did. A flick of her hand, just trailing for an instant across his shoulder. Now, what the hell did that mean? I might have walked after her to ask but my balls hurt too much.
Ray came by. âNeed anything?â
âIbuprofen and two weeks off.â
âI can get the pills,â Ray said, âbut youâll have to ask mom about the time.â
A couple of hours later, when all the cows and calves were happily reunited and released to pasture, I lounged at the picnic table, gone to beer and ibuprofen with the prospect of a g&t later on. Jeanette was touring Pick, Laura, and Tanya through the barn. Edith had left in her pickup, and Aaron and Flora had finished their catering chores, cleaned up, and likewise departed. Amelia had also left with her dad, leaving Ray so depressed he was changing the oil on his motherâs tractor even though it didnât need it. Cade Morgan was still around, for no good reason that I could discern, although he was entertaining Jeanetteâs bum calf, reaching in its stall and allowing it to chew on his fingers. This surprised me. I would have thought him more squeamish than that. He gave the calf a pat on its head, then nonchalantly strolled in my direction, got a beer out of the cooler, and sat down at the table across from me. He took off his fancy straw hat, wiped his brow with his shirt sleeve, and said, âI learned a lot today. Maybe Iâll get me some cattle yet.â
âAround here, Cade, we say cows, not cattle,â I instructed, adding, âRed angus. Theyâre small, theyâre docile, and they market well.â
âIâll try to remember that,â he said. âOr maybe I could just hire you to buy them for me.â
âSorry. I already have a job.â
âWorking for peanuts for Jeanette and living in a rented trailer without a telephone?â
âOr a computer or the Internet,â I added. âBut I do have a refrigerator and a microwave.â
âAnd probably a lot of good books,â he said.
âYes. A lot of good books. Itâs all a man really needs.â
âSome men.â He took a long swig of beer. âMe, I need my comforts.â
This comment from the Californian kind of interested me. âThen what the hell are you doing at the end of Ranchers Road?â
He smiled. âI have a nice place.â
âYeah, but itâs not the Ponderosa.â
âClose enough.â
There was a burr under my saddle that I didnât even know was there until it came out. âWhatâs between you and the mayor?â
Cade smiled. âWhat do you mean?â
âSheâs not as strong as she makes out to be, Cade.â
âI donât know what youâre talking about.â
âYes, you do. I was there, where you are now.â
This made Cade think and I could tell he didnât like what he was thinking. Finally, he said, âWhat I like about Montana, Mike, is we all mind our own business.â
He had me there. I guess we had run out of things to say because for the next few minutes, we both just sat there, drinking our beers. Then Jeanette, Pick, Laura, and Tanya, finished with their tour of the barn, trooped up to the table. Jeanette threw open the cooler and handed out more beer. âWhen do you think youâll start digging up your dinosaur?â Cade asked Pick after theyâd all settled down at the picnic table beside us.
Laura said, âWeâve already begun.
âMind if I come watch?â Cade asked.
âI donât think thatâs a good idea,â Pick replied. âItâs best to minimize the number of people around a dig. You could contaminate it.â
âToo bad,â Cade said.
âWell,â Tanya said, âitâs just a lot of dirt, anyway.â
Cade nodded, retrieved the keys of his Mercedes from his hip pocket, and stood up. Even though there was a trash can only a few feet away, he left the
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