Page 114 of A Rancher's Vow
Nope. Dustin wasn’t about to apologize for being on cloud nine. “I’m in love,” he blurted out.
Sudden silence fell in the stall next to him.
Dustin stepped to the side and glanced in to discover his usually staid and solid brother grinning at the ceiling.
“What?” Dustin demanded.
Caleb shrugged. “I just noticed your shadow isn’t with you. Your dog, who’s usually underfoot, is still somewhere else. That’s all I was talking about.”
Dammit. Still wasn’t going to apologize. Dustin lifted his chin. “Well, Patchwork Annie loves Tee, too.”
If anything, Caleb’s grin got wider. “I’m happy for you. Is it safe to assume she feels the same?”
“Absolutely. Tee definitely loves Annie.”
At that one, Caleb hooted out loud. Then he stepped over and caught Dustin up in a huge hug. “You’re such a smart-ass. Glad for you, little bro. Now stop mooning over your woman and get your tail in gear.”
“You’re the one manhandling me,” Dustin grumbled, getting in a few back pats of his own before returning to the task of getting ready for the day. He’d been flying so high he hadn’t even noticed that Patchwork Annie had remained back on the porch. Which was amazing and special in an entirely different way.
He totally loved Charity enough to share his dog with her.
He and Caleb were out on the trail shortly, headed to check the grazing land in one of the farther fields.
“You guys plan to stay at the cottage?” Caleb asked after a while.
“I guess. If that’s okay with Dare and the family.”
Caleb lifted his shoulders in an easy shrug. “Everyone else has settled into their new homes. Seems the place is a good fit for you two if she’s happy there.”
“I’ll ask, but I’m pretty sure it is.” Dustin thought of another thing. “You okay with her working the office?”
His brother snorted then cleared his throat. “Not a problem. Family works the ranch. Some indoors, some out.”
Dustin eyed him with suspicion. “What was that about?”
“Nothing.” Caleb pointed ahead of them. “Wild sage is taking over this section. We’ll need to do some careful burning to stop it from spreading to the grain fields.”
Total avoidance of his question, but Dustin didn’t care. Having Caleb share ideas for the coming year and ask Dustin’s opinion—it was another layer of family. Another part of finding a solid foundation for himself and Charity to set down their own roots.
He and Caleb stopped at noon and sat on the ground, staring out over Silver Stone land as they ate sandwiches from their panniers and drank wicked-strong coffee. Caleb left him after lunch, grimacing as he patted Dustin’s shoulder. “Have fun finishing up this afternoon. I have paperwork to deal with.”
“Better you than me,” Dustin teased before offering his brother a hand. “Thanks for the great morning.”
Caleb shook it firmly. “You mean thanks for not teasing the hell out of you for being inlurve.” He said the word the way his daughters would have, twenty letters long and full of sparkling heart eyes.
“Such an ass,” Dustin muttered, but he smiled.
Riding northward, his head was full of Charity and the ranch. So many things he wanted to show her, so many things she still had to share with him. Dustin had to keep pulling his attention back to the checks he needed to do of the fences, the shelters, the gates.
A thin line of smoke circled upward from the north, and he swore. Unexpected smoke was always a danger on the ranch.
His good mood vanishing, Dustin sat upright in the saddle and edged his heels into Molasses’s flanks to make her go a little faster.
He wasn’t really surprised when the smoke led him to the small shelter where he and Luke had discovered signs of earlier trespassers. He still didn’t believe it was a great spot for teens to hang out, though. Was it someone homeless? Someone lingering after the media crush in the hopes of more story?
If it was the first, the ranch had long ago put a system in place to help squatters get back on their feet and off the land. If it was the second, the trespassers were about to find out Silver Stone had a powerful legal team in place to take care of the assholes who didn’t understand boundary lines.
No flames were visible, but it could be a smoldering cigarette butt. Sliding off Molasses, Dustin ground tethered her, then patted her neck. “Be right back.”
