The Best Little Joeville

“Did he seem a little strange?”

Jenny couldn’t suppress a laugh. Buck always seemed strange. Was Shane just noticing?

“I’m serious,” Shane said, his eyes narrowing. “Did you two argue?”

This conversation was growing tiresome. “No,” she said, not enjoying this shift in mood. “We barely spoke. I told him what I needed, he pointed it out, I said thanks. Why? Is there a problem?”

The accusation on his face turned to puzzlement. “When I went to get blankets, he was standing in the doorway, staring into space. He didn’t even acknowledge me at first. Then he said he was going away for a couple of days...that I shouldn’t worry.” Still frowning, Shane opened the door and waited for Jenny to pass.

They walked to the stables and saddled up in silence while Jenny replayed the brief incident with Buck in her head. The only part she hadn’t told Shane was the business about her name and what could that have to do with anything?

The sun slid behind a massive gray cloud and Jenny shivered as she rode behind Shane up the now familiar path. At the crest of the hill he waited for her. She stopped next to him and tugged her scarf higher on her nose and tightened the string of her hooded parka. Shane looked off to the east and she followed his gaze to the valley where the cattle clustered around three trucks. From the back of each, ranch hands fed the hungry Black Angus.

“Are you up to a fast ride?” he asked after a moment.

She looked at his eyes, which still seemed filled with concern—for the weather or Buck, she wasn’t certain and didn’t ask.

“Lead the way,” she puffed through her scarf. And he did just that.

He could hear her right behind him and was glad for the time to gather his thoughts. This trek was probably not the smartest thing he had ever done, what with clouds ready to dump who knew how many more inches of snow. It wasn’t the idea of not being able to get back to the ranch that troubled him as much as the thought of being stranded with this wily woman. What were the odds that they would leave their hands off each other if they ended up spending the night there? Of course Josh would return from Billings, so his presence would most likely prevent things from getting too out of hand. And if he remembered correctly, Josh said there weren’t any interior doors hung yet.