“I can just imagine,” Erin replied. “That’s a double whammy on the pocketbook.”

“Exac’ly,” Tex agreed. “I heard ye’re gonna be sleepin’ at the main house. I sure hope that don’t mean you won’t be eatin’ supper with us fellas.”

Erin hadn’t even unpacked yet. She hadn’t had time to think about where she would take her meals. Brody and his family were in the process of moving into the new home that had been built for them on the property. They’d already gotten their beds set up, but they hadn’t yet gotten the kitchen organized and were still taking their evening meals with Vickie and Slade.

“Is it important that I eat dinner with you?” she asked the old man.

“Not dinner, darlin’. Fer the midday meal, we eat at all different times. That ain’t the case at supper. Ever’body is at the table. We all go over our day, and a lot of important information is kicked back and forth. You won’t know half of what’s happenin’ on the ranch if you ain’t eatin’ supper with us.”

Erin tapped her temple. “Note taken. I’ll talk with Uncle Slade about it.”

“He’ll understand the need. Back afore Vickie came along, he ate supper with us in the bunkhouse a lot to keep on top of things.”

It didn’t sound like stimulating dinner conversation, but Erin took Tex’s advice to heart, and she would speak to her uncle as soon as possible about taking her evening meal with her coworkers. To be accepted as one of the crew, she should eat whatever they did and take her turns cooking and cleaning up the kitchen, anyway.

When she and Wyatt got back to the horse barn, Kennedy came out of the stable area to greet them. Though he smiled in welcome, his face looked drawn and a little pale. When Wyatt asked about Jenette’s condition, the younger man said, “She’s still hangin’ on. It’s touch-and-go. They gave her transfusions, but they can’t get her blood pressure back up. They’re running tests tonight to see if she’s still bleeding somewhere internally.”

Wyatt squeezed his brother’s shoulder. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Kennedy shrugged. “She’s alive. There’s hope. But her folks are going through hell.”

Erin guessed they weren’t alone. Kennedy was worried about the girl, too. That touched her heart. “I’m sorry she hasn’t rallied yet.”

“She will. She’s got to. Otherwise Sorensen wins.”

Erin bent her head, once again feeling a wave of frustration wash through her. She might be an old woman before she stopped feeling partially responsible for what had happened to Jenette.

“Okay,” Wyatt said. “Time’s flying. Let’s hit it.” He turned to Erin. “You can tidy up the horse paddocks. Same method as we used in the barn. Fork the manure into the skidder bucket and take it out to the compost pile. Make sure you latch the gates as you go in and out. When a horse gets loose on this ranch, it can run a country mile before we get mounts saddled up to catch it.”