He followed the rest of the men out into the early May morning and headed for the stables. The daily tasks were rotated, and today was Lucas’s day to ride the fence line and look for any breeches or issues.
Thank God he’d mucked the stalls the day before and wouldn’t have to do that nasty task again for another eleven days. It was one of the jobs that had to be done that nobody particularly liked to do.
This morning it was just his horse, Lucky, and him and the wide-open pasture. He strode toward the stables, breathing deeply of the clean air and enjoying the warmth of the sunshine on his shoulders.
The stables held twenty stalls, ten on each side. All the ranch hand horses were housed here as well as several other horses that Cass had for herself and guests. When Lucas walked in, several of the men were saddling up their mounts for the morning chores.
Some of them would be heading out to the pasture to check on the cattle, to make sure none appeared ill and there were no signs of prey that had bothered the herd overnight.
Dusty had disappeared into the tack room, where he would spend most of the morning cleaning and oiling the saddles and harnesses that weren’t in use.
The ranch worked like a well-oiled engine. Everyone knew what they were supposed to do each day. Cass had believed in structure and routine, and all of the men had thrived beneath her rigid system.
It took only minutes for him to saddle up and head out, the sun warm and the smell of sweet spring grass filling his head. Lucky was a strong, fast mount who danced his feet as if eager to go for a run.
Sawyer Quincy opened the gate that led to the pasture for Lucas, and when Lucas had ridden through Sawyer closed the gate once again. Although it was rare for the cattle to come this close to the stables and other outbuildings, it wasn’t unheard of.
Somebody checked the fence line every day, but since the storm that had ravaged the area, trees and large limbs had fallen and continued to fall, sometimes causing a new break in the fencing.
He rode at a slow pace, keeping an eye on the fence while enjoying the freedom and sense of pride he always felt when on the back of his horse and working.
There had been a time in his past when he was certain his future held only two outcomes, jail or death. Cass had changed all that and now she was gone.
Sorrow squeezed his heart as he thought of the sixty-eight-year-old woman who had saved them all. Cass Holiday had been tough, but loving. She’d been fair and had instilled a sense of pride, of belonging and of self-esteem in all of the cowboys who’d served her. He shoved away thoughts of the woman they had buried in the family plot not far from where he rode.
Instead a vision of Nicolette leaped into his head. He’d never felt the kind of instant attraction that he’d felt for her for any other woman in his life. The moment she’d gotten out of the car the night before, something inside him had sizzled with an unusual heat.
He thought of the little nest egg he’d saved up over the years. He’d always known that this life with Cass wouldn’t last forever, and there was a small ranch on the other side of Bitterroot that had been for sale for the past year.
He’d often thought about buying it and beginning to build what Cass had here, but his loyalty to Cass had stopped him from any action in that direction.
Now with Cass gone and the future of the ranch up in the air, maybe it was time for him to go his own way. Still, the idea of leaving the men he’d thought of as his brothers, of walking away from here before he knew what Cassie intended to do, now made the thought of going elsewhere painful.
In his deepest fantasies, when he made his move he hoped there would be a woman by his side, a woman who wanted to build something lasting and meaningful with him. Although he told himself that was his heart’s hope, his head told him not to believe that fantasy, never to trust any woman again and to never give his heart away.
If and when he decided to build a life away from Cass’s ranch, he would be alone, as he’d been for so many years.
Besides, the only woman who had captured his attention for more than a minute recently was definitely a woman who would prefer champagne to cold beer, chiffon to flannel and city lights to the starry Oklahoma skies.
It was almost noon when he finally finished his survey, finding no issues with the fence line. He got off his horse to open the gate and from there he walked Lucky toward the stables.
He’d almost made it to the building when he saw Sammy running toward him, his dark hair gleaming in the sun and a happy smile on his face.
Lucas had a feeling his mother wouldn’t be wearing a happy smile when she saw the filthy condition of what had once been white sneakers on the boy’s feet.
“What are you doing out here?” Lucas asked. He guided Lucky into the stables with Sammy close on his heels.
“Waiting for you.” Sammy watched as Lucas unsaddled Lucky and hung the saddle over a sawhorse, where several others also hung, waiting to be oiled and polished by Dusty. “I was hoping maybe I could eat lunch at the bunkhouse with all you cowboys.”
“Does your mom know you’re out here?” Lucas asked.
Sammy hesitated a moment, giving Lucas his answer. “She and Cassie were making a big salad for lunch and talking about Cassie’s painting and clothes.” He wrinkled up his nose. “They’re boring. I want to be out here with you and learn everything about being a cowboy.”
His blue eyes shone with an eagerness that Lucas remembered feeling the first day he’d arrived here at the ranch. Still, the last thing Lucas wanted was to be pulled into the life of some kid who would certainly be around for only a short period of time.
“Where’s your dad?” Lucas asked, more gruffly than he intended.
Sammy shrugged. “Probably he’s on his yacht. He’s a very busy man. I haven’t seen him since we divorced him two years ago and I didn’t see him much before then.” Again Lucas’s heartstrings were plucked. “So, can I eat lunch at the bunkhouse with you?” Sammy asked eagerly.
Lucas put Lucky into his stall before replying. He stepped outside the stables with Sammy at his side. He was about to tell the kid that he needed to talk to his mother, but at that moment he saw Nicolette hurrying toward them...and she looked like a mad bull who had just seen red.
* * *
Nicolette’s heart felt as if it might beat right out of her chest. For the past fifteen minutes she’d run through the house, calling her son’s name without hearing any response.
Unsure where her son might have wandered, but knowing how vast the ranch was and how unknowledgeable he was about the dangers, she’d become frantic with worry.
Now that she saw him safe and sound with Lucas, her worry turned to anger. “Samuel Ray Kendall,” she yelled as she drew closer to the two.
“Uh-oh,” Sammy said and winced.
Her boy understood that when she called him by his full name he was in big trouble. As he should be, she thought, fully steamed. “Don’t ever leave the house again without telling me,” she exclaimed when she finally reached him. “I’ve been frantic, searching everywhere in the
