Page 3 of The Earl’s Wrangler (Cowboy Nobility #3)

THE SOUND of horses approaching roused Sawyer Kinkaid in the early morning, and he climbed out of his bedroll, standing and stretching as a pair of riders approached where he’d spent the night in the back of his old truck.

He groaned as the oldest of the Justice boys came into view.

He had met Alan just the one time, when he was hired three months ago.

Right after that, Alan had returned to England, and Sawyer had begun settling into his life here. “Have you been out here all night?”

“Yes. I had work to do, and it was easier to stay so I could start again first thing and make sure the herd didn’t find the weak spot.” He scratched his side. “Mrs. Justice understood.”

“Of course,” Alan said as he slipped down off his horse. The man was every bit the cowboy from head to toe. “This is George.”

“It’s a pleasure,” the other man said, and instantly Sawyer knew who he was. He’d heard stories about Alan and his husband, the duke.

“Thank you, your dukeness.” He wondered if he was required to bow or something, but figured to hell with it. Who the fuck was going to care—the steers and cows a hundred yards off?

“Just call me George. Out here I don’t use my title.

” He turned to Alan, and almost instantly, Sawyer felt a stab of regret almost as hard as a poke in the side from a knife.

The way Alan and George looked at each other made his insides twist and ache in a way he thought he had well under control.

There had been someone who gazed at him like that once—at least he had thought so—but in the end, Sawyer had been wrong, just like he was most of the time when it came to people.

Not that the loss hurt any less, even though it probably had been his own fault.

He was as bad at reading people as he was skilled with horses and cattle.

Sawyer turned away, unable to stand the sight of the love that shone between them.

“What can I do for you?” he asked. “I have this section of fence that needs to be mended. I found it last night, and the repair was going to take longer than I had light for, so I stayed here to keep the beasties away.”

“Mother hadn’t heard from you, and she was a little worried,” Alan explained. Sawyer felt bad for making Mrs. Justice concerned. She had enough to do without wondering about him.

George snorted. “Please. Don’t lie to the man. She mentioned that you were out here, and since we just arrived, he was looking for an excuse to go for a ride. Maureen said that she had messaged you and you didn’t respond.”

Sawyer pulled out his phone and tapped the screen, but it remained dark. Crap, he must have forgotten to plug it in before he left. “Tell her I’m fine, please. I’ll charge my phone when I get back to the barn later.” A white device sailed through the air, and he caught it out of instinct.

“Use that to charge it. That way you won’t be alone out here if something happens.”

Sawyer plugged in his phone and set it and the battery thing in the bed of the truck, not telling them that being out here alone and on his own was how he liked it.

When he was away from everyone, he didn’t have to worry that he didn’t understand their jokes or the looks that people gave one another, or that he was the butt of whatever story was being told and had no idea.

“Thank you,” he said, just because he knew it was the right response.

“I need to get this finished, and then I want to check the rest of this run.” He looked north toward the mountains.

“I promise to keep my phone on in case someone needs me.” Maybe that would get them to leave him alone so he could go back to work.

George climbed down off his horse and opened one of his saddlebags. He pulled out a satchel and handed it to him. “Maureen sent you some coffee and breakfast. And she put in some sandwiches because she figured you’d probably stay out all day.”

Now Sawyer smiled. No one made coffee like Mrs. J. “I’ll thank her for the provisions.” He opened the thermos, inhaled, and then drank right out of it, the hot, smooth liquid sliding down his throat.

“See that you do,” Alan said and then winked at him. Sawyer hoped that meant the stern expression wasn’t actually real, though he wondered for a second.

“He’s kidding you. We’ll see you back at the house when you’re done.” George mounted his horse once more, and Alan did the same. Then the two of them rode away to the northeast, leaving Sawyer alone, which was perfect as far as he was concerned.

Sawyer opened the tube of foil and ate the two warm egg-and-ham biscuits inside.

They tasted like heaven. That was one of the wonderful things about the Justice ranch.

The food was always really good, and Mrs. J treated all the people who worked for her like they were family.

