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“You’re young. You might find something else you want to do for the rest of your life.”

“Nope. I want to be a cowboy. I’m gonna be a cowboy.”

“It’s hard work.” Colt propped his elbows on his knees and opened his hands, showing the scars, calluses, and dirt of a long day’s work.

“I know.” Ben had been helping out on the ranch for over a month, and not once had he complained.

Mark had always gravitated toward desk jobs. He’d wanted the comforts of an office and the assurances of a 401K. Too bad he’d also been unreliable and prone to boredom. Would Ben be the same? When the winter nights grew longer, would Ben get restless?

“But it’s the best job,” Colt said. “I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

“Does Remi like it?”

“She loves it.” That was an easy answer. Remi wasn’t a wrangler, but she spent enough time around the horses to train them to play the games with the kids. She had a heart for innocence–kids and horses.

They’d been silent for a few minutes, watching Burgundy and the purples and pinks of the sunset when Ben said, “Uncle Colt?”

“Yeah?”

“You think Remi loves us too?”

And just like that, Ben had taken an invisible pin and burst the bubble that protected his heart. Everything inside him wanted to scream that Remi loved them, but love was different for everyone. How did Remi see love?

Maybe it wasn’t about how she perceived love. Maybe she’d been saying she loved them all along. She’d bound her life to them, left her home, and promised to care for them until her last day.

All those things said she loved them, right?

“I think she does,” Colt finally said.

“Yeah, me too.”

Colt slapped a hand on Ben’s shoulder. “Let’s go see what Remi and Abby are up to.”

“We have to wash and brush Burgundy first,” Ben said.

Yeah, Ben would make a good cowboy. “You get the brushes. I’ll bring her in.”

Colt let Ben lead the grooming, and he only needed to remind him of two things. Ben even said good night to Burgundy and the other horses, and they left with a promise from Jess to take Ben on a short trail ride on Sunday afternoon.

Ben yawned three times on the way back to the cabin. Colt followed suit each time, and the heaviness settled in his eyes.

“Don’t give up just yet. Bath before bed is a must tonight.”

Ben groaned. “Are you sure?”

“What’s that on your arm?” Colt pointed to the brown stain on Ben’s sleeve.

He tugged at his hoodie. “I think it’s the ointment stuff we put on Burgundy’s hoof.”

“Yeah. Bath is definitely happening tonight.” Colt parked beside Remi’s truck and grabbed his hat off the dash. “Toss your backpack in your room and straight to the bathroom.”

Ben didn’t grumble as they tromped through the dark. He toed off his boots and hung his hat on the hook by the door.

Inside, the cabin was quiet–too quiet for Remi and Abby to be here. Their shoes were lined up by the door, and a half-eaten plate of scrambled eggs lay abandoned on the table in the kitchen.

Colt stepped up to the bathroom door and listened. No sound.

He knocked. “Remi?”