Chapter Ten

“Where do you want them, Dusty?” Archer strode over to the gathering group of people. “There’s stable space, but not enough stalls for each of them. The front paddocks are empty right now. It’s close and there’s enough room with the divided areas to separate them into groups.”

Dusty sighed as he looked over the ranch. Three long years since he’d seen not only his brothers, but the house and land they’d been raised on. Home. When he pulled into the driveway the word popped into his mind and stuck. He’d come home.

He looked over the trailers and people, noticing someone was missing. “Where’s Brand?”

“Brand called just as we started back. A highway patrol officer noticed his empty trailer, stopped him and sent him on a rescue mission to help out a lady with her animals not far from your place. He was delayed but should be here soon,” Archer answered.

“Okay.”

“I imagine you want the stud by himself?” Colt asked.

The question jolted Dusty back into the conversation. “Yeah. As much as he would enjoy hanging out with the girls, I’m not sure they’d be as thrilled.” He glanced over the area once more. Lush green grass spread across the acres for as far as he could see. Envious at the obvious abundance of rain in the area, Dusty knew the horses would be thrilled with this temporary home. “Let’s put him in the east section. It’s smaller, but still roomy enough for him. The mares and foals… Let’s go with the westernmost paddock. We’ll put April’s filly and the geldings in the center area.”

“On it.” Archer walked to the nearest trailer, unlatched the back gate and swung it open.

“I’ll get them.” April hurried over, Dusty on her heels.

She stepped into the trailer, spoke softly to the filly and attached the lead rope before doing the same with the mini. Clucking, she led the pair out. Until Mischief dug in his feet and refused to exit the trailer.

Dusty shook his head. “Stubborn cuss.”

April shushed him with a frown. “Now, Mischief. We’ve had this discussion before.” She tugged on his halter. Miracle, already out, turned around and stared at her friend. Mischief didn’t budge.

“I’ll give him a shove.” Before Dusty could take two steps, April held up her hand.

“Okay, Mischief. I have one carrot left.” She pulled the treat from her pocket. “If you don’t get out of that trailer this instant, I’m giving it all to Miracle.”

The mini stretched as far as he could without actually moving his feet.

She pulled the carrot back farther. “No way, buddy. If you want it, you have to come and get it.”

He squealed, then jumped down with excitement.

Dusty chuckled at the horse’s antics, joining in with the rest of his brothers.

“Pretty damn cute.” Archer slapped him on the back.

Dusty grinned. Whether his brother spoke about the horse or the woman he wasn’t sure, but in his mind they both fit the description. “Yeah.”

April moved closer, leading her two horses. As Miracle came abreast of Archer, she stopped, flattened her ears and reached out as if to bite.

“Nasty tempered beast.” Archer quickly moved out of range.

The gray filly bumped into April, then sidestepped as she walked forward at her owner’s bidding, yet kept an eye on Dusty’s oldest brother at the same time.

“Don’t care how pretty that filly is, that attitude isn’t something I’d deal with,” Archer grumped, his eyes on the horses.

“You’d have the same attitude if you went through what that filly did.” Dusty sobered in remembrance of the pictures of Miracle the Humane Society had sent with her records.

“What happened?” Colt paused with one of the geldings in hand.

“Somehow she ended up in the hands of a bastard who not only beat her, but starved her. By the time the neighbors called and the sheriff stepped in, several horses were dead on the property. The few who survived were in horrible shape. Parasites, long hooves, so thin you could see through their bodies. Miracle had to be assisted to even stand. They didn’t think she’d make it as she’d lost half her body weight. The Humane Society worked for a year to get her back to the condition she’s in now.” He sucked in a breath, rage boiling in his gut at the thought of such cruelty. “She still carries whip scars.”

“Shit.” Archer looked at him. “Did they arrest the bastard?”

Dusty nodded. “From what I understand, he hired a big-time lawyer and managed to get the charges dropped.”

“Get me the information.” Archer’s lips thinned.

Dusty arched an eyebrow.

“What? I’m just going to look into the case.”

“Uh-huh. I don’t think you have jurisdiction.” Though Archer happened to be a district attorney, Dusty doubted he could do much about a case in another state.

“Doesn’t matter. When it comes to a bastard that would not only beat an animal, but starve it to death, I’ll find someone who can prosecute him.”

