bushels.”
“That would depend.” Ford smiled a little, though no one would see it. “What do I get out of the favor?”
There was a little scuffling, and then a new voice came on. “Ford,” Kellie said firmly, “you bring me those pecans before noon tomorrow, and I’ll bake you the first pie with them.”
Ford grinned, now laughing fully in the cabin of the truck. “It’s a lotta pecans for one lonely pie, Kells.”
“We’re teaching the ladies how to do pecan pie,” Kellie told him with her infinite patience, though there was a teasing note to her voice, as usual. “And then Mariah’s going to sell the ones that turn out well enough. I promise I will bake you a perfect pecan pie all for yourself.”
“Uh-huh, sounds promising. What about the pies that don’t turn out well enough to sell at Mariah’s?”
He heard a less-than-patient sigh on the other side of the line. “If they are safe enough to eat, Ford, you can have the ones that don’t turn out, too. Happy?”
“Very,” he said with a nod. “Text me the address, and I’ll swing by and get them. Do they know I’m coming?”
“They will; I’ll call them next. Thank you so much, Ford. This is a lifesaver.”
“Well, I do live my life to look better than Ryan,” he assured her. “Just add this to the list.”
“Got it. One more and I can officially switch you two out.”
“Hey!” Ryan called from somewhere in the background. Sounds of scuffling ensued, and then Ryan was back on. “Whatever, dude. Don’t feel like you need to get here tonight now that we’re adding time to your drive.”
“I’ll do it, no big deal. Care if I bunk out on your couch when I get in?”
“You know where the key is. Thanks for doing this, man.”
Ford scoffed, sputtering softly. “I’m getting my favorite pie out of the deal. This is purely selfish.”
“Right. Thanks for nothing, then.”
“Sounds about right.” Sherlock shoved his wrinkled face up against Ford’s shoulder and started surveying their route, way closer to Ford than before. “Hey, back off, Sherlock!”
“Sherlock’s with you?” Ryan laughed in delight. “Sherlock!” He began a bad impersonation of the dog’s rarely heard bark, a deep, rasping sort of howl that was really awful.
Sherlock groaned and whined at hearing it.
“Yeah, that about sums it up, doesn’t it?” Ford replied, then he straightened in his seat, remembering what he would need when he got to Lost Creek. “Hey, Ryan . . . My hazer’s injured and out for a while. Can you round up some guys for me to practice with there? I need to find someone before showtime.”
“Shoot. Yeah, no worries, bro. I’ll get some guys together. Worse comes to worse, I’ll do it. If I remember how.”
Ford smiled at that. If Ryan Prosper forgot anything about rodeo, even the smallest detail, Ford would gnaw on his own boots.
“You’ll remember. Thanks, man. See you when I see you.”
He hung up, ideas spinning back and forth in his mind. It might be easier than he thought to get a new hazer lined up.
Ryan Prosper could probably do the job as well as Marty did it, if not better.
This could be very interesting after all. Very.
“Thank you, Doctor. I know I can be a worrier sometimes, and I really appreciate your time.”
Brynn smiled at her anxious patient, rubbing her arm. “Of course, Mrs. Pike. That’s what I’m here for. Laney at the desk there will take care of that referral and the orders, okay?” Brynn nodded and gently nudged Mrs. Pike in that direction.
The kind woman waved and headed that way, leaving Brynn there to look over the charts of the next patient room.
Except she wasn’t reading anything.
Couldn’t.
She was behind in her schedule now. Really behind. Mrs. Pike hadn’t just worried in that room—she’d unpacked every ounce of baggage she’d stored up. Everything she had read online about what she suspected, everything she attributed to this disease or that, everything that had kept her up at night.
There had been no getting around any of it, and Brynn had always been able to calm those sorts of patients. It was part of the job, and similar patients came every week, if not every day. She always had a full schedule, and there were a lot of issues that patients needed to discuss with her. Every day, she would go through concerns with patients. That was what she did.
Today, it was too much.
Why had she let Mrs. Pike ramble? Why hadn’t she cut her off? Why