Summer Days. Сьюзен Мэллери

stupid.

      “Is the fence line like this everywhere?” he asked, pointing to the broken or missing posts, the downed line.

      “Some of it is in better shape, but only for small sections. What was it like when you lived here before?” she asked before she could stop herself.

      “Things were in better shape. Old man Castle might have paid his employees shit, but he cared about the ranch.”

      She heard a trace of bitterness in his voice, and knew he had cause to resent what his family had gone through. But she still had trouble reconciling the vision of a hungry little boy with the successful man riding next to her.

      “He kept a lot of cattle,” she said, watching the dark, moving shapes in the distance. “They’re everywhere and very wild.”

      Rafe glanced at her. “Wild?”

      “You know. Feral.”

      He laughed again. “Been attacked by a few feral cows, have you?”

      “No, but I stay clear of them. They make trouble with the goats. I swear, they come in the night and show Athena how to break out.”

      “You’re giving them way more credit than they deserve.”

      “I don’t think so.” While he was in such a good mood, even if it was at her expense, she risked a potentially dangerous question. “What does your mom want to do with the ranch?”

      “I have no idea. I’d say restore it to its former glory, but it never had much of any. She has an emotional connection to this place. She wants to make it…better. She’s talking about fence lines and fixing up the barn.”

      “Does she want to run cattle?”

      “I don’t think so.”

      “You could ask.”

      “Then I’d know, and with my mother, that’s not always a good thing.”

      “Not knowing is the reason you’re here now. How come you signed the contract?”

      He shook his head. “A few years ago, one of my mom’s friends died unexpectedly. Her affairs weren’t in order and that made a mess for her kids. My mother decided that wasn’t going to happen and made sure she was fully prepared for her eventual passing.”