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Thomas had impressed him enough to earn a more coveted position at the ranch, but based on what Agatha had mentioned last night, the young man needed a talking to.
There was just one problem.
Zeke’s steps faltered.
If he brought up the conversation with Agatha, then Thomas would know about their relationship. Agatha didn’t want that.
Zeke stopped, stared at the barn, then in the direction of his hunting cabin. He was torn. Agatha needed him, and yet his hands were tied.
Just as he had decided he’d drop the issue, Thomas materialized from the barn. He stopped suddenly, then glanced behind him as if he expected Zeke to be looking for someone else entirely. His head swiveled back around and he took a small step forward. “Were you looking for someone, Mr. Callahan?”
Zeke didn’t know what came over him. It might have very well been his protective nature finally being unearthed from the hole he’d tried to bury it in. He strode forward so quickly that Thomas took a short step backward.
“A word, Mr. Birch.”
The young man blinked several times, then nodded as he followed Zeke around the side of the barn. This early in the morning, Zeke didn’t think he’d be overheard, but he thought it better to be safe than sorry. The last thing he needed was Eloise or Brielle walking in on him having a discussion about Thomas’s whereabouts.
Zeke spun around and faced Thomas once they were far enough away from anyone who might cross paths with them. “I need you to clarify something for me, son.”
Thomas blinked a few more times, straightened his shoulders then nodded firmly. “Yes, sir. What do you need?”
“Where were you last night?”
The confidence drained from the young man’s face. He blinked a few more times, then looked away. “Sir?”
“Last night. In the evening after your shift, where were you?”
“I don’t… I’m not sure how that is any of your business.” His eyes flitted up to meet Zeke’s, then flew away just as fast as the timid bird he seemed to have become. “Sir,” he amended.
“I think it is very much my business seeing as you are using my name to spread lies.”
All at once, the young man’s gaze cut to Zeke’s. The confusion, guilt, and even some accusation flooded his countenance, but he didn’t argue.
“I’m guessing you’re wondering how I would know that you lied to your mother about where you were going to be.”
“You’d be correct in that.” Thomas’s voice had turned guarded. He wasn’t about to give anything away that he didn’t have to, and his suspicions were going up by the second.
“As you’re probably aware, your mother has been working a great deal on your home—much to my displeasure.” Adding that last bit might help him brush off any accusations Thomas would throw at him. “She’s also a talker who shares far more than she ought to. After you couldn’t make dinner, she told me about it. Imagine my surprise when she told me that I assigned you to do some overtime on a job that didn’t need doing.”
Thomas blanched. “Sir, I—”
“I’m sorry, son. But I don’t lie, and when your mother mentioned it, I did confirm that I don’t have any wranglers watching the cattle. She’s aware that you lied to her.” Zeke didn’t think that Thomas could pale any more than he already had. He looked positively ghost-like.
“I didn’t lie because I was up to no good. I want you to know that.”
“I don’t care what the lie was about. I care that it happened in the first place. I don’t hire dishonest folk around here.” Zeke swallowed down the bile that seemed to rise with his own uttered lie.
His brows shot up and he squirmed. “Are you going to fire me? I swear I wasn’t trying to do anything wrong. I needed to go to the city, and I wasn’t going to get there in time if I had to make it to supper with my mother.”
What on earth did the kid need to go to the city for that he wanted to hide from his mother? Before he could voice that question, Thomas continued.
“I met a girl.”
And then everything shifted back into place. The kid had a girlfriend—in the city, no less. Zeke could only imagine what kind of conversation that would entail with Agatha. She’d moved out here to be with her son. And now he was interested in someone who could take him away from all of this—that, or it would force Agatha to distance herself from her only family.
Zeke’s heart bottomed out.
That wasn’t a possibility, was it? She’d come all the way out to Copper Creek just so she could stay close to her son. If he were to find love in the city and move back, then what did that mean for Agatha?
