“You only have her?” Ty asked, glancing back at the trailer.
Chance and I both brought two horses out on the road with us. Just in case anything happened to our go-to horses, we always had a backup. “Yeah, I left Hank with Banker and Miller. Chance is going to turn them all out together. It will be good for them to stay with each other. Trigger could care less about those three, and simply wants to be spoiled here and given apples every day by Mom. Banker and Miller, I swear, are best buds.”
Ty ran his hand over my horse’s back. “She wins you a shit ton of money, she needs to be treated like a queen and she knows it.”
I smiled and started to lead her into the stall. After getting Trigger settled with fresh water and some food, I closed her stall and released a deep breath. I’d turn her out in a bit, but for now she needed to chill in the barn, especially after that long ride from Colorado. “Damn, it’s good to be home,” I said.
“Mom’s going to be over the moon. She missed having you here.”
With a scoff, I shook my head. “She got used to me being home with my ankle.”
“Hell, she ain’t the only one. I miss your hands helping out on the ranch.”
“You’ve got Brock,” I stated as we made our way out of the barn. When I stepped outside, I paused for a moment and took in the view. The Sapphire Mountains to the east were covered in snow. As my eyes moved down the range, I saw the open pastureland that was part of my family’s ranch. Crystal Lake stood at the base of it all, reflecting the mountains in her crystal-clear blue water. My three older brothers and I learned to fish and swim in that lake. Simply seeing it brought a peaceful feeling over my entire body. I couldn’t see the log cabin that sat to the side of the lake, but I felt that familiar pull to it. Someday when I retired from roping, I was going to talk to my folks about buying it. There was nothing more beautiful than this ranch.
“Damn, that sight never gets old,” I said as I looked up at the clear blue sky, then back out over the ranch. The pastures were clear of snow, and the cows grazed lazily along with the horses.
Ty followed my gaze. “No, it sure doesn’t. Come on, let’s get you up to the house so Mom can smother her baby with attention. It will give Lincoln a reprieve for a bit. Mom’s been all over her with this pregnancy. She swears it’s a girl because Lincoln has been so sick these first four months.”
“A girl again?” I asked. “What does Brock want?”
Ty smiled. “A healthy wife and child.”
I nodded. “I don’t blame him for that.” I glanced over at my truck.
“Don’t worry about the trailer. I’ll have one of the guys take care of it,” Ty said.
“Nah, that’s okay. I’ll do it so I can drive my truck up to the house.”
Ty stared at me for a moment. “You staying in the main house or the lake house? Or you could bunk with Greg and Jimmy again.”
My hand went to the back of my neck as I rubbed it and chuckled. “Probably the main house. With it being Christmas and all, I’m sure Mom will like having me at the house. Besides, bunking with Greg and Jimmy isn’t all that fun. And the lake house would be too lonely being by myself.”
Ty laughed, but I was positive he felt the same rush of sadness sweep over his body that I had. Christmas had always been hard for our mother, ever since our brother Beck had died in the Marines five years ago. It was a topic she didn’t like to talk about, and at times I knew I wasn’t the only one who just wanted to remember our brother. Talk about him. Miss him openly. Mom was getting better at talking about him, though, since Lincoln and Kaylee had come into our lives. In a way, it was almost like Beck sent these two women to us to help us ease the pain.
Ty cleared his throat and gave me another slap on the back. “I’ll meet you at the house. Let me call Brock and let him know you’re home. You might be the only reason he’ll drag himself away from Lincoln.”
“They still acting like a newly married couple?”
Ty rolled his eyes. “I swear the two of them are sickening with the way they love on each other.” He acted as if he was going to gag.
“Please, like you don’t act the same way when Kaylee comes around.”
My brother smiled, and I couldn’t help but notice how his eyes seemed to dance with happiness. The same happiness I saw in Brock’s eyes. Hell, even in my own parents’ eyes. A sharp pain hit me in the middle of my chest, and I rubbed my hand over it, willing it to go away.
“Let me get this trailer off and put up and I’ll meet everyone up at the house,” I said as I tried to shake the feeling.
Before he turned to walk to his own truck, Ty placed his hand on my shoulder. “Is everything really okay, Tanner?”
I let out a deep breath. “I think so. I’m feeling a bit…lost right now. I think being home is going to help me sort a lot of things out.”
“It’s that time of year. I used to feel the same way when I was on the road. The holidays are hard on each of us. I miss him too.”
I nodded. “That’s just it, I wish it was just Beck…but it’s something more.”
His brows drew closer together as he regarded me with a concerned look. “What’s going on, Tanner?”
With
