The Rancher's Second Chance (Martin's Crossing Book 3) by Brenda Minton Page A

“You got a letter from a rheumatologist. That doesn’t surprise me, but it would be nice to know what’s going on.”
    “Really? It sure surprised me.”
    Jake shifted and eased the truck through an open gate onto a dirt road that led to the field where they would load the cattle they were selling. “I think we all put two and two together. So you’ve been to the doctor.”
    “Yeah, I’ve been to a couple. I have rheumatoid arthritis. It isn’t the end of the world, and the medication they’ve got me on is helping.”
    “I’m glad to hear that,” Jake said as he pulled the truck around and backed the trailer to the gate. “Did they tell you what to expect?”
    “Pain, a lifetime of medication and hopefully bouts of remission. It’s all good.”
    “All good?” Jake asked, a brow shooting up as he asked.
    “Yeah, all good. I’m not going to let it knock me down, and I’m not going to get so bad that I can’t work with these kids. Like you always told me, I just need to put on my big-boy pants...”
    “And get over it.” Jake finished the sentence. “Brody, I was a kid back then, and I didn’t know what to say.”
    Brody opened the door to get out. “We were all kids doing the best we could. Don’t beat yourself up. You got me through the worst of it.”
    “We got each other through,” Jake replied. “About the riding camp, though.”
    “Jake, I’m going to do it. It isn’t something I came up with overnight. It was my plan in college. It was my plan while I was riding bulls. I’ve got a pretty good bundle of savings. I can buy horses and saddles, and I can keep building my herd. With or without you, I’m doing this.”
    “I’ll do what I can to help.” They were walking through the gate when Jake grinned, a sign that the heavy conversation was over. “So what about Grace?”
    “Grace is a lesson learned. I got over it. Got over her.”
    “I can’t imagine you wanting to get over her.”
    “Yeah, well, she isn’t interested. The night I was going to propose...”
    Jake cut him off with a choked sound. “You proposed?”
    “No, I was going to. But before I could she broke it off. Said she wasn’t ready for anything serious and she was sorry if she gave me the wrong idea. She just wanted to have fun before she went back to school. And the next week she was dating Lincoln, and I was heading home because I couldn’t ride until the surgeon cleared me. Which he never did.”
    “That’s pretty rough.”
    “No big deal. Let’s load these cattle.”
    They had penned the herd the night before. The Angus moved around the small enclosure. Jake’s attention refocused on the cattle.
    “Yeah, I guess we’d better get to work. But, Brody, if you need to talk...”
    Brody walked off, shaking his head. “Getting married has made you and Duke soft. You want to talk about things now. I can do without that.”
    Jake laughed. “Yeah, it’s a whole new world. But I can tell you, marriage has a lot to recommend it.”
    “I’ll keep that in mind. Now keep your focus on these cattle and we’ll get them off to market.”
    Jake opened the back of the trailer, still laughing. Brody had put up with sullen, moody brothers for most of his life. Now he had to put up with the opposite. He wasn’t sure which was worse.
    The cattle went in the trailer with few problems. Jake was latching the door when Brody’s phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and then took a few steps away from Jake, because he didn’t need his knowing looks or comments.
    “Oregon, what do you need?”
    “Brody, I’m leaving for work in a few minutes, but I wanted to see if you could come by and check on Grace. She isn’t feeling too great. I told her I think she needs to make a doctor’s appointment soon. Morning sickness is normal but she’s in her second trimester and it should be...”
    “Uh, okay, you can stop with the pregnancy talk. I don’t know anything about trimesters or morning sickness.”
    “No, you