Page 81 of Dusty Spur Ranch Cowboys

“I’ve got a suspicion she likes you.”

Arizona grins. “I like that kid.”

We roll into Dusty Spur as the last strip of daylight disappears behind the mountains, and I barely shut off the truck before I spot Red feeding another log into a fire that’s already burning like he lit it an hour ago.

I climb out and glance around the yard.

A ring of chairs waits around the fire pit, a cooler sits beside them packed with beer and soda, and café lights hang between the fence posts.

I look at Red. “You decorate?”

He snorts. “Try again.”

“I figured you’d bullied somebody into doing it.”

“I asked.”

Arizona laughs as she joins me, taking in the ranch while horses graze beyond the fence. “I like it.”

She holds his gaze just long enough to make the cowboy clear his throat and reach for another log instead.

Emmett carries the grocery bags toward the picnic table. “If anybody plans on eating tonight, I could use another pair of hands.”

“I brought chips,” I announce.

“You brought six bags of chips.”

Emmett pulls steaks from one of the bags. “I’d be more impressed if you included vegetables.”

“I almost bought salsa.”

“You realize salsa isn’t a vegetable?”

“It’s made from vegetables. That’s practically the same thing.”

Red shakes his head while checking the grill. “You act like you’re in court when you argue.”

“I’d make an excellent lawyer.”

“You’d get arrested before lunch.”

Before Emmett can answer, the back door flies open and Sadie tears across the yard with a blanket tied around her shoulders like a cape.

“Everybody look!” She skids to a stop in front of the fire and plants both hands on her hips. “I’m Campfire Girl.”

Arizona grins. “Well, Campfire Girl, what exactly do you do?”

Sadie thinks so hard I swear I can hear the gears turning. “I save marshmallows… brush ponies… and I run faster than Daddy.”

Emmett raises an eyebrow. “You’ve beaten me once.”

“I beated you lots.”

She spins to demonstrate her superhero powers, wrapping the blanket around her legs until she pitches sideways.

Red catches her by the elbows before she reaches the dirt. “Easy there, wildfire.”

She giggles so hard she snorts. “I almost flopped.”