The Traveling Kind Read Free

front of the house.
    “Our facilities don’t stretch to include a bunkhouse,” she explained to Shad Russell. “There is a spare bedroom in the house you can use.”
    A mongrel cow dog trotted out from the shade of the house to greet her. The sight of the stranger climbing out of the cab of the truck changed the dog’s pace to a stiff-legged walk. The mongrel sniffed suspiciously at his legs but a low word from Shad started its tail wagging and a panting grin opened its mouth. Charley observed the dog’s acceptance of the new hired hand without comment and waited at the porch steps for him to join her.
    Leaving the saddle in the back of the truck for the time being, Shad lifted out his duffel bag and started toward the house. There was no hurry in his long stride as his gaze made a slow study of the ranch and its buildings. When his eyes stopped on her they held the glint of approval. The curve of her mouth softened under its light.
    “It looks like you and your brother have a sound, well-run operation here,” he observed.
    False modesty didn’t come naturally to her so she admitted, “We like to think so.” She turned to climb the steps. “Come in and meet my brother and I’ll show you where to put your things.”
    He followed her up the steps and across the porch floor, his footsteps an echo of her own. She pulled open the screen door and entered the front room with Shad behind her. The loud thumping of crutches sounded from the solitary downstairs bedroom.
    “Is that you, Charley?” Her brother’s voice called impatiently as the steady thud of the crutches moved closer to the front room. She opened her mouth to make an affirmative answer but he spoke again before she had a chance. “Damn it all! Where have you been all this time? You said you’d only be gone a couple of hours!”
    “It took longer than I thought,” Charley replied and would have said more but her brother appeared in the archway of the hall leading off the front room. When she saw him she didn’t know whether to be embarrassed or laugh at his predicament. A bulky plaster cast encased the whole of his right leg. His chambray shirt was half buttoned, the tails hanging free but not concealing the jockey shorts he was wearing. A pair of jeans was trapped in a hand gripping the crutch of his left side. Her brother stopped short at the sight of the stranger beside Charley, a dull red creeping up his neck.
    “Meet our new hired hand, Gary.” She just barely managed to contain the smile that was playing with the corners of her mouth. “This is Shad Russell. And the half-naked man with the broken leg is my brother, Gary Collins.” As she half-turned toward Shad Russell she caught the glint of humor that was quickly veiled.
    There wasn’t any way for her brother to gracefully get out of his embarrassing situation so he chose to ignore it. 44Russell,” he repeated the name in a searching way. “Are you from around here?” he frowned at his inability to place the name.
    “No,” Shad replied and volunteered no more information than that.
    “Why don’t you follow me, Shad?” Charley suggested, moving toward the staircase. “I’ll show you where you’ll be bunking.”
    “Good idea.” His lazy blue gaze slid from her brother to her, aware that she was rescuing her brother from an awkward situation.
    The door to the stairwell stood open. Charley preceded him up the steps and paused in the hallway of the second floor. When he stood beside her, there didn’t seem to be as much room as she remembered. It took her a second to realize that she was feeling the effect of his nearness, the breadth of his shoulders and the towering leanness of his height. She opened the door fronting the staircase.
    “This is the bathroom.” She unnecessarily identified the room, then pointed to the door below the washbasin. “The towels and washcloths are kept in there.” She saw his gaze light on the bottles of makeup and lotions on the surrounding