her friend chimed in, “I could eat a horse!” Callie mouthed her thanks and started back towards the jeep. Sidetracked for the moment, the gentle rancher reached out to shake his visitor’s hand. “I’m afraid I’m fresh out of horse, but I reckon I could find some prime beef and barbeque us up some steaks. Welcome, Eva. Any friends of my granddaughter’s are welcome to stay here as long they like.” “That sounds great, Mr. Scanlan. I can help with dinner if you’d like. I used to be pretty handy in the kitchen.” “You can call me John, hon, and you girls can just keep me company. I’ll show you to the guest room, and you can get settled in. That’s a long drive from New York. Callie, you coming?” “Be there shortly, Granddad. Just going to lock up the jeep and grab my purse.” Callie started back towards the jeep. While I’m here, I might as well grab a suitcase. She didn’t hear anyone coming up behind her until she heard a familiar, sexy voice say behind her, “Well, would you look at what the cat drug in?” Callie froze and slowly did a 180. “Hey, Cade. How’s it go-?” Before she even finished the sentence, Cade tensed. “What the fuck? Who the hell hit you, Callie? I’ll kill the son of a bitch!” “Well hell. Look, it’s a long story, Cade, and I’d just as soon tell it only once, so you’ll just have to wait till we’re all in the kitchen. You might as well call Josh and Jake, too.” “Damn it, Callie, you tell me who’s responsible for this! Right now, damn it!” “In the kitchen, Cade, in the kitchen, and you might as well make those phone calls. I’ve been driving for two and half days, and right now, all I want to do is take a nice, hot shower. I’ll tell you everything when everyone gets here, ok?” He stepped closer to her and reached out and held her by her upper arms. “Are you okay? At least tell me that, Callie.” “I’m a tough, Texas chick, you know that. Besides, if you think I look bad, you should see the other guy.”
