Serious Cowboy (Cowboys of Duncan Ranch #2)

Chapter 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

It took nine weeks, almost to the day, for Zeke to return full-time to work. He’d gone in short stints to conduct half days and monitor the feed on a part-time basis, but now he was back for real. Granted he was still in a boot and on crutches, but he was back in charge of his department. He was slow getting around, but that didn’t keep him from doing everything that needed to be done. The ranch felt the same as it always had, yet not. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something came across to him as having changed.

Or maybe that was him.

These past months had seemed to have both taken an eternity and had whisked right on by, but as he wrapped up his first full work week in a long time, he felt a sense of victory. He’d survived the ordeal of an insane vehicle crash to come out the other side when he could’ve wound up killed. He had a great deal to be thankful for.

His job. Tim and Amanda and their family. And Callie.

He’d never quit being thankful for her.

He glanced over at where she stood by the picnic lunch the Blums were serving this fourth of July. Tim had decided Brian was old enough to set off some bottle rockets, so the boy had been shooting them off nonstop ever since. Sallie and Kimmie weren’t left out, though. They each had their ashen snakes and lanterns to play with. The lanterns seemed a particular favorite.

Once it grew dark was when the adults would set off the more sizable stuff.

Amanda had used an old, rusted out tractor to decorate for the holiday, tying red, white, and blue ribbons to various points and positioning a hay-filled scarecrow wearing overalls in the seat. She’d surrounded it by haybales and some potted hibiscus plants, the crimson of their petals matching expertly with the rest of her display.

Zeke surveyed it all feeling this incredible sense of gratitude. He didn’t deserve these people staying by his side, didn’t deserve their loyalty, not really. Yet they’d made it apparent that he had it anyway despite all his anti-social tendencies.

His gaze snagged on Callie as it so often did.

She was the epitome of stunning in her pale blue sundress with what she referred to as its “swishy” skirt. He wasn’t sure what that meant other than how it moved with her as she skipped around, keeping up with the kids, but he liked it. He also liked how that specific shade of blue so perfectly—as if designed for her—matched the irises of her eyes.

The sun in her pale blonde curls practically glowed, too, making her appear almost like an angel on Earth. Maybe that wasn’t far off. Maybe she had been sent here from on high. She certainly spread sunshine and brightness wherever she went. She’d even done what he’d previously believed impossible and beamed her light on him to the point that even the perpetual storm over his head had been given no choice but disperse and disappear.

Callie did that. Most frequently with nothing more than her chipper attitude and blinding white smile. Remaining gloomy and downtrodden around her was a challenge, one he’d long since given up on.

He had a project that needed completing, one that had grown larger and larger at the back of his mind. Normally, he wouldn’t put it off any longer than time required, but this one wasn’t his typical project. It wasn’t a hobby necessitated by his constantly fidgety hands nor was it anything involved with his house or the Duncan Ranch.

It was far more personal than that. He’d been gathering up all his courage in preparation for fulfilling this task.

But not today.

“That color looks nice on you,” Callie commented as she joined him, her skin glowing from playing with her nieces and nephew. “You should wear navy blue more often. It brings out those gorgeous eyes of yours.”

Zeke had never considered himself to be bashful or shy despite his introverted tendencies, but when she laid blatant compliments like that at his feet, he sometimes felt his neck heat. If his complexion looked redder than normal, though, he decided he could just blame it on the hot July weather. It was a sultry ninety-two degrees, after all.

“Uh, thanks.”

“Awww,” her voice rose into this singsong pitch, drawing a finger along the shape of his jaw. “You’re so cute when you’re befuddled.”

Then, he remembered something. “As I recall, you bought this shirt for me.”

“So?”

“So, what you’re finding cute is your own skill at shopping.” He couldn’t lie. Zeke felt a bit triumphant at this verbal back and forth they had going. He and Callie had somehow developed this method of communication that kept things playful, their “arguments” only a pretense. Callie called it banter.

It was too bad his parents had never developed that skill themselves.

Callie did what she often did in these circumstances and laughed out loud, the sound joyous.

“True. I’d say I have a real talent for it.”

“You do,” he told her as he zeroed in on her lips, all playfulness gone. But laying some intense lip lock out here on his best friend’s—and her brother’s—property wouldn’t be the wisest of ideas.

Tim had come around to Zeke and Callie having a romantic relationship without decking his best friend into next week. Once they’d established that they were back together, Tim had still taken him aside.

“Look, you and my sister are grown people capable of making your own decisions. I can respect that.” This had made Zeke feel relieved, but Tim hadn’t finished. “But if you ever break her heart again, I’m going to have to punch you in the face, recovering from a concussion or not. Got me?”

