Searching For Love (Contemporary Cowboy Romance) (Carson Hill Ranch series: Book 2) Read Free Page B

more 21 st century items that helped guarantee the drive went off with as little disruption and risk as possible. A satellite phone stood up on the table and its green power LED shone, connecting the middle son, Anders, to the meeting from his place back home in the ranch office.
    “I don’t see any reason why we can’t just add two or three miles a day to the trip and cut out a whole day of the drive,” one of the foreman, Dwayne, argued again, pointing to the different spots past each waypoint that would still have plenty of water and access for the vehicles to meet up with the group. “We’ve never had weather this good, and we’re making really great time. We can press on and pick up the pace now.”
    Even though they were twins, Casey had always held the unofficial position as the oldest Carson boy, the oldest brother, and by rights, that made him more of Bernard’s second-in-command. So when everyone looked at Carey, he fought the urge to look over his shoulder for Casey. When he realized that his brother’s absence meant he was now a louder voice in the decisions that had to be made, it was both exciting and a little bit unnerving as everyone looked at him for input.
    “Well,” he began, clearing his throat. “ If we walk the cattle more than thirty miles a day, we’re going to have some awfully skinny cows to sell when we finally arrive in Missouri. These are animals whose whole lives have been spent just standing around, eating grass all day. If we push ‘em too hard, we’re liable to lose a lot of their numbers.
    “Plus, we have the city people to think about. They paid to come out here for a full drive, and we provided a detailed itinerary so that they could check in with family and friends back home at each of the designated spots. They even get to take that day trip once we reach the state line, remember?”
    “Is this a vacation, or a cattle drive?” Dwayne demanded, a tone of disgust creeping into his voice. Bernard watched Carey’s face silently to see how he would handle both the second-guessing and the mild impertinence from one of their employees.
    “It’s both,” Carey said in a stern, level voice, looking Dwayne directly in the eye.
    “Our ranch’s income comes from the sale of the cattle, but also from the tourists who come along each time. We have an obligation to get those cows there in one piece and in good shape, but we also owe it to the people who sent in their checks to take part in it. If we didn’t want those people along on ‘vacation’, then we shouldn’t have invited them.” Carey let his words sink in and paused to let Dwayne remember that he was talking to one of the future owners of Carson Hill Ranch. Then, he relaxed his expression and lowered his voice to a conversational tone.
    “We can’t go changing it up now, not when they’ve paid good money to take part in this drive. We’re just gonna have to leave the plans like they are, and count our blessings that the weather has cooperated enough to give us a nice leisurely walk. Besides, it’ll give us some extra cushion in case we have any delays and do have to speed up later on.”
    Everyone nodded in agreement, even Dwayne, and the fluttering feeling in the pit of Carey’s stomach died down some. He’d never been the one to speak out and help make the decisions, because he’d always been happy to let Casey take the lead and to support whatever his brother thought up. Now, he sensed the very real loss of his twin and felt alone for the first time since Carey drove away with Miranda. It stung to suddenly find himself out on his own a little, and he couldn’t wait for this drive to be over and to head back to the ranch, where they could all be the Carson boys again.
    The meeting broke up and the small group descended the steps of the RV to join the other hands and cowboys as they ate their lunch. After getting his plate from the kitchen truck, still affectionately called the chuck wagon as a throwback to