* * * *
All Parker had ever wanted to be was a rancher. And as the day wore on, he lost himself in the work.
Together with his brother, a couple of his cousins, and the two ranch hands Chase and Brian had hired years before—Alan Wilson and Duncan Moore—two men who were more like family than employees, they moved the small herd of Texas Longhorn to another section of pasture land. The sun beat down, the cattle lowed, and the horses nickered. There was heat and a bit of dust—which was why they were moving the heifers in the first place—and sweat trickled between his shoulder blades and down his back.
He loved every minute of it.
Right then, there was no difference between here and Montana. Cows were cows, horses were horses, and it was even the same damn sun.
The difference—the only difference—was in the attitude of his coworkers and bosses. Of course, he missed Apollo. He had to believe his brothers would treat the horse well. He’d raised that gelding from a colt. You couldn’t do that, work with an animal every day for a couple of years, and not get attached.
And wasn’t it a sad statement on the family that he missed his damn horse more than he missed them?
Dale practically flew past on the back of Sam, chasing a single critter that decided to split from the herd. Parker caught a glimpse of his brother’s smile. Chase was right. That gelding knows his stuff.
By the time they got the last cow inside the new pasture and the gate closed, it was nearly two in the afternoon.
There were now seventy head grazing in this area of the ranch. There was another similar-sized herd on a section of Cord and Jackson’s pasture land, only they weren’t Texas Longhorn. No, that heard was comprised of Santa Gertrudis, a breed that had been developed right here in Texas. He and Dale hadn’t known much about either breed, but they were learning. Together, the two herds made up the entirety of the company’s beef operation. The cattle were rotated on a regular basis, between five distinct pastures. This allowed the cattle fresh grazing space and for the recovery of the pasture to its natural state during the between rotations.
Their goal was to raise cattle free of chemicals. The land that wasn’t used as pasture for the cattle and horses was used to grow the corn and grain that supplemented the livestock’s diet of natural roughage.
The guys weren’t looking for quick profits, but long-term growth.
The cattle weren’t the only creatures that were to be rotated in this operation. Soon, he and Dale would be taking a hand at working with the horses, learning not just the equine breeding side of the operation but also what was required to train the quarter horses for use on ranches and as rodeo stock, to the standards his cousins had set.
Their cousins’ business plan would be very ambitious if there was just one ranch involved. But there were three, and there was just enough busy to go around.
“They’re looking good.” Cord joined him astride his horse. His gaze scanned the herd—small by Montana standards.
And yet the pride on his cousin’s face was deeper, richer, than any he’d seen on his father or brothers, whose herds were into the thousands. To them the cattle were simply a means to an end, a commodity. They took no pleasure in the day to day, in the doing and the achieving and the being. It was, for them, all about the bottom line.
He’d speak to Dale tonight, but he was pretty sure he’d just made up his mind about Lusty. This would be a good place to stay, to sink down roots, to build a life and a lifetime of memories. He recalled that fateful lunch they’d shared in Billings, he and Dale, just before Norah had come into the restaurant and changed everything. Dale had asked him what he would wish for if he could have anything in the world. Parker recalled his words as if he’d said them yesterday.
What would I wish for if I could have anything in the world? It would be to have a home, a family, a place to live where people are decent to each other, where there’s no such thing as alternative facts, and those around you want to build you up instead of tear you down all the damn time.
Here in Lusty, where he was up to his ass in family, he could honestly say he’d found that place. Finding the woman we love is a spectacular bonus.
Dale rode toward him, and the decision was made to head back to Cord and Jackson’s and take a late lunch break. Parker held back, meeting his brother’s gaze.
“You’ve been thinking what I’ve been thinking?” Dale asked.
“I want to stay. I want to set down roots.”
“Yeah.” He nodded once. “Funny how we so often get to the same page at about the same time, isn’t it?”
“Naw, that’s just our twin psychic connection.”
Dale snorted. “I was reading up on that, and the experts say we have to be identical twins to have that.”
“What the hell do they know?”
“What the hell does who know?” Jackson had hung back, and Parker hadn’t noticed. He grinned at his cousin.
“I was telling Dale we had a twin psychic connection, and he said he read an article by some expert who said we have to be identical twins for that.”
“What the hell do the experts know?” Jackson asked.
“Exactly.”
“So, what did you just have the psychic connection about?”
Parker looked over at his brother, who nodded.
What better time to deliver their news than now? Riding and talking was as natural to them as chatting in a coffee shop was to others. “We’ve decided we’d like to stay here in Lusty. We don’t need any more time to know if this’ll work out. We know it will.”
“About damn time,” Jackson said. His
