Page 63 of A Heart Falls Cowboy Christmas

It was nice to have the first view of the ranch privately, so to speak. Sasha had been there many times. Had even admired the way the distant mountains to the south seemed to rise out of nowhere and shoot skyward. A stark contrast to the mountains west of Silver Stone, with the foothills coming first, with their gentle rise and fall before becoming the upward thrust of the Rockies.

Crooked Creek was pretty enough. Not as familiar, but not…wrong.

Just different. That’s what she was going to remember as she tried on the idea of moving and learning and adjusting.

Uncle Frank was waiting for them when she parked outside the ranch house. He stepped forward, and she noticed that he paused briefly when she hopped out of the driver’s side instead of Dustin.

Still, he recovered quick enough. Strode forward and offered his hand. “Sasha. Glad you’ve come.”

“Thanks for having us out,” she returned.

He shook Dustin’s hand as well, adding a firm pat to his shoulder. “Always good to have family from Silver Stone visit.”

Sasha reached into the back seat and pulled out her bag. “We can drop our stuff in the bunkhouse and get to work.”

Uncle Frank hesitated. “I thought you’d stay in the house with me.”

Which also worked. “Sure.” She tossed her bag over her shoulder. “Dustin said harvest is going well?”

“Far fields are halfway done. The weather’s been holding—not too hot and no rain, so we hope to finish this week.”

“Excellent.” Dustin strode on the opposite side of Sasha. “How’re the new horses fitting in?”

Uncle Frank shook his hand from side to side. “They’re both solid stock, I grant you that. But they’re a little flightier than I like.”

Dustin opened the front door of the house and gestured Sasha in first. “Make sure Sasha gets a chance to ride. She’s familiar to them, so once they’re happy here, they’ll accept your regular team easier.”

“Good idea.” Frank motioned to the stairs. “Get settled, and I’ll go update Adam that you’re here and ready to be put to work.”

Ten minutes later she and Dustin strolled down to the barn and met with the Crooked Creek foreman, Adam West. The man in his mid-forties welcomed Dustin enthusiastically before offering Sasha a firm nod. “I know you’ve helped out before. Let’s see how things go this week. If you have any questions or suggestions, let me know.”

“Will do.”

Adam lifted his chin at Dustin, a sly smile on his deeply tanned face. “Keith and Amy are waiting for you with the baler.”

“Getting dusty then,” Dustin offered good-naturedly. “You have to put me up on a horse sometime while we’re here.”

“We will, now get.”

“Getting.” Dustin offered Sasha a wink. “Have fun. Don’t worry when Adam starts to complain he can’t keep up with you. Old people get tired quickly.”

“Funny man. Move your ass.” Adam pushed Dustin toward the area where the tractors were parked. He caught Sasha’s gaze as he tilted his head toward one of the UTVs. “You’re with me.”

He handed over a beat-up old clipboard. She got into the vehicle next to Adam then scanned the work list as he started the side-by-side. The engine coughed then growled as she noted the tasks were similar to ones she’d done before at Silver Stone, although Tucker’s writing was more legible.

West pasture #2 trough. Two mineral tubs to south field. East pasture #3 water pump. Treat calf with pink eye. Grease tractor #2. Inventory fencing staples and wire. Bring in horses for training.

Adam was quiet as he headed them to the west, which gave her time to look around. Crooked Creek had good bones, but the more closely she examined things, the more Sasha noticed the place was…weathered.

Like a half step from being where she needed to be.

Tractors and machinery were parked in one area, but a little willy-nilly. The wear and tear on the barns was fine, but a broken door swayed on one side of the high hayloft, and a couple of haybarns in the east pasture leaned more than they should. With the strong winds in the area, Sasha guessed they’d tip over sometime during the next winter.

When she hopped out to open an access gate, the bottom corner dragged. A shallow crescent in the dirt proved it had been dragging for a while now.

She hopped back in and looked for a pen. She made a note on the back of the work paper then sat back and looked around again.

“Something wrong?” Adam asked.