He drove around the building and backed his truck up to the loading dock. Sully helped Joel transfer the bags of feed from the wooden pallet into the truck. Halfway through, the boys appeared on the dock.
Sully looked at the pair. “Y’all here to help?”
“We’re too small,” Todd answered. They carefully watched and whispered to each other.
Once they finished loading, Sully drove the small forklift back into the warehouse.
Joel opened the truck door.
“Mr. Joel,” Wes began.
Joel stopped and turned toward the boys.
After a couple of intense whispers, Wes walked forward. “After you left this morning, Mr. Moore, the man who helps Mom with the ranch, got hurt. She called the ambulance for him. He can’t work for a while. We heard Mom crying after the ambulance left.”
“And praying,” Todd added.
Wes’s solemn gaze locked with Joel’s. “Mom’s real worried about the ranch.”
Todd’s head nodded in agreement.
Like a shot to his gut, the boys’ words hit Joel hard. The worry in their eyes would’ve touched the hardest of hearts.
Wes took a deep breath. “We want to hire you to help Mom plant her fields.”
Todd’s head bobbed. “Yeah, we want to hire you.”
Joel hadn’t seen that one coming. “I’m still with the rodeo, boys.”
Todd’s shoulders straightened. “But are you working this week? You’re having spring break like we are. Don’t the animals have spring break, too? Won’t you have time?”
Spring break? Joel’s eyes widened. Well, he’d just complained to Hank about all the downtime he had on his hands this week with nothing to do.
They waited.
Todd reached into his pocket and pulled out some change. Wes followed by taking out of his front pocket a crumpled dollar and three pennies. “We have a dollar and thirty-seven cents between Todd and me that we can pay you.”
“Is that enough?” Todd’s face filled with longing and uncertainty.
Talk about being caught off guard. But how could he ignore such an honest plea? Joel swallowed hard. “I still would have to help feed the animals at the rodeo in the morning—”
The boys nodded.
“—but if that’s okay with you, I’d be proud to work for two such upstanding cowboys.”
“And our mom.”
“Most certainly.”
They beamed and Todd started to jump up and down.
“Okay. Let me take the feed back to the rodeo, then I’ll drive out to your place and talk with your mom to make sure it’s all right with her.”
“Okay.”
The boys stepped forward and dumped their money into Joel’s hand. Looking at the crumpled bill and coins, he felt the most unusual emotions—hope and satisfaction. When he glanced up, he saw two excited faces.
“I’ll see you in a bit.”
Driving away, Joel shook his head and chuckled. Who would’ve thought those two young boys would come up with such an ingenious plan? He hadn’t. But what mattered most was how their mother felt. And oddly enough, he wasn’t sure April would accept his help. He wondered if those boys could work their charm on their mother as well as him. That he wanted to see.
Copyright © 2015 by Barbara M. Harrison
ISBN-13: 9781460383131
Safe in the Fireman’s Arms
Copyright © 2015 by Tina M. Radcliffe
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The Cowboy’s Homecoming
Copyright © 2015 by Carolyne Aarsen
The Amish Widow’s Secret
Copyright © 2015 by Cheryl Williford
Safe in the Fireman’s Arms
Copyright © 2015 by Tina M. Radcliffe
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Love Inspired June 2015 - Box Set 1 of 2: The Cowboy's HomecomingThe Amish Widow's SecretSafe in the Fireman's Arms Page 58