Home on the Ranch: Honorable Texas Cowboy Page 4

  Brock and Cassie, Amy and Jack, and Diego all trooped into the barn. Kate had a sinking feeling she knew what was about to happen, and she was just surprised she hadn’t seen this coming.

  “What needs to be done?” Cassie asked her. The group waited for orders.

  Kate sighed. The work she’d expected would take hours was bound to be finished in a fraction of the time with all this help, and Kate wasn’t sure if she was pleased or not. It was certainly nice of everyone to pitch in, but it left her in a bit of a conundrum. She’d planned to spend a large chunk of her morning in the barn, not hiding exactly, but, well...

  Yeah, hiding. Originally she’d actually been looking forward to a reason to hide from the entire McNeal clan. Especially Jose and Diego. Now what would she do with her day?

  Oh, well. She wasn’t going to turn down McNeal kindness, that much was certain. “We need to haul out and clean these water barrels,” she said, gesturing to the three in question. “Horses can be taken out. Stalls can be mucked.” Kate shrugged. “I think that’s about it.”

  Immediately the group began to split. “I’ll take out the horses,” Jack said, making for the wall that held the leads.

  “Brock and I will take care of one of the water buckets,” Cassie added.

  “Where’s Jose?” Amy asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

  Kate looked around and noticed for the first time that he wasn’t there. Her attention had been...elsewhere.

  “He’s trying again to see if Ma will let him be the official taster,” Diego said.

  Amy rolled her eyes. “It’s a wonder that boy doesn’t weigh three hundred pounds with all he eats. He should be out here helping, you know.”

  Diego just shrugged and walked over to another of the water barrels.

  Kate looked and realized that she had somehow wound up working with him again and wanted to slap her forehead. How did she keep managing to find herself in such close proximity to this man?

  Footsteps told her someone new was entering the barn, and for the first time in a long while she hoped to see Jose. But when she looked up, it was Pop who had walked in. This was just too much. “No, Pop. Didn’t you hear what I said earlier? You are taking the day off.”

  She was ready to continue scolding until he promised to relax, but he put his hands up in a gesture of innocence. “I’m not here to work, Kate, don’t you worry. Zach and Carter wanted to go for a ride, and since y’all are busy putting me out of a job, I thought I could take them for a quick trip around the place.”

  Kate smiled with relief. “That sounds like a great idea,” she told him.

  Cassie’s young twins were two of the riding school’s best students, and a horse ride would be a great way for Pop to feel like he was contributing while he still managed to relax a bit and have some time with his grandsons.

  “I’ll help you saddle up a couple horses,” Amy volunteered, but she was quickly shouted down by everyone around her.

  “Don’t you even think about it,” Brock said, eyeing her bulging stomach as if he was afraid it might pop at any moment.

  Jack put his hand on his wife’s arm and gave her a kiss. “I’ll take care of it, love,” he said. For a moment it looked like Amy might argue, but then she put her hand on top of her stomach and nodded.

  Cassie and Brock also jumped up to help, and soon the three of them were cinching belts on Chester, Pop’s favorite horse, as well as two of the most docile mares for the children, despite Pop’s grumbling that he could handle a little thing like cinching a saddle, thank you very much.

  Zach and Carter ran in with excitement shining in their eyes, and soon they were chattering nonstop as they mounted the horses and followed Pop out the door.

  Kate watched them go with a smile. The old man doted on the five-year-old twins, and her heart swelled with the love she saw in this family. Even though Pop and the rest of the family had known the young boys only a year, since Cassie moved in next door, it was clear that Mr. and Mrs. McNeal had immediately come to see them as their own grandchildren. It shouldn’t be surprising, knowing that all four of their adult children had been adopted, but it still took her breath away to see so much unconditional love.

  It wasn’t something she’d had much experience with growing up.

