Page 4 of His First Baby Rodeo

“Well, sure, that’s probably true, but I don’t know if it would be a great fit.”

“Don’t think she can’t handle the work just because she’s a woman.”

“No, it isn’t that,” Mac said. “I know women can be useful on the ranch. It’s just that I don’t know her at all.”

“You know her!”

“Not really, Mac. I don’t know if she and I have ever had a real conversation. And besides, I need someone who can actually come and stay here for a while. El wouldn’t want to do that. She doesn’t know me any more than I know her.”

“She knows you’re a good friend of mine. It’ll befine, Mac. And besides, she’s looking for work at the moment, so assuming you’re willing to pay—”

“I am.”

“Then you’d be doing her a favor every bit as much as she would be doing you one. You’d be getting a reliable hired hand, and she would have a job until she finds something more permanent. I think it’s a sign that you called me tonight. This is exactly what both of you need.”

“I mean, you really think she would be up for it?” He had to admit, it was starting to sound like an ideal solution.

“She would definitely go for it,” Jeff assured him. “I’ll let her know — trust me, she’s going to be excited about the idea. And you’re going to be happy with your hire, too. She’s good on the ranch. She’s probably better than me.”

Mac laughed. “Now you’re overselling it, Jeff. I already said yes.”

“I’m not selling anything. You’ll see when she gets there. El’s a pro.”

“All right, all right,” Mac agreed. “Give her my address. The sooner she can get out here, the better. I’m pretty helpless with a clipped wing.”

“No problem. And hey, maybe we should arrange to get together once Jace is a little older. I’d love for you to have the chance to meet him.”

“Yeah, I’d love that too,” Mac said. It felt a bit tragic that he still hadn’t met Jeff’s whole family — that there was a child he hadn’t even known about. “Let me take some time to heal up, and you guys let me know when you’re ready to travel or have guests — we’ll figure it out.”

“We will,” Jeff agreed. “Meanwhile, I know El’s going to be so happy to be coming to work for you. I can hardly wait to tell her — I’m going to get off the phone right now so I can let her know.”

“Thanks again for hooking that up.”

“Hey, anything I can do to help,” Jeff said.

There was an uncomfortable pause, and Mac just knew that his friend was still thinking about the idea of retirement and was wondering whether or not he should bring it up again. He seemed to decide against it, and Mac was grateful for that. They said their goodbyes and hung up the phone.

Mac looked at his ranch once more and shook his head. It was so frustrating to have to admit that he wasn’t capable of managing the place on his own — but at the same time, he wasn’t the kind of man who was going to let his pride get in the way of doing the right thing. He wasn’t going to refuse to take on help just because he would rather believe that he was capable of handling everything by himself. And anyway, Eleanor Moyle probablywasgood, if Jeff said she was. He could think of no higher recommendation, no one whose opinion of a ranch hand he would trust more easily.

It would be awkward working side by side with someone he hardly knew — but, he reasoned, it would be no more difficult than working with a stranger. All things considered, this would probably be for the best.

CHAPTER3

EL

“Ifound you a job, El!”

Eleanor Moyle looked up from the book she had been reading with some consternation. “This had better not be another bartending job,” she told her brother. “I told you last time you came in here with an offer like that that I wasn’t interested, and I meant it.”

She appreciated the fact that Jeff had kept his ear to the ground when he’d found out she was looking for work, but she also felt a considerable amount of pressure to take one of the jobs he had dug up for her, and most of them had been duds. In addition to bartending, she’d turned down nannying, retail, and — in a mind-blowing turn of events — yoga instructor. As she’d explained to Jeff through fits of laughter and a bit of indignation, she had never done yoga in her life and couldn’t possibly have instructed anybody else about how to do it.

“It’s not bartending,” Jeff said. “You’re going to like this one, I promise. It’s a job for a ranch hand.”

“Oh!” He wasn’t wrong, surprisingly enough — shedidlike it. She had always enjoyed the fresh air and the time spent out under the hot sun that went along with ranch work. She especially enjoyed working closely with horses — she’d always felt a bond with them. “How did you find a job like that?”

“Well, it’s actually an old friend of mine who’s looking. You might remember him. Mac Palmer?”

“Mac Palmer, the one who grew up to be a rodeo star?”

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