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along. He’ll steal your tools, too.”
    Jamie looked over at the pale, freckle-faced cowboy and groaned. Ed was only a few years older than he was and had bright red hair and a thin, wiry frame. The other man had a reputation as a heck of a good ranch hand and a nice guy. And if this morning was any indication, his good name was well earned. While they had saddled the horses, Ed had made a point of remarking that he “didn’t have a problem with gays” and offered him a handshake.
    “You’re kidding, right?”
    “Nope! Last time Ethan and I strung up new barbed wire, Spot took off with the wire cutters. Took Ethan five minutes of cussing and fifteen minutes of chasing to get them back. The rascal loves to play keep-away.” Ed grinned, then rode off a little ways to give back Jamie some privacy for his call.
    Jamie shook his head and rolled his eyes, then lifted the phone. “When are you bringing George to me?”
    John sighed again. “I’ll bring her tonight.”
    “Good. Bring me some more clothes, too, and find Fred’s toys.”
    “Grrr.”
    “Don’t growl at me. It’s not like I can come get the stuff myself. Daddy’d likely shoot me on sight.”
    John snorted. “Yeah, he probably would. Okay, I’ll see what I can do. I’ve gotta look into hiring a new foreman on top of everything else I have to do today.”
    Jamie started. They were already looking to replace him? That didn’t sound good ... not at all. “At Daddy’s insistence?”
    “Hell, yes! You don’t think I want to, do you?”
    “Nah. I knew better, I was just thinking out loud, I guess.”
    “I’m sorry, Jamie. I don’t want to hire anybody else, but I can’t do your job and my own. Daddy has been very vocal about the fact that we need a new foreman.”
    “Doesn’t sound like he’s going to accept this, does it?”
    John let out a ragged breath. “I don’t think so, kid.”
    Jamie shivered and looked up at the sky. It was nice out today, almost hot, but he still felt the chill from John’s words. What if his dad never allowed him to go back home?
    He looked around the pasture. It was beautiful, so it would certainly be no hardship staying on here, but ... it wasn’t home. No, he couldn’t think like that. He couldn’t think of not going home again.
    “I gotta go, John. I’ll see you tonight. Thanks.”
    “Welcome, bro. Later.”
    Jamie replaced his phone on his belt, then rode on in silence.
    Ed drew up even with him again. “We all carry phones. You should get a hands-free thingy like the rest of us.” He pointed to the earpiece he had in place. “Does yours do pictures? If not, you need to get one, else Bill will go crazy.” He chuckled. “Bill got him one of them and made us go get them, too, so he can send us pictures of things around here. He sends pictures of everything, things he wants fixed, things we fixed already. He and Ethan go nuts at the cattle auctions, sending pictures back and forth of the stock for sale.” Ed shook his head, grinned, then trotted back to his side of the herd.
    The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. They got the cattle moved, then rode the fence back, checking for breaks or spots that would need repairs soon. Halfway back, Bill called Hayden’s phone to tell them that he had their lunch ready.
    When Jamie, Ed, and Hayden rode up to the house, Ethan was standing in the yard with a sandwich in one hand, a yellow tennis ball in the other and Fred watching his every move.
    Jamie felt his heart pound in his chest at the sight of Ethan. If the man’s obvious enjoyment from playing with Jamie’s baby girl didn’t do it for him, the man himself sure did. He wore a ball cap, a pair of cutoffs and red tee, and white sneakers. Damn, the man had great legs! Someone should tell him to cut his jeans off higher up than mid-thigh.
    Ethan threw the ball and Fred went bounding after it. Ethan laughed at the energetic puppy, and Jamie felt the sound shoot all the way to his soul. He was