Wyoming Rodeo Rescue by Carol Ross

Author:Carol Ross
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-07-14T17:30:27+00:00

* * *

“GRAB THAT SIDE, and let’s see how stuck this thing this,” Levi instructed Adele the following morning. The night before, she’d sent a group text to him and Wyatt asking if they could give her a hand moving an antique wood cookstove. He’d swung through town and picked her up, and now they were waiting for Wyatt to help with the heavy lifting. Adele had brought moving straps, and Levi’s pickup had a bed lift, so it wouldn’t be difficult to load if they could get it out.

The stove had been installed in the corner of the old foreman’s cabin on Hollow Pine Ranch. Many years ago, when a new cabin was built, this one had been relegated to storage. The owners, Kris and Ed Dunbar, had recently decided to downsize and had agreed to let Adele have her pick if she was “willing to dig it out.” And willing she was. Like Levi, Adele was desperate to find a way to earn her share to pay back the bank loan that had been called in. She’d cleared away most of the junk and debris around the stove, but two of the heavy cast-iron legs had sunk into the ancient knotty pine planks, where they appeared to be wedged in pretty tight.

“I want to see if I need to get my tools and cut around this floor. Ready?” Levi asked, “On three.”

“I don’t know, Levi,” Adele said. “Should we wait for Wyatt? I don’t want you to hurt your back.”

“My back is fine,” he assured her, adjusting his leather gloves. Then he bent at the knees, gripped his edge and counted down. It moved, the floor cracking and splintering as they shifted the heavy bulk onto more solid ground.

Adele said, “Okay, that should do it. Let’s wait for Wyatt to get it loaded.”

“You have a buyer for this already? It’ll be a beauty once it’s cleaned up.”

“I do, and I know. Major score. It’s astonishing what these out-of-towners will pay for some of this stuff. Last week, I sold that old pair of snowshoes I showed you for a grand.”

Out-of-towners were often wealthy new residents who’d moved here from the larger cities in search of a “simpler” life. Ironic, Levi thought, because they were known to look down on and complicate life for the people already here. Case in point, Xavier Howard.

Levi opened the stove door and flicked his cell phone light on to inspect the interior. “Looks like the firebox might need some repair.”

“I told them and emailed photos. They don’t care, and they aren’t planning to use it anyway. It’s for decoration.”

“So, they’re purchasing a perfectly good stove just to take up space?” he joked.

Adele chuckled. “It’s called rustic decor, Levi.”

“Whatever you say, Adele. I’m happy you’re making money off of other folks’ impracticality. Which reminds me, did you hear about the granary?”

“Jacob Kelter’s place? What about it?”

Levi told her what Molly had heard, how he’d accepted an offer from Howard.

Adele was wide-eyed and nearly as pale as Gran by the time he’d finished.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.