“WERE YOU intending to stay out all week?” Chip asked with a grin as he met Sawyer in the yard once his truck pulled to a stop. He was Mrs. J’s second son and one of the most open and easy-to-read people Sawyer knew. They had become friends of a sort. “I thought I was going to miss you entirely.”
“Just overnight,” Sawyer told him. “How long are you here?”
Chip was in college to be a veterinarian. At least that was what he was training for. Everyone said his plans were to come back and take over the ranch, as well as open a practice on the property. Eventually his mama and Claude would retire to travel, and Chip would run the entire place.
“Just a week. I had my midterms, and then they gave us a break before we finish the semester. They don’t usually, but there’s some big gathering of the professors going on, so they adjusted the term.”
“I met your brother and his….” Sawyer never knew the right term to use, so he let his voice trail off.
“Husband. Alan and George got married a few years ago.” He turned toward the house. “They said they were going out for a ride.” He snickered softly.
“They stopped by where I was working before heading on north.” He pulled down the tailgate and began unloading the fence supplies. Chip grabbed a wheel of wire, and they walked to the supply barn together.
“Yeah. That’s their favorite spot. They always go out there, and when they come back, they have these huge, dopey smiles.” Chip set the wire where it belonged, and Sawyer put the extra posts with the others. He sighed. “They brought a friend with them from England. The last time they did that, it was Collin, and he was really cool. But I’m not so sure about this guy.
” They returned to the truck for the last of the tools and supplies before Sawyer pushed the tailgate back into place. “Okay.” He had never met this Collin and Tank, though he knew the Justice ranch now included what had once been Tank’s place. It was a little confusing to him, but he tried to keep it all straight. “Why not?”
Andrew grew up in western Michigan with a father who loved to tell stories and a mother who loved to read them. Since then, he has lived throughout the country and traveled throughout the world. He has a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and works in information systems for a large corporation.
Andrew Grey
Sounds good!