The Lonely Heart (5 page)

Grady laughed. “I don’t even want to know how much you spend each month in coffee grounds.”

“No, you don’t.” Isaiah’s smile was…well, there was no other word for it but adorable.

Chagrined and happy at the same time, it made him look young and carefree. Grady had to clench his free hand into a fist to keep from reaching for his foreman.

Piercing green eyes watched them from across the room. Josh was studying them intently. Or rather, he was studying Grady. There was a look on his face that made Grady want to squirm. Josh might be a kid, but he was very, very bright. There was a knowledge in his eyes that Grady didn’t even want to attempt to decipher. Mostly because it would probably make him uncomfortable. Or embarrassed. It was too early for that.

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Low voices filtered through the window as Micah and Tommy rounded the house on their way to the back stable. The two main breeding stables were near the bunkhouse, but when Grady had gone to expand, shortly after Isaiah took over as his foreman and business-slash-ranch manager, they’d been out of room over there. Fitting another barn in would have been impossible, unless they had chopped down a couple of dozen trees. Grady hadn’t been willing to do that, not when there was a perfectly decent clearing on the back side of his house. The stable there now housed a large indoor training arena and all the mounts reserved for everyday use. It made for a bit of a walk for the boys, but no one seemed to mind.

The sounds of activity seemed to jolt Isaiah out of his caffeine haze. He put his cup down—after draining it, of course. That was one man who wouldn’t dream of wasting a drop of coffee.

“I guess I’d better get out there. I want to check the southern pastures today, make sure the fence is solid for when we roust the cattle out of the foothills. Winter’s gonna come fast this year, I’m thinking.”

Grady nodded reluctantly. “Yeah. If you need me to help, holler. Oh, and I want to sit down and go over some business stuff with you later. Got a couple of invoices that have me tied up in knots. Maybe after dinner tonight?”

Isaiah nodded. “Sure thing, boss.”

Isaiah turned his back to Grady, thankfully missing Grady’s slight wince at the title. He paused briefly to ruffle his little brother’s already messy hair.

“Be good for Grady,” Isaiah admonished gently. “If you need anything I’ll be around.”

“We’ll be fine,” Grady assured Isaiah. “I’ll call you around lunch time, bring something out to you guys. No sense hauling your asses all the way back.”

“That would be great.” Isaiah ruffled Josh’s hair again and said his goodbyes, his long legs quickly taking him out of sight.

Josh put his spoon down next to his empty bowl, folded his hands on the table, and looked expectantly at Grady. Grady laughed and stuck his cup in the sink.

“All right, kid. Rinse out your bowl and we’ll go see about getting you up on a horse.”

They left the house a few minutes later, Josh holding onto Grady’s hand while they walked across the yard. Pint-sized legs had to make three steps to every one of Grady’s, even though Grady was walking slower than usual. He smiled down at the tyke, feeling a rush of www.total-e-bound.com

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affection welling up. He might not have known the kid long, but Josh was already worming his way into Grady’s heart. Part of that, Grady knew, was Josh’s connection to Isaiah. He’d already turned most of his heart over to Isaiah—it wasn’t hard to extend that to the little mini-Isaiah at his side.

But a lot of the growing affection was all for Josh. A cute, stubborn, energetic little kid who looked at life with an excitement that Grady envied. Most of the time, Josh didn’t even seem to think about the fact that, according to the rest of the world, he was ‘disabled’. Like Isaiah, Grady was determined to do everything in his power to keep Josh thinking that way.

Grady called out greetings to his men as they walked into the dim interior of the stable.

Micah and Tommy looked up from where they were tightening girths and gave him nods of welcome and a low greeting in Micah’s case. Tommy stayed quiet, but Grady didn’t take offence. It took the large man a good two hours after waking for his brain to start working.

Although, according to Joseph, Tommy’s brain never started working and the sleepies had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Grady had spent the last year trying to figure out if the guys should just kiss and get over it, or if they simply fought like brothers, all argument and little heat. He was never very good at picking up on those kinds of non-verbal signals.

