Second Chance Cowboy--A Clean Romance by Claire McEwen

Author:Claire McEwen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-12-11T14:28:07+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

LONG VALLEY WAS west of Shelter Creek, just off the road that led out to the coast. It was surrounded by steep green hillsides. Getting out of Emily’s truck, Wes could see a boardwalk, which led out into the valley and kept visitors above a series of meadows with a stream that meandered between a couple of ponds. “I don’t remember this from when I lived here before.”

“It was private property then,” Emily said, rummaging behind the driver’s seat. She pulled out an old blanket. “Jace Hendricks bought this land when he moved here.”

“This is where Vivian found the salamanders?” Wes grinned. “He told me about that. Not a great way to start a relationship.”

Emily laughed. “I didn’t know Vivian as well back then, but I hear it was pretty much fireworks between them at the beginning. They’re happy now, though.”

“I guess we don’t all get things right at the beginning of a relationship,” Wes said, reaching into the cab to scratch Rex’s ears.

If Emily heard him, she didn’t let on. “This valley is also an important fall sanctuary for tule elk. It’s their only water source at that time of year. And apparently bald eagles live here, too, which I never realized until Maya called just now.”

“So what do we do if we find this eagle?”

Emily reached across to the glove compartment and opened it to reveal a pair of binoculars. She took them out and draped the strap around her neck. “We’re going to observe it and try to figure out what’s wrong. If we need to bring it in, we’ll try to use this blanket to subdue it. I’m sure Maya will bring a crate in case she has to bring it into the wildlife center.” She grinned at him. “Have you ever held a chicken?”

“I spent a lot of time working on ranches. I know my chickens.”

“When did you work on ranches?”

“In the summers. Our neighborhood in Houston wasn’t very safe. I didn’t want Jamie running around in the streets getting in trouble while I worked. So I got a job at a dude ranch outside San Antonio one year and they let me bring Jamie along. He did chores right along with me and we’d get good, home-cooked meals, a paycheck and a place to live away from the city during summertime. We went back every year after that. It’s where we learned to ride, and where I realized I could understand a lot about horses by watching them closely.”

“There’s so much I don’t know about you.” She sounded kind of disappointed.

“Ask me anything. I’ll tell you. I’ve got no secrets to keep from you now.” He winced. Why had he said that? Why remind her, again, of how he’d left her, and how his whole life with Jamie had been a secret for so many years?

“Back to chickens.” She moved their conversation back to safer ground. “Holding an eagle is just like that, only they’re a whole lot bigger. You have to keep its wings down against its body or you’re going to get smacked hard.

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