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It took less time for him to coax Helo to his side, and he slipped the rope over his head. When he had both horses secured in the trailer, he turned to the two boys.
“Are y’all comin’ to the rodeo next weekend?”
The kids turned to their mother with pleading expressions. They were good, Joel admitted to himself. They could put the hurt on anyone.
“Can we?”
Joel saw the answer in April’s bleak face. That was why she was selling her horses early.
“We’ll see.”
“But, Mom,” Todd whined.
The woman tilted her head and her eyes narrowed.
Nothing else was said.
Joel pulled his truck around and headed out.
As he drove back to the rodeo, Joel’s heart ached. He understood the woman’s pride that she could take care of her own. He only wished there was something he could do to help.
* * *
Later that afternoon, Joel drove into the parking lot of the Caprock Feed & Seed store to pick up extra feed for the rodeo. On his way back from this feed run, he might stop by the Dairy Queen he’d spotted and have a chicken-fried steak burger.
Entering the store, Joel saw April talking to the clerk. He didn’t spot either of the boys, but Cora stood by her mother, holding April’s leg.
“So, Sully, what do you recommend I plant in the other fields, beside the hay for my own animals?”
He hadn’t noticed earlier how musical her voice sounded. Now he knew he’d be haunted by it when he laid his head down tonight.
“I know you don’t want to plant cotton like the majority of the farms around here, but you could try a field of wheat, soybeans or sorghum. Manufacturers want sweet sorghum for syrup,” the clerk said.
“Or you could try planting sunflowers.” The words popped out of Joel’s mouth before he thought.
April jerked and turned toward him. “Sunflowers?”
“Mr. Joel,” Todd yelled in excitement, darting out from behind a tall pile of sacks of feed.
Wes followed and hurried to Joel’s side. Cora made a beeline to him.
He picked her up and she patted him on the chest.
“Mr. Joel.”
Joel’s heart melted at the munchkin’s twinkling eyes. When he looked up, a frown wrinkled April’s brow. Was her expression from him holding Cora or the advice he’d given?
“Sunflowers are a good cash crop. Several of the farms and ranches around my family’s ranch started growing them. The crop requires little work and when harvested, there are multiple places to sell them.”
The clerk’s stare bored into Joel.
“I’m Joel Kaye.” He stuck out his hand.
“He’s with the rodeo, Mr. Sully,” Todd helpfully announced. “He knows how to throw a lariat and has a birthday in March and is a cowboy.”
Sully shook Joel’s hand.
“Jack sent me here for the feed he ordered.”
The man’s attitude changed. “It’s ready, but let me finish with Mrs. Landers first.”
“That’s okay, Sully. I need to think about your suggestions on what to plant.”
Sully nodded. “Drive around back and we’ll load the order.” He disappeared into the back.
“I didn’t mean to butt in.” Joel stepped closer to the counter. April’s hair fell around her face, tempting him to reach out and touch the shiny rich brown strands.
“No, I appreciate it. I’ve been wondering what to do with the fields my father-in-law normally cultivated. Sunflowers. I hadn’t thought of that.”
“I wouldn’t have, either, but as I told you several of my neighbors planted them as a cash crop and they liked the results.”
Sully appeared again. “It’s ready.”
Joel didn’t know whether to laugh or scowl at Sully’s impatience. When Joel tried to put Cora down, she protested. April took her daughter from his arms and hushed the girl. Joel nodded and walked outside to his truck.
He drove around the building and backed his truck up to the loading dock. Sully helped Joel transfer the bags of feed from the wooden pallet into the truck. Halfway through, the boys appeared on the dock.
Sully looked at the pair. “Y’all here to help?”
“We’re too small,” Todd answered. They carefully watched and whispered to each other.
Once they finished loading, Sully drove the small forklift back into the warehouse.
Joel opened the truck door.
“Mr. Joel,” Wes began.
Joel stopped and turned toward the boys.
After a couple of intense whispers, Wes walked forward. “After you left this morning, Mr. Moore, the man who helps Mom with the ranch, got hurt. She called the ambulance for him. He can’t work for a while. We heard Mom crying after the ambulance left.”
“And praying,” Todd added.
Wes’s solemn gaze locked with Joel’s. “Mom’s real worried about the ranch.”
Todd’s head nodded in agreement.
Like a shot to his gut, the boys’ words hit Joel hard. The worry in their eyes would’ve touched the hardest of hearts.
Wes took a deep breath. “We want to hire you to help Mom plant her fields.”
Todd’s head bobbed. “Yeah, we want to hire you.”
Joel hadn’t seen that one coming. “I’m still with the rodeo, boys.”
Todd’s shoulders straightened. “But are you working this week? You’re having spring break like we are. Don’t the animals have spring break, too? Won’t you have time?”
Spring break? Joel’s eyes widened. Well, he’d just complained to Hank about all the downtime he had on his hands this week with nothing to do.
They waited.
