WHEN JAKE RAMSEY pulled into the circular gravel drive in front of Thunder Mountain Ranch at sundown, he thought he’d stumbled onto the set of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. His foster brothers Cade Gallagher and Finn O’Roarke stood in the freezing cold struggling to untangle a string of Christmas lights while wearing thick gloves. Why they needed more lights was a mystery because the low-slung ranch house already looked as if Clark Griswold had been there.
Happy as Jake was to see those two cowboys after all this time away, his firefighter training took precedence over a sentimental reunion. He’d bet a month’s pay neither of them had bothered to check the UL ratings to see if the fuse box could take another strand of what looked like incandescent bulbs. Hadn’t they heard of LEDs? And was that an indoor extension cord connected to the net lights on a bush by the porch? Jesus.
He wondered if Damon Harrison had approved this setup. Damon, Cade and Finn had been the original three taken in by Rosie and Herb Padgett years ago when they’d decided to make the ranch a foster home for teenage boys. Cade had become a horse trainer who worked at the ranch, now a residential equine education center for older teens, called Thunder Mountain Academy. Finn had moved to Seattle and opened his own microbrewery. Those jobs didn’t qualify either of them to handle electrical installations.
But Damon and Philomena, who’d married this past summer, renovated houses here in Sheridan. Jake doubted they’d been involved in this fustercluck. It had Cade written all over it. The guy was great with horses but not so great with a toolbox.
Cade and Finn glanced up as he pulled up next to them in his F-250. They wouldn’t recognize the truck because he’d bought it since his last visit home in early March. Plus he hadn’t seen Finn in years. Finn and his fiancée Chelsea were spending Christmas at the ranch, which had added to Jake’s excitement about his first Christmas home since getting hired by the Jackson Hole Fire Department.
From the looks of things, they needed him here. Cade and Finn were fixing to burn down the house. He shut off the engine and climbed out, making sure his boots didn’t slip on the ice he knew would be under the thin layer of snow covering the driveway.
Then he buttoned his sheepskin coat against the wind and crammed his Stetson a little tighter on his head before walking around the front of the truck. He could see his breath. That was another stupid thing—putting up Christmas lights when the temperature was near zero.
“Hey, bozos,” he called out to Cade and Finn, who’d stopped what they were doing while they waited to see who’d driven up. “Why don’t you let someone who knows what he’s doing handle that job?”
“Jake?” Cade dropped his end of the lights into the snow and hurried toward him. “You got a new truck, man!”
“That I did.” He exchanged a hug with Cade.
“Jake Ramsey?” Finn tossed his end away and came over. “I haven’t seen your ugly mug since I left for Seattle! How the hell are you?”
Jake returned his hug. “I’m good, real good. Hated that I had to miss Damon’s wedding, but a couple of guys got sick and I couldn’t leave.”
“You would’ve loved it,” Cade said. “It rained like hell, the wind destroyed most of the decorations and we had to delay the ceremony until the storm passed. Then we had to stand in the mud while Damon and Phil said their vows. It was epic.”
“Sounds awesome. Wish I’d been there. Speaking of the happy couple, where are they?”
“Wimping out in Florida with the in-laws,” Finn said. “They’ll be back tomorrow, looking all tanned and smug while the rest of us are the color of grubworms.”
“Real Wyoming cowboys don’t go to Florida for a winter vacation.” Cade tucked his gloved hands into his armpits and stomped his feet in the snow. “They tough it out like manly men.”
“Damn straight,” Finn said. “But I’m thinking we should tough it out inside by the fire for a while and finish this project in the morning. We don’t want to keep poor Jake standing out here shivering. He needs to head in and see the folks.”
“I want to see them, too,” Jake said, “but I have a question before we go in. Did you guys put up all these lights?”
Cade grinned at him. “You’re impressed, right? You didn’t think we could do it without Damon around to help, but there’s the evidence.” Cade swept an arm to encompass the glittering front of the house. “Damon’s gonna shit a brick when he sees this.”
“That’s for sure.” Jake walked over and fingered the indoor extension cord. “I take it you ran out of outdoor cords.”
“Yeah, but those work fine.” Finn shrugged. “We bought a bunch of extra lights and forgot about getting more cords, but we found those in the barn. They’re a little worn but we wound electrical tape around the parts where wires were sticking out.”
Jake did his best to control himself. “How many of these are you using?”
“I don’t know,” Cade said. “Six, maybe seven. We’re almost done, but I agree with Finn. We can quit now and finish up tomorrow. We have time before Damon and Phil get back.”
“You know what?” Jake was proud of himself. He didn’t yell and he didn’t cuss, although he desperately wanted to do both. “Before I go in, let me take a quick run into town. With tomorrow being the last shopping day, the hardware store should be open. I’ll just pick up a few outdoor extension cords.”
“Ah, don’t bother.” Cade fished one end of the light strand out of the snow and began winding it around his arm. “Extra trouble, extra expense and for what?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Jake kept his tone casual. “Maybe to keep those frayed extension cords from setting the house on fire.”
Cade blinked. “We put electrical tape around them. That should do it.”
“Hey, he’s a firefighter.” Finn clapped Cade on the shoulder. “We should probably let him do his thing. I admit those cords are a little dicey.”
Jake shuddered to think what they looked like. They’d probably been moldering in the barn for years. No doubt varmints had chewed on them. “I’ve seen the result of using frayed cords,” he said. “I’d sleep better knowing I’ve replaced them. They’re not designed for outdoor use, anyway, although the UL rating label is probably gone by now.”
Finn exchanged a glance with Cade.
“Don’t worry,” Cade said in a low voice. “They’re fine.”
“What?” Jake didn’t like the sound of that. “What’s fine?”
Cade finished winding the strand around his arm. “Some of the lights were on sale. The labels said for indoor use only, but they were really reasonable so I thought if we put them on the porch—”
“Holy hell, Cade!” Jake finally lost it. “Are you telling me even the lights aren’t rated for outdoor use?”
“A few, but—”
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. I’ll drive into town and pick up a whole bunch of outdoor extension cords and more lights with the proper rating. In the morning I’ll help you and Finn replace those extension cords and indoor lights. In the meantime, I want you to turn off everything.”
Cade looked as if he wanted to argue.
“I know you think I’m an anal safety nut, but last week I hauled a single mom and her two little kids out of a house fire caused by frayed extension cords.”
Finn sighed. “I hate to say it, but he’s right, bro.” He dug in his pocket. “Let me donate some cash toward that purchase, Jake.”
“Nah,