Page 44 of Her Cowboy Baby Daddy
“Hey,” she said after replacing the gas cap. “I might have a line on someone to take Andie’s place.”
“Someone who’s not me?”
“You’re going to be needed on your ranch at the end of the month.”
“We’ll see.”
“What does that mean?”
“Henry promised that he’ll retire then, but I’m doubtful, because he’s already supposed to be retired.”
“Maybe someone should talk to him and find out what’s going on?”
He raised the bottle again, watching her as he drank. “We did.”
“Then why...”
“He’s afraid. That’s what Reed thinks anyway, and I agree. Henry doesn’t know how to fill his days.”
“Send him over here.” Hayley was only half kidding. She pulled down her safety glasses, adjusted her hearing protection and started the saw, following Spence’s lead as she started sawing rounds from the area of the trunk where he’d taken off the branches.
And this was only the beginning. They still had to assess what they needed to fix the fence, load the rounds into the back of the truck, and make who knew how many trips to deliver the wood to the ranch. It would be great if they could get a trailer, or the two-ton truck, to the windfalls, but they’d barely gotten the pickup there. The “road” that had brought them there was a washed-out nightmare.
After the saw sputtered out, Hayley set it on the tailgate. Her muscles were vibrating from the saw and she ran a hand over her left forearm.
“Not a bad day’s work,” Spence said. “All we have left is the loading.” He started working his way through the pieces of wood. “The T-posts are salvageable. Except this one.” He touched the post that was bent to the ground with his boot, then walked uphill to the wood brace set that kept the fence from sagging too much. He took hold and shook it.
“We should replace that brace,” Hayley said.
Spence nodded. He hated replacing braces, but it had to be done.
“Right.” He turned to her as she pulled the band out of her hair, letting it loose around her shoulders. It looked like liquid fire, but remembering the purple hat comment, he kept his mouth shut about it.
“Let’s load what we can and call it a day,” Hayley said. “I need to pay the boys when I get back, and I have a bunch of stuff to do in the gardens.”
“You need full-time help.”
“I’m working on it,” she said. “I never had labor issues before, so this is kind of new territory, but... yeah. Working on it. I’ll have someone hired before your dad’s surgery.” She hoped.
The search wasn’t going all that well. Social media, notices on bulletin boards, word of mouth—all that she’d gotten in the three days since she’d started looking for help were inquiries from people she knew she didn’t want to hire. Either they had a rep for poor performance, or they came off as skeezy when she spoke to them on the phone. But surely there was someone hirable out there who needed work.
Spence nodded. She thought he might have had something to add, but instead, he opened the cooler, reached in and retrieved a metal water bottle, which he tossed to her. The condensation on the sides made it slippery and she almost dropped it, but didn’t.
“Thanks.” She unscrewed the cap as he gave her yet another of the just-a-little-too-long looks that made her wonder what was going on in his head.
“Anytime.” He gave her a noncommittal half smile and, as he turned away, undid a couple of snaps on his shirt.
Hayley bit her lip, then drank.
*
Hayley and Remythe Pig went for a walk before bed that evening. Remy still seemed to be looking for Vince, scanning the driveway as they walked, as if expecting his car to suddenly appear.
“It shouldn’t be much more than a year. Two at most,” Hayley promised the pig. “No matter what, you have a home with me.” She might have to look into fostering another animal to keep Remy company. Adoption was also an option, but with the baby project, it seemed best not to make a long-term commitment.
The wind carried the scent of warm grass and earth, mixed with the promise of rain. Hayley hoped it was only rain and not a downpour, or hail, or any of those exciting weather events. She wanted to get the fence fixed before Spence took off again. She had a feeling that since he’d left once already, that he’d leave again as soon as he was able. It was what he did.
And you will stay here.
