“Yes, sir, it is,” Stone admitted, taking a sip of his coffee.
“I know your mama and daddy are glad you’re back,” Lorrie told him.
“Yeah. Mom’s got me runnin’ errands for her right now.”
Curtis’s eyebrow lifted. “‘Cause you ain’t got a job.”
Stone laughed but felt his cheeks heat from embarrassment. Curtis never did pull his punches. It was amazing how the man could pin that blue-gray stare on him and make him feel like he was sixteen, not thirty-six.
“You got any money saved up?”
“Yes, sir.” He had enough to keep him afloat for a good long time at the pace he was going. If he wanted to live in his parents’ barn for the foreseeable future, that is. Which he didn’t.
“Jerry Lambert called me up yesterday,” Curtis said, leaning back in his chair. “Mentioned you stopped by there.”
“I did. Thought I’d see how they were managin’.”
“You still wantin’ to be a rancher?”
Stone glanced between his aunt and uncle, wondering how much he should tell them. Just being there made him want to open up and reveal everything because his family didn’t judge. Could he use them as a sounding board?
“It’s been my plan for a long time,” he admitted, wrapping his hands around his coffee mug and staring into it. “Not sure I’m still lookin’ to take the same path, but I’d like somethin’ along those lines. Farming’s an option I’ve considered, too.”
Curtis gestured toward the back door. “You think you could do anything with what we’ve got here?”
Stone frowned. He was confused. Curtis owned a large portion of land because, at one time, the Walkers had owned every inch of the town. Back before Curtis renamed it Coyote Ridge in Lorrie’s honor, it had been Granite Creek, named for the tributary of the San Gabriel River that ran through the town. From the stories he’d heard, Curtis’s father had rented out some of the land to others, and when Curtis inherited it, he’d dissolved those debts, gifting the land to the renters and, ultimately, giving the town a chance to thrive.
“It ain’t gettin’ much use anymore,” Curtis said when Stone didn’t respond. “Ethan and Braydon are the only ones still livin’ on it. They’ve got no interest in any more than what they’ve got. We’ve rented out a couple of the boys’ houses, but we ain’t gettin’ any younger. Plus, we’ve still got a few thousand acres left that we haven’t figured out what to do with. We’ll be leavin’ that to the boys when the time comes.”
Stone glanced at Lorrie, curious if she might clue him in on what Curtis was getting at. She was looking at her husband with the same love he’d always seen in her eyes whenever she looked at anyone in her family.
Curtis sat forward, resting his forearms on the table. “I guess what I’m tryin’ to say is, are you interested?”
“In your land?”
“Yep.” He waved a hand. “Not all of it, mind you. But a good portion.”
Stone wasn’t sure what constituted agood portion.
Curtis continued. “Out here, I’d say you’re good with about one cow per three acres. Four acres for a mature bull. We’ve got about four hundred acres we’re willin’ to part with. Part of it’s on this side of the road. The rest is on the other side. We’ve rented out three acres to that landscapin’ company. They’ve got a fifty-year lease, so you won’t be able to touch it. You’d own it, though. Collect rent or whatnot.”
Holy shit.
Stone glanced between the two of them.
“Provided you’ve got a plan,” Lorrie noted. “You’d need a business proposal, of course.”
“Of course.” He’d actually been working on one for some time. Back when he thought he’d take over the Double J, Stone had wanted to prove to Doug that he was serious and capable.
“The boys agreed they’d be willin’ to let it go as long as it stays in the family,” Lorrie added.
“And provided it’ll be used for somethin’ worthwhile,” Curtis tacked on. “There are stipulations: no retail shit, no big master-planned housin’ communities. The soil’s fertile. Perfect for farmin’ or grazin’.”
Stone wasn’t sure what to say.
“It’s contingent on a couple of things,” Lorrie explained. “First, you’ve got to stay here. In Coyote Ridge.”
“I’m doin’ that,” he told them. “No matter what path I take.”
