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"Maybe," he conceded, unable to suppress a smile at his sister's delight. "No promises."
The lilt of Tessa's laughter flowed behind her as she skipped toward the house, the tiny lantern swinging from the end of her zipper. Seth took a deep breath, filling his lungs with icy night air, and let some weight drop from his shoulders. He watched until she disappeared into the darkness.
Only that little light remained, bobbing like a firefly in the snow.
Chapter Six
AIDEN
"What the hell, Gus!" Aiden yelled, blowing into the shop so forcefully that the bell above the door clattered like windchimes in a tornado. He slammed the door behind him, and only then did the men sitting around a pellet barrel glance up from their cards.
An old man with a dapper white mustache took his time spitting into an old coffee can at his feet before squinting at Aiden and asking, "What're you yappin' about, boy?"
"How come I never heard about you refusing to do business with Seth McCall?" Aiden demanded, stomping snow off his boots and tossing his jacket onto a peg by the door. "I thought you liked him."
"Then you ain't been paying attention," Gus said. He idly tossed a few chips into the pile on top of the barrel. Real chips—the potato kind. It looked like they had a tasty pot going. August French sat opposite Gus, gnarled fingers indecisively clutching a bag of nacho-flavored corn chips. "Those are only worth half my chips," Gus protested with a scowl. "I don't like how they stain my fingers."
"Cry me a river," August said with a creaky laugh.
The Hungry Pig had always been Sweetwater's unofficial social hub, but the tack and feed shop ran a close second. The same group of hard-working men had been fixtures here since Aiden was a boy. He remembered how tall and steely-eyed they had once seemed, leaning against the counter with cups of coffee, chatting about the weather or the price of beef. Back then, Gus was the one repairing equipment behind the counter. Now, he'd pulled up a stool with his fellow retirees, and they all cackled like a group of hens while West Owens quietly filled orders.
"What can I do for you, Aiden?" West asked, bracing his hands on the counter and offering a wide, cheerful smile. There was no formality between them; they'd grown up together, and West now lived at the Triple M with his husband, Whit, who was also Aiden's boss.
Aiden awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "I wanted to get a quote for saddle repair. Antique, hand-tooled. Looked like the saddle tree was split right down the gullet."
He knew he was overstepping, but the sight of David McCall's broken saddle had disturbed him. Judging by the Double Jay's poor condition and what Seth had said about Tessa skipping winter term, it was easy to see they were struggling with finances. Seth might have grown older, and maybe a little colder, but he hadn't changed entirely. Aiden knew he would rather get a cheap saddle and ride it into the ground before spending money on himself over his sister and animals.
West knocked back his baseball cap and scratched his eyebrow thoughtfully. "Tough to say without seeing it. Depends on the quality. A break like that might not be much trouble for a dally roper, but it will be a real problem if you're tying off. Fixing it could get pricey."
Aiden had already suspected as much, but it still gave him a little pang when he tallied the expenses. "Do me a favor," he said, lowering his voice. "If Seth McCall comes in for a repair, put it on my tab and quote him a flat five hundred."
"Whassat?" Gus tossed his cards face-down and shoved his chair back to face him. He leaned forward, spreading his chest wide, an old habit from the days when he'd been a more formidable size. "You should've led with that, son. That boy has no business handling cattle. Folks around here don't want to encourage it."
"Aw, don't be like that," Aiden said, leaning an elbow on the counter and forcing his cheeriest smile. "Seth's a good guy. You know that."
"Not a question of good," Gus said stubbornly. "He messed up so big that it drove his daddy to an early grave. Folks around here ain't likely to forget something like that. He should've sold his daddy's ranch and come into town to work. Maybe talk would've died down. Instead, he's out on his own, probably making a muck of things."
"Who would've hired him?" Aiden protested. "C'mon, Gus. You were good friends with David. You watched Seth grow up. You know his habits; he's a damn good cowboy."
Gus simply took on an impassive expression, crossing his arms and leaning forward to spit a wad of tobacco into the can at his feet. Aiden wrinkled his nose. Plenty of his friends had rings faded into their ass pockets in the shape of a tobacco can, but privately, he thought it was a habit that should be retired once jowls started forming and gums started flapping in a stiff breeze.
August French, munching on a chip, added his two cents. "Ain't just about forgiveness, boy. It's about reliability. What guarantee is there that he ain't gonna pull some foolishness again? Hurt someone else?"
Aiden's fists clenched at his sides. "If you think you're being loyal to David McCall by treating his kid like trash, you're wrong. No wonder Seth has never gotten back on his feet. He never will if he's stuck driving all over God's green earth just to do business. If you really cared about his animals, you'd be giving him all the help you can."
Aiden took a deep breath to calm down. The shop was warm and cozy, filled with the mingling scent of leather, oil, and old coffee. He focused on its familiar comfort. This place had always been a haven for every man with dirt under his nails. Aiden just hadn't realized Seth wasn't part of that club anymore.
He felt a crawling sense of shame that he'd never realized how deep the prejudice against Seth went. Maybe he just hadn't been paying attention. It hurt more than it should the day Seth walked away from him. Aiden convinced himself it was for the best, moving on and up beyond any meager friendship Seth could offer. But they'd been more than friends, hadn't they? They'd been…something he couldn't put a name on.
Aiden had never been much; he wasn't smart, talented, or ambitious, but he was loyal as an old dog. People knew that about him and must have been watching what they said about Seth in his presence.
Gus looked thoughtful, mustache twitching as he considered Aiden's argument. "Maybe," he said reluctantly, "but it ain't up to me. It ain't a simple thing to earn back the trust of a whole town."
Aiden sensed the crack in his resolve and eagerly wedged himself into the provided space. "You could start by not throwing a fit when West works on his equipment. People around here look up to you."
"I don't pay Gus any attention," West said with a chuckle. "If he wanted a say in my customers, he shouldn't have signed the shop over to me."
Gus squinted one eye and jabbed a warning finger in West's direction. "Don't test me, son. I've got power you don't even know about."
