The young man put his ball cap back on and turned back to work. Ryan headed to his home with Ossie at his side.
His boots thumped on the wood floor as he walked in the front door. Ossie’s toenails clicked on the floor as she headed to the kitchen for a drink.
Ryan went through the house to the office just down the hall from the living room. He sat behind his scarred old desk that had been his granddaddy’s, reached into one of the drawers, and drew out his checkbook. He picked up a pen and wrote out a check before he folded it and slid it into his shirt pocket.
When he finished, he pulled his cell phone from the leather holster on his belt and called his sister-in-law, Danica. She and Creed had married a year ago and he enjoyed her company. Hell, all of his brothers loved Danica.
“Hi, Ryan,” she answered, obviously having seen his name come up on her phone’s display. “How’s it going?”
“Good.” He liked the sound of Danica’s voice. She always sounded upbeat and in a positive mood. “Are you still looking for a little help around the place?” he asked.
“We could use another hand when Creed’s on the road,” Danica said. “And if he’s good we might keep him on indefinitely. Do you have someone in mind?”
“Bill Dow is my part-timer and his mama has cancer,” Ryan said. “I’m not sure you’ve had a chance to meet Mary Jane yet, but Bill needs to make extra cash to help her out. He’s a hard worker and a good kid.”
“I haven’t met Mary Jane and I’m sorry to hear she’s ill.” Danica sounded concerned. “Go ahead and send Bill my way. Creed isn’t going to be around a whole lot these next few months, so I’m sure I can put Bill to work.”
“You’ve got it,” Ryan said. “Thank you for giving him the opportunity.”
“No problem.” He heard the smile in her voice. “No doubt I’ll be thanking you for referring him.”
Ryan said goodbye and disconnected the call. He wrote Danica’s cell phone number on a scrap of paper. He whistled to Ossie who came right to him before they headed out the door.
When Ryan returned to the barn, Bill was brushing down one of the horses. Ryan drew the check out of his shirt pocket and handed it to the young man.
Bill looked astonished as he stared at the check that was written out for a thousand dollars. He met Ryan’s gaze. “Thank you, sir. I’ll pay you back every cent.”
“Consider it a bonus.” Ryan pulled a pair of work gloves out of his back pocket and slipped them on. “You’re a hard worker and you’ve earned it. If you need anything else for your mama, let me know.”
“I don’t know how to thank you enough.” Relief was in Bill’s gaze, but he still looked worried.
“Another thing.” Ryan handed Bill the scrap of paper with Danica’s number on it. “My sister-in-law could use a little help. When you’re finished up here, give her a call and set a time to get together with her. I know you’ll do a real good job for her.”
“Yes, sir!” Bill’s face brightened.
“When you’re finished brushing down Sammy, I have a few more chores for you,” Ryan said.
Bill thanked Ryan again as he put the check and paper in his jeans pocket and went right back to brushing down the horse. He was already a hard worker but he seemed to double his efforts.
Ossie left to investigate the back of the barn as Ryan went to the tower of alfalfa hay. He grasped the baling wire of one bale, swung it down, and carried it to the stalls. He grabbed a pair of wire cutters off of a shelf and cut through the baling wire. Alfalfa dust floated in the air as he tossed flakes of hay to each horse.
He shook his head as he thought of Bill’s mama. She was a good woman and it was a damned shame she had cancer. He hoped to hell she’d beat it.
Ryan handled a few more chores in the barn before saddling his Quarter horse, Laredo. His thoughts turned to Megan. He’d committed her phone number to memory and wondered if he should call her to make sure she wasn’t going to back out on him. Naw. He doubted she would stand him up. She didn’t seem like the kind of woman who would leave a man hanging like that.
She hadn’t wanted him to pick her up from her home and he wondered why. He’d had a feeling that there was something she was keeping to herself that she wasn’t ready to tell him. He hadn’t pressed her. He was certain she’d let him in after she got to know him and knew she could trust him.
With Ossie at his side, he spent the day doing chores, including checking stock tanks and fence lines, and mending a fence that was down. Toward the end of the day, Laredo threw a shoe and he had to walk the mare back to the barn and re-shoe her.