“No. But even if we had to tighten our belts, it’s no more than what you’ve done out of necessity. And since we’ve come clean with you, Celia, come clean with us.”

Shit. “About?”

“How much longer you would’ve been able to stay on the road,” Hank said.

“Not all season,” she confessed. “That’s why Kyle and I arranged to meet in Vegas during the expo. We talked about traveling together this season.”

“As husband and wife?” Abe asked sharply.

Celia looked Abe in the eye and lied. “Yes. Kyle and I had a change in our relationship a while back. We kept it under wraps for our own reasons. Then everything changed, practically overnight. So if we weren’t here running this ranch together, we’d be on the road together.”

“Fair enough.” Hank stood.

“We probably better get. I’m on diaper duty so Janie can try to rest up.”

She followed him back into the foyer. “So what do you do with Tyler while mama’s sleeping?”

Abe grinned. “Try to get him to sleep so I can nap too. Between calving season and havin’ a new baby, I’m exhausted.”

“That’s what Josh says. Kyle’s checking Josh’s herd so he can get a few hours of shut-eye. His wife has been sick, so he’s been on diaper duty too.”

“Mighty neighborly of Kyle to help out.”

“Josh’s gone above and beyond for us, so it’s the least we could do.”

Hank handed her a thick manila envelope. “Here’s everything you’ll need. We already put the money in your account. Next year there will be another deposit for the same amount. Then we’ll reevaluate.”

Like a quarter of a million dollars over the next year wasn’t enough.

“Thanks. I’d say something more poignant but I’m stunned. Seriously stunned.”

“Take care, sis.” Then they were gone.

Celia went into the office and sat at the desk. She spread the papers out.

She’d gone from having forty-one dollars and twelve cents in her checking account to having one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. She looked at the balance but it didn’t feel like it was real money.

And until they were through with calving it wasn’t like she could spend any of it anyway.

As long as she was by the computer, she transferred the information on the last few births from her notebook to the spreadsheet. She checked her e-mail.

But her gaze kept flicking to the papers on the desk.

Hadn’t we promised each other no secrets?

Yes. But this was different. Hank and Abe weren’t telling their spouses either, so it was more of a business decision. Still, guilt ate at her. She shoved the papers into the envelope and hid them in the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet.

Chapter Twenty-one

Kyle had just finished helping Josh fix a section of corral nearly leveled by an angry cow, when he saw Abe Lawson’s truck coming down the hill from his house.

He should’ve been happy that Celia’s brother was making an effort to keep in contact with her. But for some reason, Abe’s visit when Kyle wasn’t around pissed him off. He knew it was stupid and petty, but he couldn’t help his resentment.

His resentment increased when he had to hear from Josh, for the one millionth time, how freakin’ lucky he was to have Celia to show him the ranching ropes. Like he was a total dumb ass. Maybe he hadn’t been born to this lifestyle, but he’d been around it for years. And some of the stuff ranchers considered secret knowledge was just plain common sense. He didn’t appreciate being made to feel like the resident idiot.

When has your wife ever treated you like the resident idiot?

Never.

Wife. Right. That was just another issue weighing on him. He wasn’t responsible for the chapel’s licensing issues, but he was responsible for not telling her about the legal glitch when he’d discovered it. Confessing his reasons—hoping she’d fall in love with him for real—seemed like a lame excuse to keep her around as his ranch hand.

It’s more like you’re her ranch hand.

He’d been feeling that way for the better part of a week. Always looking to Celia for direction before performing a task. Always asking her questions before doing anything so he didn’t f**k it up.

Bottom line? Kyle needed to man up. He needed to be the master of his domain. He needed to figure out some of this shit on his own and not rely on her. ’Cause sure as hell, when she found out they weren’t really husband and wife? She’d be long gone. One thing that hadn’t changed about Celia—when she was upset, she ran.

As a kid she’d run off into the woods or by the creek.

As a teenager she’d raced off on her horse.

Now she just hopped in her truck and left.

Kyle remembered the night she’d run to him, a week after she’d broken up with Breck. In that moment he’d wanted to be the one man she always ran to. The one man she could count on. And he’d set out to become just that man.

“Kyle?”

He looked at Josh. “Sorry. What did you say?”

“I just asked if Celia had a brand preference for tubes.”

Kyle frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Ever had to tube-feed a calf? It happens when the calf is too weak to suck. Shove a tube into the esophagus and force-feed it until it can suck on its own. Some folks like stiffer tubes, some like the softer type.”