LITMIR.BIZ

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to his women though, but that was another problem, there were a lot of women.

      Both brothers were handsome, but Jarrett had been the school sports hero and a college graduate. Meanwhile Trace had stayed and worked on the ranch with his father, going to college locally.

      “Anytime.” He looked at Trace. “I need to talk to you about our arrangement. Could you come to my office?”

      “Later. Kira and I are talking right now.”

      “Seems like you could do that at home. Hell, you sleep in the same bed.” There was a wicked look in Jarrett’s eyes. “That’s right. It’s branding time so you sleep out with your calves.” He winked at Kira. “Makes for a lonely wife left at home.”

      “And sometimes I sleep out with the calves, too,” Kira said, worried things might come to blows.

      The brothers had never been close. Jarrett had been six years old when his mother died, and his father, John, remarried Claire, and a year later she had given birth to Trace. The distance had grown when their parents retired and moved to a warmer climate in Arizona. Now, both parents had passed away.

      “My brother’s a lucky man to have you. Although I tried my best, he won you fair and square.” He winked at Kira. “But it’s still a long way to go before the score is even, bro.”

      Later that afternoon, Trace rode toward the barn. After returning from town, he’d saddled up Thunder and went out to check the herd. He’d wasted the morning already when he needed to finish things before the roundup.

      He rotated his tired shoulders, felt his eyes burn, a sure sign that lack of sleep had taken a toll on him. And confronting his brother hadn’t exactly made his day. He’d wanted to spend more time with Kira, but they hadn’t managed that, either. So far, they’d talked very little of what was most important to him: their marriage.

      Trace climbed off his horse and walked him into the barn. The immaculately clean structure had been the result of too much time on his hands. Since moving to the bunkhouse, he’d tried to stay busy, and his already organized barn had gotten a complete sweep, with every piece of tack on the property being cleaned or polished.

      It had been his sleep time that suffered. Even his fatigue hadn’t helped him on those long nights. He walked his stallion into the stall, removed the saddle and carried it to the tack room. On his way out, he ran into his foreman, Cal.

      “Hey, Trace. What’s up?”

      “You tell me, Cal,” he said. “How many men have you got for the roundup?”

      The forty-one-year-old foreman, Jonah Calhoun, took off his hat and scratched his gray-streaked brown hair. A single man, he’d worked for the McKane Ranch for years, and was also Trace’s friend. “Besides our two part-time hands, another half a dozen like you asked. I also ran into Joel and Hal Lewis at the feed store. They’re willing to come and help out, too, as long as we can give them a hand next month.”

      Trace nodded. “Can do. I’ll give them a call.”

      Together, they walked back to Thunder’s stall. Trace removed the horse’s bridle and blanket, then took the brush and began grooming him.

      Cal snapped his fingers. “Oh, I forgot, your brother stopped by earlier, looking for you.”

      Trace didn’t like Jarrett dogging him. “He found me at the diner.”

      Cal frowned. “I thought you went to see Kira.”

      Trace nodded. “We went for coffee.”

      The foreman smiled. “Good idea, take her to the place where you two met.”

      “I just wanted to talk to her. Alone.”

      The smile grew bigger. “Get anything settled?” Then he raised his hand. “Sorry, Trace, that’s none of my business. I’m just glad you two got together.”

      Trace continued to stroke the animal. “We were talking until Jarrett showed up.”

      The foreman’s eyes narrowed. “He seemed bent on seeing you. What’s he up to?”

      Cal knew as well as Trace that Jarrett never did anything unless it benefited him. “He probably wants to know when that last payment I owe him is coming.”

      The foreman frowned. He knew the conditions of the loan. “Are you late?”

      Trace shook his head. “No, but I’m not sure I can make the full amount on the final payment.” He could lose it all.

      “Would your brother give you more time? I mean, with the market the way it is.”

      “I doubt it. When has he ever done me a favor?”

      Five years ago, Jarrett couldn’t wait to sell off most of his share of the ranch, and offered Trace the first opportunity to buy it. Trace hadn’t hesitated, but things had been tight this past year, and the payment was due to Jarrett in thirty days.

      “I might have to sell the breeding bulls.”

      “No way. You need another year or two to build the herd. There’s some serious money in those guys. Rocky will sire some good stock.”

      Trace put down the brush. “But I can get ready cash for them. Joel Lewis is interested. And I can’t lose everything now.” His thoughts turned to Kira. He could lose more than the ranch.

      “You know Lewis is mostly talk. Look, Trace, I have some money saved I could loan you.”

      Trace was touched by the offer. “Thanks, Cal, I’m grateful for the offer, but it’s not a good idea to borrow from friends.”

      “Maybe I want to invest if Jarrett is threatening you. Not a full partnership, but just a percentage of the place.” Kind light-blue eyes studied Trace. “Well, maybe you can talk it over with Kira before you nix the idea.”

      Trace walked out of the stall. “She’s never shown much interest in the running of the ranch.”

      “Maybe she would this time.”

      Trace pushed his hat back and sighed. He didn’t want to add to their troubles. “She has enough on her mind.”

      Cal nodded. “If you say so. Well, I guess I better go put away the feed that was delivered.”

      Trace stopped him. “Has Kira said something to you?”

      “No. She just always asks about things, and seems genuinely interested when I tell her.” The foreman shrugged. “But I can’t tell you how to talk to your wife, Trace.”

      He hadn’t been talking to Kira at all until she’d come to see him yesterday. And she wasn’t going to be his wife much longer. “Hell, I’ve been living in the bunkhouse for the past two months. I haven’t been doing such a great job of it myself.”

      “And you don’t need a lecture from me. But I think if there are problems with the missus, living out here and keeping things from her isn’t the best way for fixin’ things between you.”

      Cal was probably the only one who knew about their problems. “The adoption agency notified us. Kira wants me to move back to the house and pretend we’re a happy couple.”

      A smile appeared on his friend’s face. “You don’t look very happy about it.”

      “All she wants is six months. After the adoption becomes final she’s going to leave.”

      Cal raised an eyebrow then he said, “I know it’s been rough. Kira’s gone through a lot and she wants a baby.”

      “So do I. And how can I just walk away from a child?”

      “Who says you have to? You can still be the kid’s father, Kira’s husband. Who’s to say you can’t get an extension on the six months?”

      So much had already passed between them, so much hurt. He didn’t know if they

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