When All My Dreams Come True Read Free Page B

me as a colt for my fifteenth birthday.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “We’ve spent a great deal of time together. We’re very close.”
    Jace’s irritation melted away. She looked and sounded like a 15-year-old girl with her arms folded protectively around her middle. Her gaze fell to the ground.
    “I see. Well, you can be sure I won’t try to ride him again.” He smiled. “He threw me down harder than that black in there.”
    Activity at the corral suddenly sent her speeding past him. Jace turned in time to see Adam, his newest ranch hand and owner of the lathered horse he’d borrowed, raise a fist high into the air, a whip held tight in his grip. The end of the whip came down across the chest of Bobbie’s horse with a
thwack
. The gelding reared and screamed, and his ears lay flat against his head.
    Bobbie yanked out her sidearm and trained the barrel on Adam’s face. “You whip my horse again and you’ll draw your last breath. Do you understand?”
    Jace walked between the two and grabbed the barrel of Bobbie’s gun. “Let me have the gun, Bobbie.”
    She tore her gaze from Adam and looked at Jace. She released her hold, hand trembling, and strode to her horse.
    “Give me the whip, Adam,” Jace said.
    The young man thumped his hat back with his knuckles. “That horse nipped at me, Jace. I only wanted to touch him, and he tried to take off my fingers.”
    Jace held out his hand. “I said give me that whip.”
    “You’re not being fair.”
    “I told you when I hired you never to whip an animal on my place.”
    “But I was defending myself!”
    Jace’s temper ignited. Disobedience and disrespect were two thingshis father never tolerated. Adam was a kid. How many times had Dad taken on a roughneck kid and trained him to be an honorable man? Jace asked him once why he didn’t fire the troublemakers.
“You may not consider ranchin’ a ministry, son, but it’s a way of life, and our lives are to be a ministry.”
    Jace’s anger died at the memory. “I’d like you to stay and work for me, young man, but if you don’t turn over that whip, I’ll have to ask you to leave.”
    Adam hesitated and his cheeks flushed red, but he slapped the whip into Jace’s palm. He cast a resentful glance in Bobbie’s direction. “Ain’t no good can come of having a woman on this place. Any fool—” Adam clamped his mouth shut, but his hands curled into fists.
    “You won’t get this whip back until you’re no longer in my employ. Understood?”
    Adam jammed his hands into his pockets. “Yes, sir.”
    “Good.” Jace turned to leave until he remembered the sweaty horse. He swung back around. “Where’ve you been, Adam?”
    The boy’s eyes widened. “What do you mean? I ain’t been nowhere.”
    “Then why is your horse lathered?”
    “It—he—” Adam tugged at his shirt front. “I took a ride into town.”
    “I told you to stay here.” Jace studied him with growing distrust. “Why’d you leave?”
    Eyes to the ground, Adam shrugged. “I went to see a girl.”
    Jace clenched his jaw and waited for the good Lord to get hold of his tongue. “A girl?”
    With another shrug, Adam raised his chin in a show of bravado. “Yes, sir.”
    Jace drew a long breath. “This girl must be something for you to risk losing your job.”
    Adam’s head jerked up. “What? You’re going to fire me?”
    “Not this time. But disobey my orders again, and you’ll be looking for work elsewhere. Got it?”
    Nostrils flaring, Adam nodded. “Yes, sir.”
    “Good.” Jace looked around at the other ranch hands. “All right, men, finish your work and call it a day.”
    “Yes, sir.” They disbanded, but Adam turned back and speared him with his eyes before continuing on his way.
    Just like Coop
, Jace thought. Coop hadn’t been happy when Jace decided to name his friend Dew as foreman after Jace’s father died. Coop thought the position belonged to him since he’d been on the ranch the longest. Maybe the old