of her. He stayed right where he was, parked against the curb, as she made a phone call.
Fifteen minutes later, she climbed into the back of a cab without another glance in his direction. She’d kept her back to him for the majority of the time, but he hadn’t seen a single tear slide down her face.
No matter. He stayed on the side of the road and cried plenty for both of them.
Chapter 30
Preacher Glover let his mind wander as Jess drove, the miles between Shiloh Ridge and Three Rivers Ranch melting away without the stress of work. He couldn’t do anything about moving the hay from one barn to another during the drive. He wouldn’t know what his cowboys were or weren’t doing. He’d silenced his phone, which he’d probably pay for later.
Charlie knew that if she needed him, she only had to call three times within five minutes, and his phone would wail an alarm at him. He’d also activated her pin and his on their map program, so he could see where she was, and she could find him anytime, anywhere.
He loved going to Courage Reins to ride, though he’d put up a bit of a fight in the beginning. Pete Marshall and Reese Sanders and the doctor at the equine therapy unit had sat down with him and his medical reports, his chiropractic recommendations, and his physical therapist notes, and they’d made a plan.
Several months ago, Preacher had driven out to Courage Reins twice a week. Well, he couldn’t drive himself, so his wife or Ward had brought him. Sometimes Judge or Bear. They’d worked together to get Preacher to the point where he could drive himself. He could walk without a crutch or a cane. He felt better than ever now, though he still exercised caution around the ranch and the farmhouse.
He absolutely did not want to get injured again. Each time seemed to take longer to recover from, and he didn’t want to swallow a ton of pills just to get out of bed in the morning. He’d thrown away his walker, cane, and crutches, telling Charlie he wasn’t going to need them again, and he wanted to keep that vow for as long as possible.
Beside him, sitting between him and Jess, August rode with his arms folded and his eyes closed. Preacher glanced at him and away, his heart tearing a little at the unhappiness pouring off of him.
He’d asked for time off last week so he could take Etta south to meet his folks. They were supposed to be gone for five days, but August had returned the next day. He’d asked Preacher and Charlie to take Hailey, and when he’d come to collect her, he had no explanation for his early return.
Etta had not yet returned to Shiloh Ridge, at least to Preacher’s knowledge. He had a spy on the inside in his wife, who was connected to all of the ranch wives via text, and the word inside that string was that Etta was staying in town with Ida.
Preacher drew a breath, praying the Lord would give him something to say. Anything. Maybe if he knew more, he could help August past whatever had happened between him and Etta.
No words came, and Preacher closed his mouth again. When he and Charlie had broken up after his car accident, he hadn’t wanted to answer any questions or listen to unsolicited advice. August Winters reminded him a lot of himself, and he just wanted him to know how valuable he was. How loved.
“Have you ever done an equine therapy ride?” he asked, and August’s eyes came open.
Jess looked over to him, the highway in front of them clear and going on for miles and miles. “I haven’t.”
“I haven’t either,” August said. “I’ve heard you like them.”
“They’re fantastic,” Preacher said. “Of course, I have physical things as well as mental and emotional things to work out. But I always feel better in all ways after the ride.”
“What’s it like?” August asked.
“Oh, and Wyatt, Tripp, Liam, and Ollie Walker will be there, besides us.” Jess reached over and turned down the radio a click. Previous to Preacher’s question, it had filled the silence between the three of them.
“The Walkers are good men,” Preacher said, looking out his window. “Wyatt’s had a lot of back problems from the rodeo. Mister too.” His brother rode in the truck behind them, and Preacher saw the hulking black thing in the rearview mirror. He’d wanted to drive separately,