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She rolled her eyes. “What can I say? You’re kind of hard to disagree with.”

“Glad to hear it. Are you ready?” He was impressed that she dressed just as quickly as he did.

“I am. I feel bad – I don’t like to think of him sitting in his room, not knowing whether to get up or not.”

When they reached Ashton’s room, the door stood open, and the bed was empty. Everly looked a little concerned, but Tanner wasn’t worried.

“I bet we’ll find him in the kitchen.”

He was right. They hurried downstairs, but Tanner caught her arm when he heard voices coming from the kitchen. Ashton and Ford were having a good chat by the sound of it.

Everly cocked her head to the side to listen and smiled.

“So, you’re like the boss of all the cowboys?”

“I am. I like the cowboying part, but there’s a lot more to managing a ranch than working with the cattle.”

“So, you’re like a cowboyanda businessman?”

“I guess you could say that.”

“What’s your job called, then?”

“I don’t usually think of it like that. See, I’ve never thought of this place as a business. Even though you’re right; that’s exactly what it is. But to me, this place is about my family. But if I had to give my job title, I think I’d say that I’m a cattleman.”

Tanner smiled when Everly caught his gaze. He didn’t usually think of things that way, either. But he liked the way that Ford explained it. Sure, Tanner thought of all his brothers as cowboys – and his sisters as cowgirls. But while that title described an attitude, a way of being, and a way of life as much as a job, it didn’t cover everything. He hadn’t considered it before, but he liked the name cattleman for Ford. He wasn’t a boy, in anyrespect, and for as long as Tanner could remember, Ford had been the one in charge of the herd.

“Does that make Tanner a horseman?”

Tanner listened more closely to see how Ford might explain it.

“It does, although that’s not a word we tend to use.”

“But he’s the boss man of the horses, right?”

Ford chuckled. “He is. And not just the horses, but that whole side of the business. I told you how amazing he is with horses, but it’s much more than that. He breeds them and trains them and he sells some – the ones he sells bring in a lot of money for the ranch.”

That made Tanner feel good; sometimes he felt as though the others saw his breeding program as an afterthought – as though it wasn’t as important as the cattle.

“Tanner’s awesome!”

“He is,” Ford agreed with Ashton.

It hit Tanner that he probably shouldn’t be eavesdropping on the conversation. He’d only stopped because he wanted Everly to hear her son chatting away happily. It didn’t seem right to listen in on whatever his brother had to say about him.

He inclined his head toward the kitchen, and Everly nodded. That warm, buzzing feeling filled his chest again when they entered the room. Ford and Ashton were sitting at the big table. They each had a plate of bacon and eggs in front of them, and there was a huge stack of pancakes on a plate in the middle of the table.

Ashton grinned when he saw them. “Good morning, sleepyheads!” he called.

Everly went to him and kissed the top of his head. “Good morning, kiddo. I’m sorry I slept in. I didn’t realize how tired I was.”

“Good morning, bud, how did you sleep?” Tanner asked.

Ashton grinned at him. “Great. I love my room. You should have gone straight to sleep like I did. Then you would have been up early like me.”

Tanner froze, hoping that Ashton hadn’t heard why he and Everly weren’t sleeping. “You’re right,” was all he could think to say. “Do you want coffee, Everly? Need a top up, Ford?”

They both nodded, and Tanner hurried over to the coffee pot.