yeah, yeah, I got it done.”
“And?”
“They tell me I’m gettin’ old.” Mike turned, hands on his nonexistent hips, a scowl on his leathery face. “Patch, patch, patch. You just wait, boy. It ain’t pretty.”
“Trying to imagine you looking pretty,” Jack said after a moment’s study.
“I never turned female heads the way you do, but I did all right. Lily’s mother was a real beauty. You can tell, can’t you, just lookin’ at my two girls?”
“Sure can. Just so I don’t put my foot in it, did you ever tell Lily about your surgery?”
“Hell, no. The docs took care of it. Chopped that sucker out, sewed me up, good to go.” Mike gave a flat-handed wipe-away gesture, folded his arms and turned away again. “So now you’ve got your answers. Yes, I saw the doctor, and no, I don’t talk to nobody but her about my innards. If you hadn’t hung around the hospital that time like you were waitin’ for spare parts, I wouldn’t be havin’ this conversation with you, neither.”
“Her?” Jack grinned. “I never met your doctor. Man, you are equal opportunity.”
“She’s gentle. The one who took the knife to my lung was a man. I told him, leave no stone unturned, take no prisoners, just kill the bastard. And he did. And I don’t plan on ever seein’ that man again.” His thin lips stretched into a wistful smile, momentarily erasing the creases around his mouth. “My regular doctor’s a woman. Early forties, nice voice, good hands, laughs easy.”
“Surprised you’d ever put off going to see her.”
“You maybe haven’t noticed, but my charm is limited. I gotta save it up.” Mike grinned, raising his eyebrows. “I know what I’m doin’.”
“Knowing and doing are two different things.” Jack lifted his gaze. “I could finish this roof in a day if I knew how you wanted it done.”
“Take you three days at least. We could do it together in a day.”
“All right. Order up the materials.” Jack looked down at his boss. “Today, Mike. Those calves start dropping, we need a dry barn.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were trying to make work for yourself.”
“And if you said it I’d take offense, so it’s a good thing you know better.” Jack tapped Mike’s shoulder with the back of his hand. “Have we got a plan? ’Cause I’ve got things to do.”
“You’re not on my clock today.”
“What clock? I didn’t say I had work to do. I said things.”
“Messin’ with horses?”
“Messin’ with your daughter.” He allowed a two-count hush. “And horses.”
Jack grinned, and Mike gave him a watch-it-kid look, which was just what Jack was aiming for. He wasn’t messing with anybody except Mike, who needed a little poking every so often. He was the kind of guy who thrived when push came to shove, and Jack wanted him to thrive. Wanted him to keep on shoving until it was time to shove off. If Mike felt better keeping people in the dark, so be it. Jack had eyes like a cat.
“So you’re taking Lily for a ride?”
“Might be the other way around. She asked me.”
“Did she, now.”
“Asked what kind of horses you’re keeping around these days. Did I know of any she could start Iris on? Did I have time to take a ride with her and show her where the rest of the horses are?” He chuckled. “Shouldn’t’ve said that in front of Iris. They were heading out to get her enrolled in school, and the girl was already looking to put it off. Her mom was having none of that, so off they went.”
“Did Lily ask about her mare?”
Jack frowned.
“Pretty little palomino.” Mike glanced away, guiltylike. “I sold her. Lily left, and I just closed all the doors.”
“Water under the bridge, Mike. You can always get her another horse.”
“Not like that one. Lily raised her, trained her, showed her.”
“She can do that again.”
“They won’t be here that long. She’ll get things straightened around real quick. That’s the way she is. No grass growing under that girl’s feet.” Mike stepped back. The plan for the roof had been made. He gazed off in the direction of his pastures. “You’d better get a move on, check those cows.”
“Did that first thing. Nothin’ yet. Thought I’d head over to the Corey place. Calves are startin’ to drop over there.”
“I was thinkin’ I might need you here.” Mike nodded toward a distant ridge. “Bring them cows in closer.”
“I did that last week. They’re right over the hill, Mike. You want me to move them into the horse paddock?” The question was meant to make a point, not call for an answer. The two-acre horse paddock was in close but far out of the question. The cows needed space. They were fine where they were for now. “What else you got? I ain’t gonna stand around.”
“Not even if I pay you for it?” Jack returned a level stare. Mike knew better, so he sighed, surrendering with a chuckle. “Okay, I need you here because I’m … gonna order up the roofing materials.” He lifted one shoulder. “And go to a meeting.”
“Fair enough.”
“Hell, you don’t need me to tell you what to do, Jack. You know this operation as well as I do. I don’t worry about you standing around.”
“Get the hell going, then.”
Jack turned away smiling. Mike was big on meetings. The grass-fed cattle co-op he’d started kept him pretty busy these days, and keeping his mind busy was good for Mike’s health. That and staying off the bottle. Mike was still a step ahead of the devil in that regard. Jack would know if he wasn’t. He knew all the signs. To each his own struggle, Jack figured, but if Mike went down, Jack would know the reason why. And he would return Mike’s many favors, try to be his good neighbor. If it hadn’t been for Mike, Jack wouldn’t even know what that meant.
With his morning chores done, Jack had already put in what most people would call a day’s work, but he would have more work and another paycheck coming if he went over later and spent the afternoon at the Corey ranch. Corey was a friend of Mike’s. It was a neighborly friendship, but it was also a business association. Jack didn’t know much about either kind. He knew cousins and pals, and he’d walked away from some of each. Had to. It was the only way he could make any sense of who he really was or could become.
He remembered turning off the road the first time he’d followed the arrow on the sign. Lowdown, Montana. Population: 352, Give or Take a Few. He’d figured on taking a few. Up to that point, sobriety hadn’t been all it was cracked up to be. He’d been out of work for three months and sober the whole
