The Stillwell Cowboys

ETHAN

“Her uterus isn’t contracting properly,” I said.

“Shit,” Clay muttered. “Is she going to need a C-section?”

“Not if I can avoid it.”

“Going to give her some oxytocin?”

“Yeah.”

I prepared the injection and administered it to the old girl. Her age was the problem with this delivery.

“This is her last calf, Clay,” I ordered.

“I know, Ethan. Dad said the same thing.” He studied me thoughtfully, chewing on a piece of hay while he worked up the nerve to say something he knew I wasn’t going to like.

I’d known Clay Cartwright my entire life. Our mothers were pregnant at the same time. We were born a few hours apart, and we’d been best friends from the time we could roll over and play together.

“No,” I stated firmly.

“You don’t even know what I was going to say,” he grumbled.

“Yes, I do.” I sighed while I checked the cow’s vital signs, giving her a reassuring rub on the head. “Everything is going to be just fine, Diana. We’ll have your calf out in no time.”

“I think it would be good for you, Ethan.”

“I don’t want to go to our high school reunion. End of discussion.”

“Why not?”

“I think why is the better question.”

“Because it’s our twenty-year reunion. We’ll never have another one.”

“Oh well,” I mumbled, massaging the cow’s belly to see if there was any sign of contractions.

“Ethan, it’s been a year,” he said softly. “It’s okay to date. Lisa would want that for you.”

“I’m not interested. I just want to focus on the girls right now. They need me. All of me. I don’t have anything to give to a relationship.”

“Just come to the reunion. Please?”

“Why do you want me to go so bad?”

“Because it wouldn’t be the same without you, Ethan,” he pleaded.

“We’re staying at the hotel down the street from the school. It’ll be fun. We can tie one on, reminisce about old times, and then stumble back to the hotel. Cami will spend the night with the girls.”

“What about Dani? Maybe she doesn’t want me tagging along.”

“It’s not her reunion,” he said.

“That is true,” I chuckled. “Her twenty-year reunion isn’t for what? Twelve years?”

“Thirteen,” he mumbled.

I shook my head.

“I’m telling you, Ethan,” he said. “There’s some definite perks to having a younger woman.”

“If Dani makes you happy, then that’s all that really matters.”

“I’ve got two words for you, Ethan,” he whispered, draping his arm over my shoulder. “Tight pussy.”

“Not interested.”

“Just come to the reunion.”

“I highly doubt there will be any tight pussy there.”

“I thought you weren’t interested.”

“I’m not.”

“If you don’t agree to come to the reunion, I’m going to tell your ma.”

“Seriously, Clay?”

“You know I will.”

“We’re grown men,” I sighed. “You can’t tattle on me to my mommy.”

“Oh, but I will, Ethan Stillwell.”

“Fine. I’ll go to the stupid fucking reunion!”

“This is good, Ethan. Really good.”

“She’s having contractions now,” I said. “Let’s get this calf out.”

***

It was dark outside by the time I steered my truck down the long laneway leading to my house. I’d missed dinner with my girls again.

Spring came early to Alberta that year. It was only mid-April, but most of the snow was gone. And that meant long days of repairing the damage from a brutal winter.

Broken fences, downed trees, and damaged roads required attention. We employed a large staff of ranch hands, but we still had to oversee it all.

Stillwell Ranch had been in my family for generations. We founded the town of Stillwell, Alberta.

And we owned half of the businesses serving the eighteen hundred people who lived there. The other half were owned by locals. There were no corporate chains allowed in Stillwell.

When my dad married my mom and took over the reins fifty years before, he transformed the ranch from a traditional operation to a tourist destination that put us on the map.

Ray Stillwell had degrees in both agriculture and business, ambition seeping out his pores, and a young wife who loved Christmas.

Five decades later, Stillwell, Alberta, was known as the North Pole of Canada. The ranch boasted a large Christmas-themed bed and breakfast.

We offered all of the services of a guest ranch, including horseback riding, cattle drives, hiking, ATVs, and a host of other seasonal activities.

The main street of Stillwell ran through the center of town with two stoplights, one at the main intersection, and one at the entrance to the theme park.

