The Mechanics of Mistletoe - Liz Isaacson Page 0,15

in the direct path of the tornadoes that had just passed through the Panhandle.

He got out the truck and whistled. The black horse he’d seen peeked around the corner of the house, and Bear held out his hand. “Come on, Pearls.” He knew every horse by sight, and they knew him.

She came around the side of the house, and four more came with her. Bear smiled at them and held still while Zona said, “I’ll call it in.” She ducked back into his truck and used the radio to let Ace and Ward know about the horses out here.

“Tell ‘em we’ll put them in the paddock,” he called over his shoulder. He retreated to his truck and reached over the side to the back to grab a rope. With that around Pearls’s neck, he led her to the paddock behind the cabins. Often, the cowboys who’d lived here would ride a horse from this location into the center of the ranch.

“The fences look good,” he told the five horses. “In you go. Ace’ll come get you.” They all went into the paddock without an argument, and Bear closed the gate behind them.

Back in the truck, Zona confirmed that Ace knew about the horses and that he’d come get them. Bear started down the driveway, his phone chiming every half-second. One wouldn’t even finish sounding before another layered on top of it.

“Oh, wow,” Zona said with a laugh. “Someone’s popular.”

“Check it for me, would you?” Bear turned onto the road, more concerned with the ranch than who was texting him.

“It’s a group,” Zona said. “From Squire Ackerman. Jeremiah Walker. Wade from down the road.”

“Rhinehart,” Bear said. “Those are the men and women from the ranch ownership meetings I go to.”

The phone chimed again. “Gavin Redd,” Zona read. “Brit Bellamore.”

“What are they saying?” Bear asked. He didn’t need a rundown of who was texting. He and the other ranch owners in the area got together every month to discuss things, and they had a group text to keep up and share information between those meetings. He knew who they were.

He pulled back on his impatience and looked at Zona.

“There’s a ton of messages,” she said. “We must’ve been in a dead zone for a minute there.” She glanced at him. “Basically, they’re planning a rotation for when they can all get together and help one another.”

Bear frowned. “What do you mean?”

“It sounds like they’re making a schedule, and everyone will get together and work on one ranch at a time to get everything repaired and put back together.” She looked down at the phone. “Jeremiah just asked about you.”

“Let them know I’m driving, and I’ll catch up in a minute.” Bear had never told anyone how much the ranch owners meetings meant to him, but his heart swelled with love for the people on that group text.

“They want everyone to make an assessment of their own ranch,” Zona said. “And an estimate of how many people and how long it’ll take to fix. Then Squire and Pete are going to make a schedule.”

“Okay,” Bear said, his thoughts flying to Sammy. He needed to call her and find out what she needed. If things at Shiloh Ridge weren’t bad, but they were at her shop or house, he could get some of his ranch friends to go with him to help her.

He and Zona finally arrived at the cottage where she lived with their mother, and they stood at the front bumper of the truck.

“Shingles,” Zona said.

“Shingles?” Bear asked, his mood now as dark as the sky had been before the tornado had hit. “Do you not see that tree smashed right through the middle of the roof?”

As it turned out, his mother’s cottage had borne the most damage. It would be weeks of rebuilding to fix that, and after everyone in the family had made their report, Bear had texted into his group to let them know what Shiloh Ridge needed.

Minor repairs on most buildings. Some vehicle and equipment damage. And my mother’s house was crushed by a tree. I could need a lot of help over a lot of days.

Nah, Pete said. With all of us, we can have that done in a couple of days.

Others started to agree with him, and another wave of gratitude washed over Bear. The Rhinehart’s hadn’t been hit too hard. Seven Sons and The Shining Star had four homesteads, and only one had taken on any major damage. Callie and Liam Walker could easily move