Page 109 of The Mountain Echoes

We’re rebalancing trailer loads for weight and temperament, making sure no one ends up penned beside a kicker or a bull-headed steer.

We’ve been running mock load-ups every evening, guiding the skittish ones through the chute, slow and steady, so they don’t panic come auction day.

I’ve even been using a Bluetooth speaker to pipe in stockyard noise—buzzers, voices, metal gates—so they get desensitized to the chaos.

It’s backbreaking, dusty work.

I end each day soaked in sweat and grime, but I’ve never felt sharper. Never more like a rancher. Never more like I belong.

Two days before the auction, I’m covered in dust when a bright red SUV, looking completely out of place on the dusty ranch road, stops in front of the house.

A stranger, a woman, walks out.

She’s dressed in what I’d call cowboy chic, but it’s still functional. Jeans tucked into polished boots, caramel-blonde hair twisted up in a clip, oversized sunglasses perched on her head.

Her eyes give her away.

She’s got Maverick’s blue eyes.

I’m not sure what she’s doing here. Is she going to ask me to back off her brother? When it comes to sisters, I have little faith.

I walk up, brushing hay off my sleeves. “Can I help you?”

She smiles, tilting her head. “You must be Aria.”

“Yes.”

She flings herself at me and hugs me.

To say I'm shocked would be an understatement

“I’m Joy. Mav’s been talking about you, but he won’t let me meet you—keeps saying you’re busy with the auction. So I said, ‘The hell with it.I’ve got to come see the woman who’s got my brother all tangled up in himself.’”

She has a unique New Yorker meets Texan rancher accent.

“Girl, where have you been!” Earl sounds almost cheerful as he pulls Joy away from me and embraces her.

Earl? Cheerful? Seriously?

“Mr. E., you smell like cow shit.” Joy wrinkles her nose and plants a kiss on Earl’s weathered cheek.

Tomas is staring at Joy like he’s in the presence of an angel from heaven. The boy has a crush. It’s sweet.

Then Joy hugs Nadine and Vera. They all know her.She knows all of them. I don’t know what the fuck she’s doing here. Either way, I don’t have the time for this.

“Ah…Joy…how can I help you?” I can’t keep the tightness out of my voice.

Her eyes are bright with curiosity, not judgment. “I came to see you for myself.”

“Well,” I say, half-laughing, “I hope I live up to the hype.”

“You do.” I can’t tell if she’s teasing or serious. “I’d love for you to come to dinner tonight. Nothing fancy. Just me, maybe Mav if he shows, a bottle of wine, something grilled. You game?”

I blink. “Tonight?”

“Sure.” She shrugs. “I figure it’s time we got to know each other.” She turns to the others. “Mr. E, Nadine, Vera, Tomas…and I think you got a new guy? You’re all invited.”

They all look at me and then smile slyly. This is not gonna be good.