Fuck.Between calving season and fixing the irrigation system, I had to push back my last scheduled perimeter check. It’s a good thing the cattle haven’t been in that pasture, or we could’ve lost part of the herd.
“Is that why you came to find me so early this morning?” I pull off my hat, wiping sweat from my brow. “To tell me I’ve let things slip through the cracks?”
He shakes his head. “No. I’m here because you’re too stubborn to admit that you’re in over your head. So I’ve decided that until you hire a foreman, I’m stepping in.”
“That’s not necessary—”
He silences me with a stern look. “I wasn’t asking permission. You might be the boss around here, but I’m still your father, and I’m not about to let your stubbornness run this ranch into the ground.”
“Hard to see that happening considering I’ve tripled revenue since taking over,” I mumble under my breath as I fill the trough with grain.
Pops cups his ear. “What was that, son?”
“Nothing.”
He smirks. “Figured. This mean you’re going to accept my help?”
As much as I want to fight him on this, I know it’s a lost cause. He’s as bullheaded as they come, and once his mind is made up, it’s carved in stone.
Plus, the more I think about it, I can’t afford to turn him down even if I wanted to. With Charlie and me expecting, I want to be at every prenatal appointment, which means someone has to keep an eye on the ranch in my absence.
I nod as I drop the empty feed bag to the floor. “Yes, sir, it does. I got some big news yesterday that’ll have me away from the ranch more than usual, so I could use the help,” I say, hating to admit it out loud.
“Must be pretty serious if you’re willing to let go of control for once.” Pops’s tone is edged with curiosity.
I rub my palms down my thighs and raise my eyes to his. “Yeah… I found out I’m going to be a dad.”
Pops studies me, his face unreadable. I’m not surprised he doesn’t respond right away since he’s more stoic than expressive. Ma has made her opinion on my having a family on my own perfectly clear, but he’s never said much about it, usually just nodding along in agreement when she pesters him to weigh in.
He lets out a low whistle, coming over to clap a heavy hand on my shoulder. “Well, I’ll be damned. Didn’t see that comin’. Congrats, son. I reckon that means I’ve got a second grandkid on the way?”
“You do.”
Briar and Jensen have a seven-year-old son named Caleb. We didn’t meet him until two summers ago, when he and Jensen moved here after his mom passed, and Jensen and Briar fell in love shortly after. Pops and Ma have taken to beinggrandparents in stride, spoiling Caleb rotten whenever they get the chance.
“I didn’t realize you were dating someone. I assume your mother is in the dark or she’d be shouting it from the rooftops,” Pops remarks.
I scrub a hand across the back of my neck, wincing. “I’m not exactly seeing anyone.”
Having a casual fling isn’t the kind of thing I want to admit to him, even if I had good reasons for agreeing to a no-strings arrangement—though my perspective has shifted entirely since Charlie told me she was pregnant.
Pops’s judging gaze has guilt setting heavy in my chest. “Hope that doesn’t mean you’re fixin’ to dodge responsibility.”
“Never. In fact, I asked her to marry me, but she said no.” I leave out the minor detail that I’m talking about Charlie.
Pops pinches the bridge of his nose. “No shit, son. I’m about the least romantic man you’ll find, but even I know a woman doesn’t want to feel like an obligation. She wants to be swept off her feet and properly wooed.”
I chuckle. “That what you did with Ma?”
“At first? No. But somewhere along the way, she had me beggin’ on my knees and still turned me down when I proposed,twice. Not great for my pride, but I never quit fighting for her—not when I would’ve done anything to call her mine.” His eyes crinkle at the corners, a smile crossing his lips.
Pops makes a good point. Charlie seemed more bothered by how suddenly I sprang the proposal on her rather than about the idea itself, and that tells me plenty.
“Seems like I might have my work cut out for me,” I say.
The corners of my mouth lift as I think of all the ways I can win over my stubborn wife-to-be.
“Sounds about right, but you’ve never been one to back down from a challenge,” Pops remarks.