  Kate shook her head a little to push away the negative thoughts and focused on the task at hand. She and Diego managed to empty and scrub the barrel clean without talking to each other. In fact, they worked so smoothly together and he was so competent that no words were needed, which was in some ways worse than conversation. Soon they were setting the container back into place. Kate stood up and stretched her back as Amy walked over with a hose and began filling it with water.

  “Sorry I can’t be more help,” Amy told her, looking a little annoyed at her inability to do anything else.

  Kate shook her head at the apology. The idea that Amy was apologizing for not hauling heavy objects or cleaning smelly buckets seemed hilarious to Kate. “You just work on growing that person,” she told Amy. “I’ve had more help today than I know what to do with.”

  Kate looked around the barn. Diego had started on mucking the stalls with Jack while Brock and Cassie worked on the last barrel. Kate estimated the entire barn would be spick-and-span in a matter of minutes. Then what?

  As if Amy heard Kate’s thought, she shrugged as she moved over to fill the next bucket. “If I weren’t pregnant, I’d suggest we all go for a ride and catch up to Pop and the kids, but seeing as horses are off-limits, I need to come up with something fetus-friendly.”

  Kate looked over at the very pregnant lady and shrugged. “I don’t think anybody’s going to let you do much more than sit and chat until that girl arrives. Still no contractions?”

  Amy shook her head. “A few weeks ago I was nervous about labor. Now I just want it to be over and done with. Ma says it’s supposed to be this uncomfortable, so the mom stops worrying about the pain and just wants to have a baby already.”

  Kate silently questioned where Ma, a woman who had adopted all of her children, had heard that. It was probably something passed down from mother to daughter for generations.

  Kate wondered if her own mother had ever anticipated her arrival, even if it was just so she could stop being pregnant. Then she pushed aside that notion. That kind of thinking didn’t help anyone.

  Instead, Kate looked out the barn door at the wide expanse of the ranch. Her eyes skimmed across the fenced paddocks, the waving, long grass and the copse of trees that hid a small stream and some pleasant riding paths. She imagined Pop and the kids were somewhere in there, enjoying the shade.

  “They’ll probably be heading back any minute. Those kids love to ride, but I’m sure they’ll be ready for a snack and some new adventure soon,” Kate said to Amy, mostly just to have something to say.

  “Having little ones around really does liven things up,” Amy replied, giving Kate a little smile that she’d come to recognize as Amy’s “pre-mommy” look. It was very obvious that Amy was looking forward to having her daughter for reasons besides feeling comfortable again.

  Kate took one last glance and then turned back toward the barn, intending to grab a shovel and muck some stalls before the rest of the group got to all of them first. Then she turned again, her eyes scanning the trees for what she had seen out of the corner of her eye. She felt a hint of anxiety course through her.

  There.

  A horse had broken through the tree line and was racing back toward the barn at top speed.

  Kate squinted, then felt her heart in her throat as she recognized Chester. But he was riderless.

  Where was Pop? And the twins?

  Her anxiety shifted into full-on worry as she scanned the trees again for any sign of life, hoping the three of them would appear. She watched carefully even as she walked forward to meet Chester.

  “Kate, what—oh!” She heard Amy behind her but didn’t respond. Her attention was completely focused on the trees.

  Two more horses appeared, these ones not galloping quite so fast. And they had riders.

  Kate let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding as she saw Zach and Carter riding toward her. Pop was still missing, but at least the twins were safe. She caught Chester’s bridle as he rushed up to her; then she put a hand on his neck, trying to calm the gasping animal.

  If only someone was there to calm her.

  She felt a hand on her arm and looked up to find Diego beside her. Everyone had stopped their work and was standing around her, waiting for the boys. “It’ll be okay,” Diego rumbled to her softly.

  She nodded, soaking in his cool demeanor as they waited to discover what had happened to Pop.

  After what seemed an eternity, the two children arrived and were quickly grabbed off their horses by Cassie and Brock and pulled into hugs. It only took seconds to get the story.

