seconds, lost in their own thoughts.
“Y’all better eat something,” Colt said. “We got work to do today.”
“Oh, really?” Sawyer asked, arching a brow.
“Mmmhm. Barn roof needs patching. There’s a whole section of fence down by the river that’s about to rot away. That, and a bunch of other little stuff that has to be done whether we keep the ranch or sell it.”
Sawyer looked to Walker, who nodded.
“We need to figure out whether we’re staying or going,” Walker said. “Because if we’re staying, we need to bring on some better hired hands. I keep catching The Colonel’s men sleeping in the barn or sipping from flasks all day.”
Walker poured two more bowls of cereal, passing one off to Sawyer as he took his spot at the table. Colt joined them and they all ate.
“We gotta get a cook,” Colt sighed. “Cereal isn’t enough to start the day off with, and I can’t fry an egg to save my life.”
“Yeah, not really what the military trains us to do,” Sawyer agreed. “But again, we only need a cook if we’re staying, right?”
Colt shrugged. “You two are the only ones trying to decide. Me, I know I belong here. The idea of giving up the land that’s been in our family for so many generations, it doesn’t sit right with me.”
“Even if you could make more money elsewhere?” Walker asked.
“Money isn’t everything,” Colt said.
Sawyer could only agree with that. They finished their cereal in silence, then washed up and poured themselves thermoses of coffee.
After breakfast, Sawyer and Walker headed out to the front porch. To Sawyer’s surprise, Colt emerged from the house wearing a new Stetson cowboy hat. He held two identical hats, handing them to Sawyer and Walker.
“Really?” Sawyer asked as he accepted it and put it on.
“Feels good, huh?” Colt asked with a grin. “Besides, you’re gonna need it. We have to ride out to fix the fence, the road is almost impassable out there. Needs new gravel laid down before we risk driving on it again.”
Sawyer only nodded, thinking of the driveway at the River farm. Apparently it was easy enough to let those kinds of things fall into disrepair.
“When’s the last time you rode?” Walker asked Sawyer.
Sawyer thought about it, then shrugged. “The last time I was home. I rode out to the swimming hole with Remy.”
True to form, Walker and Colt went quiet when Sawyer mentioned Remy. He shrugged it off, figuring if they’d made it this far without telling him their Remy-related secret, it was theirs to keep.
The brothers headed to the stables, and Sawyer took a minute to examine the structure itself, eyeing the state of the roof and walls. There were six horses stabled there, and two workers in the barn.
Short and coffee-skinned, the two cowboys were busy shoring up one of the barn walls. Already, there was a marked improvement between that wall and the other three, which were leaning as bad as the Tower of Pisa.
“ Hola ,” Colt said to the two workers, who nodded at him and continued their work.
“You speak Spanish now?” Sawyer asked.
“Hey, you’re not the only linguistically adept brother, okay?” Colt joked. “And yeah, I’ve just started to pick it up since I’ve been back in Catahoula. The majority of the men The Colonel hired speak very little English, so it’s practical.”
“I see,” Sawyer said, walking over to check out the horses. Looked like four geldings and two mares, mostly mixed stock. Probably chosen for their calm temperaments and patience, like any good ranch horse.
The Roman Ranch was a working stock ranch, supplying horses and various types of cattle to the surrounding areas. The horses were mostly imported and sold right away, though the ranch had another larger stable from the dude ranch days.
The cows, they raised here on the property, maintaining a nice big herd of breeding stock.
“You should probably take one of these three,” Colt said, pointing to two of the mares and a
“Y’all better eat something,” Colt said. “We got work to do today.”
“Oh, really?” Sawyer asked, arching a brow.
“Mmmhm. Barn roof needs patching. There’s a whole section of fence down by the river that’s about to rot away. That, and a bunch of other little stuff that has to be done whether we keep the ranch or sell it.”
Sawyer looked to Walker, who nodded.
“We need to figure out whether we’re staying or going,” Walker said. “Because if we’re staying, we need to bring on some better hired hands. I keep catching The Colonel’s men sleeping in the barn or sipping from flasks all day.”
Walker poured two more bowls of cereal, passing one off to Sawyer as he took his spot at the table. Colt joined them and they all ate.
“We gotta get a cook,” Colt sighed. “Cereal isn’t enough to start the day off with, and I can’t fry an egg to save my life.”
“Yeah, not really what the military trains us to do,” Sawyer agreed. “But again, we only need a cook if we’re staying, right?”
Colt shrugged. “You two are the only ones trying to decide. Me, I know I belong here. The idea of giving up the land that’s been in our family for so many generations, it doesn’t sit right with me.”
“Even if you could make more money elsewhere?” Walker asked.
“Money isn’t everything,” Colt said.
Sawyer could only agree with that. They finished their cereal in silence, then washed up and poured themselves thermoses of coffee.
After breakfast, Sawyer and Walker headed out to the front porch. To Sawyer’s surprise, Colt emerged from the house wearing a new Stetson cowboy hat. He held two identical hats, handing them to Sawyer and Walker.
“Really?” Sawyer asked as he accepted it and put it on.
“Feels good, huh?” Colt asked with a grin. “Besides, you’re gonna need it. We have to ride out to fix the fence, the road is almost impassable out there. Needs new gravel laid down before we risk driving on it again.”
Sawyer only nodded, thinking of the driveway at the River farm. Apparently it was easy enough to let those kinds of things fall into disrepair.
“When’s the last time you rode?” Walker asked Sawyer.
Sawyer thought about it, then shrugged. “The last time I was home. I rode out to the swimming hole with Remy.”
True to form, Walker and Colt went quiet when Sawyer mentioned Remy. He shrugged it off, figuring if they’d made it this far without telling him their Remy-related secret, it was theirs to keep.
The brothers headed to the stables, and Sawyer took a minute to examine the structure itself, eyeing the state of the roof and walls. There were six horses stabled there, and two workers in the barn.
Short and coffee-skinned, the two cowboys were busy shoring up one of the barn walls. Already, there was a marked improvement between that wall and the other three, which were leaning as bad as the Tower of Pisa.
“ Hola ,” Colt said to the two workers, who nodded at him and continued their work.
“You speak Spanish now?” Sawyer asked.
“Hey, you’re not the only linguistically adept brother, okay?” Colt joked. “And yeah, I’ve just started to pick it up since I’ve been back in Catahoula. The majority of the men The Colonel hired speak very little English, so it’s practical.”
“I see,” Sawyer said, walking over to check out the horses. Looked like four geldings and two mares, mostly mixed stock. Probably chosen for their calm temperaments and patience, like any good ranch horse.
The Roman Ranch was a working stock ranch, supplying horses and various types of cattle to the surrounding areas. The horses were mostly imported and sold right away, though the ranch had another larger stable from the dude ranch days.
The cows, they raised here on the property, maintaining a nice big herd of breeding stock.
“You should probably take one of these three,” Colt said, pointing to two of the mares and a
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