Isaiah and Joseph weren’t in sight, but Grady hadn’t expected them to be. Their first job of the day usually involved checking on the broodmares in the breeding stables on the other side of the bunkhouse. Cameras were set up in there, the pregnant mares watched closely, but Isaiah still liked the hands-on approach—he always preferred to check out the mares himself, pregnant or not. The first job of the day was making sure the girls close to delivery were comfortable before letting the mares out into their small paddocks to get some fresh air.

There were usually treats involved somewhere, too. They bought carrots in the jumbo-sized bags at least twice a month.

Grady headed for the back of the stable and grabbed a halter off the wall next to one of the stalls.

“First lesson,” he told Josh. Big green eyes looked up at him, Josh’s face a study in concentration as he absorbed every word. It was nice, having such an attentive student.

Grady slipped the bolt on the sliding door and shoved it aside. “Always enter carefully.

Jackson here is a gentle guy, but horses don’t act rationally when they’re startled.”

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He showed Josh how to slip the halter on and let the boy lead the horse from the stall and over to a nearby set of cross-ties. Dang, but that was a sight made for a picture. The little boy in his hoodie and sneakers, leading a horse six times his size, the rising sun lighting them with a soft glow through the barn doors.

Grady quickly found out Josh was a natural when it came to horses. Despite the way he usually bounced around, Josh possessed a calm manner and a soft touch that Jackson ate up.

Grady watched the horse nudge Josh gently on the shoulder, earning a delighted laugh. Big brown eyes watched the boy as he picked up the reins and Grady had a feeling Jackson was a goner. The horse would probably follow Josh anywhere.

Grady finally called a halt to the riding lesson after about an hour and a half—he didn’t want Josh to be too sore tomorrow. Josh had a natural feel for the horse and a good seat in the saddle. He didn’t push or force but guided. Yep, the kid had the makings of a top-notch horseman.

“You did good, kid,” Grady said quietly when Josh stopped in front of him. That cute face just beamed. Josh kept one hand wrapped tightly around the reins, the other resting on the gelding’s shoulder. “Pretty soon you’ll be taking off with the others.”

Josh smiled, conveying his silent thanks. Grady smiled back.

“You’re welcome.” He ruffled Josh’s hair, like Isaiah unable to resist the soft, unruly strands. The kid looked younger than his years, staring up at Grady with adoring eyes and just soaking up the praise, as if he wasn’t used to hearing encouraging words. The thought made Grady sad.

“What do you say we put Jackson up and take some lunch out to Isaiah, hmm? We’ll take the Jeep for today, but maybe tomorrow we can ride it out to them.”

The words earned Grady another one of those happy smiles. Grady briefly clasped one skinny shoulder in his hand and squeezed before following Josh and his new best friend inside.

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“Looks okay.” Grady used his boot to hold down one strand of barbed wire as he ducked under the second. He paused on the other side, looking back at the heifer grazing with bovine contentment. She’d been wobbling a bit when he and Josh first saw her, but after a quick inspection, seemed to be in one piece. He’d mention it to Isaiah, just to keep a watch.

She was destined for his breeding programme and as it wasn’t a large programme, he needed every gal he had.

Grady bent over and snatched up the reins off the ground. He tugged his gelding’s head up. The action got him a baleful glare, soggy grass hanging out of the horse’s mouth.

“Silly beast,” Grady scolded. He slapped the side of Dixon’s neck before swinging into the saddle.

“Ready?” Grady looked over at his travelling companion with a grin. Josh returned the expression. He waved his hand in a shooing motion and Grady laughed. “What, we on a time schedule I don’t know about?”

Josh smirked and prodded Jackson into a slow jog.

Out of pure habit, Grady kept one eye on Josh, watching as the budding rider guided his horse around a puddle. Josh really didn’t need any supervision—he sat in the saddle like he’d been born there, happy and relaxed, taking in everything around them with wide-eyed wonder.

They left the scattered herd of cattle behind, passing through a small stand of trees before cresting a small rise. Josh waved madly as several distant figures came into view. A tall shadow waved back equally madly, whole body getting into the motion. Grady couldn’t stop a burst of laughter at Tommy’s antics.

