Hank turned a hopeful look on Stan Keller, his foreman and longtime friend.
Stan shook his head. All I can cook is canned beans and weenies. Care to eat that three times a day, seven days a week? I like Ms. Rachels cookin. I like it enough Id consider quittinif she was to up and leave.
Hanks brows rose high on his forehead. You wont leave me. Youre practically family.
Sos Ms. Rachel, Stan replied.
Hank snorted and stared around at the set faces. Overruled on my on property. I dont like it. He pounded the arm of the recliner with his palm. Morgans dont belong on the Flying W.
Says who? Jennie asked. Whatevers stuck in your craw better just get unstuck. Hes staying.
WITH ONE HURDLE CROSSED, Cameron headed to the small town of Dry Wash to inform the sheriff of the attempts on the Wards lives. After the sheriff promised to make a trek out to the Flying W for further information, Cameron left for the Bar M Ranch to warn his family of the trouble headed their way. Frankly, he didnt expect any warmer welcome from some of his relatives than hed got from Hank Ward.
When he pulled into the yard and parked, a young woman with auburn hair and bright green eyes flew off the porch and attacked him before he could shut his truck door. Whoa, wait a minute there, Molly.
Cameron! She hugged him around the middle so hard he could barely breathe. I cant believe its you. Let me look at you. She leaned back, her arms still around his waist, tears shimmering in her eyes. Youre back and you look great.
Hey, carrot. He ruffled his sisters hair and set her away. Let me get a look at you. Whats it beentwo years?
Make that three. Molly tossed her bright auburn hair, her green eyes flashing.
Cameron marveled at how much she looked like their mother. Happy and sweetthe spitting image of Emma Morgan.
Last time I saw you was at my high school graduation. Her gaze was accusing, tempered by her ready smile.
Arent you supposed to be at college?
I finished my last exam two days ago. I couldnt wait to come home, Ive been so homesick.
Cameron knew that feeling. Denvers not that far, knucklehead. He rubbed the top of her head as hed done when she was no taller then his belt buckle. Now, she stood up to his chin at five feet ten. No longer a gangly teen, shed filled out in all the right places. Hey, when did you grow up?
She punched him in the belly and then raised the same hand to straighten her hair. A long time ago, doofus. Come on, I know Mom will be over the moon to see you. She hooked her arm around his waist and led him up the steps and through the front door of the two-story stone-and-cedar ranch house.
How many times had he hopped up those same steps two at a time growing up on the Bar M Ranch? Back then, he didnt have a care in the world, never thinking past dinner or riding his favorite horse the next day. His chest tightened. Hed missed home.
Then why the heck had he stayed away so long?
Hey, brother. The sound of his older brothers voice reminded him of the reason why. Logan Morgan stepped through the door leading to the kitchen. Instead of the hug Molly had given him, Logan held out his hand. Been a while.
Cameron grasped his brothers hand and shook, his grip strong. A measure of a mans worth, his father would say. Molly was just reminding me how long. Where had the easy camaraderie theyd shared in their youth gone? For over a decade, Logan had been cold and distant to him. Ever since hed started seeing Jennie Ward. He might as well have committed treason or murder by the way Logan and his father treated him.
If not for his mother and Molly, Cameron wouldnt have returned to the Bar M. Though he loved the land and enjoyed working with his hands, hed been a stranger in his own home, ostracized for his association with the Ward girl, as they loved to call her. Even after hed left to join the army and Jennie had refused to leave with him, his father and brother hadnt forgiven him or welcomed him back into the fold. Old wounds only seemed to fester and grow deeper.
What brings you home? Logan dropped his hand and hooked a thumb in his belt loop.
Do I have to have a reason other than to see my family? Cameron asked.
Usually. Mollys graduation and Moms surgery were the only times youve been home over the past five years. Were all healthy here and Molly doesnt graduate college for another year or more. Logans brows rose over deep brown eyes. Where Molly favored their mother, Logan was a mirror image of their father in looks and attitude.
Cameron fell in the middle. Black hair like his father, green eyes like his mother and somewhere in the center between the rigid views of Tom Morgan and the full-time mediator who was Emma Morgan. He was saved from an answer by a whirlwind of denim and chambray.
Cam, honey! I cant believe its you. Emma Morgan strode into the room, her Dingo-booted feet tapping against the hardwood floors. The dust in her hair made it hard to determine how much was dust and how much of her auburn curls had turned gray. Without hesitation, she pulled him into her arms and hugged him close. God, I missed you. She held on for longer than usual until Logan cleared his throat, ending the touching reunion.
Cameron could have gone on a lot longer hugging his mother. Until shed come through the door, he hadnt realized how much hed missed her smile and her down-to-earth ways. What you saw was what you got with Emma Morgan. She didnt have a secretive, mean or tricky bone in her body. Molly was just like her and he loved them both all the more. Hi, Mom. I missed you, too.
When she pulled away, a tear made a trail down the dust on her cheeks. Reaching up she brushed it away. Now see there, youll have me bawling like a newborn calf if you dont watch out.
Fighting the lump lodged in his throat, Cameron smiled. Maybe Ill join you.
While you two are crying, I have horses to tend. Logan left without looking back.
Emmas gaze followed him. I dont understand that boy.
Her boy was all of thirty and then some.
He needs to fall in love or something to take the edge off, Molly said.
Wish he would. Might bring him down a peg or two to meet his match in a female. Emmas attention returned to Cameron, her smile returning with it. Its good to have you home, son.
Its good to be back. Despite the bad feelings between him and the male members of his family, Cameron really was glad to be back in the mountains. What have you been up to? He stood back and stared down at her dusty jeans.
His mother laughed. I was lunging a new filly I think will make a good mount for Molly. Logans set to break her next week. Emma Morgan didnt apologize for her appearance and Cameron didnt expect her to. From the time she could walk shed been riding horses. Having children or a husband didnt slow her down for a minute. In this respect, Molly was slightly different. Although an accomplished barrel racer, Molly wasnt as passionate about riding horses as her mother, preferring to go to college and learn more about what goes into making a good healthy horse.
Did Molly tell you she made Deans List again? his mother asked.
Cameron clapped a hand to his sisters back. So, does that make every semester so far?