Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Mrs. Barnes had worried about his mom? “She is, but it’s more than being afraid of my stepdad. She’s sure if she doesn’t do what he says, she’ll go to hell.”
A long sigh came from Barnes’s chest, and kind green eyes pinned Jared. “I’m sure your stepfather’s said a lot about my lifestyle. I need to know if you’re afraid of me, son. I’m going to ask if you would like to stay here for a while, but I don’t want you to be afraid to say no. I’ll still help you, but I’ll find someone you feel more comfortable with.”
Now that he was standing in front of the man, he wasn’t afraid at all. He remembered how Jack Barnes would come to the little school room out at the resort his mom had worked at and play with the kids. He would take them all out to the stables and let them see the horses. “You’ve been kinder to me in five minutes than my stepfather was my whole life, Mr. Barnes. But taking me in could cause some trouble for you. If he knows you’re helping me, he’ll likely try to force me to come home.”
“Let me worry about that and you worry about the two women who are going to make you over.” Barnes shook his head. “They’ll probably try to force you into dress shoes.”
“Yeah, you should think this through, Grim,” Josh joked with a grin.
But he was tearing up. All of his life he’d looked over the fence separating his stepfather’s land from the Barnes-Fleetwood Ranch, and while his stepfather preached heavily against the family, the well-kept fence seemed like a barrier to a better life.
Suddenly he didn’t mind the nickname. Grim was what he was most of the time, what he felt when he’d looked over that fence and saw Jack Barnes and Sam Fleetwood riding across their land, laughing and joking with their ranch hands. What he felt when he saw Abigail hugging her kids like they were her whole world and he knew no one would hug him because affection spoiled a child.
His stepfather had always told him this world didn’t matter. This world was only a way to get to the next.
But everything good seemed to be across that fence, and now he’d been invited in.
“I could work.” He didn’t want the man to think he would be a layabout. “I’ve worked my stepfather’s ranch since I was a kid. I know what to do. I could be one of your hands.”
Barnes stepped up, clasping Grim’s shoulder. “You will, but only the way Josh works. Part time, and no cussing if you’re not working. At least not around Mrs. Barnes. You’ll go back to school with Josh and Olivia. I know this will be hard to believe, but I have been worried about you, son. Sam, too. We’ve talked more than once about what we would do if you came to us and needed help.”
“Why?” Such a simple question, but it was the whole world to him.
“Because we’ve needed help before,” Jack replied. “I’ve been in your shoes. I’ve had nowhere to go and no one to depend on. I’ve been hungry and scared, and I’ll be damned if I let another kid go through that alone. Like I said, you are welcome to stay here. Not as a worker. Not as a guest. If you want, this can be your home, or I’ll find you a place somewhere else if you want out of this town. If you want a fresh start, I’ll find a good place for you in Dallas or Austin.”
“I don’t think I ever got started here, Mr. Barnes.” Or rather he had and then he’d gotten off track. He’d been young, but he still remembered how it felt to be Josh’s best friend.
Was it wrong to want to see if they could be friends again? Would he be a burden to all of them?
Josh held out a hand. “I know this is going to sound weird to you, but I always knew somehow we would be friends again. Come on up to the house and we’ll get some real food into you.” He shook his head his father’s way. “What is wrong with you, old man? Tinned beef stew? No wonder you can’t keep ranch hands.”
Grim braced for Barnes to erupt. If he’d talked to his stepfather like that, it would have meant an immediate beating.
Instead, a grin broke over the man’s normally placid face. “Sure, son. You know I can’t get rid of them. We’re all old men now. I need some youth. I want to live up to my reputation and start running this place like Yellowstone.”
He didn’t know why Mr. Barnes would run his ranch like a national park, but as they joked, he felt himself relax.