Lonely Secrets: Yellowstone Ranch Series

12

"The Duttons asked me to stay at the ranch." I told Dr. Stone as I sorted through the X-rays of a pregnant horse.

"Good." He nodded once. "That view will be fine. Thank you." He took the one I had just pulled out of the stack.

"You're okay with it?" I asked him, furrowing my brows.

He took his glasses off and sat them on the exam table. "Ada," He smiled a small smile,"You could work at the Duttons and always have a job, never have to finish school, and make triple what any vet could. It's hard work, but you like hard work. You'll never have to pay for a single thing while you're there if you don't want to. If you can handle it, it's the best damn job in the world." The twinkle in his eyes told me so much.

"Were you their vet?" I questioned.

He nodded. "Until the kiddos came along."

"I'm worried about working for John." I confided in him.

He shook his head,"Nonsense. If you do what they want, he'll take care of you."

"Thank you. I still would like to be on call when you need me."

"Absolutely." He grinned and squeezed my shoulder. "You call me if you have any questions."

I nodded and smiled back.

*****

It was strange moving in with Kayce. I barely knew the man but I felt like I had known him for years. Everything I owned I could fit in the back seat of my truck, and it was mostly vet supplies. That Saturday morning I pulled through the gates and down the driveway to the ranch. The truck roared slightly as I went up the hill to the cabin. Kayce sat on the porch in a rocking chair, holding a mug of what I assumed was coffee. He smiled.

I jumped out of the truck and made my way to him. I smiled too. "Hey." I said with a breathy voice.

He nodded. "You need help unpacking?" He stood up.

I shrugged,"Not much there really." I walked back to the truck and he followed me. I opened the back seat door and grabbed my duffel bag of clothes and my boots.

"Is this it?" He asked, confused.

"Yeah," I drug out the box with my hats in it and handed it to him. "A lot of it is for the barn. Vet supplies."

"Alright." He huffed out a little chuckle and brought the box into the house. I followed him through the threshold and into the bedroom. I sat down the duffel on the floor by the bed. I sighed and looked at him, uncomfortably.

"I don't know about this." I swallowed hard. "This is weird." I sat down on the bed and stared at my hands that were gripping my knees with white knuckles.

He sat down beside me,"If it's too much, I can stay at the bunkhouse. Or there's rooms in the main house you can stay at if you don't wanna stay here." I looked at him. His face was sincere and worried. "Just don't leave yet." He whispered. "Please."

The cowboy hat he had on was the old brown one again. Stained and ragged. It was worn out for many, many rides.

"Can we go for a ride?" I asked. "Just for fun..."

He stood up. "Whatever you wanna do, doll."

I smiled again. I just need to get to know him more. And then it will all be okay.

We made our way down to the barn and saddled two horses. It had been a few months since I last rode so I was a little nervous. When I mounted the horse, it was like I had never missed a day.

We took off in a small gallop out towards the pastures. I thanked the lord above he chose this way instead of the large mountains on the other side of the ranch. I knew we would hit mountains in this side too but it would be a while and I could get use to my horse before then. It was the perfect day for a ride. The summer heat hadn't warmed up the earth yet. There was a breeze blowing and it made me ready for the fall season. It was cold air blowing, not sticky, hot air like Texas. My hair floated around me and didn't stick to my neck and face.

It was peaceful.

We rode for hours. Checking most of the fencing as he showed me the land. He knew lots about it and explained the history of the Native Americans well. Eventually I had to say something about it. "You must've read a lot as a kid." I teased.

"What do you mean?" He chuckled a little but it didn't last long.

"You sound like a history teacher." I chuckled some too, shaking my head.

He smile dropped. He just shrugged. "I probably need to head back and help the wranglers." He turned his horse.

"Wait-" I stopped him, catching his change in emotions. "I didn't mean that as a bag thing." I called oh.

"It's fine, Ada. I just need to get back." He snapped this reigns.

"I don't think it is. What's wrong?" I rode up beside him.

He sighed and looked down at his saddle.

"Monica's a history teacher."