Smoking Gun: The Bunkhouse Series Book 1 by Lainey Lawson

Author:Lainey Lawson [Lawson, Lainey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Independent
Published: 2023-12-12T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

Gage

“Ruby,” I groan.

I hear a moo from about five feet away but I don’t bother to look up. I’m lying down by the campfire: arms folded over my chest, boot-clad feet crossed, and cowboy hat covering my face.

The rest of the guys, with saddles as pillows, are sleeping in various spots around the fire. It’s only a low of 48 tonight, but the swift December breeze makes it feel a whole lot more chilly than that. Scratchy horse blankets keep a thick barrier between the cold ground and our bodies and that’s about as good as we can do without fussing around with tents.

Another moo. This time a little more desperate sounding.

I lift one hand to the crown of my hat, raising it slightly so I can peer over at her with one eye. The only red cow in the herd.

I saw her at the sale barn one day about three years ago. Her cow had died and the guy that owned them didn’t want to have to deal with a bottle calf since she wasn’t weaned yet. She looked pretty sickly at the time, and not a single soul in that building bid on her. Don’t ask me why, but I approached the man afterward, offered him cash, and took her home.

I woke up a little earlier every day that spring, making her a bottle and feeding it to her. She tried to follow me around and I eventually got tired of hearing her bawling, so I let her out of the gate from time to time. She’d prance around the ranch like a pet dog, begging for ear scratches and more milk.

She’s a grown cow now and despises summertime when we turn them all out to pasture. I thought maybe putting her in the satellite field, the farthest one from the main ranch land, would force her to adjust to the fact that she’s not a pet. It didn’t work.

My chest rumbles with a laugh when I see her paw the dirt.

“Fine.” I put the hat back on the top of my face and cross my arms again. “You can sleep here as long as you stop mooing.” I hear the distinct sound of Ruby making herself at home with the rest of us, causing the ground to shake when she grunts and drops her body to lie down.

Spoiled rotten, that one.

I check the time on my phone and see that it’s been hours since I first tried to settle in for the night. I’ve tossed and turned relentlessly, trying to get comfortable and will my brain to shut down and sleep.

We left out to gather this last set of cows for the winter late this morning. It’s almost a day’s ride, so we always camp out on the prairie instead of trying to make it home in the dark.

I wish it was the hoot owls or lack of a mattress that was keeping me awake. Truth is, those things are fine by me. The sounds of nature are usually comforting.

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