Page 18 of Her Cowboy Reunion

“Oh, man.” He turned the truck toward the road as she indicated the sheep barn. “I thought you were seeing the men off this morning.”

“Five thirty a.m. Hence the empty upper pastures. We’ll rotate the new mothers onto the east pasture as the lambs drop. Give that one a rest.”

“I can’t believe I slept through it.”

“It was early.” Heath tapped a finger to the center console, an old habit. “There’s a spot where they cross the highway in a week, up north. We could take a ride up there to see it. They shut down traffic for a few hours and folks gather to take pictures.”

“So it’s really a thing here,” she said, and he made a wry face.

“Less of a thing now. Fewer farms, fewer sheep, limited grazing. But Idaho hay is a rising commodity and when Sean bought land, he made sure he offset every purchase with land for hay or grazing potential. He didn’t want to play the crop game. Too much risk in that for him, too weather dependent.”

“A man who understood measured risk and return on investment.”

“Exactly.” He took a left turn into a small town. An old green painted sign used to say Shepherd’s Crossing, Idaho, but a few of the letters had worn off over time.

“This is the town?” She didn’t mean to sound so surprised, but she was. “Are there shops, Heath? Stores?”

“That’s our church, Lizzie!” Heath shot him a look through the mirror and Zeke corrected himself. “I mean Miss Lizzie! That’s where we go tomorrow!”

A worn stone-and-clapboard church sat tucked in a clutch of pines. It fit the setting, nestled into an alcove that allowed room for gathering outside in the grass, while a forested feel surrounded the setting. “That’s a sweet church, Zeke.” She shifted back toward Heath. “And is that the only church I see?”

He ground his jaw, then raised his right shoulder. “Used to be two others. And there were shops when I first got here, but even then things were slowing down. Smitty does barbering in his basement. And we’ve got a retired pastor at the church. He came up from Boise a bunch of years back. There’s a gas station up ahead with a little store attached but I heard he’s looking to sell. Or just close it up.”

Empty storefronts faced each other from opposite sides of the road. A tiny post office sat proud and alive in the middle of Main Street, with a bright, fresh American flag flying atop a silver pole. The brilliant flag was the only real symbol of life along the short passage. “No deli? No food? Where does Cookie go to shop?”

“He makes the drive to Council. Or up to McCall. And he orders things online. He’s not afraid to fill the freezer with food, but the fresh stuff requires trips.”

“That will make Corrie’s summer garden most welcome, I expect.”

“Cookie will love it. Here we are.” He pulled into the address he’d put into his phone. “Let’s go see what we think.”

A woman opened the door and let them in. Lizzie didn’t hesitate when she showed them the set. “It’s perfect. I’ll take it.”

Zeke pushed down on the cushion closest to him as if testing it out. “Can I jump on it?” He tipped a grin up to Lizzie and she made a face at him.

“Not if you want to live, darling. Jump outside. Or on a trampoline. Not on furniture. Got it?”

He high-fived her. “Got it!”

She pulled out her money to pay but Heath stopped her. “This is on the ranch, Liz. I should have done it before you got here, and I didn’t. I’m sorry.”

A part of her heart melted right there, but she couldn’t afford to let down her guard. “I appreciate it, Heath. Thanks.”

They loaded up the loveseat and chair, then the small lamp table. And when they were driving back to the ranch, Heath angled a look her way. “She’d have taken less for the furniture. But you knew that, didn’t you?”

She’d suspected as much but didn’t want to take advantage of the situation. “And she needed more by the looks of things, so this works for both of us. She got a fair price and I’ve got a super cute set for the apartment.”

“How bad is the bed up there?”

“On a scale of one to ten, we’re into negative figures.”

“I’ll order a new mattress and box spring from Boise. It’ll take a few days.”

“It’s not like I’m going anywhere,” she answered. “And that would be nice. Thank you, Heath.” The too-soft mattress was already making her hips ache when she climbed out of bed in the morning.

He started to say something, then stopped. Kept driving. As he turned down the long Pine Ridge Ranch drive, he glanced her way. “Anything else you need right away? Like a kitchen table? Chairs?”

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