Christmas in Stillwell was my mother’s creation. The theme park operated from the first of May until Christmas Eve, offering rides, a waterpark, holiday-themed food stands and gift shops, a movie theater, and Santa’s workshop.

I climbed out of my truck and headed inside through the mudroom, kicking off my boots inside the door.

“Long day?” Cami asked, leaning on the kitchen doorframe while she eyed me like a hungry puma.

“Sure was,” I replied, hanging my cowboy hat on the hook.

Clay’s little sister was my nanny. We’d hired her shortly after the twins were born.

She kept our household running and the girls fed and cared for while I worked long hours on the ranch and provided veterinary services to the entire county.

I was a theriogenologist, providing specialized services related to reproductive health of livestock, breeding, prenatal care, and complicated deliveries.

“I can heat you up some dinner,” she offered.

“You don’t have to do that, Cami. Head on home.”

“It’s no trouble, Ethan.”

“Alrighty then,” I agreed, following her into my large country kitchen. “Where are the girls?”

“The twins are in bed, and the others are upstairs doing their homework.”

“How is it after nine?” I asked with a heavy sigh when I glanced at my watch.

“I heard old Diana had a rough delivery,” she said as she pulled a plate from the fridge and popped it in the microwave.

“Yeah. That cow’s birthing days are behind her.”

“I told Clay not to breed her again, but he never listens to me. He still thinks I’m a little kid.”

“He was thirteen when you were born. Even when you’re fifty, he’ll still think of you as his baby sister.”

“Do you think of me as a woman, Ethan?” she purred.

“Of course,” I said. “Dinner smells great.”

She removed the food from the microwave, stirring it and adding salt and pepper before she set the plate in front of me. “Want a beer?”

“You know me too well, Cami,” I chuckled.

“I sure do,” she said, grinning when she handed me the bottle.

“This looks delicious,” I said, digging into the plate of roast beef with mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables.

She sat down across from me, watching me devour her cooking while she worked up the nerve to ask me something. Clay and his little sister were a lot alike, with similar mannerisms and personalities.

“What’s on your mind, Cami?”

“I heard Clay convinced you to go to your reunion tomorrow night.”

“More like blackmailed me with threats to sic my mother on me.”

“He did not!” she gasped.

“He most certainly did.”

“Don’t you need a date?” she asked, staring down at her bright red nails.

“It’s tomorrow night. Even if I wanted to take a date, I’d say it’s a little late for that.”

“I could go with you,” she suggested, glancing up at me with a shy smile.

“Clay said you agreed to stay with the girls.”

“Suzy said she’d come spend the night if you took me to the reunion.”

Suzy was my well-meaning sister-in-law. She’d been trying to find me a woman, even though I kept telling her I didn’t want or need one.

I had no idea how the woman found the time for matchmaking. She and my older brother, Huxley, had ten kids, aged four right up to twenty-five. And six grandkids.

They lived in the main house with my parents, who were like children themselves some days.

“No. Suzy has her hands full at her own house.”

“She said it was no problem.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I think I’m going to go alone.”

“Okay then,” she said quietly. “I guess I’ll take off.”

“I’ll walk you out to your truck.”

“That’s not necessary, Ethan.”

I followed her outside and opened her door.

“You know I’d make a good ranch wife,” she said, gazing up at me with the same needy look she always did after she asked me out and I turned her down.

“And I’m sure there’s a young cowboy out there somewhere, just waiting to scoop you up.”

“Uh-huh,” she mumbled as she climbed up into the driver’s seat.

“Good night, Cami,” I said. “Have a safe drive home.”

“I live next door, Ethan.”

“I know. But still be careful.”

I watched her taillights disappear down the driveway before heading back inside with a heavy sigh.

Clay’s little sister had made no bones about the fact that she was looking to become the next Mrs. Ethan Stillwell. And I’d made it pretty clear I wasn’t interested.

But Cami was determined to change my mind. Having her in my house all the time probably didn’t help get the message across, but the twins loved her. And she was reliable and convenient.

Why the fuck did I agree to go to that stupid reunion?

What was I thinking?

The worst my mother would’ve done was nag me. I could’ve handled that. I had no interest in seeing the people I went to high school with.

Most of them still lived around Rocky Mountain House. The entire thing was a stupid waste of time.