The Rancher's Secret Son
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For him, it’d been a matter of history repeating itself.
He slammed the truck door shut just as Brady rode up the drive on his favorite horse, Nugget. Oh, man, Brady would have a time of it hearing Emma was back in town. After all the teasing he’d doled out to Brady a few years ago about his wife, Caley, when they were dating, Max would be in for an earful. He’d wait a bit, make sure the timing was right before telling him—and make sure Cody wasn’t nearby. The last thing the kid needed was to discover his temporary guardian had a history with his mom.
This was getting a little more complicated than he’d realized. No wonder Emma had been so hesitant to take the job. Still, it had to be done.
A quick glance confirmed the ranch was quiet, the barn not yet teeming with the afternoon activities. He probably only had a few minutes before the counselors rounded up the teens and brought them out.
Max squinted up at Brady against the afternoon sun, grinning as Nugget stomped and snorted beneath his friend. “Cut it out, Nugget. You’re not so tough.” He reached up and rubbed the horse under his mane. “I’ve seen you run away from a bull.”
Brady swung easily from the saddle, the leather creaking beneath his displaced weight. “Yeah, I saw it a little too closely. From the ground up.”
“Not that you’re holding a grudge against me for being gone that time Spitfire got out or anything.” He crossed his arms and attempted a stern expression, but it was hard not to laugh at the story that never got old—Brady being chased across his pasture by an ornery bull who’d escaped his pen a few years ago.
“Actually, no. Not bitter at all.” Brady gathered Nugget’s reins over his head and looped them in his fist. “That was one of the things that brought me and Caley together.”
Max grinned. “Then you’re welcome.”
Brady shoved Max’s shoulder, and he laughed as they led Nugget toward the barn. “What brings you by, besides boasting about your marital bliss?”
“Not boasting. Just appreciating.” Brady tugged at Nugget’s reins to prevent him from nibbling the grass near the red structure. “Though I do hate to admit when you’re right.”
“Get used to it, pal.” Despite all his teasing along the way, Max had encouraged Brady, a former widower, to act on his feelings toward Caley when she’d worked as his daughter’s nanny. “Caley still volunteering at the fire department?”
Brady nodded. “Only when they get overworked, or when there’s a big fire.”
“So only during the times it would make you the most nervous.”
His friend rolled his eyes with a groan. “Pretty much. But it’s working out. She’s good at what she does.”
“No doubt.” Max looked again toward the dorms, halfway eager to tell Brady what had transpired in the past two days, and halfway dreading it. Though he’d never met her, Brady knew the whole story about Emma—the whirlwind relationship, the way Max fell faster than a steer during a team roping competition. Her desertion. If anyone would “get it,” it’d be his friend.
But admitting he was still so affected by her didn’t come naturally.
“I actually came to borrow your wire puller.” Brady gestured toward the general direction of his property. “Have a fence to repair and Ava broke mine last time I let her help.” He cut his eyes at Max. “And trust me, I say help lightly.”
Max snorted. But Brady was letting his young teen daughter, who he’d kept on a tight leash since her mother’s death years ago, spread her wings on the ranch, and for Brady, that was huge. Another hats off to Caley there. “Sure, no problem. It’s in the barn.” Finding the puller would give him more time to decide how to break the news of Emma’s return—and that she had a son—to his friend.
And time to figure out how to say it in a way that wouldn’t put Brady on the alert to Max’s not-so-dormant feelings for her.
Brady tied Nugget’s reins to the hitching post and Max led the way inside, blinking to adjust his eyes to the dimmer light. He opened the supply room door. “Here it is.” The wire puller lay on the top shelf, just where it should be. He never imagined in his years of working for Brady that one day he’d have his own spread—and that it would be organized, no less.
“Top shelf. I trained you well.” Brady helped himself to the tool and stepped back, grinning as he shut the door. “Seriously man, this is awesome what you’ve got going here. As much as I hated to lose your help at the Double C, you’ve done well.”
“You gonna need a tissue?” Max joked, but the compliment sank in deep. Praise from Brady always meant a lot. They’d seen each other through some rough times.
Hopefully that wasn’t an omen of what was coming along with Emma.
Brady clapped his shoulder as he passed him in the aisle. “Maybe marriage made me a little soft, but whatever. I still recommend it.”
“I hear you.” They walked in silence back toward Nugget. Max was running out of time to talk before the teens descended on the barn. It was now or never. He drew a deep breath, fighting to keep his voice casual. “So, turns out Nicole went into labor a little early. Guess who’s filling in with the female campers?” Not that Brady could ever actually guess.
“Someone from church?” Brady turned at Nugget’s side and handed Max the wire puller so he could mount.
“Not exactly.” He hesitated. “Someone who recently came back to town.”
Brady’s brows lifted. “I’d guess one of your exes, but there’s too many to keep up with all their geographical locations.”
Max passed the puller to Brady in the saddle. “Ha-ha-ha, very funny.” Yet true. So what if Max had dated a lot—or more than a lot—back in the day? Including the local veterinarian, which hadn’t gone over well with Brady when Max had been in his employ. It didn’t matter—he wasn’t like that now, despite his former reputation. Besides, all those women had just proved one fact to him over and over again.