* *
David tugged his hat lower to block out the midafternoon sun. Even its scorching heat couldn’t quite rival the intensity of Matthew’s warning glare from earlier this morning. The man’s exact words had been “Watch yourself around my sister. She’s been hurt, and that won’t happen again on my watch. At least, not without some serious repercussions for the man who does the hurting. Understand?”
David understood, all right. He’d done his best to assure Matthew that Caroline would be safe from any romantic entanglements at the McKay ranch. For some reason, Matthew hadn’t seemed entirely convinced. The man really had no need for concern. The only thing David intended to do with Caroline was to stay out of her way. That should be easy enough, since as long as she was doing her job, he’d have plenty of time to do his.
That in and of itself was a blessing. After spending the last few days helping his mother with Maggie and the triplets, he had a lot to catch up on. Beyond the normal day-to-day running of the ranch, David was also battling the drought that continued to wreak havoc on the ranches surrounding Little Horn. He’d grown up on a ranch in west Texas, where rain and water was far less abundant than in the comparatively lush Hill County, so he felt he had an advantage in that fight that many of the nearby ranchers didn’t.
He was used to conserving water and stretching resources. Unfortunately, that didn’t make it any easier to watch the once-green pastureland fade to yellow, then dry up in patches of brown. Nor did it stop him from being concerned about his cattle—especially since the land had to support the extra two hundred head he’d brought with him from out west last year.
Bringing along his best breeding stock had seemed like a good idea at the time. He’d planned to focus on rebuilding the herd and extending his adoptive father’s legacy right here in Little Horn. Now it would take his best efforts to keep the stock healthy and fed through the winter. While the fresh spring near the house looked to be holding up, his hay crop was going to be much smaller than he’d hoped.
David sent a questioning glance to his nearest ranch hand. Ephraim Campbell had been a part of the McKay operation in west Texas and had followed the outfit to Little Horn, along with David’s foreman, Joaquin Reyes. They’d joined together with Isaiah Upkins, an older cowboy who’d worked for the previous owner of the Windy Diamond. As appreciative as David was for Isaiah’s knowledge of the land, David had worked with the other two men long enough that they could all but read his thoughts when they worked together. Proving that, Ephraim simply said, “Twenty-four.”
David nodded. Twenty-four calves still nursing so far. They’d likely find a few more before the day was through. That meant he’d have no choice but to buy additional feed. Other ranchers in the area were going to find themselves in the same position, which meant feed prices were bound to go up. The sooner he got his order in, the better.
The only thing left to determine was how much he’d need to spend. He considered his options for a moment. “I’m thinking about weaning early.”
Ephraim wiped his golden-brown brow on his shirtsleeve before placing his hat back over his dark curls. “Cutting feed cost?”
“Yep.”
Ephraim nodded his agreement. David glanced across the thirty or so cattle they had corralled in search of his foreman. “Hey, Joaquin, what do you think about weaning early this year?”
Joaquin tipped back his hat to eye the calves in the bunch. “They look good. I think they can handle it. Want us to separate them out?”
“Yes, as soon as we get a final tally.”
Far in the distance, Isaiah headed their way, returning from a scouting mission with a couple of strays. Catching sight of a limping calf, David rode out to meet him. “Have you checked the injury?”
“Not yet. This red-spotted steer has a mind of his own.” As if to prove Isaiah’s point, the steer bolted left.
“I’ll doctor the calf. Have fun with the steer.” He grinned as Isaiah grimaced and redirected the steer.
Joaquin cantered over as David doctored the calf’s leg. “What’s the matter with him?”
“Looks like he got caught up on some barbed wire.” David untied the calf and watched him lope back toward his mother. “If so, his mother might be scratched up, too, even though she isn’t limping. Once we’re done counting calves, let’s bring them into the corral by the barn. Examine the mother. Keep an eye on the calf.”
“Sure thing, jefe.” Joaquin tipped his hat back. “Do you want us to check the fence? It might be damaged.”
David remounted his horse. “I’ll ride over now and take a look, since I wanted to check on the crop anyway. Meanwhile, y’all keep looking for nursing cattle.”
“We’ll take care of it.”
With a nod of thanks, David rode the hay field fence until he found the spot where the cattle had tried to break through. Oddly enough, a large branch blocked the opening. It had to have been put there after the cows had broken in. Had one of his men coaxed the cow and calf from the field and placed the branch here as a temporary fix?
It seemed a strange thing to do when fixing the breech was a relatively simple task with the right tools. Stranger still was the fact that none of them had mentioned it. No. His men hadn’t done this. They’d started rounding up those heads of cattle two days ago. That meant whoever had helped them out by blocking the fence was long gone.
Shrugging off the matter for now, David set about mending the break. He was nearly finished when he spotted Jamie Coleman riding toward him. They’d missed each other yesterday when David had returned the puppy to the Coleman ranch. Tug, Jamie’s father, had promised to send his son out to apologize for giving Maggie the dog without David’s permission. David had insisted it wasn’t necessary.
Apparently, Tug hadn’t agreed, because the nineteen-year-old in question greeted David with a wave of his hat. “Howdy, Mr. McKay! I came to apologize. My pa is right. I should have checked with you before I gave Maggie that puppy.”
“It was only a misunderstanding. Don’t worry about it.”
Jamie nodded, though worry entered his hazel eyes. “I hope Maggie wasn’t too upset by it all.”
Oh, she’d been plenty upset. The fact that Caroline was coming to live with them had been the only thing to save the evening. “She’ll be fine. I softened the news by telling her we’d get a dog someday when everything calms down. Right now adding an untrained puppy to the mix is just too much.”
“I understand.” Jamie hesitated. “What if I kept the dog for a little while and trained him for you? That way you and Maggie both get what you want and I’ll feel a whole lot better about the whole thing.”
David stopped wrestling with the barbed wire fence to consider the offer. “That would be a huge help. I’d be happy to pay you for the training.”
Jamie grinned. “Great! No need to pay me. Would it be all right if I bring him around now and then so Maggie could have a hand in training him?”
“She’d love that. Thank you, Jamie.” David held out his hand and they shook on it. “You’ve just made my daughter’s day.”
“Happy to help. I’d better get back
