“How much would it cost to get started?” I asked, finally looking at him directly.
His eyes lit up, like he hadn’t expected me to actually engage. “We’d need about twenty grand for the freezer units, website development, and initial marketing push.”
“Twenty grand? Jesus Christ, Jesse, where am I supposed to get that kind of money?”
“We could leave the cattle on pasture for another month,” he offered. “That alone would save us ten grand in hay and silage. The rest could come from the operating costs. It’s tight, but if we’re careful with the rest of the budget for the next couple months, we can make it work.”
“You want me to leave the cattle on pasture for another month?” I scoffed. “It’s October now. If we wait till November, we’ll be driving them back down the mountain in the snow.”
“And?” Jesse shrugged like it was nothing. “It’s just snow.”
Clearly he’d been away from Montana for too long. “Just snow?” I asked. “You ever driven cattle through five-foot drifts in a blizzard? It ain’t for the faint of heart.”
“Well, if anyone can do it, we can.” He leaned forward, close enough that I could smell his cologne. “Trust me on this, Cole. I know it’s a risk, but I wouldn’t suggest it if I didn’t think it would pay off.”
Trust. There was that word again. The one thing I couldn’t give him, not after everything.
“Let me think about it,” I muttered, pushing my chair back. The walls felt like they were closing in on me.
Jesse’s face fell. “We don’t have a lot of time here. Winter’s coming and freezers take a while to?—”
A knock at the front door interrupted him. Saved by the bell. Or in this case, by the lawyer.
“That’ll be him,” I said, standing up quickly. “We’ll finish this later.”
“Cole—” Jesse started, but I was already heading for the door, desperate for any excuse to put some distance between us.
Whitaker stood on the porch in his usual khakis and button-down, clipboard in hand. He smiled when he saw me, but I could tell he was sizing me up, looking for signs of trouble.
“Morning, Cole,” he said cheerfully. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything important.”
“Just going over some finances with Jesse,” I replied, stepping aside to let him in. “He’s got some ideas about changing how we sell our beef.”
Whitaker’s eyebrows shot up. “That sounds promising.Collaborative, even.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “We’re trying.”
Jesse appeared behind me, all smiles and charm. “Mr. Whitaker, good to see you. Can I get you some coffee?”
“That would be lovely, Mr. Harris. Thank you.”
I actually did roll my eyes as Mr. Whitaker was ushered inside. But Jesse caught me. Instead of saying anything, he just stuck out his tongue like he used to when we were kids.
And goddammit if I didn’t smile.
Chapter 10
Jesse
The ranch had never seen so much chaos as when the large walk-in freezer was delivered. It took a little more than three weeks to get it out to Hell Creek, which was fast considering the usual wait times. But thankfully the manufacturer had an extra one already made, an order that had gotten cancelled, and was willing to part with it at a discount. I hadn’t even asked Cole if it was okay before I made the purchase. Thanks to Mr. Whitaker, the farm-to-table model was given the green light. But Cole… well, he was still on the fence about the entire thing.
I had to admit that despite all of Cole’s doubts and grumbling, watching the enormous freezer unit being maneuvered into the barn was pretty satisfying. The delivery guys had been at it for over an hour, cursing and sweating as they tried to navigate the unwieldy metal box through the barn doors we’d taken off the hinges just for this purpose.
Cole stood beside me, arms crossed over his chest, his face unreadable beneath the brim of his black cowboy hat. I could feel the tension radiating off him in waves.
“You still think this is a mistake, don’t you?” I asked, keeping my eyes on the workers.
He didn’t answer right away, just shifted his weight from one boot to the other. “It’s a hell of a lot of money,” he finally said. “And a hell of a lot of change.”
