But how did you know? My stepdad looked great from the outside; he hid his evil so well I didn’t realize it was there until it was too late. And Ma still didn’t believe me.
Dad’s words had given me something to think about when sizing people up—whether I was deciding which group to hang with in school, or seeing my stepfather’s true nature. They’d given me something to think about when I made the wrong call.
In prison, survival could come down to reading the constantly shifting moods of caged men. I wasn’t the brightest guy, and I wasn’t the strongest. I took my Dad’s words seriously there, where, like a desperate remora, I needed to find the best shark.
More than once, ’Nando had made the difference between life and death for me. I’d picked him because his bull-like shoulders and massive, muscled frame hid a tender, complex heart.
And together we’d made something happen on the inside—we’d become better men.
We’d helped others live better lives.
And now I missed him like a vital part of me was gone.
Dad would probably have had advice about that too.
Have a little faith.
I squared my shoulders and started walking.
The distance to the ranch house was about a quarter mile from the arch. That’s how I remembered it when I pictured the spread in my mind. The Rocking C was immense. Of course, the last time I saw the place I was only a kid, and distance is relative, so I arrived sooner than I was ready to face the folks inside.
I could not afford to mess this up. I had an opportunity to get my life back. My dignity.
No going back now.
I knocked.
“Hello?” A short, curvy woman answered. She felt awfully familiar to me. She looked like the lady who cooked for the cowboys back when my dad worked at the Rocking C. I thought her name might be Elena. She eyed me with curiosity, just shy of suspicion. “Can I help you?”
“I’m Skyler Brody. Mr. Chandler offered me a job, and I—”
“Mr. Chandler’s not here.”
“Then I should probably talk to the foreman. Where can I find him?”
“Mr. Chandler and the foreman are both in Denton delivering stock. They won’t be back until late.”
“But I have this letter, see?” As I pulled the job offer from the outside pocket on my duffel my heart hammered. The paper looked as damp and wrinkled as I did. “Mr. Chandler offered me a job, and I came all this way—”
“He’s not here.” She started to close the door in my face. I panicked and put my hand on the door frame.
“Wait.” I couldn’t face trying to find a place to sleep until Chandler came back. “I have nowhere else to go.”
A huge man—bigger than ’Nando, even—came up behind her. He seemed as tall as the doorway itself, all muscle, and young, with thick, brown hair, a sprinkling of freckles, and a pair of the bluest eyes I’d ever seen.
