Shelter (Heroes of Big Sky 2)

“You’d have seen it if you weren’t entertaining a guest at your place,” Dad adds.

Yep, they’re going to razz me.

“Jillian says she’s pretty,” Josh adds.

“You’re a bunch of gossiping women,” I reply and shake my head. “The woman was trapped in a storm. I made her dinner.”

“Spent the night,” Louie puts in mildly.

“Whose side are you on?”

The old man just laughs at me. Louie’s one of my favorite people in the world. He was working here when I came to the ranch when I was eleven, and he seemed to be old then. I have no idea how old he really is, but I’ve decided he’s living forever.

Just out of spite.

And that’s good because I don’t know what we would do without him.

“So, are you all going to rag on me all day, or are we gonna get some work done?” I ask.

“We’ve been working since before the sun came up,” Dad reminds me. “Miles and Sarah were here, too, before school, to watch this baby be born.”

“I’ll see them this afternoon. They’ll be back out here to watch her.” My siblings all love the animals. It’s in our blood. “Where was Troy? Is he sick?”

“Stayed in town with a friend last night,” Dad says. “He’ll be mad that he missed it.”

“There will be plenty more,” Josh says.

“Where are your kids?” I ask him. “I haven’t seen Kim and Mike in a while.”

“Kim was here with the others,” Josh replies. “Mike stayed at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, keeping Gram company.”

I nod and look down at the new foal, just getting her feet under her. We lost my grandpa last year, and none of us have fully recovered from the loss, the kids have taken turns staying with Gram, adamant that she shouldn’t be alone.

I don’t know if any of us will ever get over the loss of Gramps.

“I’ll have all the kids come hang out with me at my place this weekend. We’ll have some fun.”

“They’ll like that,” Dad says. “Now, let’s get the fence mended.”

We all saddle our horses. Magic’s been mine for as long as I can remember. She’s the love of my life.

“Hey, baby girl,” I croon to her as I saddle her up. “How’s my girl?”

She sniffs my hand, hoping for an apple or some carrots.

“I know what you want.” I pull some baby carrots out of my pocket and offer them to her.

Before long, we’re out in the pastures, riding along the fence line to check for holes. We have several hundred head of cattle that we don’t want getting loose.

Rounding up a herd from where they’re not supposed to be isn’t easy.

As we come over a hill and gaze down on the meadow below, we see several animals down and plenty of blood.

“Son of a bitch,” I mutter as Dad and Josh break off into a run.

The wolves are back.

Chapter 6

~Remi~

“It’s just paperwork, nothing to be nervous about,” I mutter to myself as I ride through town on my way to Little Deli. I came to town and hooked up to my campsite again, got the van all settled and ready to go, and then grabbed my bike and took off. The leaves are changing here as fall settles in, and there’s a bite to the air that wasn’t there just a week ago.

It’s fascinating. And so different from southern California.

I kind of love it.

But before long, I’ll need a heavier coat if I’m going to continue riding my bike around town. And once it snows, I’ll just have to drive the van. It’ll be a pain in the ass to hook and unhook from the campsite every time, but there’s really no other choice.

I’m not going to buy a car. That would be silly.

I set the bike against the wall outside the deli and then push inside. Annie glances up from behind the counter and sends me a welcome smile.

“Hi, Remi.”

“Hey there. I hope this is a good time to stop by.”

“It’s a great time. We’re through the morning rush, and things should be relatively quiet until lunch. There are just a couple of forms to fill out, and I need a copy of your driver’s license.”

“No problem.”

The business side of things takes less than ten minutes. When Annie tucks what she needs into a folder and turns back to me, I sniff the air.

“Do I smell peanut butter cookies?”

“Bars,” she says with a grin. “They just came out of the oven. Would you like one?”

“Heck yes, I’d love one.” I follow her back into the kitchen. There’s a big doorway and a window so she can always keep tabs on what’s happening in the front of the restaurant.

“Do you do all of the baking yourself?”

“My mom helps me sometimes,” Annie replies and cuts into the bars. “She likes the early morning work.”

“Seth told me that she opened this place.”