“We’re doing the drive,” Gavin said in a tone that said his mind was made up.
Brenne held back a sigh. He’d gotten it into his head to take part in the transfer of cattle to one of the pastures they used in winter after Evan had mentioned it casually a couple of days ago. He’d been fishing in the lake when they’d ridden by and reminded Brenne that all of the brothers save Mark, who was still in college, would be in the fields that day.
It wasn’t much of a cattle drive because they were only moving cows a fairly short distance on their own land, which was why Brenne had finally given in when Gavin kept pestering her to let him join in. Normally, she would have said he was much too inexperienced, but it was only a day in the saddle and her brothers and the ranch hands would take care of the hard work. They’d ride behind the herd to make sure no cattle fell behind.
“Let’s pick up the pace. My brothers will give us hell if we make them wait.” She was already dreading their reactions. She’d made it clear around the dinner table last night that Gavin was coming along and everyone would be nice to him. Mama May had laid down the law on her side, and most of her brothers seemed cowed, but she knew Jameson wasn’t thrilled to have what he called “Public Enemy Number One Billion” along for the ride.
“He shouldn’t be on the ranch at all,” Jameson had said after dinner, when a loose handful of MacAllen siblings had gathered in the bunkhouse. “Now you want us to take him along like some tourist when we have real work to do.”
Jack had affected the same angry tone but couldn’t help infusing a little humor into his words. “Come on, sis. You know there’s nothing worse than a P.E.N.O.B. getting in everyone’s way.”
Her oldest brother had glared at Jack, clearly not liking the abbreviation he’d chosen for Jameson’s own nickname for Gavin. But Evan thought it was a grand choice. “It’s true. Once you throw a penob in the mix, you’re in for all sorts of trouble. I heard Rick Callahan had to have his penob removed because it got infected.”
Brenne hid a laugh behind her hand, but Jameson wasn’t pleased. “Enough with the damn penobs!”
“That’s what she said,” Jack added, and Evan snorted, grabbing his belly and letting out a loud burst of laughter.
Brenne had put her arm around her older brother and tried to keep her tone serious. “A wise man once said something about keeping your enemies close. What’s closer than the ranch? Gavin just wants to see how things are done. He’s got the curiosity of a man who’s sat in front of a computer his whole life. Can you blame him for wanting to see how the real world actually functions?”
Jameson hadn’t answered, but he also dropped his outright refusal to allow Gavin to come along the next day. Now they were riding toward the pasture where about three hundred heifers and their calves were waiting to be moved to new grazing land. Although she hadn’t expected Gavin to ask to take part in the drive, that wasn’t the most surprising thing to have happened.
Brenne was more shocked that she enjoyed spending time with Gavin Jeffries at all. They seemed to get along well with one another. He appreciated her “folksy demeanor” and “passionate free expression,” which she supposed included the unladylike burps followed by girlish giggles that he seemed to find charming. She figured he was used to other fancy people kissing his butt. Brenne was something different, and people often found different appealing, at least in the short run.
Gavin himself was also charming in a way she hadn’t foreseen. He threw his entire concentration into anything he chose to do, learning everything he could about it and analyzing it with a cool detachment that reminded her of a robot. He’d obsessed over the poultry house until he heard about the drive, and since then, he hadn’t shut up about it.
“Did you know that on cattle drives before the extension of the railroads, ranchers often spent over two months on a cattle drive?”
“Yes, Gavin, I did,” she replied patiently. He must have forgotten that the MacAllens were here before the rail lines reached this area.
“And did you know that not only could they face hostile Native American bands while they were on a cattle drive, but they also had to worry about cattle rustlers? In fact, some ranchers employed range detectives to catch rustlers. These hired guns would recover stolen cattle if possible and mete out frontier justice.”
“How did you learn all this?” she asked, impressed. “You only found out about the drive two days ago.”
Gavin shrugged. “I wanted to find out what I could before we started.”
“Well, I can guarantee you won’t find today’s drive anything like those old West cattle drives you’ve been reading about. It’s going to be pretty boring. A lot of cows moving slowly and trying to wander off is the best you can hope for. And that they don’t smell too bad. Hopefully the wind will be blowing away from us today.”
They reached the pasture shortly after, and Brenne was surprised to see her father seated on the dapple gray Friesian named Stunner that Jameson had been working with for the past few months. “Hey, Dad,” she said, moving her horse beside his. “It’s good to see you on a drive again.”
Bill, a man of few words, gave her a grunt and a nod in reply. “Took your time getting here,” he said, then stuck two fingers into his mouth to whistle. His signal brought the rest of the riders over to gather in a loose circle around him. “Now that your sister and her new friend have graced us with their presences, we can get this show on the road. Jameson and Jim, you’re riding point.”
Brenne’s eyes shot to her eldest brother, who gave his father a nod. Jameson had been acting as trail boss since their father’s cancer diagnosis and through his illness. But it looked like the boss was back, and now big brother was stuck riding point. At least Jameson didn’t seem put out by the demotion. He, like Brenne, was likely pleased to see her father feeling well enough to take part in the drive.
“Elijah and Evan, you’re on flank duty. Jack and Johnnie, you’re riding drag with Ryan and Tucker. Brenne and friend, you’re swing.”
“I was hoping me and Gavin could take drag,” Brenne said in the sweet tone she used on her father when she wanted to get her way. She was afraid if they rode swing, Gavin would think they were too far away from the action.
“Fine,” her father grumbled. “Jack and Johnnie, you take swing.”
Johnnie shrugged, not caring what position he took, and Jack gave Brenne a look of pretend outrage, then winked. Brenne was relieved that Gavin’s presence wasn’t setting off the stir she’d thought it might.
Her relief was short-lived, however. Once the drive got moving, it was evident that some of the MacAllens considered Gavin persona non grata. She could feel Jameson’s eyes on her despite the distance between them, and Jim wasn’t much better. She chalked it up to the fact that Gavin was inexperienced, but Brenne knew that wasn’t the real reason. Her brothers considered him a threat, and MacAllens weren’t used to being civil when threatened.
“What are you doing?” she said when her attention swung back around to Gavin. He was stopped and leaning halfway out of the saddle, inspecting a small rock outcropping.