Aidan: Loyal Cowboy

“You’re smiling.”

Ace had been doing that a lot since yesterday. “I’m excited about the baby.”

“You are?”

“Hell, yes. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know. Are you ready to be a dad?”

“I’ll be ready by the time the baby’s born. I like kids. I’ve always wanted to have my own.”

It was another area he and Colt seemed to differ. Ace’s brother had never expressed any interest in settling down, much less starting a family.

“Then I’m glad for you.” Colt’s flat voice sounded anything but glad.

“What’s wrong?”

“How did Mom take the news?”

“I haven’t told her yet. I will at dinner.”

“Good luck with that.”

“You think she won’t be happy?”

“She and Dad always wanted us to be married before we had kids.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not.” He would be, if Flynn weren’t so stubborn.

“I need to hit the road.”

“Colt. Hey, come on, man. Stay. I’m going to be spending a lot of time with Flynn while we figure things out. I could really use you.”

“Maybe if I win this weekend, some of the pressure will be off.”

The pressure his brother was under didn’t compare to Ace’s. He could feel it building inside him, a band stretched tight on the verge of snapping. But he maintained his cool, willed himself to calm down. Colt wouldn’t change, and Ace refused to be like their late father, whose favorite method of motivating his children had been to verbally berate them.

Or had Ace, as the oldest, been pushed harder than his siblings?

“Fine,” he said tightly. “Remember to call Mom, let her know you arrived. She worries.”

“Yeah. And congratulations again. Flynn’s a terrific gal.”

Colt left, his gait just shy of a dead run.

Ace remained at the fence, watching him. His brother was always in a hurry to leave the ranch behind, but this exit was particularly hasty.

Strange.

Hopefully when Ace told the rest of his family about Flynn and the baby, they’d react better.

Ace resumed his chore of cleaning the saddle, his concentration a shambles. He’d pretty much decided to quit for the day and tackle Midnight’s behavior problems tomorrow, when he felt something behind him. Startled, he patted his back pockets.

Son of a gun!

He spun slowly around.

Midnight stood a few feet away, smugly crunching a carrot.

Ace grabbed another one and held it out to the horse.

He snorted and retreated a step, still chewing.

“That’s okay,” Ace said, his anger at his brother dissipating. “It’s a start.”

A very good start.

* * *

THE STOCK PENS AT THE Western Frontier Pro Rodeo were already half-full when Ace and Colt arrived and parked their truck and trailer. Behind them were two more Thunder Ranch rigs, one carrying bucking horses and the other a pair of their most promising bulls.

Beau and Duke, Ace’s twin cousins, had come along to help with the livestock and compete with Colt and Ace. It had been over a year since all four of them went up against each other at the same rodeo. Ace was looking forward to it.

His decision to enter bareback bronc riding was likely the only reason he and his brother hadn’t argued since Colt’s return from Bozeman last week. Ace had entered today not to mend their differences but to show up his brother. Beating Colt would feel good. It would also prove Ace still remembered how to have fun and wasn’t, as his mother liked to call him, a stick in the mud.

She’d taken the news of Flynn’s pregnancy well. More than well, she’d been thrilled. True to Colt’s prediction, she expressed her desire to see Ace and Flynn married first, a natural reaction for most parents in Ace’s opinion. But she’d been happy for Ace. So had Dinah, who’d rushed over after getting off duty to celebrate with them. The only damper to the evening had been Colt. Rather than join them, he’d found some reason to retreat to his room.

Ace, his cousins and the ranch crew had barely started unloading the livestock when Colt made a beeline away from the stock pens.

“Hey, where you going?” Ace hollered after him.

“The entry booth, to sign in.”

“It can wait. The rodeo doesn’t start for four more hours.”

“I won’t be long.” Colt, jogging backward, raised his hand in a farewell gesture.

Ace took his frustration out on the toolbox mounted to the side of the trailer and the finicky padlock securing the lid.

“Beau and Duke have left to sign in, too.” Harlan came up beside Ace. “You should go.”

Ace spared the ranch hand a brief glance, then returned to searching for the pliers he swore were right on top when he’d last checked the toolbox. “There’s still time.”

“Royce and I can finish here and then transport the stock for tonight’s events.”

“I don’t want to leave you two with all the work.” Moving ornery bulls and horses was a lot to handle, even for two of the Harts’ most experienced hands.

“Why not?” Harlan plucked the pliers out from under a socket set and held them out to Ace. “That’s our job, what you pay us for.”