He took a moment on the back of Rio to drink from his canteen and let his gaze wander the view before him. It had only been a few weeks, but he was settling into the rhythm of the work and the rhythm of the life here.
Texas had much to recommend it, even above and beyond that it was the home of the woman he’d fallen in love with.
A sound drew Parker’s attention to his left. He watched as Jackson approached on horseback.
“I came to give you a hand checking the fence line. Not that you need the help, but we’d like to get everyone together around two for a quick planning meeting back at Chase’s place.”
“Always appreciate the company, cousin.”
“I was also going to nag you about keeping hydrated.” Jackson grinned. “But I see I don’t have to.”
“I’m drinking my water, Ma, honest.” Parker took another small sip to prove it. A huge entry on the plus side of my list is the working atmosphere here. The difference between family dynamics here and back in Montana was like the difference between night and day.
“Smartass.”
The two men laughed then rode east and picked up the fence in this sector of the combined ranch—the area that left Cord and Jackson’s property and headed toward the Benedict North Ranch.
Dale had headed out in the other direction that morning, working on the line between Jackson’s place and heading over and ending at the far reaches of Jesse and Barry’s land. Probably Cord was riding with his brother.
“So, things going okay?” Jackson looked up from where he was holding the piece of fence wire tight while Parker used a hammer on the fence nail to anchor it in place. With only the odd bit of repair here and there, the old-fashioned way worked best. If they were stringing new fence, they’d be using nail guns and working in a team of three.
Parker whacked the u-shaped nail one last time then met his cousin’s gaze. “Things are great. Seriously. We’re all three grateful to find ourselves sharing a house.”
“Good. We were pretty certain that Jenny would be fine with the change. Ari claims Jenny can sometimes overthink things, which tends to leave her in limbo. She thought moving you in with her would be just the nudge she needed.”
“Yeah, she does overthink things. But make no mistake. If she hadn’t wanted this, if she hadn’t wanted to be with us, she would have dug in her heels and said no, and not even Grandma Kate could have changed her mind. Our woman is no push-over. Plus, you can’t bullshit her, period.” He straightened up and leaned against the fence post. He folded his arms over his chest. “For an example, she’s already figured out that it was the news of a second party looking for her—not the first one that we learned about from her parents—that’s got all y’all worried.”
“Listen to you! ‘All y’all.’ The Texan soaks in real fast, doesn’t it?” Jackson grinned.
“Especially when you deliberately try it on for effect.” Parker just kept looking at him.
Jackson sighed. “I heard you. Let me tell you a true story. Not long after we met our Ari, we had the sense that she was in danger. She was always looking over her shoulder and was scared, so scared we worried that she might cut and run at any time. We were just really getting to know her, were already falling in love with her, and the last thing Cord or I wanted was for her to rabbit.
“We also came to understand that Jake knew what was going on with her—just as you’ve suspected he knows more about what’s going on in your woman’s life than he’s saying right now.
“So, Cord and I went to see him, to ask him to tell us what the hell was going on with her. He refused. He said if Ari wanted us to know her secrets, she’d tell us. That it was her secret to share.”
“Harsh, but I can understand that.”
“So could we, once we got over being pissed about it.” Jackson grinned, but Parker knew that grin about that particular incident had to have been slow in coming and hard won.
“This situation is different, that’s true. This is something about Jenny that’s being kept from her. All I know is what you’ve already surmised. Grandma Kate said they knew about the first person looking for Jenny, and that search had been going on for a few months. For whatever reason, it wasn’t considered a threat to her. But then, just over a week ago, Jake was alerted that someone else was looking for Jenny. That’s pretty much all I know, except for this. I trust Kate Benedict with my life. She would never knowingly let anything harm any of us.”
“Which is why she insisted in the change of address for Jenny. Because the second party looking for our Jenny could mean her harm.”
“That’s our take, too. If Jenny wants to know more, she should ask Kate.”
“We’ll talk to Jenny about that tonight. In the meantime, I’m hoping you can tell me what all’s being done to keep her safe?” He met Jackson’s gaze. “I’ve heard enough and learned enough to know your protective measures around here wouldn’t end with a few CCT cameras and moving us in together.”
“You’re right. Adam has a plan in place. We were all just giving the three of you a couple of days to find your rhythm.”
“We appreciate that, but we really do want to know what’s being done. Not that we doubt Jake’s word or Adam’s abilities.”
“Of course not. This is your woman who might be in danger. We all get that. Believe it or not, this isn’t our first rodeo. Most of us have helped out a time or two when someone in the families has been
