Page 28 of Wild and Wrangled

Graham’s face went soft. “Yeah,” he said.

I slid my engagement ring off my finger and handed it to him. He took it gently. It was a family heirloom—passed down through generations, so I couldn’t keep it or pawn it or throw it into a lake. “This is yours,” I said.

Graham nodded. “I’ll let you get to it. Just leave your key under the mat when you’re done. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

I nodded, and Graham walked past me and to his car. He gave me one last look before he got in and backed out of the driveway.

“So, I feel like that went as well as it could go?” Ada said, appearing next to me.

“You have got to stop eavesdropping,” I said with an exaggerated eye roll. I swear, it was her favorite hobby since she’d moved to Meadowlark.

“I’ll stop when I’m dead,” she said as she pushed the front door of the house open. “Wes and Brooks will be here soon. Let’s get your shit.”

Chapter 14

Dusty

On Monday morning, I was tacking up Huey in the stables. I didn’t have my own horse at Rebel Blue, which was normal for me, so I didn’t mind. I liked riding all the different horses, depending on my mood or needs that day. Horses were like people. They each had their own distinct personalities—especially when they were working. Huey had become one of my favorite mounts, but he was also one of Emmy’s, so we had this running thing going where whoever got to the stables first would take him so the other couldn’t. Unfortunately for Emmy, I don’t sleep well, and I get bored easily, so I always ended up at work way earlier than I needed to be.

I was taking a quick picture of Huey tacked up to send to Emmy when Gus and Amos walked in.

“Good morning,” I said to both of them.

“Getting an early start?” Amos smiled at me. It was impossible not to be at ease when he was around. Gus, on the other hand, brought a little less ease to the table, but I don’t think it was intentional.

“Yes, sir. I had to get to Huey before Emmy could,” I said with a grin, and Amos let out a hearty laugh.

“Ah,” he said, eyes gleaming. “I’m surprised she’s still playing by the rules. Clementine usually finds a way to get what she wants.”

“Did you just admit she’s spoiled?” Gus asked.

Amos shook his head. “Not spoiled, loved.”

“Right,” Gus responded with an eye roll. His lip was twitching a little before he looked at me. “I’m surprised you have time to get here early. I heard you’ve got a lot going on.” That felt like a direct nod to the fact that I was the caretaker for what was about to become Cam’s house.

“It’s nice of you to help Anne out,” Amos said, shooting Gus a look. “That’s what we wanted to talk to you about, actually.” Cam? “A job,” Amos finished.

“I thought I already had one of those here,” I said.

“You do,” Amos said. “And we appreciate you. You’re great at managing the ranch hands and maintenance. You’ve filled a gap that we didn’t know we had. Right, August?”

“Right,” Gus said before he took a deep breath. “So we’ve been working on trying to get a horse sanctuary up and running here over the past couple of years.” That didn’t surprise me. Amos basically ran a non-official one anyway. He was constantly bringing horses home, and even when the horses he already had couldn’t work anymore, he kept them. They all got to live out retirement in the hills of Rebel Blue, cared for by Amos himself and his daughter, who loved horses the same way he did. It was the same way I did, too.

I nodded. “This is a great place for a sanctuary. You have the room.”

“And we can make more,” Amos said, gesturing to thestables around us. The Ryders had three barns on the property: one for their horses, one for ranch hands to keep their horses if they had their own, and one that was currently empty. “You’ve worked at other sanctuaries before, right?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. My favorite one was in Mexico. Most of the horses there had been found emaciated on the side of the road or had spent their lives tied to something. But, in this safe haven, they got to join a gaggle of animals running free around the place. My favorites were Mojo—a three-legged dog who was a food thief—and Choya, a goat that thought he was a dog. “A few. They were a great place to work.”

“So would you be interested in helping us get Rebel Blue’s version of one off the ground?”

“Not just off the ground,” Gus said. “We don’t have the capacity to do this on our own. This would be long term. And…I know you like to bounce around.” The look Gus gave me was pointed, and my chest felt cold. I didn’t have any plans to leave Meadowlark, but that didn’t mean I didn’t feel the urge to every now and then, especially when Gus was looking at me like that’s exactly what he expected me to do.

But I was here, and I was staying. And if taking on some extra work was the way to prove that to everyone, then I’d take on some more work.

“Well,” I said, “I’m here for the long haul.”

Amos reached out and clapped me on the shoulder. “Good man,” he said. “I’m not worried.” When he said that, I swallowed. I didn’t know that his approval or his faith in me meant so much, but when the steadiest man in the world tells you that he’s confident in you, it does something to you.

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