“Never went there. I don’t think anyone has an ego big enough to consider they’d keep you awake at night.”
Her lips pursed as her brows pushed together, her body stiff with annoyance. “What does that mean?”
“Whatever you decide, Cassidy,” I told her, reaching for my glass of water. “Now I’m going back to bed, I have to be up in a little under three hours.”
“You’re actually more annoying than I thought,” she bit back, watching me stand.
“Shit, really, that’s great. My work here is done then.” I gave her a two fingered salute. “See you soon, Miss. Turner.”
“Not if I see you first.”
I chuckled. “You know you’ve been spending too much time with those kids you teach. That’s a fourth grade response if ever I heard one.”
As I reached the door I heard a heavy sigh.
“You mean those kids I don’t understand?”
“Your words, not mine, Cassidy.” I waved a hand over my shoulder. “Night, night, don’t let the bed bugs bite.”
When I heard her glass slam on the table I smiled, knowing that I wouldn’t be the only one tossing and turning.
Chapter 5
Since U Been Gone – Kelly Clarkson
Gunner
The gray block road curved past the main house, splitting at the old oak to lead either left to the training paddocks or right toward the winter barn. We’d laid it two years ago, replacing the dirt track that had served us for years. Now our pride and joy - the new indoor training arena - stood where an old machinery shed had been.
Clutching my Stanley mug of coffee, pride swelled at my chest as the sound of horses whinnying blew in on the breeze along with the smell of hay and manure. White fences lined the lush green paddocks where horses grazed and in the distance a day of work was beginning. A couple of the younger ranch hands were brushing the horses, Ariel in her usual spot, leaning into the curry comb like she couldn’t get enough of it. She always knew how to sweet-talk the new hires into spoiling her. Others were washing down the stalls, a couple watching the farrier shoe a horse, and I could bet that Charlie, my head stable hand was in the office brewing coffee. I could rely on her for that at least.She’d been off her game a little lately, forgetting to put meetings in the diary, missing issues with horses that I’d expect her to see and then trying to bluff her way out of it. I was beginning to wonder if I’d been too hasty in promoting her when we expanded.
A couple of years back, we extended my horse training and breeding program, investing a whole load of money in it. Money that we’d got back after it had been stolen from us by our dad. I’d expected Nash, as unofficial head of the family, to want to spread it across the whole ranch. He was convinced, though, that horses were the best way for us to move forward and be successful, seeing as the best-bred horses went for millions of dollars. It was my dream, always had been, so I jumped at the chance. Now we had the best facilities in the whole of the state and while it was hard, every day was a joy to come to work.
“Hey, Gun.”
I stopped walking and turned to see Nash jogging toward me. “Hey, did I forget something?” I felt my back pocket for my phone and could feel my keys in the front one.
“No, it’s about what we talked about yesterday. The houses for you and Wild.”
“Okay,” I said, frowning. “You desperate to get rid of us?”
Nash laughed. “Fuck no. I mentioned it to Wild and he liked the idea and I’m going into town so thought I’d call at the town council and see whether any permissions are needed even though it’s on our land. I wondered if you wanted to come with.”
“Sure. What time are you thinking of going?” I looked down the road toward the stables, mentally working out my schedule for the day.
“Three suit you?”
“I can make that work.” Nash scratched his stubble. “Have you been out to the far south edge of the land recently?”
“Not for a couple of weeks, when I helped bring the calves in for branding. Why?”
“I went out there yesterday and there’s some stakes in the ground, around twenty feet from our boundary.”
I frowned. “You think maybe it’s the county doing some sort of assessment?”
Nash shrugged. “No idea, but I’m going to ask when we go and visit the council.” He started to walk away but then turned back on his heel. “Oh, I’ve had another idea, too. Thought we could talk about it in more detail later, but what do you think about turning the old hay barn into a wedding venue?”
I looked across the paddock to the old barn that was nestled behind a cluster of trees. It was close to the house and had run into some disrepair since we built a new one about six years ago. “What’s given you that idea? Not that I’m saying it’s not a good one, because I’ve been thinking for a while that we should do something with it.”
