Page 45 of Her Cowboy Baby Daddy
It was what she did. She loved her ranch, loved her life. At times, it was a tad lonely, but she knew from watching her two parents, who lived wildly different existences, that she would choose a touch of loneliness over whirlwind romance any day. Her dad had been content with his life. Her mom—Hayley didn’t know. She might get great satisfaction from starting and ending relationships.
Was that healthy?
Hayley decided not to judge. She only knew that she hated feeling things crumble around her, hated the truths she knew about a person shifting, changing.
So, if they do that, maybe they aren’t truths?
“Too much serious thought,” she said to the pig, who gave her a look from under her wrinkled brow. “Let’s talk about you.”
Her phone rang before the pig could reply, and Hayley smiled as she answered.
“Andie.”
“Hey,” the girl said. “I thought I’d check in and let you know that Greta is well, and everything is working out.”
“Excellent.” The Marvell Ranch’s gain was her loss, but she was happy for Andie.
“I have ten horses to get ready for the sale in Billings in October.”
“Dream job?” Hayley asked.
“The dreamiest,” Andie replied with a laugh. Her tone sobered as she asked, “How are things on the Lone Tree? I heard you haven’t replaced me yet.”
“Spence is helping me with that monster tree, and then he’s making pipe corrals.”
“But he’s temporary, right?”
“Afraid so. I haven’t had a lot of luck finding someone full time, but come fall, there should be people available.” After ranches let go their temporary summer hires.
“I’ll keep my ear to the ground. If I hear anything—”
“I appreciate it.”
A dust devil came bouncing down the driveway toward them, and Remy turned toward home. Hayley turned, too, hunching her shoulders against the wind.
“I asked my boss here if he thought Carter Hunt had anything to do with you not being able to replace me, and he told me that it’s just the way things are sometimes.”
“I agree.” Hunt’s beef was with the Kellers, not with her. She’d leased the water; it was a done deal. It wasn’t like he could harass her into breaking the contract.
But he might want to make it unpleasant to lease water in the future.
She’d cross that bridge when she came to it. In the meantime, “Keep in touch,” Hayley said as she followed Remy back to the ranch. “Stop by the Farmer’s Market if you’re in town. I’ll give you some pansies.”
“Which I would plant outside my cabin,” Andie said. “But I work six days a week until the sale.”
“Maybe we’ll get together after the sale.”
“I’d like that,” Andie said, before saying goodbye.
Hayley tucked the phone into her pocket and continued toward home, several pig lengths behind Remy.
Everything had worked out for Andie and there was no reason it couldn’t work out for her. Warm air wafted over her from behind as she continued down the road and, again, she could smell rain. A low rumble shook the ground beneath her feet and Remy broke into an awkward lope. Hayley also picked up the pace and, by the time she and the pig were back at the house, drops of rain were splatting on the gravel.
Remy shot into her little house, and Hayley dashed up her sidewalk. A year ago, she might have spent a rainy evening sipping tea and catching up on back episodes of her favorite television shows.
Tonight she’d drink wine and peruse the donor catalog. If she was going to have a baby next year, she had decisions to make and, being an overachiever, she wanted to be ahead of the game.
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