Page 20 of Her Cowboy Baby Daddy
“Glad to. This gives my dad a chance to pretend that things aren’t going to change at the end of June after his surgery.”
“You’re not here because you owe me?”
“I’m totally here because of that.” But there was more to it than owing her. There was a sense that he needed to be here, and he went with it. Some of his most interesting life experiences had occurred because he’d followed instinct. His instinct now told him that Hayley, who was facing her first summer of farming and ranching without her dad or her foreman, needed help. She might not need his help specifically, but he was here, and thanks to Henry, had some time on his hands. He would do what he could, and if Carter Hunt called her again, he and Hunt would have a word. The man was noted for belligerence and intimidation tactics when he didn’t get his way, and he hadn’t gotten his way. Because of Hayley, he was going to have to have a bridge engineered across the rocky canyon that restricted access to the part of his property he wanted to develop. That probably wasn’t sitting well.
“Did you meet Andie?” Hayley asked with a knowing smile.
“She is not a spy.”
“I know, right?” Hayley’s eyes crinkled in a fascinating way as she gave him an I-told-you-so smile. “The Hunt Ranch’s official story is that she quit, but she got fired for telling Carter Hunt that he was using the wrong bit on his horse.”
“Then she can get unemployment.”
“That she can. Unless they deny firing her.”
“I wonder if they can get away with that?”
“Money talks,” was all Hayley said.
“Amen to that.” Spence tilted his head as he watched the sunlight that filtered through the frosted roof play off Hayley’s red hair, bringing out glints of gold and burgundy.
“You’re staring,” she said.
“Sorry.” He felt self-conscious, not exactly a familiar feeling for him, but one that seemed to occur regularly during his conversations with Hayley. “The sun makes your hair an amazing color.”
“Having red hair can be like wearing an oversized purple hat. People comment.”
Always one to take a hint, Spence stepped back. “I’ll get my stuff ready, then let’s talk about what and where with the corrals.”
He could guess the layout with a decent degree of accuracy, but he didn’t want to have to redo anything due to a miscommunication.
“I’ll be there shortly.”
She turned the hose back on and Spence made his exit, stopping at the door. He cleared his throat, then said, “My hair has gotten me into trouble too.”
He caught the beginning of a smile before she turned the spray onto a young tomato plant.
“A story for another day,” she said. “I have work to do.”
*
An hour later,Spence was picking through the pipe, determining quantities, since at least half of the pipe appeared to be salvaged, when a backfire in the distance brought his head up. A truck was approaching the ranch at a decent clip, and when the driver neared the cattle guard, he shifted down, causing another backfire, followed by the low-throated rumble of the manifold.
Spence had no idea where Hayley was—she’d disappeared after they’d discussed the corral and she’d given him the schematic her father had drawn on a yellow legal pad in black ink—but certainly she heard the approach of the Frankenstein truck with the straight pipes that were probably borderline illegal. The truck pulled to a stop and the engine abruptly died before two primer-gray doors opened. The kids—boys? men? They looked to be sixteen or seventeen—who got out of the truck were almost polar opposites. The driver was slightly built, with glasses and closely cropped blond hair. The passenger was taller, heavier, dark-haired, and looked like he dead-lifted cattle as a hobby.
“Hey,” the driver said. “We’re here to see Hayley.”
“You’re her summer crew,” Spence guessed.
“Yep. Connor Johnson,” the blond said. “And this is Ash Brown.” He indicated his partner with a sideways jerk of his head.
“Spence Keller. I live next door.” He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck as he searched for signs of life near the barn and greenhouse. Andie had brought the tractor in just before the boys drove up, so she and Hayley were there somewhere. “I’m sure she’ll show soon.” If she hadn’t heard the truck, then she had something the matter with her ears.
“We don’t start work until Monday,” Connor said. “But Hayley likes to iron everything out before we start.”
Sounded like Hayley. “You guys handle the irrigation and stuff?”
“We are intimately acquainted with hand line and wheel line,” Ash said, referring to the more labor-intensive field irrigation systems. “We also swath, rake, bale, stack hay, move cattle, spray weeds.”
