The Cowboy's Homecoming by Brenda Minton

Author:Brenda Minton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2011-05-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

The Matheson farm had taken a pretty hard hit. Jeremy stood next to the pile of debris that had been a barn and shook his head. People around here didn’t let a little thing like losing everything chase them off from their homes and the town they’d grown up in.

Since he’d been born and raised here, he knew a thing or two about standing his ground. He regretted that it had to be Beth he came up against in this battle. When he thought about Bethlehem Bradshaw he remembered her in his shirt, her in his arms. Now he had the image of her with that stupid clipboard full of names.

He pulled his gloves back on and grabbed the wheelbarrow he’d been using to cart old shingles and pieces of metal that were scattered around the yard. A chain-saw buzzed in the background as the trees that had been toppled were cut up.

He’d give this job another hour and then he needed to head for Tulsa where he still had a business that needed his attention. He had three custom bikes going out next month and a dealership that was receiving a shipment of new bikes next week.

The other thing he needed to do was talk to his lawyer about the trouble brewing with the building. That didn’t sit well with him. Yeah, he wanted the business built on a site that already had utilities, water and septic, but he wasn’t interested in a legal battle that would tear the community apart.

As long as the church served as a shelter, he had time to think about what he should do and how to move forward. For the most part, people were thankful that he had opened Back Street as a shelter.

Reese Cooper had slapped him on the back earlier and told him that it meant a lot to the community.

He rounded the corner and Ryder Johnson jumped out of the way. He raised his hands and grinned. “Watch out, it wasn’t me.”

Jeremy tried to smile. “Well then you’re probably the only one.”

Ryder walked with him to the pile of debris that they’d burn after everything was cleaned up. “It’s been a rough couple of days in good old Dawson.”

“Yeah, it has.” And they weren’t going to talk about the church. Jeremy would have said thank you, but that would have brought it up. “Did Rob Matheson get an appointment in Grove?”

“Yeah, he headed that way about two hours ago. It’ll probably take all day, but he has to do something. He didn’t have insurance on his tractor. The insurance on the barn won’t cover what was inside it.”

“That’s a tough break.”

“It is. He’s in a mess of trouble if he doesn’t get temporary funds to keep him going.”

“We might have to do some kind of fundraiser to help out the folks in town who don’t have enough insurance to cover everything.” Jeremy had talked to Wyatt about the same thing.

“Yeah, that’s what Wyatt said. Maybe the idea of a rodeo would work.

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