Page 47 of When a Cowboy Falls Hard
“Not bad. We can have breakfast and still make it to the Stevens’ place, no problem. I’ll start cooking. You’re welcome to stay and eat, Monty. I make a mean omelet.”
“Appreciate the offer.” He stepped out into the warm sunshine. “But I want to get started on that fungus you spotted on Banjo’s heel.”
“It’s not bad yet, but yeah, the sooner the better.” He grinned. “Then I’ll see you tomorrow, birthday boy.”
“About that. Please don’t bother getting?—”
“Too late. Zinnia and I are on it. Besides, you heard Tex. That kid knows you don’t show up to a birthday party empty handed. You wouldn’t want to upset him, would you?”
“You got me, there. See you soon.” He and Zinnia walked toward his truck and Graham headed up the porch steps.
“I didn’t want to ask in front of Tex.” Zinnia glanced at him. “Did he sleep okay? Did your plan work?”
“Like a charm.” He stowed his case and the folded cot. “He used his early morning shift to entertain the horses and Smokey.”
She chuckled. “Stories from old TV shows?”
“Yes, ma’am. Cute as hell.”
“I assume you pretended to be asleep.”
“Had to. I wanted him to experience being in charge. He did a great job.”
“Thank you for that. I held my breath when he asked when you were coming back. He sounded panicked.”
“I know. That’s exactly what we don’t want. Good thing the birthday party distracted him.”
“Just so I know, how soon do you have to come back and check on those two?”
“Unless something crops up, not until vaccination time, which is around five months.”
“Five months?” She took a breath. “He’s gonna drive me nuts asking about you.”
“To be honest, I’ll miss him, too.” And her, but saying that wasn’t helpful. He was supposed to work on forgetting this crazy infatuation.
“Five months is a long time at his age.”
“Yeah.” When he focused on Tex’s problem instead of his own, the answer was obvious. “How about this? At lunch yesterday it sounded like Graham misses his visits to the ranch.”
“He does seem to love it there.”
“Mom picked up on it. I’ll bet she’ll start specifically inviting him every now and then. She said you were always welcome, so you three could come along.”
“That’s a good idea. Then Tex won’t feel abandoned.”
“Abandoned?”
“Think about it. You’ve become buddies and now you’ll disappear for five months. Visits to the ranch will show him you’re still buddies. You’re just super busy.”
“Then I’ll mention it to Mom. She’ll make sure those visits happen.”
“Good. We have a plan.”
“Speaking of plans, are you and Mari cooking something up?”
“What do you mean?”
“She said something that made me wonder if there’s a secret plan in the works.”
