keep it. She had to keep hoping that the man she married would find his way back.”
Mark could just imagine her. Sweet, stubborn optimist. “I’ve already told her this, but I’m here for Dana.”
His brothers blinked at the sudden change of topic.
It was Randy who smiled first, his amusement overpowering the shock. “Knew you liked her.”
“Dear God, this is going to devolve into one of those conversations that my granddaughters have, isn’t it? But does he like her, like her?” George rolled his eyes. “You’re serious about this?”
“Dead serious.”
Only Mike hesitated.
“You don’t think I should go after her?” Mark asked even as he planned to ignore his brother’s protests.
Mike shrugged. “I’m more concerned about the bit where you already told Dana you plan on making a play. With a Coleman woman, sometimes it’s best to have the advantage of surprise. Not to mention, if you told her, it’s likely that by now at least a half dozen of our daughters-in-law know, which means you’re either going to be chaperoned to the eyeballs every time you try and make a move, or if they decide you’re not worthy in the first place, you can kiss your idea goodbye.”
“Well, shit.” Mark had been gone for too long. He’d forgotten how much sway the ladies held in this kind of situation. Add in that the female population had blossomed in the years he’d been gone, and he’d just lit a bonfire in the middle of a field of grass.
Good thing he loved a challenge.
In the meantime, though, tonight had been one solid foundation block in his return to not just Rocky but to the family. He looked around the room as general conversation resumed and let hope sweep in.
Hope and the deep-seated need for connection he’d missed so much without ever wanting to admit it.
14
If Blake wandered a little slower than usual from where the tractors were neatly parked outside the main barn, he’d blame it on too little sleep rather than too much on the brain.
They were having a bumper crop of calves this year, and while that was a thing to celebrate, not even a full Coleman crew could keep up. Plus, rather than make anyone else do extra shifts, Blake had taken to dealing with the emergencies the family called in by himself.
March was going out like a lion, storm clouds brewing on the horizon. He wasn’t about to send Trevor out somewhere remote on the possibility his cousin got trapped and couldn’t make it back to Becky and his barely three-week-old baby for a few days.
Which also put the rest of the Moonshine clan off the list. Blake wasn’t about to be the one to blame in case Anna or Melody went into labour early, and then there was Lee and Rachel with their babies—
He caught himself snickering. “Isn’t just the damn cattle having a bumper year. The Coleman breeding program is overproducing kids too.”
“You say that anywhere near one of the Coleman women, and you’ll be relegated to hot dogs with the kids for a year instead of enjoying steak.” Matt joined him, brushing his hands together before tucking them under his armpits. “Jeez, it’s gotten nasty cold.”
“Uncle Randy said the weatherman predicts a huge snowfall sometime in the next three to four days,” Blake warned.
“Lovely. And how many more of the cows we’ve got on Mark’s grazing land plan to hide their babies just for shits and giggles?”
“All of them.” Blake ducked his brother’s half-hearted swing. “Damn, you’re getting slow.”
“It’s the lack of beauty sleep.” But Matt said it without any serious complaint. Just the comment of a man who knew this was par for the course at this time of the year.
By the time calving season was done, they’d all be so tired, they’d be sleepwalking. Eventually the seasons would change, and spring would arrive, and they’d get to do the next thing. Preferably after a good solid week of sleep.
Blake clapped a hand on Matt’s shoulder. “Good thing you started out prettier than the rest of us.”
Matt snorted. He pointed ahead. “That Uncle Mark’s truck?”
The vehicle was becoming more familiar.
For the first couple weeks after he’d arrived in town, Uncle Mark had mostly stayed over at the Whiskey Creek place. He’d come to visit Blake’s Ma and Dad, and Blake had heard that he’d been over at Randy and Kate’s as well. The visits had been slow, though. A trickle instead of a full-out assault on becoming involved with the family.
Which was definitely not what