Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57350 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Elbert exhaled loudly. “Not for me, you dork. My great-uncle Larry is looking to settle down.”
Adam barely bit down a laugh. Larry was around ninety, at least, and loved being a bachelor. “No, he isn’t. Plus, he’s too old for her.”
“He’s loaded, so she’d inherit a bundle someday,” Elbert said reasonably. “I talked to him last week, and he said he wants to leave progeny, so he’d better get started.”
That stopped Adam in place. “Can men reproduce in their nineties?”
“Hell if I know. So, is the woman going to stick around or not?”
A pit dropped into Adam’s gut. “She’s a movie scout who travels the country. Probably the entire world. She’s not going to settle down in Mineral Lake.”
“So? If you like her, maybe it’s time you went on tour with the band,” Elbert suggested.
Adam shook his head and laughed softly. “I’d rather be shot than travel the world.” He’d done enough of that in the service, and he liked it at home these days. He lined up another row of glasses, the soft clink echoing through the empty bar. “I like singing. I like my bar and I like my ranch. I don’t want to go anywhere.”
“Not even somewhere warm? The Caribbean?”
Adam glanced toward the window again where a thin breeze moved the budding branches of the cottonwoods down the street. Spring had finally arrived, though Montana liked to pretend winter might return at any moment. “Well,” he admitted, “I wouldn’t mind relaxing on a beach for a week or so and getting some sun.”
“God, no kidding,” Elbert said. “When was the last time you had a vacation?”
Adam snorted. “What’s that?”
“Good point. Hey, is Dawn Freeze singing this weekend?”
The question Adam got asked every freaking day. “I’m not sure. The Lodge-Freeze clan got hit pretty hard by the flu. I’m hoping she’ll come in for a set or two.”
“All right,” Elbert said cheerfully. “My wife and I might come down later. Talk to you then.”
The call ended.
Adam slipped the phone back into his pocket and grabbed another bottle of liquor from the box on the floor. If Dawn was singing, he’d need more vodka. The crowd always doubled when she showed up with her guitar. He also needed to check his limes.
The bell over the front door jingled.
Adam glanced up as Boyd Kessler stepped inside with Pike Nevin right behind him. Both men carried the look of people who had already been working for hours. Mud clung to their boots, and Pike swiped the back of his hand across his forehead as he walked in.
“Hey, guys,” Adam said. He reached behind the counter and grabbed a couple of thick ceramic mugs. “You want coffee?”
“Absolutely.” Pike dropped onto a stool with a tired sigh, his blue eyes bloodshot. “My brother and I have been fixing fences since dawn.”
The smell of damp earth followed them inside along with a gust of cool air from the street.
Boyd pulled another stool out and sat beside Pike, shaking his dark brown hair out of his face. “I’ve been doing construction out at the old Samuelson place.”
“Oh yeah?” Adam poured both men generous cups of his homemade brew. Some folks around town called it sludge, but it did the job.
Boyd wrapped his hands around the mug and nodded. “Yeah. His kids moved away years ago, and they want to sell it.”
Adam braced his forearms on the bar. “How many acres is that?”
“It’s about eight hundred, I think,” Boyd said. “I’m not sure. You’d have to talk to the realtor. I have a short-term lease on it, and I’ve rented it to the movie folks for their RVs and crap. I figure I’d rather have them all out that way from town and our ranches.”
Adam glanced toward the window again. Boyd was always figuring out ways to make decent money, and that was a smart move. “That’s the perfect place.” Good. They wouldn’t mess with the town too much. He watched a ranch truck roll slowly down the street.
Pike took a long drink of coffee.
Boyd pulled off his jacket and draped it over the stool beside him. The man looked tired and a little irritated, which wasn’t unusual.
Adam topped off Boyd’s mug while the quiet bar settled around them. “Where’s Thatcher?” he asked.
“He’s finishing off at our south pasture,” Pike said easily. “Did I hear you’re dating the movie lady?”
God, this place was full of gossip. “Why?” Adam asked.
Pike lifted a shoulder and gave a small grin. “I thought she was pretty. Figured I should ask her out while she’s in town.”
Adam slid Boyd another cup of coffee. “She’s dating me.” Although, she really wasn’t going to be happy that he’d just undercut her with the Willoughbys.
“Okie doke.” Pike held up a hand, though his blue eyes held clear amusement. “You know she’s going to break your heart, right?”