Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 82341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“They took all their dolls outside to play. They’re probably under that big oak with all the shade. Will you go bring them in for dinner, please, Major? It’s time to wash up.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I made my way back outside and found them not under the oak but by one of the far pasture fences. It looked from here like Brenda and Gina were encouraging little Jackie to climb through the slats into the pasture where a handful of Stan’s greenest horses grazed. They knew better than to go into a pasture without permission.
“Girls,” I barked, taking off at a swift jog toward them. The twins scrambled to hide Jackie but were clearly still trying to force her into the pasture. Suddenly, I noticed Jackie’s little pink overalls on the other side of the fence. “Get her out of there!”
The horses heard my voice and looked up, assuming if I was there that meant they were getting feed of some kind. Dammit.
“Brenda, Gina, grab your sister and pull her back,” I yelled again. Jackie was only five years old and no match at all for the nervous horses who were now wandering over expecting dinner.
I heard Doc’s voice behind me. “Wes, what the hell is going on?”
I reached the fence at a dead sprint and vaulted over it, grabbing Jackie up and holding her to me right as the first horse reached us. She burst into tears against my neck.
“Git,” I snapped at the closest horse, motioning with one arm for it to move off. He hopped to the side a bit and blew air out through his nostrils. I turned to hand Jackie over to Gina so I could climb back over the fence, but Jackie wouldn’t let go of my neck.
Brenda grabbed Gina’s arm and said, “We’re in so much trouble. Run!”
Even though Gina looked unsure, she followed her stronger-willed sister as usual and the two of them took off for the barn.
“Running makes for more work, and you know it,” I called after them. “Might as well get started while you’re in there by mucking stalls. And you can explain to your granny why you missed dinner.”
Doc watched them race past him and then looked up at me, holding his arms out for Jackie. “What just happened?”
Jackie still wouldn’t let go, so I began climbing carefully with one arm wrapped tightly around her little body. When I landed on the other side next to Doc, he reached out a hand to rub Jackie’s back.
“You all right, sweetie?”
“Day said to wide Pink Pony,” she said with a sniff and a hiccup, peeking out at me with one blue eye. “Sowwy, Unca Mage.”
Pink Pony was the name the girls had given one of Stan’s new horses who’d been delivered by a man with a pink logo on the side of his horse trailer. Despite the sweet name, the stallion was a royal pain in the ass and nowhere near safe enough for the kids to approach.
Doc brushed her blonde curls out of her face. “You know better than to go into one of the pastures where any animals are, baby.”
More tears appeared, and she ducked back into the crook of my neck. Doc smiled up at me. “C’mon, let’s go eat. Mom was hoping I’d man the grill for her. Jackie, I think I saw some cut-up strawberries on the table. You know anyone who’d want to eat those?”
They were her favorite, and I felt her little body let out a shuddering breath. “Uh-huh.”
“You want me to get the twins?” I asked, following him and trying not to stare at his ass in his Wranglers.
“Nah. I think you’re right. Let them eat it cold and explain to Granny why they missed it.”
As I followed him into the house and helped Jackie out of her little cowgirl boots to leave them on the boot trays by the door, I thought about how grateful I was that he allowed me to co-parent the kids as much as he did. Not only did it prove his trust in me, but it also allowed me to be even closer to the family I loved so much. Billy choosing to ride with me home from baseball and Jackie staying in my arms instead of automatically reaching for Doc were signs of love and acceptance I’d never gotten anywhere other than the army. And I would never have described the army as particularly loving in the first place.
When we got to the kitchen, Billy was begging Doc for tickets to the baseball game in Dallas he’d been talking about earlier. When Doc explained he had to work and I had to stay close to the ranch to help Stan with the herd, I was surprised to hear Stan pipe up and offer to take him. Since we were going to be elbow-deep in castrating the calves, it was highly unusual for Stan to take off to Dallas and leave it to the rest of us.