Josh and Grady had fallen easily into the habit of trekking out every day, lunch in tow.

With winter rapidly approaching, the boys were spending most of the day on the range, rounding up the cows and pushing them closer, readying the majority of them to be loaded and hauled off for sale. Grady and Josh usually saddled up around ten or eleven, depending on how far they had to go, saddlebags heavy with sandwiches, chips and cookies. Lots of sandwiches, chips, and cookies. The boys always worked up impressive appetites. Tommy www.total-e-bound.com

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alone could put away a half-dozen sandwiches and still have room for more. The man was a bottomless pit. If Grady had known how much the former bull rider ate before he hired the man, he might have thought twice about his offer.

Micah greeted them with a bright smile. Tommy smacked the man on the back of the head as he headed straight for the food, ignoring the loud protest that followed.

“What’d you bring us today, squirt?” he asked Josh. The big man waggled his eyebrows, leering comically at the bags secured to the back of the boy’s saddle. Josh laughed and shook his head, waving a finger.

“Patience isn’t really Tommy’s strong point,” Micah drawled.

“No kidding,” Grady replied dryly. “I would never have guessed.”

His comment earned a sharp look from Micah. His hands had all been giving him similar looks lately. It was damned odd.

Tommy reached up and swung Josh off Jackson, bouncing him in the air a couple of times before setting him on his small feet. The kid looked like a real cowboy now, decked out in heavy jeans and miniature dark brown boots, with an adorable little cowboy hat covering his wild hair. Isaiah and Grady had taken him shopping his second day on the ranch. It had been a blast, picking out clothes for their budding ranch hand. Something about those little boots and hats…

It made Grady long for his own miniature cow hand. Not that such a thing was likely, but it didn’t keep a guy from wishing.

“Where’s Isaiah?” he asked, dismounting and unlatching the saddle bags secured to Dixon. He swung the heavy leather satchels off and slung them over his shoulder. Nearby, Micah was doing the same with the bags on Jackson.

“He and Joseph are clearing out the gully a couple miles west. They should be back soon.”

“We don’t have to wait for them, do we?” Tommy asked, hands already reaching out greedily. Micah moved out of range, smacking the back of Tommy’s hand when it got too close.

Josh shook his head, rolling his eyes. He smirked at Tommy, making a little motion with his hand.

The three of them burst out laughing. Isaiah had been right, that first day. The kid could be so darn expressive that, more than once, Grady had forgotten he couldn’t talk to them.

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“I’m not that bad,” Tommy protested. But he was grinning widely as he said it. “Most of the time,” he added.

This time it was Micah’s turn to roll his eyes. “So you weren’t the reason Joseph put that padlock on the kitchen door?” he asked.

Tommy scowled. “Darned cowboy. I got him good for that one, if you’ll remember.”

“Now this is a story I haven’t heard,” Grady said.

Micah and Tommy had brought the truck out today. Tommy pulled some blankets out of the cab and they spread them out, settling down in the bed of the pickup to eat their lunch.

Sitting on the ground now left a man with a distinct chill in his butt. It wouldn’t be long before the boys would start staying closer to the main ranch and eating their lunches at the bunkhouse.

Micah laughed, handing Josh a roast beef sandwich wrapped in cling film. “You haven’t? Tommy’s got this habit of getting up in the middle of the night and clearing out the pantry. Joseph woke up one time too many to find us out of the necessities—you know, bread, bacon—”

“Eggs, chicken, ham,” Tommy added around a mouthful of chips. “You know, the basics.”

“So, anything edible.”

“Pretty much,” Micah said. “Joseph got this big-assed padlock and locked up the kitchen. You should have heard Tommy. He kept us up most of the night, moaning about hunger pains. It’s amazing how much he can whine for such a big guy.”

Tommy snorted. “I resent that. I wasn’t whining.”

Micah clutched his hands to his chest, widening his eyes dramatically. “Oh, God, I’m starving to death. It’s been three whole hours since I last ate. How will I ever make it until morning? Oh, woe is me!”