As soon as the sun peeked over the Bull Mountains, he saddled up Sundance, his brown quarter horse with a white blaze on his face, and galloped off into miles of Thunder Ranch. Snow blanketed the ground, but in places winter grass poked through. He stopped and sucked in the fresh, cold air. There was no scent anywhere like winter in Montana.
He kneed Sundance and rode along Thunder Creek. The snow-banked water was frozen in places. Sundance picked his way through the snow and Engelmann spruce, and they came across a herd of cattle huddled together near a windmill. At the sight of horse and rider, the cows bellowed. Tuf dismounted and saw the water trough had frozen over. Picking up a pipe left there for such purposes, he broke the ice. Cows milled around for a drink.
He swung into the saddle and was surprised not to see more cattle. The herd must have been downsized—more changes. He rode back to the house in time for breakfast.
When Tuf was in Afghanistan, he often dreamed of his mom’s warm yellow kitchen with the pine plank floors, the natural butcher-block counters and cherry-stained cabinets. It relaxed him and he’d wondered if he’d ever sit at the family table again.
He ran his hand across the butcher-block table and felt the warmth of being home.
His mom watched him while he ate. She did that a lot, and he felt guilt press on his chest again.
Picking up his mug of coffee, he asked, “What happened to all the cattle?”
She shrugged. “The economy tanked and cattle prices dropped and I made the decision to downsize. The contracting business is time-consuming, and we need every available hand to make it a success.”
He pushed back his plate. “Then I’ll take care of the cattle. That should help.”
“Yes, but I’d rather you enjoy life for a while. There’s no rush for you to do anything.”
That puzzled him. Growing up it was always important that everyone pulled their weight. “Come on, Mom. I need to stay busy. What is everyone else doing?”
“Ace handles the breeding program while Colt’s in charge of Midnight and handles the rodeo bookings and transporting bucking horses. Beau and Josh take care of the bulls, though Josh is cutting back to spend more time with Jordan.”
“Is anyone rodeoing?”
“You bet. There’s a lot of rodeo talent in the Hart and Adams families. All the boys are riding to earn extra money for the ranch, except Duke. He’s given up bull riding for Angie, but he’s still helping to transport stock to rodeos.”
He got up and poured another cup of coffee. “I never thought Duke would give up bull riding for love.”
His mother carried dishes to the sink. “His heart was never in it like Beau’s.” She shot him a glance as she rinsed dishes to go in the dishwasher. “Like you.”
“Yeah.” He leaned against the counter. “I loved bareback riding.”
“Your father said you’re the best he’d ever seen.”
He thought for a minute. “If everyone’s rodeoing to make money, I can, too.”
His mother had a way of not frowning, but she made up for that with a disapproving look.
“What?”
“For eight years I’ve gone to bed every night wondering if I’d ever see my youngest again.”
“Mom…” His heart twisted.
“I just want you safe.”
He smiled at her worried face. “We’re the Harts. Rodeo is in our blood.”
“Mmm. I guess it’s safer than what you were doing.”
“I want to help out.” He tried to ease the tension.
“As long as I know someone’s not pointing a gun at you, I…” She reached for a dish towel, wiped her hands and then dabbed at her eyes.
His heart twisted so tight he could barely breathe.
Ask me questions. Ask me. Let me get it off my chest.
But she didn’t.
As she loaded the dishwasher, he had second thoughts. She was all alone in a five-bedroom house and that bothered him. His mom was used to having family around her. Ace had lived in the house with a separate entrance until his marriage. Now he lived at the McKinley place with his new family. Colt and Uncle Josh had houses nearby, but it wasn’t the same thing.
There was a housekeeper, Lisa Marie, but she was only there a few hours a day to help his mother. He found that odd since his mom had always refused help. What had happened to change her mind?
She straightened and hugged him. A whiff of gardenia reached him. It was a scented lotion she’d used ever since he could remember.
“Take all the time you need. When you’re ready, you’ll know. Now I have to get dressed and go to work. Lisa Marie will be here soon and Leah’s probably already in the office.”
“Leah takes care of the books now?”
“Yes, and she’s been a blessing. All this new technology goes over my head sometimes. You’ll have to check out the updated office. With the rodeo contracting busines we have to keep up-to-date records and know exactly where and when our animals go to rodeos. It takes all of us to accomplish that.”
“Mmm. When are Uncle Josh and Beau coming back?” Seemed his uncle had gotten married a few weeks ago and they had gone on a honeymoon, too.
“Any day.” His mom moved toward her bedroom.
“Mom, I need some new clothes. Is there anyplace in Roundup I can buy them?”
She glanced over her shoulder. “Austin carries nice things at his Western Wear and Tack Shop. It’s not a law but a rule that you support family.”
He grinned. “Yes, ma’am.” He reached for his hat, slipped into his jacket and headed for the door. As he walked to his truck, he saw Midnight in a pen, and Gracie, one of the ranch hands, watching him. He strolled over to take a look. Gracie was somewhere in her forties and she knew her way around horses and cows. Bundled up in a heavy winter coat, she had a wool scarf looped over her felt hat and tied beneath her chin to cover her ears.
“Mornin’, Tuf,” she called and opened a large gate to a big corral. Midnight trotted through and galloped around kicking up his hooves in the nippy morning air.
“Mornin’.” He leaned on the fence and watched. The stallion circled the corral, his muscles rippling with restless energy.
“He’s easy to exercise,” Gracie said, “as long as I don’t try to box him in. Though he loads pretty nicely into a trailer for Colt. You just have to know what to do and what not to do. The horse is temperamental, to say the least.”
“But a gold mine if he performs as planned.”
“You got it.”
Midnight threw up his head, steam coming from his flared nostrils, but it was clear the horse reveled in the cold.
“He was born to buck,” Tuf murmured.
“The family still hasn’t decided yet.” Gracie shoved her gloved hands into her jacket pockets. “It’s cold. I hope Buddy gets here soon so I can go to the mare barn where it’s warmer.”
Tuf frowned. “Buddy Wright?”
“Yeah. When Midnight went missing, he showed up at Buddy’s place with a few cuts. Buddy doctored his wounds and took care of him. He was afraid to tell anyone where the horse was because he feared everyone would think he’d stolen the Harts’ prized