  Pop had been playing around, showing them tricks on his horse. Then something had happened—neither boy was sure what—and Pop was on the ground. He was hurt. There was blood and he was holding his leg. He’d told them to go back and get help.

  Cassie ran to the barn for a first-aid kit as Brock asked the boys exactly where Pop was. Diego hopped on Chester while Brock and Cassie mounted the other two horses. In a flash, the three of them were off to find Pop, Cassie muttering something about the femoral artery and loss of blood.

  Kate watched them go, so stunned she could hardly stand. She stood rooted to the spot until they were far away. She could hear Amy behind her comforting the twins and trying to get more information from them at the same time.

 
Kate was glad there were others around who seemed to know what to do, because all she could do was watch and hope everything would turn out all right.

  During her career, she had seen some pretty horrific injuries, and she thought of herself as pretty cool under pressure, but this was different. This was Pop.

  Once the three horses were far in the distance, Kate turned toward Amy, who had an arm around each of the boys. “Don’t you worry,” she told them as she squeezed them as close as she could over her bulging belly. “Pop will be fine. He’s strong and your mom is the best doctor there is.”

  Kate tried to calm herself with Amy’s words. She was right—Pop had to be okay. The thought of something happening to him made her want to drop to the ground in despair, but she refused to believe he was really truly hurt. He was too important to her. In fact, he was a surrogate father to Kate, more loving and sweet than her real dad, certainly. Even though she’d known him less than a year, he was a fixture in her life, steady and immovable. He and Ma—

  Kate turned her eyes toward the house, which looked as calm and welcoming as ever. Ma didn’t know anything was wrong. Nobody had thought of her during the chaos of the moment. “I’ll go tell Ma,” Kate said to Amy, glad to have something helpful to do.

  “You sure we shouldn’t wait until they come back and we know more? It might be a kindness to keep her from worrying if it’s not necessary,” Amy’s husband said.

  Kate was about to argue but paused. Maybe she didn’t know Ma as well as she thought. She was a newcomer to the family, after all.

  “No, Kate’s right. Ma will have all of our hides if we know something like this and don’t tell her. She’s a strong woman and doesn’t like to be left in the dark,” Amy said, nodding at Kate.

  Kate nodded back and took off running for the house. When she opened the door, she could hear Ma and Jose’s voices. His was teasing, hers a cross between stern and amused.

  “If you stick a finger into that potato salad, I will personally see to it that—” Ma was saying, but she stopped as soon as she saw Kate’s face. “What happened?” she asked, setting down the dish towel she had been wiping her hands on. Then she grabbed at the end of the table, as if she knew she would need support to hear whatever Kate was going to say.

  Kate kept her voice steady and calm. “Pop was thrown from his horse. Cassie, Brock and Diego went out to get him and bring him in.”

  Kate wanted to reassure Ma that her husband was fine, but she couldn’t think of anything truthful she could say. Ma didn’t give her time for platitudes, anyway. In a flash, the older woman was out the door, moving faster than Kate had ever seen. Jose was right beside her.

  Kate turned off the stove burner before she made her way out. A fire wouldn’t help make things any better.

  By the time Kate was back with the small group waiting outside the barn, Ma had her grandsons in a tight hug while Amy was finishing explaining everything they knew.

  One of the twins was crying too hard to speak. The other whimpered, “It’s my fault. I was the one who asked Grandpop to take us for a ride and now he’s hurt. We didn’t stay with him or anything.”

  Ma turned the boy so she could look into his eyes. “Listen here, Zach. You did absolutely nothing wrong. Pop loves a ride with you two and would have suggested it if you hadn’t. And I’m so proud that you two listened to him and came back here immediately just like he told you to. You went to get help, which was just the right thing to do. Your mama can do more for him than anyone.”