Todd reached into his pocket and pulled out some change. Wes followed by taking out of his front pocket a crumpled dollar and three pennies. “We have a dollar and thirty-seven cents between Todd and me that we can pay you.”
“Is that enough?” Todd’s face filled with longing and uncertainty.
Talk about being caught off guard. But how could he ignore such an honest plea? Joel swallowed hard. “I still would have to help feed the animals at the rodeo in the morning—”
The boys nodded.
“—but if that’s okay with you, I’d be proud to work for two such upstanding cowboys.”
“And our mom.”
“Most certainly.”
They beamed and Todd started to jump up and down.
“Okay. Let me take the feed back to the rodeo, then I’ll drive out to your place and talk with your mom to make sure it’s all right with her.”
“Okay.”
The boys stepped forward and dumped their money into Joel’s hand. Looking at the crumpled bill and coins, he felt the most unusual emotions—hope and satisfaction. When he glanced up, he saw two excited faces.
“I’ll see you in a bit.”
Driving away, Joel shook his head and chuckled. Who would’ve thought those two young boys would come up with such an ingenious plan? He hadn’t. But what mattered most was how their mother felt. And oddly enough, he wasn’t sure April would accept his help. He wondered if those boys could work their charm on their mother as well as him. That he wanted to see.
Chapter Two (#ulink_792ce0c4-caa5-533b-88a7-9a7af39136a0)
April kicked the front tire of the cantankerous tractor. What was wrong with this miserable piece of equipment? How could she plow the west field for hay or the north field for sunflowers if the tractor wouldn’t start?
“Is there a problem?”
April jerked around, coming face-to-face with Joel. He grinned, making her knees weak. Stop it. Ignoring her crazy feelings, she said, “I’ve got an uncooperative piece of machinery. I’ve watched my father-in-law coax this ancient thing into starting several times. Of course, Vernon did most of the plowing.” But at this point, she didn’t have an option. A noise at the barn doors drew her attention. The boys stood there, watching.
“Do you mind if I try?”
Stepping to the side, she motioned for Joel to go ahead. “No. It might cooperate with you better than me.”
The boys snickered, and Joel laughed. The wonderful, rich sound eased her heart.
“I don’t know, but I’ve worked with some mighty grumpy equipment, and you have to know just how to coax them to life.”
“You mean a wrench up the side of this thing won’t work?” She ran her fingers through her hair, dislodging the clip holding it back.
“My gramps used that technique, and it worked, but let me look at the motor and see if I can find the problem. And if that doesn’t work, we’ll try your plan B, which is a wrench up the side of this thing.” His eyes twinkled, and she heard the boys snicker.
Joel’s humor found her funny bone and she joined in with everyone’s light spirit, surprising herself. From the boys’ wide-eyed and openmouthed expressions, they were as surprised as she. Finally they laughed.
“You needed that,” Joel softly said.
Was she that much of a grouch?
Joel didn’t wait for her to respond, but looked into the engine. “The ignition coil has come loose. Let me plug it in.” He did so, then hopped onto the seat and turned on the ignition. The tractor roared to life. He winked at her. “Let me pull this out of the barn before turning off the engine.”
She nodded and shooed the boys out of the way. When she glanced at the porch where she’d put Cora down for her nap, April saw the little girl sit up and rub her eyes. When Joel drove out of the barn, Cora stood and started down the steps.
What was it about this cowboy that had all her children following him like a pied piper?
April scooped her daughter up before she could run in front of the tractor.
Joel parked beside the barn, where the plow’s disc blades sat, and turned off the engine. He hopped out of the cab and waved at the boys.
Cora squirmed in her mother’s arms.
“I’m impressed, but the real question is, will it start again?”
“Well, if it doesn’t, we’ve got the wrench option.”
“Thanks for getting it to work, but what are you doing out here?” She cringed at her abrupt words. What a crab.
“If you have a cup of coffee, I’d like to explain.”
She studied him, but his gaze remained true, not shying away from her probing. Ross often wouldn’t meet her gaze when he had a plan he knew she wouldn’t approve of. “Okay.”
Lots of questions flew through her mind as they walked inside. After a moment, it occurred to April how silent the boys were, which caused the hair at the back of her neck to stand up. April poured coffee for the adults and milk for the children, then joined the others at the table.
Surprisingly, Cora sat between her brothers on the bench seat on the other side of the table. The boys were wide-eyed and seemed to vibrate, waiting for—
April took a sip of coffee. That hair on the back of her neck felt as if it was dancing.
Wes looked at Joel, then his shoulders straightened and he seemed to grow up before her eyes, as if her son had given Joel permission. That didn’t make sense.
Setting his mug on the table, Joel cleared his throat. “I’ve been hired by your sons to help you plant your fields this week.”
That was not what she’d expected this rodeo cowboy to say. She turned to her sons.
“Todd and me wanted to get you some help after Mr. Moore’s accident today, so when we saw Mr. Joel at the feed store, we talked it over and hired him to work this week,” Wes explained.
