Much like Declan, I’d bought out the practice of a veterinarian who was retiring. I’d trained under him, and me taking over had been the plan all along, which meant I was working with a lot of older equipment that I hadn’t had a chance to upgrade.
“Sounds promising.” An upbeat song came on the jukebox, making Sofia sway in her stool. “Thinking of hitting the dance floor. Join me?”
I glanced toward that area of the bar and caught sight of Jake in the last booth. He held a paper in his hand that he appeared to be studying intently. I’d seen him be serious when it came to the health of his animals, but this was a different version.
Business Jake.
Apparently, he looked good in that role, too. I pushed that thought aside. An attraction to Jake Thorne was a dead-end proposition. Everyone knew that he wasn’t capable of commitment to anything but his family and his ranch.
“Or maybe you’re more interested in a guy.” Sofia followed where I was looking. “Go ask him to take you for a spin.”
“Who? Jake? No. Trust me. He’s not my type.” Not anymore. I’d outgrown my attraction to cocky cowboys. I’d made that mistake once before and learned that that type of cowboy was more trouble than they were worth. “Too arrogant. Did I tell you he informed me that he was buying Twister at the close of the rodeo? He named a price, and I think I was supposed to fall at his feet in gratitude.”
“Go talk to him, then,” Sofia insisted.
I gave her a confused look. “I just said I’m not interested.”
Sofia rolled her eyes. “Talk to him about stud fees for Twister. If he’s already interested, then he could be your best customer, right?”
I hadn’t thought of that. It could be mutually beneficial—not to mention convenient, considering our properties shared a border. “Yeah, okay, that makes sense.”
“Go. I’m hitting the dance floor.” Sofia drank her second shot of tequila before toe-tapping her way over to where a line dance was in progress.
Left alone, I took a giant gulp from my margarita glass, steeling myself to negotiate with Jake. It was business, nothing more. I was going to ignore the fact that I found his green eyes and lean, muscular body attractive.
I slipped off the stool and headed across the tavern to Jake’s table. When I was closer, I could see spreadsheets and notes cluttering the surface. “Strange place to work,” I commented, leaning my hip against the booth.
“I like being around people and having some background noise. It’s too damn quiet on the ranch now that Amy and Henry have moved out.” He’d barely glanced up at me while he spoke.
“Let me buy you a drink,” I offered. “I want to talk.”
He focused on me then, his eyes bright in the dim setting of the bar. “I’d love to take you out some time, but I’ve got to deal with this tonight.” He gestured to the papers.
He was interested in taking me out? From what I’d heard, Jake liked to have a good time—he was a work hard, play hard sort of man—but I’d never thought…Didn’t matter.Not my type.“Not what I meant. I want to talk about Twister.”
His gaze sharpened even more, and he pointed to the seat opposite him. “You’ve got my attention.”
I slid into the booth, eyeing him. Being forthright was probably the best way of dealing with Mister Cocky Cowboy.
“You changed your mind about selling Twister.” It was more statement than question and I had to struggle to keep from rolling my eyes. Cocky was right. Did he really think it was that easy to change my mind?
“Not at all, but I am open to discussing stud fees for him.” I didn’t name a price, but I’d done my research and had one in mind. “That would save you the trouble and expense of buying a stallion, and it would be nearly as convenient as purchasing him since he’s right next door to your operation.”
“No,” Jake said without even a second of consideration. “I’m not interested in half measures. I’ll either own Twister and have him exclusively or I’ll find a comparable stallion elsewhere.”
I wanted to saygood luck with that, but I kept that comment to myself. “I’m surprised at your attitude, Jake. Don’t you want to even sleep on it?”
“I’ve got a plan, and I need to follow it.” He pointed to the yellow legal pad in front of him that was covered in notes. “I need to get the ranch back on track, back in line with the plans that were laid out before my dad and brother died. Paying stud fees would be straying farther away from that.”
I remembered Luke Thorne well enough. Now,hehad been the ultimate cocky cowboy, not to mention a know-it-all. My father had a good, neighborly relationship with Marshall Thorne, and when I had been growing up, it had been common for the two men to tackle projects together and help each other out on their respective ranches.
But when Luke started to take over Thorne Ranch, that relationship between the families had become strained. My father had been the most even-tempered man I’d ever known, but even he’d gotten aggravated with the way that Luke seemed to consider himself the be-all and end-all of ranching.
There’d been some hope that he might grow into the role, with time and experience, but he hadn’t gotten the chance. I didn’t know what plans he’d left behind, but if I was in Jake’s shoes, I didn’t think I’d be all that concerned with following them. Besides, Luke had passed more than four years ago. Times changed, ranches evolved. Jake couldn’t be serious about still using his brother’s outdated plans.
“Maybe you haven’t strayed far enough.” I kept my tone light. “There’s more than one way to run a successful ranch and horse breeding program.”
Jake gave me a look suggesting I had just committed blasphemy by doubting the word of theGreat Luke. So not the right tactic with Jake. I let a minute of silence pass while I decided that time might be my friend. We weren’t going to be able to settle this tonight. I needed more time with Jake to convince him that my business proposal would be good for both of us.
