Shared By the Cowboys by Cassie Cole

4

Rebecca

“Horse got tangled in its tack,” Mason told me. “It’s all right now.”

There was something strange in the way he said it. Like he wasn’t telling me the full story.

“Probably too late to take you out on the property,” Cody said, glancing at his watch. “We’ll take you out first thing in the morning. You can settle in before dinner.”

I went up to my room and closed the door halfway. Then I opened my laptop and began taking notes.

For the past six years, I had been a fiction writer specializing in thrillers and suspense novels. My last book had finally earned me a spot on the New York Times Bestseller List. My books usually took place in cities, though. New York, Los Angeles, Chicago. Growing up on a ranch, I had spent most of my time daydreaming about big cities, so that’s where I liked to make my settings.

My next project was going to be my first cowboy-themed book. My parents still had the family ranch, but it had been so long since I lived there that I didn’t remember much, and I wanted something fresh. A good story was in the details, and all of the details had been lost to me over time.

That was why I was here. To rekindle my knowledge of ranch life so I could write a compelling story. Living and working on a ranch would get those creative juices flowing.

The setting wasn’t the only benefit. There was a lot of good drama here. Mason, the eldest son who took charge. Cody, the easy-going goofball. Blake, the middle child with an attitude.

The book practically wrote itself.

As a general rule, I didn’t like keeping secrets. Honesty was the best policy, as my mom used to say. But if I told the guys that I was here not only to help, but to write a book, they would act differently around me. It would spoil the atmosphere.

So for now, I would keep my secret. When my contract was up I would come clean and tell them who I really was. And in the meantime, I would be a valuable asset on the ranch.

Since I didn’t have a proper writing desk, I sat up in bed with my laptop in my lap. I connected to the house Wi-Fi and opened my email client.

Terry,

Just got a tour of the ranch. It’s old and dilapidated, and these three brothers are fixing it up. Two of them get along, but one brother—Blake—had an attitude. There’s some animosity between him and the eldest brother, Mason. I’m already starting to write the story in my head!

A knock came at my door, and Cody poked his head in. “Dinner’s in five.”

I quickly shut my laptop. “Thanks! I’ll be right down.”

As soon as he was gone, I opened my laptop and quickly finished the sentence, then hit send. Then I hopped out of bed and went down the hall to wash up before dinner.

The door to the bathroom opened and Blake stepped out. He almost ran into me, and I had to jump back. A towel hung loosely around his hips, giving me a view of those delicious V-lines some men had. His chest was covered with tattoos along with his arms, and he looked even more chiseled up close. His skin was damp from his shower, and his muscles bulged like they were trying to escape. His short, jet-black hair glistened with moisture.

I swear I felt my ovaries twitch. This was a man.

“Move,” Blake grunted at me.

He didn’t wait for me to obey: he shouldered by me like I was just another object in his way after a long day of obstructions. I caught a whiff of his scent as he passed, oiled leather and smoke and something spicy. New butterflies flourished in my stomach.

Blake disappeared into the room next to mine and slammed the door shut.

He would make a great book character, I thought as I went into the bathroom to wash up. I rarely modeled my characters after real people, but I still occasionally borrowed specific traits from people I knew.

Cody was readying the dining room table while Mason moved around in the kitchen beyond. “Need help setting the table?”

“I’ve got it!” Cody said cheerfully. “It’s funny, I set the table for three before realizing I needed a fourth. We’ve been here two weeks and I’ve gotten into a groove, I guess. Funny how tough it is to change a habit. You want a beer? All we’ve got is Coors, but we can get more when we go into town tomorrow.”

A beer was tempting, especially from him. If we were in a bar and Cody had offered to buy me a drink, I would’ve said yes without hesitation. But I needed to keep my wits about me tonight. If I got tipsy I might let slip the real reason I was out here.

“I’m good with water,” I said.

Mason came out of the kitchen carrying a baking tray full of T-bone steaks. “The ones on this end are more well-done. Other end is rare.”

“Blake likes it bloody,” Cody explained. “Sunburned is how he calls it.”

Mason and Cody went back to the kitchen, and Mason returned with a big bowl of mashed potatoes.

“No veggies?” I teased. “You guys have been out here without a woman for too long.”

“Don’t speak so soon!” Cody came out of the kitchen with a big salad bowl and tongs. “Mom always said veggies make you big and strong. Of course, Blake never ate his vegetables, and he’s the biggest Cassidy brother by far. Sometimes a saying is just a saying, I guess.”

