Chapter 16
Wade stretched into one of those positions that Viv had shown him in the morning yoga classes, hoping he had the routine right. The stretch felt so good on his muscles. Doing the routine twice a day in the privacy of his cabin, after Viv left in the morning and before he saw her at night, really helped him feel much better every day. It set the stage for the day in the saddle and working with the horses and cattle, and it soothed his sore muscles at the end of the day. Not that he ever wanted to admit that to her or anyone else. Which is why he did it in the privacy of his own cabin, alone.
“Geez, dude, I did not need to see your ass in my face tonight.”
Mike’s disgusted voice rang out in the small living space and Wade twisted around. He felt a twinge in his back, in the old injury from a few weeks ago, and cursed his cousin out.
“What the fuck are you doing here in my cabin, asshole? Haven’t you ever heard of knocking?” He got to his feet and glared at his cousin.
“Since when does family need to knock? Or do you have a naked chick in here? I saw Viv with my mom, so I figured it was safe.” He handed Wade a beer and sat in one of the old easy chairs.“What the fuck were you doing, limbering up for sex with the young thing? She wearing you out already, old man?”
Wade threw a pillow at Mike and sat in the other chair.“She’s not that much younger than me.”
“She’s way hotter, though, and in better shape. You have to keep up.”
“Fuck off. What do you want?”
Mike grinned.“Fine. Straight to business. Things are getting busier at the ranch. We have a lot going on and we have to accept that Gabe isn’t coming back.”
Wade snorted.“We’ve known that for years. About time you accepted it. He’s doing great with his books. Why would he give that up to run a ranch?”
Mike shrugged.“Whatever. Dad needs to slow down, has needed it for a few years. I can’t do this all myself. You’ve been my right-hand man for years and I want you to take over the ranching side. Hell, you’re better with that anyway, with the cattle and the crew.”
Wade stared at him.“What will you be doing?”
“I’ll be focusing on the guest ranch side. I’ve been spending most of my time there anyway, dealing with trail rides, camping setup, the cattle trail experiences. I’ll still need you for some of that, but we want you to focus on the ranching business.”
Wade was still struggling to wrap his brain around what Mike was asking.“Why me?”
Mike froze with his bottle halfway to his lips.“What do you mean, why you? Why not you?” He gestured to the stack of cattle magazines next to the chair he was sitting in.“You’re the one who reads up on cattle ranching in his free time. You’ve kept up-to-date on the latest in grazing and feed. You’ve talked about how to expand the herd to improve it. You know the cows, along with training the horses to work the herd the best. Unless you’d rather work with the guests? I mean, if you want be on that side of the business, we could plan for that.”
Wade shook his head frantically.“God, no. I don’t want to work with the guests. I’m a little too grumpy to deal with them regularly.”
Mike chuckled.“Yeah, we heard from that asshat Scott Bennett. You did the right thing. Don’t worry about it.”
Wade sipped his beer and stared at the table between them for several moments. Hell, it didn’t really matter what Mike needed him to do. He’d do it. That was the deal. They took him in when he needed it; he would do whatever they needed because that was what family did.“If that’s the job you need me to do, then I’ll do it.”
Mike glared at him.“I’m not asking you to shovel shit out of a stall. This is not a job. I’m asking you to be more involved here. To be a part of the ranch, a part of this business. Not just a job. Damn it, Wade.”
A spark of hope, of something, flared inside, but he wasn’t quite ready to trust it.“Why me? You have Cal, who’s been the foreman here since before you could ride. Isn’t he the natural one to be in charge?”
Mike’s arm dropped, and he stared at Wade for a long minute.“What’s going on? Don’t you want to run the ranch, try some of those ideas you’ve been talking about?”
Wade shrugged.“It’s your family’s ranch. I would think you or Rafe or even Ariel might want to control it.”
“You dumbass. You are my family. And we all agree with this. The center, the visitors, they’re great. And I enjoy handling that aspect of it. Most of the time. But you’re more suited to the working side of the ranch and have the ideas I just don’t have to make it more profitable. Besides, I’d like to see you handle some of the dumbass ranch hands and their bullshit for once.”
Wade flipped him off and got up to get them both another beer, but more to collect his thoughts. He handed the bottle to his cousin and settled back in his chair. He was excited to try some new techniques with grazing and even breeding for the herd and, if he had full rein over that, he might find new life in him working the ranch. But where did that leave him and Viv? “Are you sure your brothers or Ariel don’t mind this?”
Mike snorted.“First off, Gabe is never coming back to work on the ranch. He might help if we need him, but he’d rather stay far away. And frankly, he’s better doing what he’s doing. His books are doing great and his series has just been optioned for television. I’m so fucking proud of him. Just don’t tell him that.”
Wade smothered a grin and made an X over his heart.“I won’t say a word.”
“Rafe is busy with his vet practice and Ariel is doing great with her therapy business. None of them want the cattle business.”
Wade scuffed at the label on the bottle.“This is your family legacy.”
Mike leaned forward.“It’s your family too, in more ways than one. Your grandfather was part of this land. You come from this land. Just because he didn’t inherit it doesn’t mean you’re not a part of us. And you’ve given your blood, sweat, and tears to the success of the ranch. You deserve this, probably more than anyone else. Will you help us move into the next century, help us succeed?”
Well, damn. He swallowed against tightening in throat. He hadn’t expected to feel so emotional at the words that he never thought he’d hear. He took a swallow of the beer and struggled to get it past the lump in his throat. He’d always been accepted as part of the family, not excluded exactly, but he never quite felt like one of the Buchanans. To hear this knocked down some bricks in his wall.
They sat in silence, drinking their beer, Mike stealing glances every once in a while until Wade regained his composure.“So, you in or what?” he asked.
Wade nodded.“How much latitude do I have?”
A faint smile curved his cousin’s lips.“I’ll keep my dad out as much as I can, but I can’t promise much. You know how he is, always asking questions. You and I will work together, but you run the ranch side. The big stuff, I’d like you to run by me mostly, so I understand it at least initially. The hands and Cal will all report to you. I might need you when we have the cowboy experience, but otherwise, we’ll remain separate.”
Ideas flooded Wade’s brain, ideas he’d been reading about for the herd and the ranch. A smile spread across his face, answered by his cousin.“I see you like that idea. But I’m going to need a verbal acceptance, Wade.”
He slowly nodded, still staring at the table, not really seeing it.“Yeah, I’m in.”
“Good. Now that we have one thing out of the way…what’s going on with you and Viv?”
Wade choked on a sip of his beer. Mike waited until he had regained his faculties before continuing.“Since I’m her boss, with Mom also stepping aside mostly, I want to know your intentions.”
Wade raised an eyebrow.“What are you, her father?”
Mike snorted.“No, but I want to know that you’re not abusing your position as a co-owner in the ranch.”
“Co-owner?”
Mike blinked.“Oh, yeah. Didn’t I mention that? It’s here in the paperwork. We’re adding you as one of the owners. I thought I mentioned it.”
Yeah, that was when the tears started. For only the second time in his life. Well, that he remembered.