  In the silence after Ma’s words, Kate thought she heard something and checked the woods. Finally, after a minute or two, she saw movement and waited, heart in her throat, to see who it would be and what they might be carrying. It was Diego and Brock, and supported between them was Pop, upright and limping. Cassie and the horses were following close behind the trio. Kate swept her gaze over Pop, feeling relief course through her veins. His leg was wrapped, and it looked as if Cassie had made a splint out of a stick. But he was moving and awake, and by the demeanor of the other three with him, it seemed like he was okay.

  Kate heard a whoosh of air behind her; it was clear Amy and Ma felt the same way she did and had both let out their own huge breaths of relief.

  He was hurt but okay.

  By the time they arrived, Ma was standing with her hands on her hips.

  “Howie, what exactly were you thinking? Were you trying to get yourself killed?” she asked as she looked over her husband, her voice more concerned than angry.

  He chuckled through clenched teeth. “Guess I’m not as young and spry as I thought,” Pop answered, still leaning heavily on his sons.

  Ma snorted her response.

  “Broke his leg,” Cassie explained to the assembled group, “and he lost a little bit of blood, but nothing else seems wrong. Luckily the gash didn’t open the femoral artery. We still need to get him to the hospital for a real cast and some tests just to be sure he’s okay. I’d like to ride with him and watch for any issues. And he needs to keep his leg elevated, so he’ll take up the entire backseat.”

  She looked at Ma, and Ma nodded, understanding that there wouldn’t be room for her in the vehicle. Ma gestured to Cassie and Brock, who would take Pop. “You three get going. The rest of us will be there just as soon as we can,” Ma said.

  In seconds, the rest of the family had organized car pools, with Jack and Amy driving the twins and Diego taking Jose and Ma.

  Kate grabbed the reins of the horses from Cassie. “I’ll get these three settled and hold down the fort until y’all get back,” she told Pop, hoping he understood that she was really telling him how much she cared for him.

  He gave her a pained grin. “I’m sure you will. Thank you, Kate. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

  Love and relief coursed through her. He knew. Ma took Kate’s free hand and gripped it tight for a long moment. “I’ll try to get ahold of everyone due to come over today, but if anyone comes...”

  “I’ll let them know what happened,” Kate said, finishing for her.

  With a smile of thanks and a few directions regarding the potatoes on the stove and the roast in the oven, Ma turned to catch up with her husband. Brock and Diego helped him into the back of Cassie’s SUV. Kate watched them go. “I gotta go do a thing,” Jose said to her, gesturing over to the group of people beside the cars. “Save me some potato salad, okay?” And then he was on his way to his family.

  Kate shook her head. She knew he cared for her and for his family, but that wasn’t the kind of response she wanted right then. She wanted reassurance, not humor.

  Before he climbed into his own truck, Diego looked back at her and nodded, letting her know without words that he would do everything in his power to help Pop. The look on his face made that clear. She nodded in return, and then he was gone, too, the truck door closing between them.

  Kate stood there, alone except for the horses, and watched the cars drive off. Then she turned toward the barn and clicked her tongue to get the animals walking. Soon they were brushed and happy out in the paddock with the others.

  Kate had more work to do in the barn finishing all the tasks that were interrupted by Pop’s accident, but she looked toward the ranch house. First she needed to deal with the food as Ma had directed. It was just a shame nobody was going to get the Fourth of July they wanted.

  She looked at the house again, and an idea began to formulate in her mind. Perhaps she’d be able to give someone the celebration they wanted after all, she thought.

  Kate walked quickly to the house, creating a mental list of everything to be done. Her work for the day wasn’t anywhere near over.

  * * *

  Diego had to fight to keep from pressing the gas pedal to the floor. He knew Cassie and Brock would get Pop to the hospital as quickly as they could. The rest of them didn’t need to rush.

  Still, his speed slowly edged higher and higher until Ma placed a calming hand on his shoulder from where she sat behind him. “He’s fine, Diego,” she said.