Tim hadn’t been joking, either. Not in the least. And Zeke could respect that.

“I got you.”

Thinking about that discussion in the present as Tim snorted at something his son said made Zeke contemplative. He’d never set out to hurt Callie—he’d never planned to have a relationship with her or anyone else in the first place—but he’d unintentionally done it regardless.

It reminded him that he could no longer live in such a narrow slice of his life. He’d been so focused on staying busy with one thing or another that he’d never actually dealt with his past. Not with his mom and dad’s nonsense. Not with his lack of social acumen. Not with Maria or Hadley. He’d refused to deal with any of it, and that blind spot had nearly cost him Callie.

Now, he couldn’t imagine his life without her.

And since their fences had all been mended and their time together going so well, he decided she should know what he was thinking and feeling. So as he smiled at her, raising his cold drink to where she stood across the yard from him, he formulated how he could make that happen.

As Zeke ran a quality control check on the grains going into the herd’s upgraded feed that following Monday, he paused for long enough to marvel at how much his change in perspective made him look at his life differently. Before the accident, any reflection he might’ve made had been tainted by his jaded pessimism. He expected things to not work out, for things to blow up in his face, and for his life to end up in the toilet.

And often, as a result, it did.

It was shocking to see how much better everything became when he started feeling like his life could work out. Instead of feeling as if a dark cloud had been raining on him continually as if out to get him, he suddenly realized that he had a lot to be thankful for.

Surviving the crash for one thing. And that hadn’t been all he’d survived. But he no longer had to see his day-to-day existence be exclusively about mere survival anymore. He was actually thriving more often than not. He enjoyed his job, and he was good at it. He had a nice roof over his head that he could afford. He had food and clothing and could make himself comfortable at home.

He'd healed enough that he had his health. And that mattered a lot more than he’d ever previously comprehended it did.

He even had compassionate bosses who’d allowed him to initially work on small repair projects he could do while seated before he was up to anything more. With his body having healed for the most part, he’d learned to appreciate the small things. It made his overall disposition much less stormy.

He felt his phone buzz in his pocket, and upon glancing down, he spied that it was Callie texting him. They did this daily even though they also tended to share their dinners at either her place or his.

Callie : How do you feel about breakfast for dinner? I have a hankering for cinnamon roll pancakes.

Well, that was more than he’d expected to unpack this late in the afternoon.

Zeke : Hankering, huh? Have you been in Montana too long? I don’t remember you using language like that when you first arrived. I don’t think that’s typical for Pacific Northwest lingo.

Callie : You hush up.

He snorted, making one of the newest hires, a middle-aged guy named Cody who’d been traipsing behind him to cast Zeke a weird look. Zeke supposed he couldn’t blame the man. Cody might not know this, but for so long, Zeke was pretty sure he’d been known as either the most solemn employee or maybe even the crankiest. Mostly because he chose to be such a loner. But his cranky solemn days were over thanks to Callie.

And for some reason, he didn’t find keeping to himself as attractive as it used to be, either.

Zeke : As for dinner, you know I’m not picky. Cinnamon roll pancakes is an oddball choice, but I can go along with it.

He hit send and waited for her to jump on him since he’d been teasing her again. That was normal for them now, though. This goofy picking on one another for fun. He’d never thought of himself as a fun guy, but Callie had changed that.

When it came right down to it, she was a miracle worker.

Maybe that’s why he asked what he asked next. He didn’t even give her the time to respond.

Zeke : You still interested in a tour of the ranch?

The three little dotes denoting that she was about to respond popped up on his screen to vanish, then reappear, then vanish all over again. He watched as she seemed to be mulling this over wishing he could see the expression on her face. What was she thinking right now? This had been a little bit of a taboo subject between them before, but he didn’t think of anything as off-limits between them anymore.

Not that he’d jump into just any painful subject with a big grin, but he’d discovered that he and Callie could discuss anything as long as he was up front with how he felt about it. Callie’s own emotions were an open book.

Finally, she answered his question with a question of her own.

Callie : Are you offering me a tour of the ranch? I thought that wouldn’t be approved.

Zeke : Turns out they’re fine with it as long as I’m willing to take responsibility for you. Keep you out of harm’s way. You mind me acting as your shepherd as I guide you around?

Callie : Sure. When?

Zeke : We could do it as soon as tonight if you’re willing to delay your pancakes. Or any other evening once I’m off work.

The summertime meant plenty of daylight past five pm. So, it shouldn’t be hard to accommodate her.

Callie : How about tomorrow?

Zeke : It’s a date.