Page 43 of Cover Me Up

“She’ll mate one day.” Cal studied his brother. “Then she’ll be gone.”

Ryland shrugged. “I guess everyone leaves.” He finished his sandwich and crumpled up the paper it had been wrapped in. “What’s it like being away from here? Like on tour and everything.”

“It’s busy,” Cal replied, thinking about the tour that had just abruptly ended. “Our production is huge, and we’ve got a lot of folks working it. Most of them have been with me since the beginning. Since that first tour nearly ten years ago.”

“You must love it.” Ryland glanced at him. “To not come back to this.”

Cal was taken aback. He’d never really thought of it in those terms. As he looked around at this slice of Montana heaven, an ached formed in his chest.

“You know me being here is complicated,” he admitted.

Ryland made a face. “I know you have issues with Dad. I know you have issues with Millie Sue. What I don’t know is why you can’t fix them.”

“It’s complicated.”

“That’s what adults say when they don’t want to talk about something.”

Cal didn’t quite know how to answer his brother, but luckily, he didn’t need to.

“I want Dad to be there on Thursday.” Ryland glanced over at him. “For Thanksgiving dinner. He needs to be there when Benton comes home.”

Cal’s initial response, a quick denial, died on his tongue when Nora squealed. “Papa is coming to dinner. Yay! Can he bring Penny?” She’d dragged the wolf over by its snout, and the two of them stood inches from Cal, Nora grinning and the wolf watching him intently.

“I don’t know about the wolf,” Cal said slowly. “But yes, your Papa will be there and so will your daddy.”

“Oh,” she said, her face suddenly serious, “this is the bestest day ever. Did you hear that, Penny? Daddy is coming home.” She hugged the wolf fiercely before turning back to Cal. “Are we decorating the tree tonight?”

“I’ll get the tree up and ready, but why don’t we do the decorating Wednesday when your dad is home? Don’t you think he’d like that?”

Nora nodded excitedly.

“We have a plan,” he said, thinking it gave him a couple more days to convince Millie Sue to join them. He smiled at the thought.

“You have that funny look again, Uncle Cal.”

He ignored the all-seeing eyes of his niece and turned to Ryland. “We should go, or we’ll get caught out here in the dark.”

He and Ryland got themselves sorted on their sleds, and they took off for home. Cal wasn’t sure how long Penny ran alongside them, but eventually, she melted into the shadows, most likely headed back to the Founder’s Cabin.

By the time they made it home, it was dusk, and as he walked into the house, he couldn’t shake what fell over him like an old friend. A feeling. A notion.

It almost felt like home again.

CHAPTER17

Tuesday afternoon foundMillie Sue at the Sundowner, taking delivery of all the stuff that hadn’t come the day before on account of the storm. The bar was empty, save for two tables at the back, a couple enjoying hamburgers and fries, and old Mr. Bennet sitting alone in his favorite booth, sipping from the same mug of draft beer she’d poured him ninety minutes earlier.

Millie’s favorite country station was on, and as Cal’s latest single,You Ain’t Nothing but Trouble,began to play, she found herself humming along,smilingeven, as she carried boxes of booze to the front of the bar. She’d just tucked away the last bit of bourbon when the door flew open and Taz Pullman strode inside.

He headed straight over and settled onto the stool directly in front of Millie.

“What can I get you, cowboy?” Millie asked with a chuckle.

“A small coke would be good.”

Millie grabbed a frosted mug and filled it to the brim. She set it down in front of him and rested the palms of her hands on the edge of the bar. “What are you doing in town?”

“Needed some supplies from the feed store. Those damn goats eat more than a herd of cattle.”

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