“Okay,” Wilder replied, finally stopping swiveling. “And your idea is?”
“We build a kitchen big enough for both Ruby and outside caterers to use. If we build it in the east pasture, it’s equal distance between the bunk house and the barn. There’s no room to add it on to the bunk house so it would be a good resolution.The current one, inside the bunk house, could be made into a dining area or lounge area.”
“They’re ranchmen, Nash,” I mocked. “Not sorority girls.”
“And some of them are living away from home months at a time, so let’s give them a little comfort.”
“Nash is right,” Wilder agreed. “They should have decent facilities.”
I knew they were right, but I was feeling grumpy as fuck. Listening to your brother bang his wife while you struggled to get a certain woman out of your head, did that to you.
“We can think about that more once we decide about the kids camp.”
“Nash,” I replied. “Why are we even thinking about it? As much as I hate agreeing with anything that woman says, it’s a great idea. I’d love to share my love of horses with kids, teach them what magnificent animals they are. It’ll be good for us and them.” I shrugged. “We’ll need more stable hands and maybe some ranch hands.” Over the last couple of years, we’d doubled our workforce, but it still wouldn’t be enough. “We’ll need help in the office, too, although I have someone in mind for that. But we can talk about that later down the line.”
“So, we agree with the kid’s camp then?” We both nodded at Nash who then sighed. “Good. Now we have to talk about the land development and what we do about it.”
The idea of people building a factory and businesses, not to mention ugly apartment blocks, made me feel sick. This land was beautiful, a patchwork of jewel colors, from the land to the sky, we didn’t need the ugly stitches of grey concrete marring its beauty.
“We have to do whatever we can to stop it.” I pushed off the windowsill and paced across the office, stopping in front of Nash. “I can’t believe the County let this happen.”
“Me neither, but according to Calvin they’re determined to push it through as fast as possible. He’s trying to find out who is buying the land so we can get a meeting with them. The three mayors are meeting tonight to talk about the next steps.”
“Well, let’s hope we can stop the bastards. Now, anything else?” I growled. “Because I have things to do.”
Nash clicked on the mouse and changed what was on his screen. I groaned inwardly at the sight of our quarterly report. “Do we have to?”
“I’ll be quick.” My big brother smirked and highlighted a row of figures. “Training program’s up thirty percent from last year. Your reputation’s growing, Gun.”
“Yeah, but so are our costs.” I tapped the screen on the section that said, ‘Feed Supplier’. “Price of oats has doubled since spring. We need either more clients or higher rates.”
“Or both,” Nash said. “Especially with this development threat looming. We can’t afford to look vulnerable right now.”
“Which is why my idea of the Kids ranch, and the wedding venue is the best.” Wilder cocked an eyebrow. “You can thank me later.”
“Whatever.” I turned to Nash. “Can I go now and leave you with Business Brain of the year?”
“Bye, bye, Gunner,” Wilder said and gave me a finger wave on his way to another three-sixty turn.
My day had really gone to shit and lack of sleep was the least of my worries. I’d tried to do some work with Momma’s Pride in the indoor school. It was the horse that Charlie had messed up with and the fact she had messed up meant that the whole session had gone badly. As soon as I’d gone near him, he’dbucked and kicked, stressing himself out until he was frothing at the mouth. He’d gone back weeks in his progression. Weeks that I didn’t have the time for and certainly wouldn’t have the money because I doubted Dick Hazel would pay. Fucking dick by name and dick by nature.
When I got to the stables, I looked inside but couldn’t see who I was looking for.
“Bailey,” I yelled down to one of the hands who was brushing down one of the ranch horses. “Where’s Charlie?”
“Not sure, but Soloman turned up as he had a spare afternoon, so maybe she’s with him.”
I didn’t answer but stormed over to the pool, our latest addition to the facilities. Soloman, a qualified equine hydro therapist, came in twice a month to work with the horses. Charlie was fascinated by it and spent any time she could over there.
Pulling the door open so hard I almost yanked it from its hinges, I tried to get my anger under control. I didn’t want to spook the horse in the water being massaged by Soloman after its swim.
Charlie was where I expected her to be, standing on the parapet leaning against the rail and watching. Her head turned as I approached, and she flashed me a tentative smile. I hadn’t stayed mad at her over the saddle incident, but it didn’t mean I’d forgotten it. Charlie was fully aware that I’d been disappointed and had kept her distance, limiting her time in the office with me. She had still brewed the coffee every morning at least.
“Hi, I’ve just been watching,” she said, her eyes going back to the pool. “Soloman said that Chipper is doing really well, getting the muscle back.”
“Good.” My jaw tensed as I looked over at the water. “Have you got a minute?”
Not waiting for a response, I turned and stalked out of the pool and across the yard to my office. I knew Charlie was following because I could hear her boots on the concrete, quick steps desperately trying to keep up with mine. Flying into the office, I strode into the middle of the room, stopping in the space between our two desks. My hands went to my hips, and I stared up at the ceiling, still unsure of how much anger I was going to unleash. When the door opened again and Charlie stepped inside I wondered if I should have left it until the following day, but it was too late.
