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“Why?”
“With my father in charge, all decisions have to go through him. When he retires, Rick and I will be co-owners. We can get a lot of stuff done that we’ve been wanting to do. Rick, in particular, wants to take the ranch into the future or at least the twenty-first century. I think once he has the autonomy to do what he wants, he’ll feel more settled and settle down.”
“What about you?”
“I like the old ways. It’s how we’ve always done it. It’s how my great-grandfather built this ranch. It’s not that I don’t trust new technologies. I’m not an idiot. I can see how much easier machines and computers have made our lives. But on the other hand, the machines can’t take the place of human intuition and human sweat and work ethic.”
“Yeah, I can see that. But it’s getting harder and harder to make ends meet. And if you can save some money off your bottom line by streamlining processes, it’s a good idea to at least look into that.”
“I know it. And I’m a little bit more reasonable about it than my father is. He just shuts Rick down without explanation, and Rick doesn’t want to argue with him unless it’s a life-or-death situation. So, the ranch has been floundering in the last couple years because my father’s too stubborn to try something new, and my brother’s not aggressive enough to force his hand.”
“And you’re caught in the middle?” she asked.
“I was never a part of all this until my accident forced me to be. Nowadays, I’m just trying to make sure that our bulls have a place to shine. Not only so they can be rodeo athletes in their own right, but also so we can attract other breeders who are looking to produce their own bloodlines from our championship bulls. I think that’s where the future of this ranch is. Rick sees the bigger picture and has a good handle on making it all work.”
“What is stopping your father from retiring?” Reba asked.
“I think he wants to see the ranch settled both in the rodeo as well as with selling cattle at auction. It’s why it’s going to be so hard to convince him to agree to the UPRC’s exclusive terms. In the long run, I think it can only benefit us. In the short run, we might take a small monetary hit. But Rick and I have prepared for that. We’ve got enough of a nest egg that we could weather a few rough years.”
“The contract is for five years,” Reba said.
Shane winced. “Yeah, that’s the problem. We’re either going to suffer for a couple years, and then bounce back or we’re going to tank completely. I’m hoping this may be the big break we’re looking for. But it’s a gamble, and my father is not a gambling man.”
“What can I do to help?” she asked.
“Honestly just by you being in the room, it guarantees he’s not going to fly off the handle. He’ll be concentrating on making a good impression on you. Not because he thinks you and I are together, it’s because he’s hoping to pick your brains for some free veterinarian services.”
“Are we together?” she teased.
“I think so.”
Pleasure tickled up from her toes all the way to her ears and Reba wanted to wiggle with happiness. “I was hoping you’d said that.”
“Good, because I don’t want to be near you when you grab the castration tools.”
Reba wished that they had a couple more days to spend on the farm. She would have liked to have gotten to know Lainey a little bit better. And she wouldn’t even mind taking a look at some of the pregnant cows.
*
Shane
Later on that night, the whole family was sitting around the dinner table, eating the most delicious fried chicken and biscuits that Shane had ever experienced. Lainey had outdone herself.
“Lainey, this is amazing. You’ve got to give me the recipe for the spice blend. My dad will go crazy for this. He’s a fried chicken connoisseur,” Reba said.
Lainey flushed with delight. “I’d be glad to. So he’s a big fan of fried chicken?”
“He dragged my mother to New Orleans one time, and all they did was eat fried chicken at every restaurant that served it. He had scoresheet that he kept in a notebook and took detailed notes on who had the best-tasting fried chicken New Orleans.”
That didn’t sound like a bad trip. Shane wondered when the rodeo season ended if Reba would be up for a trip like that.
“What was the verdict?” Bill asked.
“You’d have to ask him,” Reba said. “All I know is my mother couldn’t eat fried chicken for a whole year after that.”
“I’ll tell you what,” Lainey said, “I’ll give you my recipe for chicken fried steak, too. That way, she can change it up a bit.”
“Speaking of steak,” Bill said.
