AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“How many more?”
I shrug. “A lot.”
Seven hundred is more than a lot—it’s an astronomical amount. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re supplying all the horses to the tourist traps in Wyoming and Idaho at this rate, as long as they had the permits for the respective states.
“And they want to lease land… from us?”
I nod.
“What did the contract say?”
My cheeks burn a little. “I don’t know. I kind of stormed out after they offered it to me.”
I expect my dad to be a little grumpy, but instead, he whistles and shakes his head, a smile on his lips. “Damn, Bluebird. You’re really making them work for it.”
“I thought they’d tried to set my auger on fire!”
He laughs. “Nora, that old thing was about a stiff breeze away from falling apart. I should have looked at it before you left.” His smile dies. We both know the reason he didn’t, the reason that a lot of the little chores are going incomplete around here, is his cancer… and recovery.
He’s not sick anymore. He’s recovering.
Still, it likely means that he is going to be pretty slow to help with things around the ranch. I wonder if the lease will involve some kind of labor arrangement… Typically, the one doing the leasing provides their own labor.
Hopefully, they know that.
“It’s okay, Dad,” I reassure him. “I can figure out how to do a lot of the little stuff around here. But the lease…”
“If you figure out how much it’s for, then we can make a decision,” he says firmly.
“Okay. I can do that.” My stomach clenches.
If they’ll even offer me the lease again, since I flew out of there like a bat out of hell.
“I’ll head over first thing tomorrow morning,” I tell him.
My dad nods. “Sounds good, Bluebird.”
“Tonight, how about we make some microwave dinners and watch a show?” I smile.
He smiles back. “Sounds perfect.”
We stand to leave the kitchen. Before I do, though, I take one last look at the hospital bill on the table.
It is a lot of zeroes. It’s a bill that needs to get paid, because it’s going to matter. It’s going to matter a lot.
I only hope the option for the lease is still on the table. Because if not, selling the ranch moves from the impossible to possible pretty damn fast.
Bright and early, I’m driving up to the Wild Spur. If these assholes are any type of cowboys worth their salt, they’ll be awake. If not, I’m more than happy to wake them up.
Their porch doesn’t creak. I find that annoying, somehow. Of course it doesn’t. They’re three strapping cowboys who can fix it.
Strapping?
I shake myself. My mind is clearly still stuck on my dad’s cancer announcement and cannot be trusted at the moment. Clearly.
I knock on the door.
“Hello!” I shout, pounding on the outside. Their big front picture window is open, cracked at the bottom, so I’m sure that they can hear me. “Is anyone in here?”
