Page 4 of Unforgettable Cowboy
His phone rang as he passed the small bathroom where he’d learned to shave.Finally, one of his brothers had gotten the messages he’d left concerning Wade’s accident.
“How is he?”Jordan asked.Hayes perched on the edge of the neatly made bed as he answered.He patted the covers and a pouf of dust rose in the air.It’d been a while since he’d been home.
“He was out of it when I stopped by.The surgery was successful, and I’ll see him first thing tomorrow.”
“Damn,” Jordan said.“Maybe he shouldn’t be living alone?How long is Parker supposed to be gone?”
Wade had hired Dan Parker as his live-in ranch hand around the time that the Matthews brothers had started leaving home.Dan and his wife Vera had been mainstays of the operation until late that spring when Dan had taken a half-year leave of absence to have back surgery.
“October.I think?And I wonder what he’ll be capable of when he gets back.”
“Wade may have to keep his day hands longer than anticipated.”The plan, as near as the brothers could tell, since Wade had been customarily vague about it, was for him to lease the farming to their neighbor Jim Reed, and to hire day hands to help him handle the cattle and maintenance.
“Did you know that Bailey was one of the day hands?”
“Bailey?Your Bailey?”
Not my Bailey.
“She’s been here for a couple months.”
“You talked to her?”
“Briefly.”
“How was the reunion?”Jordan spoke with a hint of caution.Hayes had denied it at the time, but his middle brother had sensed how ruined he’d been when Bailey dumped him.
“She punched me.”
“For real?”
“I startled her,” Hayes said before changing the subject.“I have things handled on this end for now.When you and Trev come for the rodeo, I’ll know more, and we can come up with a plan to keep Wade from hurting himself before he’s healed.”
“You can get that much time off?”Jordan was aware that this was the Buckhorn Ranch’s busy time as they tackled fall chores and prepped for guests for hunting season.
Hayes moistened his lips.“I quit them.”
“Did you?”Jordan did not sound surprised.
“Should have quit when the ranch sold to the investment partnership.”
“Live and learn.What’s your next move?”
“I’m sitting good financially, so I might stay here until Parker comes back.”The idea had played in his head on the drive home from the Buckhorn.He’d have to wait and see how things played out.“Keeping Wade from hurting himself will be a full-time job.”
“I imagine so, unless this broken leg humbles him.”
“Good one.”Hayes couldn’t imagine anything humbling Wade Matthews for long.
“I try,” Jordan said.“I want updates.If you think I should come to help, let me know.I’ll try to work out something.”
They both knew that would be difficult.As an independent contractor in a niche industry—shaft sinking—Jordan was constantly in demand and constantly fighting deadlines.As near as Hayes could tell, his jobs consisted of one emergency situation followed by another.
“Right.If things get tough, I’ll do that.Where do you think Trev is?”
“He and Dylan were supposed to compete at the Lewiston Roundup, I think.Hard to keep track.”
“I hope he checks his messages some century.”Unlike the rest of his generation, Trev was not a phone guy.It was inconvenient, but Hayes was kind of impressed with his brother’s attitude toward technology, especially since he’d surprised everyone and made it his career—for the wrong reason in Hayes’s opinion.Trev had turned himself inside out trying to be the man his now ex-fiancé had wanted him to be.Things had not ended well, but Trev now had a decent career and a steady paycheck.Hell, both his brothers had decent careers.Hayes did not.
