“Who’s Austin?”
“He’s my brother. Well, foster brother. Daisy took us both in when we were kids and adopted us.”
“That’s amazing.”
“She’s amazing.”
I followed Jax through the barn. I looked up at the hay loft and wondered if Jax had ever taken a girl up there. Or was that just a movie thing? Actually, the thought of straw in certain places down south seemed dreadful.
We walked out the other side of the barn to another gated area where Austin was on a horse, and there was a calf in the area. He was another hot smoke show with jet black hair and muscles everywhere. The sight left me to ponder what the fuck they put in the Montana water to have hot dudes everywhere.
Austin was riding the horse, and the horse was in front of the calf, moving quickly, not letting the calf pass.
First off, I learned that very second how sexy a cowboy was. Were Austin and Jax modern day cowboys? They didn’t appear like what I’d always imagined a cowboy to be, but I knew if Zoey were there, she would’ve lost her loving mind seeing Austin up on that horse. No doubt, shirts and undies would’ve been flying everywhere.
“We train cattle horses. The best cattle horses and sell them all over the country.” Pride bubbled up in his voice.
“So, how many do you train a year? Is that what this ranch primarily does?”
I wanted to ask how my dad fit into all of this. His mother died when he was a baby and his father was an alcoholic, so his grandmother raised him. He grew up in in northern Montana, near Canada, and I wondered how he ended up here.
“We train about twenty-five horses a year.”
“So, you train them and then sell them?”
“Yes. We sell them for about twenty thousand a piece. We also have cattle and care for the land.”
Holy cow crap!
There was silence for a moment while I tried to think of a way to ask Jax about Montana and my dad without sounding like an idiot.
“So, how’d you learn to train horses?”
Looking me over, Jax leaned against the fence, seemingly hesitant to answer.
“Your dad, actually. He’s one of the best and recognized nationally.”
Something kicked in my stomach to realize I knew even less about him than I thought I did. How did he choose to move here, and how did he and Daisy end up together?
My dad had started to tell me in a random phone call when I was a senior in high school, but I didn’t want to hear anything about his new life. It physically hurt to think about it—the life after he left us. Mistake or no mistake, I knew almost nothing about his life then or now.
I looked at Jax, and our eyes locked. Maybe he read my mind or felt it somehow.
“Do you know anything about him? Since he’s been here?” He wasn’t being mean about it, and relief washed over me.
I shook my head no and felt a knot in my throat.
“He worked for a ranch a few miles away, trained horses, and ran the place. About that time, he and Daisy started seeing each other.”
I listened closely, not wanting to miss a word.
“Jim and Daisy fell for each other fast. It’s like they’re cut from the same cloth or something. Daisy had operated the ranch by herself for years. Don’t let the sweetness fool you. She’s all business when it comes to her ranch, land, and money.”
That was not what I’d expected. Bubbly Daisy was all business?
“My biological mom was a train wreck, and I ended up being placed with Daisy after she died.
I had no words.
