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Mention of TJ had Skye’s thoughts shifting in his direction. He might have been flirtatious and cocky, but he was fun in a way that she’d never really been exposed to before. She wondered if she could have been like that in another life. If she’d had parents like Ryan and Janey, could she have been someone who smiled and joked and flirted so easily? Or maybe it wasn’t his parents who’d made him so quick to laugh at life but the absolutely insane career he’d chosen? Surely, when you looked death in the eye on a weekly basis, you learned to appreciate life more?

‘Is it scary? Watching him bull ride?’

‘Every eight seconds is the worst eight seconds of my life,’ Janey said without pause. ‘And that’s if he doesn’t get thrown and end up on the ground. Watching him on the ground, as the bullfighters and barrelman try to distract the bull … There’re no words for that type of fear. It’s one only a mother can understand.’

‘But you still go and watch?’

‘Well, sure. He’s my kid, and for better or worse, bull riding is what makes him happy. I’m very proud of how hard he’s worked to get to where he is, even if I don’t really understand why the hell he’d want to do it.’

‘For the girls,’ Skye informed her, making Janey laugh appreciatively.

Skye wondered if she had ever made her mother proud. If she had, her mom hadn’t had the energy to tell her. The things her mother had taught her had been so much more important. Things like: Don’t make noise in the house if your father’s home. If you hear raised voices, don’t go look; lock yourself in your bedroom. Don’t talk back. Better yet, don’t talk at all.

‘He’s very lucky to have you,’ she said eventually.

‘At this stage, I figure it’s God’s way of levelling the playing field.’

Skye frowned. ‘How do you mean?’

‘Well, I got everything I ever wanted. Seems only fair one of those things gives me endless grief.’

Skye smiled. She tugged the teat from the calf’s mouth and let the animal out.

She’d just moved on to the next pen when TJ himself walked in.

Today, he wore a different pair of faded blue jeans, a long-sleeved Western shirt, and the same ancient cowboy hat and boots. His green eyes settled on hers, and he smiled. ‘Hi, ladies.’

He shouldn’t have made her pulse jump and skitter – but he did. Frustrated by her own reaction, Skye didn’t return his greeting, only said, ‘Your mom was just telling me you cause her endless grief.’

TJ gasped in mock-insult. ‘I am the light of her life.’

Still holding both bottles, Janey looked over her shoulder at him. ‘What do you need, light of my life? You done fixing the south fence already?’

‘No, ma’am. I was about to head out but thought I’d see if Skye wanted to tag along.’ He came to the pen she was in, leaned both forearms on the top. Those eyes met hers, challenged her. ‘Figured we could take the horses, see where you’re at and what you might need to improve on for that wrangler job.’

Although the notion of spending time with TJ filled her with nerves, Skye knew she’d be a fool to turn down the offer. But she looked to Janey for permission. ‘Is that okay?’

Janey frowned. ‘Baby, you’re a guest. You aren’t here to work.’ She waved her off. ‘Go on.’

Skye looked guiltily at the calves that still needed to be fed.

‘Lord have mercy.’ Clearly sensing her hesitance, TJ let himself into the pen with her. ‘I’ll help you wrap up here first if that’ll wipe that guilty look off your face.’

Without waiting for her reply, TJ hip-checked her out of the way and reached into a pail for two full bottles. Like Janey, he placed one in each hand. Unlike Janey, who crooned and used a baby voice with the calves, TJ said, ‘Rib-eye, T-bone, come here,’ and randomly coaxed two calves into the feeding pen by tapping a bottle on the fence and then closing the gate behind them.

Skye refused to laugh. But it took effort.

Janey just shook her head. ‘If I’d known you’d be so helpful as soon as a pretty girl showed up, I would have hired one ages ago.’

He’d watched them from his lean against the barn door for a whole five minutes, enjoying the sight of them talking and laughing while they worked. His mom was a bleeding heart, true. But it was also clear that she’d developed a quick and deep fondness for Skye.

TJ supposed it would be hard for anyone not to fall for those big, blue eyes, especially when thrown in with Skye’s mercurial personality, which was half painfully cautious and half tentatively wild.

Now, he hustled down the feeding line with his mom and Skye, and the moment the final calf slurped up the last of the milk from her bottle, TJ dumped the empties in the pail and, grabbing four of the bucket handles, carried the bottles to the adjacent washroom to be cleaned, sanitized, and refilled for the evening feed.

‘Ready?’ he asked Skye when he came back out.

Again, she looked to his mom, who just smiled and said, ‘Go on, honey.’