The Rancher's Holiday Hope by Brenda Minton

Author:Brenda Minton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-09-03T16:55:44+00:00

* * *

At noon on the Monday after Sierra had visited the St. James family, Max was knee-deep in farmwork. He stood to one side of the corral, the mutt dog at his side as they moved cattle through a chute to give them immunizations, tag the ears and label the newer livestock.

His dad yelled something about a heifer and Max looked up, completely lost. Then he saw her. The dog immediately brought the Angus heifer back to the herd.

“I know you’re used to office work,” Max’s dad called out, “but do you think you could join me here on the ranch?”

Max took his hat off and wiped his hand through his hair. He definitely wasn’t the best farmhand. “Yeah, sorry, Dad. I got distracted.”

He never got distracted. His dad gave him a look, shook his head and said something to Richard, the hand they’d recently hired. Both men laughed.

It was no laughing matter. One solitary kiss on a moonlit night had him questioning everything about himself. He never questioned his goals, his plans. College had helped him see the bigger picture. It had changed him from a selfish teenager to a man with a plan to restore everything his family had lost.

And yet he’d never felt it was quite enough. Even now, he couldn’t go to the café or to church without noticing the skeptical looks. People doubted his intentions. The other day his sister had asked him if all of this—the house, the ranch, the cattle—was for his parents or to ease his guilty conscience.

Where did Sierra fit into this plan of his?

“You’re woolgathering again,” Aldridge called out. “We’ve got a half dozen head to go. And I’d rather not have to take you to the ER.”

“I’m on it,” Max called back, moving in behind the cattle, the dog staying close to his side. “Easy, now.”

The dog whined. The chute closed around another heifer. His dad and Richard worked quickly, the chute opened and the heifer ran across the field to join the rest of the herd.

“What are we doing next?” he called out.

His dad motioned him to keep the cattle moving. “I thought I’d eat a sandwich and then I’m going to fix the fence along the road before we put cattle on that twenty acres.”

“I can go get our supplies and we’ll be ready to go.”

“Sounds good to me. We can finish up here if you want to load the truck.”

Another heifer moved through the chute. “Yeah, I can do that.”

Max walked across the yard to the big barn that had been on the property for several decades. He and his sisters had played in that barn as kids.

The dog his dad had adopted from the shelter ran across the yard to join him. He gave the mixed-breed, wiry-haired dog a pat on the head and opened the truck door to let the animal jump in.

“Going with me?” he asked the dog.

The dog barked.

“Yeah, well, you’re not driving, so get over.” Max pushed the dog so he could scoot behind the wheel.

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