The work wasn’t as unpleasant as he thought. So long as he watched where he moved, he was okay. Which was better than Tyler, who had slipped and landed almost face first in a cow pie. It didn’t do anything to improve his companion’s mood. He was furious Ashley wouldn’t let him smoke and kept moaning about it. Adam kept his distance. He had no intention of spending more time with Tyler than absolutely necessary.

When they had checked about thirty animals, the foreman, Mack, arrived.

“How’s it looking Ashley? Any signs?”

“No, thank goodness. Looks like a false alarm.”

“Good. I thought you guys might be hungry so I brought lunch out to you rather than wasting time by trekking back to the lodge.”

“Good idea,” she said. “We are a bit behind so this’ll give us a chance to get finished up today.”

“This is slave labor. I demand a proper break,” Tyler whined.

“You can demand all you like, son, but ain’t nobody going to listen to you,” Mack said. “Back in my day, if you got caught doing something as stupid as you have, you would be inside a cell. Where you belong. Now quit your whining and get on with it. We aren’t asking you to do anything Ashley and I don’t do. Every. Day. Of. The. Year.”

Tyler stalked off, a surly expression on his face. Adam had to hide a smile as the muck he fell in earlier fell off his clothes. His smile disappeared as Mack turned his eagle eyes onto him.

“You feel the same as your friend?”

“No, sir.”

“At least one of you seems to have your head screwed on straight. Okay, let’s go wash up and eat.”

Adam looked around for a tap—he couldn’t help himself. Then he saw them heading for the river. He hoped they hadn’t noticed. He moved quickly to catch up with them.

The lunch was delicious, but he guessed after the hard work of the morning, anything would have tasted good, even Caitlin’s cooking. He wondered how his little sister was doing. He hadn’t heard anything since her letter telling him she hated him for making their mam cry.

“You did this type of work before?” the foreman asked him.

“No, sir. I grew up in a city.”

“In Ireland, right? I can’t place your accent other than to know it’s Irish.”

“Yes, sir. I grew up in Dublin, the capital.”

“Where they bring milk in plastic containers,” Ashley piped up. Lord above, but she actually smiled at him. He couldn’t have been more stunned if the cattle had started singing his latest hit. He’d been wrong before; she was beautiful. When she smiled, her whole face lit up.

“Is he catching on?” Mack asked Ashley.

“In fairness, he’s not bad for a city boy. Least he makes an effort.”

Adam saw her glance at Tyler who was still sulking as he smoked.

“Want a bet?”

“Nope, Mack. You always win,” she replied.

“Ah, go on. You have the upper hand this time.” Mack’s eyes sparkled as he challenged Ashley.

“What are you betting on?” Adam asked.

“It’s for fun, really. We sometimes bet how long a newbie will survive on the ranch. Whoever loses buys the first round at the monthly staff happy hour.”

“Yeah, real fun. Mack always wins,” Ashley said but she didn’t seem put out. In fact, the look she gave Mack told Adam she adored the older man. He wondered if they were related.

“So how are my odds looking?” he asked, wanting to know what she thought of him yet despising himself for caring at the same time.

“You shouldn’t be involved in this conversation,” Ashley said primly.

“You brought it up,” he retorted.

“Actually I did, and from where I’m looking, I think your chances are higher than your friend over there,” Mack said.

“Will you quit calling him that? I don’t know him from the back of a bus. He just happened to be standing outside when I got here.” Adam knew he was being ornery but it irritated the heck out of him being grouped with Tyler all the time.

“Okay, put your shirt back on, son. I can see that despite the fact you both landed here for similar reasons, you seem to be different.”

Adam couldn’t say anything, could he? Mack was right. Regardless of what he knew, in their eyes, he was there for the same reasons as Tyler. Both of them were suspected of drug offenses.

“Is it just me and Tyler here or are there others?” he asked quietly.

“There’s about ten of you in total. Bill and Henry have the others on barn repair duty. We thought we’d break you guys in gently.”

Adam sensed Mack was being sarcastic, maybe even testing him to see if he would react. He didn’t. He had some honor left. He had to make restitution for the grief his choice in girlfriend had cost everyone, not least of all his family.