That was probably why it was so difficult to get a job here—folks rarely left.

It wasn’t like other places that seemed to have revolving doors on the bunkhouse.

What was even more amazing was that the place was actually three ranches, or it had been at one time.

Mrs. J had apparently kept her own name to avoid confusion after she married Claude.

Together they managed their land as well as that of a third ranch that they leased.

At least that was what Sawyer had been told.

It wasn’t any of his business. He was just grateful for the job at a good place with good people who were willing to let him do what he did best. He drank some more coffee and then set the rest of the food in the cab of the truck out of the sun and got back to work.

After cutting away the broken lines of fencing, he found himself looking out the way Alan and George had gone.

He couldn’t see them any longer, which probably meant they had entered the line of trees around the creek that flowed in that direction.

They might have the time for fun, but Sawyer was being paid to get his work done.

He went back to stringing the fence lines, doing a good enough job that he wouldn’t need to return to this area for a while.

Once he was done, he checked over his work and loaded the tools and supplies into the back of the truck.

He also took the opportunity to check his phone and send Mrs. J a message thanking her for the breakfast and coffee.

Then he climbed in and drove off down the two-track access road, checking over the rest of the fence line.

“WERE YOU intending to stay out all week?” Chip asked with a grin as he met Sawyer in the yard once his truck pulled to a stop. He was Mrs. J’s second son and one of the most open and easy-to-read people Sawyer knew. They had become friends of a sort. “I thought I was going to miss you entirely.”

“Just overnight,” Sawyer told him. “How long are you here?”

Chip was in college to be a veterinarian. At least that was what he was training for. Everyone said his plans were to come back and take over the ranch, as well as open a practice on the property. Eventually his mama and Claude would retire to travel, and Chip would run the entire place.

“Just a week. I had my midterms, and then they gave us a break before we finish the semester. They don’t usually, but there’s some big gathering of the professors going on, so they adjusted the term.”

“I met your brother and his….” Sawyer never knew the right term to use, so he let his voice trail off.

“Husband. Alan and George got married a few years ago.” He turned toward the house. “They said they were going out for a ride.” He snickered softly.

“They stopped by where I was working before heading on north.” He pulled down the tailgate and began unloading the fence supplies. Chip grabbed a wheel of wire, and they walked to the supply barn together.

“Yeah. That’s their favorite spot. They always go out there, and when they come back, they have these huge, dopey smiles.

” Chip set the wire where it belonged, and Sawyer put the extra posts with the others.

He sighed. “They brought a friend with them from England. The last time they did that, it was Collin, and he was really cool. But I’m not so sure about this guy. ”

They returned to the truck for the last of the tools and supplies before Sawyer pushed the tailgate back into place.

“Okay.” He had never met this Collin and Tank, though he knew the Justice ranch now included what had once been Tank’s place.

It was a little confusing to him, but he tried to keep it all straight. “Why not?”

“You met George, right? He’s a duke and a really good guy.

Got more money than God, but not snooty or nothing.

And Collin was really cool. He’s a viscount and has an estate in England that he and Tank are running.

When he was here, he mucked stalls and helped with the steers and everything.

I’m the godfather to their son, Archie. They just adopted him a few months ago.

” He leaned against the truck. “This guy they brought is an earl or something, and he’s…

.” Chip shrugged in that happy way he had.

“I don’t know. Maybe the guy is just grumpy because of jet lag.

Ain’t sure. But when Mama offered him coffee, he asked for tea, and not just any tea, but lightly steeped Darjeeling with just a hint of milk.

” He shook his head. “What the fuck is that? Ain’t nobody drinking tea on a ranch. ”

“Don’t much care what a man drinks,” Sawyer said flatly. Chip liked to talk, and Sawyer was fine with listening. He never passed on what he heard, and sometimes Chip just needed someone to tell stuff to.

“I suppose not,” Chip agreed, deflating slightly.

“Where is he now?”

“Last I saw he was still in bed. But it’s only nine in the morning, and the guy is really green. Like I swear he ain’t done a real day’s work in his life.”

“Not likely to even if he’s here.”