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My brother, Chase, wasn’t kidding when he told me that Jake was excellent with horses. It’s why I hired him last summer, and it is one of the best decisions that I’ve made. It’s as though Jake speaks their language.
“Thank you. If anything is going on, you have Dr. Randolph’s number.”
He nods thoughtfully. “Yeah, I’ll call her if there’s anything wrong. Then Chase invited me to go fishing over at his place this afternoon, so I thought I’d do that. I figured I could also help them out if they need it. The house is almost done, you know. I can’t believe how fast it went up.”
I grin at him. My brother decided to go ahead and hire a company—one I helped him choose—to build his new house out on the ranch, where we grew up. Chase’s property sits right by a small lake, with excellent views of the mountains, and Jake loves to go out there, sit at the end of the dock, and cast a line out into the water. I love that he enjoys spending time there with my family.
With our family now.
“That sounds fun,” I reply, finishing my bagel. “Maybe I’ll pop over there after my meetings and see how things are coming along.”
“It’s really nice,” Jake informs me. “I mean, it’s a lot smaller than this house, but it seems to fit in there, you know?”
“Yeah.” I nod and peel the banana. “I get it. I think the design is great, and Summer and Chase will be happy there for a long, long time.”
“Why didn’t you build on the family ranch?” he asks and drops onto my couch, one leg flung over the arm, as if he plans to stay awhile.
I eye the clock. I have about ten minutes until Arthur calls.
“Well, all five of us siblings have a stake in it,” I reply. “And technically, we’re all supposed to have acreage there. As you know, Remington runs the ranch and owns the biggest share. And he should; he works his ass off out there.”
“That’s why he and Erin and the kids live in the old farmhouse,” Jake says, and I nod.
“Yep. My parents built a small house not too far away from there several years ago when they decided to retire, so Rem moved him and his family into the farmhouse that we grew up in.” I take a bite of the banana. “Chase claimed his property there at the lake, and he chose well. It’s pretty out there. I’m sure with time, Millie and Brady will pick out a place that suits them, if they want to live at the ranch.”
“Brady lives in that really old cabin,” Jake reminds me. “Does he want to stay there?”
I snort. “It’s fine for now, but it’s tiny. If he ever has a family, he’ll want something bigger.”
“So, what about you?” Jake repeats.
I blow out a breath, thinking it over. “I’ve always been a stubborn ass.”
That makes Jake snicker.
“I guess I wanted to do things on my own, in my own way. It wasn’t intentional, actually. I knew the old man who owned this property before me, and when he died, his family didn’t want to keep it. A fancy hotel guy wanted to scoop it up and turn it into a resort.”
Jake scowls. “Gross.”
“Yeah, I didn’t like the idea either. So, I put in a higher offer and scooped it up. Then, when I saw the original house, well…it was in pretty bad shape. It was going to cost as much to renovate it as it did to just tear it down and start from scratch. Of course, this house is bigger. And maybe a little fancier.”
“A little?” He raises an eyebrow.
“Okay, a lot fancier. I like it out here, and I also like knowing that I’m only about ten minutes down the road from Wild River Ranch. I can get over there quickly if anyone needs me.”
“And they can get here if you need them.”
I blink at him and nod. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“Is the river that runs through the south pasture the Wild River?” he asks. “The same one that runs through the other ranch?”
“Yep.”
“So, we’re still connected to it.”
I grin at him. Since losing his own family to a horrible accident almost two years ago, I know that Jake has craved feeling connected and grounded, and I love that he feels that with my family and the deep roots we’ve planted here.
“Yeah, I guess we are. That’s pretty cool.”