Blake came downstairs a moment later. He grabbed a beer from the fridge, then joined us at the table. His hair was still damp, and he was just wearing a T-shirt and jeans now—a T-shirt which was so tight it was practically painted on his muscular frame. He stabbed a steak with his fork and moved it to his plate, and scooped two huge helpings of mashed potatoes. Then he walked away.

“Where are you going?” Mason asked.

The only answer was the front door opening, then closing. Through the window I saw Blake take a seat on one of the rocking chairs on the front porch. There was a crack-hiss of a beer can being opened.

“Sorry about our brother,” Cody said. “Sometimes he forgets his manners.”

“It’s all right.”

“Speaking of manners…” Mason removed his cowboy hat. A moment later Cody followed suit. “All right, dig in.”

We quietly began eating, filling the room with the sound of metal forks on porcelain plates.

“This is pretty good,” I said after my first bite. “Surprised you cooked it inside, though.”

“Grill’s busted,” Mason replied. “Thought the tank was empty, but it’s the connector. Needs a new rubber gasket. Everything on this damn ranch is broken, one way or another.”

“Should’ve bought charcoal,” Cody said enthusiastically. “Then we could grill anywhere.”

Mason rolled his eyes like it was an old argument.

“So how’d you guys get this place?” I asked. “You said you’ve been here two weeks. Was it a family ranch you finally got around to fixing up?”

The two of them looked at each other. Then Mason replied, “We bought it at an auction. Sold as-is. Hence all the work that needs to be done.”

“We’re a family of ranch hands,” Cody explained. “Been working other people’s ranches all our lives. Finally saved up enough money to buy a place for ourselves. It was always…”

Cody trailed off, then took a long pull of his beer.

“It was always dad’s dream to own his own ranch,” he continued. “Working for ourselves rather than someone else.”

“Yeah,” Mason agreed. “He would’ve loved this place.”

They tapped glasses, and I touched mine to theirs. Their dad must have passed away. They were carrying on his legacy, his dream, without him. It was touching.

“All three of you were ranch hands before this?” I asked.

Mason nodded. “I worked a ranch on the other side of Missoula. Good work, good people. Lot of the cattle we’re buying is from that ranch.”

“I was a ranch hand ‘til about three years ago,” Cody said. His blue eyes shined with his smile. “Then I dabbled in horse trading. I’ve got a good eye for it, you know. Strength, speed, temperament. Give me a horse and ten minutes and I’ll tell you everything about it. How many hands it is, the breed, hell, I’ve got an eye for parentage too. It’s kind of my superpower.”

“Cody wants to breed horses eventually,” Mason said. “Once the ranch is up and running.”

“Startin’ with that stubborn sumbitch out in the pen. I’m gonna take another pass at him tomorrow, see if I can get the halter on him.”

“Ten bucks says you don’t,” Mason said.

Cody laughed and said, “Hell no. That’s easy money for you.”

I nodded along while eating. “What about Blake?”

Mason’s jaw tightened. “He worked at the same ranch as me. Until he got fired for slacking off.”

“Then he bounced around a bunch,” Cody said, gesturing with his fork. “Like a marble in a dishwasher. Doing odd jobs here and there. Small stuff. Repair work. Rarely working with horses or cattle.”

I frowned. “Is he not good with animals?”

Cody chewed and swallowed. “Naw, he’s real good with ‘em. But he’s never stuck around at a job long enough to move up to that.”

“Maybe that’s why Blake had an attitude about building the fence,” I mused. “He wants to do the real ranching.”

Mason grimaced. “You could fill a book with the reasons Blake’s got an attitude.”

Funny way to phrase it, I thought while cutting off another piece of steak.

“What about you?” Cody asked. “What’d you do before comin’ out here? Your resume mentioned your family ranch, but nothin’ in the six years since.”

I sipped my water to give myself a moment to think. I’d rehearsed my cover story for this exact moment, but the words wouldn’t travel from my brain to my lips. I didn’t like lying, and I was afraid they would instantly know my story was false.

“I went to college in Missoula,” I made myself say. “After that I worked odd jobs. This and that. I was a Lyft driver in Boise for a while.”

“What’d you study at school?” Mason asked.

Creative Writing, I almost said. It was what I was used to telling people. It was the truth.

“Agriculture,” I said instead.

“Nice!” Cody said. “You can help us with the field peas. We planted a late crop and want to harvest them early, but aren’t sure what’s too early.”

“Don’t need to bother her with that now,” Mason said. “She’s just getting settled in. Speaking of which, we’re heading into town tomorrow to get supplies. If there’s anything you want, add it to the notepad in the kitchen.”

I breathed a sigh of relief as the subject moved away from me and on to something else.