“Thanks.” Dusty tilted his head. “April will adore you forever.”

Colt looked across the pasture, then back to Dusty. “How’d she end up with that filly and the mini?”

“Mischief and Miracle bonded at the place they were rescued. The rescue couldn’t separate them without them getting very upset. Mischief was in better shape, from what I understand, and the staff believed the only reason Miracle survived is because of Mischief. They refused to adopt them separately. When April went to the farm to pick out a horse, she fell in love with the filly and ended up bringing them both home.”

“Can you even work with her?” Colt asked.

“Yeah. She’s gradually settling down. She’s not mean, just scared of men. With April she’s an angel.”

Dusty watched as April released her horses, fed them the carrot, gathered up the lead ropes then closed the gate.

“Do you have a chain or rope for that gate?”

“Yeah, why?” Archer shut the trailer door.

“That mini is a little Houdini.”

“Lives up to his name, huh?” Colt chuckled and walked toward the pasture April just vacated.

“You have no idea.” Dusty shook his head, grinned, then strode toward the next trailer to collect his stud.

Ten minutes later all the horses had been unloaded, leaving Colt holding the collar on the small goat. “Where do you want her?”

Archer shrugged and looked to Dusty. “Brand said he was bringing in a herd of llamas or some such. Seems to me those might be a bit more goat-sized than the horses.”

Dusty looked over the land. “How about let’s put her in the foaling area? Everything else is filled, it’s close, and I imagine about the right size for smaller stock.”

“Sounds good to me.” Colt tugged on the collar. The little brown animal balked so he ended up gathering her in his arms and carrying her.

Dusty grinned as the little goat nipped at his brother’s hair, clamped her teeth on a mouthful, then gave a sharp tug.

“Ow!”

“I think she likes you.” Evan laughed as Colt managed to juggle his load enough to flip him off.

The sound of a vehicle pulled Dusty’s attention back toward the long driveway. He found Brand’s black truck, complete with stock trailer, slowly navigating the gravel drive and a white SUV in his wake. He drove by them, heading straight for the small foaling shed with a downsized pasture. By the time he’d backed the trailer up to the gate, a woman had parked her vehicle and hurried over.

Dusty and his brothers walked over to meet them.

“I thought you were picking up animals, not a pretty little lady.” Archer grinned and tipped his hat at the woman.

She smiled up at him. “I’m Tess, by the way.”

Evan opened the gate while Brand and Tess took care of the trailer exit. Colt waved in greeting, standing to the side of the pasture, still holding his newest friend. “We didn’t think your animals would mind one lonely goat.”

“I think she’ll fit right in.” Tess eyed Colt’s armful for a minute, then stepped around the gate.

“You’ve got quite the menagerie.” Dusty blinked at the smorgasbord of animals in the trailer.

“They’re my pets.” She cooed to the animals, trying to get them to exit the trailer. None of them bothered to move.

Tess climbed in, untied the tallest occupant and led him out. The llama stopped at the end of the trailer, turned toward Brand, and spit.

“Bogart!”

“Damn llama.” Brand wiped his face with a handkerchief he pulled from his pocket.

“I’m so sorry.” She shot him an apologetic look and tugged hard on the lead rope. “Come on, you ornery cuss, before Brand spits back.” The long-legged pack animal jumped out of the trailer. The alpacas bolted after him.

Evan shut the gate behind them. Dusty smirked at Brand, noting the flashing eyes of anger toward the ill-tempered llama. Yet he didn’t miss the softening expression as his brother watched the redhead. They might have just met, but his brother liked what he saw in the woman, mean pet or not.

A brunette trotted over and threw herself into his arms. Dusty caught her and hugged her tight. “I was wondering if you remembered me.”

Carrie smacked lightly at his chest. “Remember? How could I forget you?”

Out of the corner of his eye he spied April with confusion plastered on her face. He released Carrie and turned to face April. “April, this is Carrie, Archer’s wife. Carrie, this is April.”

A true smile replaced curious concern on April’s face. “It’s good to meet you. I can’t thank you guys enough.”

Carrie looked at Dusty, then back to April. “No thanks necessary.” She waved her hand dismissively. “I better get to cooking. These men are bound to be hungry soon, and boy howdy, can they put away the food.”

