Read The Ranch Hand for Free Online

worry her aunt. Ever. Things had turned out all right. She’d handled the situation. Bringing it up now would only give her aunt something real to fret about. Carol didn’t want to be the cause of any worry in her aunt and uncle’s lives.
    Now Harlan had gone and spilled it all without even considering that she might want to keep the accident quiet. He seemed to sense that he’d taken a misstep. His expression turned guarded and his mouth tightened into a return frown. They eyed each other in silence, the tension between them deepening. She didn’t like the challenge in his look. This was her family, damn it. But even as she had that thought, she was already chastising herself for her selfishness.
    Before Carol could speak, her aunt rushed over and put a warm hand on her arm. She looked Carol up and down as if inspecting for injuries worthy of a trip to the emergency room. “What a terrible thing. Are you all right, honey?”
    “Not a scratch on me.” She tried on a smile that felt false.
    “Did you get his license plate number?”
    “No. It happened too fast.” She shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. The driver raced off before I could get the plates. I was more concerned about keeping the rig under control.”
    “And Harlan went out to check on you?” Her aunt beamed at him as if he’d rescued a basket full of puppies from plunging over Niagara Falls.
    Harlan actually blushed a little, the red flush creeping up his neck and coloring his cheeks. Carol would’ve believed it an act if she weren’t here watching the whole thing happen and knew him well enough to tell his discomfort was genuine. She snorted and gave him an even look. He looked away first.
    “I’m a worrier too, ma’am,” he said, fixing his attention firmly on her aunt. “Though Carol’s right, it was no big deal for her. Some mud under the snow slowed her up a bit. She got herself rolling again in no time. Didn’t need my help at all.” He smiled, almost shyly. “In fact, I was about as useful—”
    “As tits on a bull,” Carol interjected. It was, after all, one of his favorite phrases, and one that she’d borrowed on more than one occasion.
    He glanced at her and lifted an eyebrow. “I was going to say, ‘about as useful as a lead balloon.’”
    Her aunt pursed her lips and frowned at Carol. “Farmhand crudity, young lady, is not becoming. Especially in front of a gentleman.”
    Carol gaped. “Who do you think taught me that one?” She eyed daggers at Harlan.
    Harlan grinned, then nodded toward the window and whistled. “Would you look at that snow coming down. I reckon we’ll see four, five inches before nightfall, easy.”
    Her aunt wasn’t so easily distracted. She glanced Carol over again, as if a second look might reveal some internal injury Carol was trying to cover up. Aunt June really had been worried then. It made her feel like a teenager again, though it was comforting in a way, because it was so clear the woman cared. Any expression of caring had always touched Carol, always resonated on a level in the center of her heart. That was especially true her parents had died, and her aunt and uncle had taken her in to their home. Carol gave her a hug and a kiss on a wrinkled cheek, and did her level best to blink away the threatening tears.
    “And now that I’ve got you all soaked,” she said, waving a hand with a flourish, “I depart to my shower.” She threw a look at Harlan. “Remember what I said. Clockwise .”
    “Is that girl demanding you make her hot chocolate in that insufferably specific way of hers?” her aunt asked, though she dropped a wink at Carol.
    “Yes, ma’am. She was real particular. I’ve learned my lesson about betting with her. Here on out, I’m a reformed man.”
    “My little Carol cured a man of betting? Never saw that one coming.”
    “No, ma’am. What I meant was, I learned that after I win our next wager, I’ll be certain to return the kindness. With interest.”
    “First