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But when it came to strays who worked on the ranch, Denver took that shit seriously.

And he knew that Denver would be right with him when it came to making sure that Bix got out of here with more than what she came with.

Denver and Justice talked about ranch business, and Landry gave an update on the barn construction.

“Pretty soon we ought to be able to break ground on cottages too,” he said. “I think it would be good if there were a few places for guests to stay when we were hosting a destination wedding.”

“Yeah,” said Daughtry, “sounds good to me.”

“You all ranch cattle?” Bix asked, surprising him by speaking.

“Yep,” Denver said. “We have fifty head. But additionally, we’ve been expanding the place. Beef is profitable. To an extent. But when you’re farming and ranching you always have to be nimble. It’s a hard life. But we have the land, and so we’re definitely obligated to work it and make it do as well as it can. Landry had the idea to renovate one of the barns into a venue for meetings and weddings and the like. So then I was thinking after that we’d build places for people to stay...”

“Are you going to be providing food?”

“We have a lot of food,” Fia, his sister-in-law, chimed in. “We bake pies and can make basically anything and are set up to do it over at Sullivan’s Point.”

“So, you all work together,” she said.

“More or less,” Justice said. “We try anyway.”

“Everything runs a lot smoother these days,” said Denver. “Back when our parents were in charge of the place the families had become rivals more than partners. It was Sawyer Garrett over at Garrett’s Watch who came up with the idea to reinstall the collective that we used to have. We share finances, we help each other through the hard times.”

“Well, aren’t you just the Waltons,” she said. But she smiled, so it didn’t sound quite as edgy or mean as it might have.

“Not quite,” said Denver. “But we do the best we can with what we’ve got. We try to help each other.”

“Even though everybody thinks we’re assholes,” said Arizona.

“That isn’t quite it,” said Rue. “You intimidate people because they don’t understand you.”

“Misunderstood,” said Arizona. “Like the majestic wolf.”

“Or the honey badger in your case,” Justice said to his sister.

Bix was looking back and forth between everybody, apparently amused and clearly trying to follow exactly what was going on. It was a lot of family dynamic to dump a stranger into, but she seemed entertained if anything.

“Well, I’m happy to get the dishes,” Bix said, standing up from the table and rolling up her sleeves. “You all did all the work. And provided the food.”

“You’re not going to do the dishes by yourself,” said Rue.

“No, you aren’t,” Justice agreed, standing.

“You take up too much space, Justice,” Rue said. “There isn’t that much room at the sink.”

“Are you telling me this is woman’s work?” he asked, lifting a brow.

“No, I’m telling you maybe Bix and I want to hang out.”

“Well... thank you,” Bix said.

They went back into the living room, and Denver took his seat at his favorite armchair, with cattle horns sticking out the side. It had been their dad’s favorite chair. He sometimes thought Denver sat in it just to enjoy the fact that he had taken it from their old man. Not because he thought he was like their dad, but because he was relishing all that he had taken from him.

Daughtry had a feeling he was about to get the third degree so he opted to take a minute to ask Justice about Rue. “What’s with the rock on Rue’s finger?” he asked.

Daughtry couldn’t for the life of him read the expression on his brother’s face. “Oh, she’s engaged.”

They all swiveled their heads to look back into the kitchen, then stared at Justice. “And you didn’t mention that?” Denver asked.