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Slowly he backed away and let Rafe sit back up. “You make me forget myself,” Russell whispered. Then he stood and walked over to stoke the fire, taking a second to get his racing pulse under control. A few minutes later, he sat back down and put his feet up, pulling Rafe close once more.
“I know how you feel,” Rafe said, his voice rough. Neither of them moved, the fire casting light that danced through the room. “I hate to leave, but I should probably get home.” Rafe didn’t, though, and Russell was reluctant to break the moment.
The fire had burned down to embers before Rafe shifted. Russell stood up and got Rafe’s coat before showing him to the door.
“Thank you for dinner.” He smiled slightly. “I’m glad Uncle Mack had good people who cared about him.” Rafe leaned down to kiss him and then stepped out into the snowy night.
Russell watched him through the windows and then turned out the lights before heading to bed himself. He had to get up early if he was going to make his planned flight—the helicopter was picking him up just before eight in the morning. Still, once in bed, Russell didn’t sleep very much. Thoughts of Rafe filled his mind.
The man sure as hell could get his motor running. And when Rafe kissed him, Russell never wanted to let go. But then his insecurities got the better of him, and he realized he wasn’t quite ready to hold on either.
“YOU NEEDto get your butt out of bed,” his dad grumbled from the doorway to his suite. The space had started as his room when he’d been a kid, but Russell had taken over the room next door as well and had opened up the wall between them.
“I didn’t get in until almost midnight,” he groaned, pushing back the covers. “We had to wait for the weather to clear in Denver.” He pushed back the covers but didn’t move. He was completely worn out. All he wanted to do was sleep.
“Violet has coffee and pecan rolls in the kitchen,” his dad said. He knew from experience how to entice Russell out of bed. “Was the trip at least productive?”
“Yes. I got a national beef producer on board and spoke to the rep for one of the largest ranches in the nation. And while I was there, I secured another contract for our beef at amazing prices with that same producer. They will take all we can give them.” He sat up, scratching his head lightly.
“So you’ve sold all we can produce,” his dad said with a smile. “That’s damned fine.”
Russell sighed and stretched, trying to get a kink out of his back. Then he stood and pulled on his robe. “No, Dad. I’ve sold enough that we can expand and sell that as well. What I sold gives us room for guaranteed growth.”
“But we’re nearly at what the land can support already.”
“I know. But I have a few feelers out. I was thinking of seeing if Rafe would lease us some of his land. A lot of it has been sitting fallow for a long time, so it should be very productive. We could graze on some of it and use the rest to grow feed. I also have my eye on the Brompton ranch. John and his wife have been talking about retiring.” He pulled his robe tighter around him to keep the cold at bay. This room was always chilly, no matter what they did. “I was wondering if you’d talk to them, see if they’re interested in selling. They could keep the house and be free to travel to their heart’s content.”
“And we’d get another five thousand acres.” His dad smiled. “Okay. I’ll stop by in the next few days. But is that kind of outlay going to stress us?”
Russell shook his head. “No, Dad. I already worked things out with the bank. Our line of credit is free and clear. Everything has been paid.”
His dad gaped at him. “You mean there is no mortgage anymore?”
“That’s right. We’re solvent. The company has been doing really well and has been generating excess cash. So I used it to take care of our debts. Now we can buy whatever we need without worrying about it.” He was pretty pleased with himself. That mortgage had been hanging over his father’s head for a long time.
“And now, since you got me up, I might as well get dressed. I think I have time for coffee before I have to head out to Rafe’s.”
Russell hated to admit to himself just how badly he wanted to see Rafe again. In fact, through hours of meetings, he’d often found himself drifting off, thinking about the way Rafe had looked at him. More than once, he’d needed a glass of water to cool himself down.
“Good. Go have some fun.”
Russell rolled his eyes. “I’m helping him go through some of Mack’s things. I don’t expect this to be a party.”
“No. But I’m not blind. The snow has finally stopped, and the sun is trying to come out. Go help him with Mack’s things and then go for a ride or something. Get out, have fun.” Sometimes his father was so transparent. “Whatever you’re afraid of, just let it go.”
Russell narrowed his gaze. “You found out something. What did the doctor say?” He should have known.
“I’m fine. I need to change my diet and eat more greens and shit like that. Less meat. But he said that I’m going to be okay. It wasn’t cancer, and I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke. Just a bout of bad indigestion. So I need to eat better.” He huffed. “I already told Violet, and she smirked at me.”
“What about Coreen?” Russell asked, his mind already whirring with what he needed to do. “Does Violet want to leave?”
“Apparently Coreen is going to call you. So we’ll see.” With that, his dad left the room.
Russell got dressed, then went downstairs and had breakfast, with plenty of coffee to get him moving. Finally he hopped into his truck and made his way over to Rafe’s.
The dogs greeted him like a long-lost friend, and he doled out pets and scratches before they raced off to the barn, where Rafe emerged.
“You made it back,” he said with a smile.
