AllFreeNovel
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“You have a place to change in there?”
There’s a whole apartment in the barn. Clint hires round-the-clock security now, despite the fact that Aaron’s been in jail for almost a year, and his sentence won’t be up anytime soon. The vision was for the barn apartment to house a security guard, but the guard prefers to live in his cabin out in the woods when he’s off shift.
So now, the barn apartment is just fun. We sneak away to it, a lot, if we’re here instead of at home. It’s fair game, because my dad and Ellen like to sneak away to the house. My dad doesn’t ask me about my love life, and I don’t ask him about his.
Besides, who cares? If he’s happy, I’m happy. If I’m happy, he’s happy. That’s as far as we need to go into each other’s personal lives.
I smile at Kendall. “Oh, we have more than a place to change. Come on in.”
Kendall follows. Meekly.
When we’re in the barn, before her bevy of hair and makeup artists arrive, I corner her. “You’re really okay?”
Her eyes look down. “Listen. Nora. Everything is fine. I swear. It’s just… some stuff.”
“What stuff?” I ask. “You can tell me about any and all of your stuff, KenDoll.”
She smiles at the old nickname. “How about this… If it gets to the point where I need your help, I’ll ask.”
“You promise?”
Kendall nods. “I promise.”
I want to ask more, but her stylist bursts in, and the time is lost. I leave, worrying about my friend.
One problem at a time. The concert is the problem at hand.
Once the concert is done, then Kendall and I can talk.
It’s a massive hit.
Three weeks later, the internet is still buzzing about the best new concert venue in Montana. I’ve already had four major bands reach out, and one guy, whose star is definitely on the rise, even asked if he could do a duet with Kendall here as a guest. He has to ask her agent that, of course, but I send it along, anyway.
I’m sitting out on the porch of the Wild Spur. The sun is getting low, and it’s much earlier than it used to be. Summer is definitely fading. When I was a kid, this would be a stressful time. Harvesting everything, getting the cows out of the high pastures. All of that meant just a constant stream of chores.
Now? The cows are being herded by actual, hired cowboys, not my dad and me. The alfalfa has been harvested. The winter wheat is in, ready to hide under the snow until the frost breaks and the ground starts to warm again. I can actually enjoy the slight chill in the air, without dreading the amount of chores that come with it.
I’m looking forward to another winter with my guys, but this one will be a little busier.
“Hey, you,” Shane says, heading out from the house.
“Hey, yourself.”
“Beer?”
I accept the bottle from him. Shane settles in the rocking chair next to me, and together, we watch the sun lower down. He smiles. “The concert was a fucking brilliant idea.”
“I know,” I smirk back.
“Can’t wait for you to get that MBA.”
I laugh. “I wish it wasn’t an online program.”
“We could send you to the Greenies down in Colorado, if you want.”
“Hell no,” Landon says, coming out onto the porch. He takes another rocking chair. “Colorado sucks.”
“Well, I definitely prefer to stay here.”