“I’ll be glad to help. Besides, I need to grab Marmalade and find somewhere for her to stay for the duration.” Hurrying back to her vehicle, April pulled out the cat carrier and a large shopping bag filled with cat supplies. April met Dusty’s gaze for a split second before hustling to catch up with the other woman, Marmalade meowing pitifully all the way.

Colt elbowed him in the ribs. “You decide to move on to greener pastures, let me know. I’ll be glad to take a shot with that pretty blonde.”

Dusty shook his head, too relieved and happy to see his brothers again to get the least bit upset. After the hurt feelings between them, he couldn’t have scripted a better reunion. They’d stepped up to save his ass and he wouldn’t forget it. “She’s like her filly, bro. A bit skittish around men.”

Colt only grinned. “I’m charming.”

Archer snorted. Evan coughed.

Colt frowned. “I am.”

“Uh-huh. You remember something about having too many girlfriends and getting their names mixed up?” Evan nudged Colt in the back.

“He didn’t!” Dusty’s mouth fell open.

“Oh, yeah, he did. Hilarious!”

Again Dusty truly realized how much he’d missed in the long months of separation. Evan, his youngest brother, had grown up and filled out, a dramatic change from the gangly teen he’d been when Dusty left. He didn’t have a clue about any of the happenings in his family’s life over that period of time.

Well, he had nothing but time on his hands waiting to see if the fire engulfed his place or not. Until then, he could catch up with his brothers and see if they were still the troublemakers he remembered.

“I’ll just find a local motel.” A woman’s sweet voice, laced with determination, cut through the air.

Dusty turned to find Brand and Tess leaving the small pen, arguing as they walked side by side.

“No way. There’s plenty of room in the ranch house. Hell, there’s six bedrooms. I’m sure we’ve got more than enough space for someone your size.”

She tilted her head to stare up at him. “My size? Are you calling me short?”

Brand scowled. “No, if I wanted to call you short, I would have said short. I was saying you won’t take up much space, so you’re going to stay here, close to your livestock.”

“I refuse to be a burden.” Her tone grew haughty.

He threw up his arms in frustration. “You aren’t a damn burden, all right?” He sucked in a breath. “Why don’t you go in and meet April? You girls can share a bedroom.”

She opened her mouth but closed it again. A long moment passed before she nodded. “Okay. I’ll stay. Just for a short time though.”

“Whatever you want.”

Tess started toward the house, then stopped. “Thank you, Brand. For coming to my rescue.” With a small smile, she continued toward the large brick house.

“Shit, Brand. She likes you,” Evan whispered loudly to his older brother.

Brand narrowed his eyes at the youngest in the group. “She’s just beholden is all.”

“Uh-huh.” Archer nudged Brand in the ribs. “Been there, done that. Ended up tying the knot.”

Dusty grinned at the slightly nauseated look on Brand’s face. None of them cared to strap on the ball and chain. Archer had taken the leap a few years back, but he’d found the most wonderful woman in Carrie. With such high expectations set by the little brunette, the others spent their free time chasing women, engaging in one-night stands and enjoying playboy lifestyles. No lady had lassoed them yet, as hard as they’d tried.

For a moment Dusty recalled Rose, the woman who’d tried to corner him into marriage even as she’d demanded expensive gifts and slowly sunk her claws into his bank account. He hadn’t been able to see past her luscious curves, fantastic blow jobs and the hot, kinky sex to the real woman underneath. Thankfully his brothers had. Archer had hired a private investigator who’d found solid evidence of Rose’s man-hopping. She used her body and skills to catch a wealthy man, take him for everything he had, then ride off into the sunset to find another victim.

At the time, he hadn’t appreciated Archer’s interference. Now he needed to suck up his pride and admit his error. “Archer?”

The man swung around to face him.

“Thank you. For pointing out what kind of person Rose was.” Dusty swallowed and ran his hand through his hair. Apologizing was still hard. “If not for you…”

Archer smiled and wrapped an arm around Dusty’s shoulders. “You’re welcome.”

“I was an ass.”

“Aren’t we all from time to time?” Archer squeezed Dusty’s shoulder.

Relief washed over Dusty. After all the tension that had passed, the wedge between them seemed to dissipate with those simple words. Wanting to kick himself in the rear for not saying something sooner, Dusty instead reveled in the moment. He’d missed his brothers, their teasing and gouging, their constant rowdiness. For the next few days he intended to get to know them again.