Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 100226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
When I turn back toward Bridger’s, I find the man scowling from the opposite curb.
“Come on, grouchy man. Come talk to me. I’m not allowed to lift heavy things.”
Dani jogs out of the house and comes up short when she sees Bridger cross the street. “Oh, hey, Bridge.”
“Dani.” He smiles at her, but now his eyes are a little more apprehensive, and I want to demand he tell me what in the hell is going on, but I know he won’t. Because he’s as stubborn as I am.
Dani grins, then reaches for a box in the back of the moving truck, but it must be heavy because she drops it on the ground with a loud thud. She’s struggling to pick it up when Bridger walks up behind her.
“Let me get it for you.”
“No, it’s okay, I’ve got it.”
He doesn’t intervene, just stands behind her, his hands on his hips, but she continues to struggle to lift it, until finally, he nudges her out of the way.
“Stop being stubborn and let me get it, Dani.”
He easily picks up the box and carries it inside, and Dani worries her bottom lip between her teeth.
“Wanna talk about what’s going on there?” I ask her.
Her blue eyes, so much like her brother’s, shoot over to me, and she shrugs.
“We’re just friends.”
Some of the pieces start to fall into place. “Are you sure about that?”
Dani lets out a humorless laugh. “Trust me, Bridger made it very clear to me a long time ago that we’d only ever be friends. That’s it. And that’s okay because I really care about him, you know? He…well, he did a lot for me when I was a kid. Anyway, I’d better get back to work.”
She rushes to pick up another box and carries it inside. Obviously, the subject is closed.
Interesting.
For the next hour or so, we unload the truck. Holden grumbles about his sister having too much shit. Bridger makes sure all the heavy stuff is taken care of before he takes Birdie home, and once the ranch guys have headed out, Holden turns to me.
“We’d better get out to your brother’s for dinner.”
“Thanks for your help,” Dani says as she wipes some sweat off her forehead. “I never could have done that alone.”
“That’s what family does.” I wink at her, and Holden and I head to the truck.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
HOLDEN
We’ve been here for an hour, and I’ve never experienced so much amazing, organized chaos.
Children run around, yelling and playing in the yard. Babies fuss and are passed around from one set of arms to another. Jake and his girlfriend, Katie, are cozied up on a chaise lounge, talking and giggling together.
My girl is talking with her mama and two of the other wives, and I’m standing by the grill, nursing a beer, talking with Rem and Ryan.
“I know it’s a family day,” I begin, “but I’d like to talk business for a second, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind,” Rem says and glances over at Ryan, then back at me. “Privately?”
“Ryan’s fine. Hell, bring the other brothers over if you want. I don’t have any secrets.”
Rem turns the ribs on the grill, shuts the lid, then picks up his beer and gives me his attention. “Let’s talk.”
“You might think I’m insane.”
Ryan laughs, and Rem just nods. “Probably. But it’s okay.”
I push my hand through my hair, look out over their property, and then back at Remington. “I want to figure out a way to combine our ranches.”
Ryan immediately sobers, and Rem’s eyebrows climb into his hairline.
“Why?”
I take a deep breath, and then I just start to talk. “I don’t want to sell. I love my property, but there are still a lot of ghosts there, and I’m working on clearing those out. I’m almost there. I burned the buildings, and I’ve already made plans to move pastures around. Now we know that the asshole set traps, and those are gone. I’m not so sure that the property lines are correct anyway.”
“We never stole—”
I cut Remington off with a shake of my head. “Not you. My father. His father. I’m sure they moved fences here and there, likely by a lot. Assholes.”
“Is this one more fuck you to your dad?” Ryan asks.
“Oh, without a doubt. If he were alive, that fucker would kill me just for being here, let alone talking about merging my ranch with yours. It’s not a financial thing. I have plenty of money. My operation is solid. It’s really the principle. It needs a change. It’s been over the past month or so, since Millie, that I’ve realized how isolated we are on our ranch, how much damage he did. It could be so much more.”
“I actually don’t hate this idea,” Remington says, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. “Expanding and combining beef production could be huge. We’d be the largest cattle ranch in Montana. Not to mention, you have a lot more water on your land than we do. It would benefit the cattle.”