Chapter 11 Weston
Weston
Beau’s dining room table looked like a tornado had hit it.
Blueprints, beer bottles, mood boards, and more were scattered all over it.
Now that Savannah had taken care of all our legal messes, it was time for us to finally get to work on Golden Circle.
Cavendish was chomping at the bit to start construction, and so were we.
And I had to admit, I was pretty excited. Since riding was on the back burner for now, I needed something to distract me, or I’d start freaking out, and this was the perfect thing to take up my time.
“So the new stables are going to go here,” Claire said, pointing at the farthest corner of the south pasture of Circle M. “There will be twenty stalls, a vet bay, a foaling stall, and a mounting station.”
“That still freaks me out,” Beau said, wincing at where Claire’s finger was on the blueprint. “Why can’t we just do it the good ol’ fashioned way?”
“It’s safer for the stallion and mare that way,” Joseph said, coming over to the table. “And it gives the vet the chance to evaluate the semen—”
“Ah, yuck,” Colt grimaced. “I don’t want any part of that.”
“Oh, you didn’t know? You’re gonna be our designated cum collector,” I said, clapping his shoulder with a grin. He flipped me off.
Delilah snickered into her beer. “Yeah, Colton, better get your cum goggles ready. It’s gonna be like you’re at SeaWorld in the splash zone.
” She wiggled her brows at him, and my grin widened despite that mental image making my stomach turn a little.
It was nice to have a buddy to antagonize everyone with again, and Delilah was just as sick as I was.
Colt went green. “Stop before I puke.”
Anna let out an exasperated sigh. “Don’t worry, Hattie beat you to it,” she said, grimacing at her now baby vomit-covered shirt. She held the baby at arm’s length, waving her around like she was Simba, so she didn’t ruin her clothes too.
Hattie squealed, kicking her feet around in the air.
It was the first time we’d all gotten together since Anna had her last week, and the first time I’d really been around her since she was born.
She was a cute little thing, but also kinda looked like a wrinkly old man, but I knew better than to tell Anna that.
Savannah scooped the baby up, and something in my brain short-circuited at the sight. Our families weren’t speaking when Henry was born, so I never saw her with him, or any baby for that matter.
But now that I had…
Pretty sure the house could’ve exploded, and I wouldn’t have been able to tear my eyes away from them.
Savannah grinned at Hattie, running her finger gently along the baby’s little nose, and my heart clenched at the sight. “Did you get sick on your mama?” Savannah cooed. “That wasn’t very nice, missy, but you’re so cute, I don’t think anyone cares.”
“I care,” Anna grumbled from the kitchen sink.
Savannah held her finger out, and Hattie’s tiny hand curled around it. And a kind of longing I’d never experienced before hit me so hard and fast it made my breath catch.
I wanted to see her like that with my baby. Our baby.
It was a ridiculous thought to have since we’d hardly interacted with each other, but I knew there was something between us still.
I just needed to be patient and show her there wasn’t anything to be scared of.
My Sav worried over everything like it was a full-time job, and I didn’t think anyone here knew just how much it affected her.
But I did.
A sharp elbow caught me in the ribs, and I grunted, turning to find Delilah giving me a knowing look.
“What?”
She arched a red brow. “Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” she said, but not loud enough for anyone else to hear while they talked about the indoor and outdoor arena spaces.
I shifted on my feet, not knowing what to say. I had told Colt and Beau, but did that mean the girls knew? Had Savannah told them? Had Colt and Beau told Britt and Claire, and it spread from there?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said to play it safe.
She scoffed. “I’m not blind, Weston, and neither is anyone else in this house. If you’re gonna stare at her, be a little more subtle about it.” She took a long pull from her beer. “I thought bull riders were supposed to have game,” she said, clucking her tongue.
Heat ran up my neck, and I nodded, feeling like a kid getting scolded for sneaking cookies.
Everyone must’ve known about us then, if Delilah was making comments.
I felt…odd about that. For so long, it’d been this secret thing between Sav and me, something just for us, which was hard to come by in families as large as ours.
I was relieved and a little disappointed that we didn’t have that privacy anymore.
“When it comes to her, I have no game,” I said quietly, glancing back at the woman I adored with every fiber of my being.
Delilah’s upper lip curled. “Keep that up and I’m gonna be puking with the baby,” she said, but then gave me a little smile. She leaned in towards me. “You didn’t hear it from me, but she’s definitely not over you, whether she wants to admit it or not.”
My head whipped towards her, far too eager, but I didn’t give a shit. Delilah was Savannah’s best friend with the inside scoop, so hearing her say that was like the clouds parting after a thunderstorm. And for the first time in weeks, I had actual hope that I could win her back.
“What did she say?”
She ran her fingers over her mouth as if she were zipping her lips and throwing away the key, and went to the other side of the table next to Claire. “And we’re going to convert the Golden Bridle stables into lodging for the equine therapy outreach program.”
How the fuck could she drop a bomb like that and then pretend like nothing happened? I wanted to shake her until the answers I was after fell out, but that’d probably earn me a right hook to the face.
“And what exactly is all of that going to entail?” Joseph asked her.
“It’s going to be a veteran outreach program. Or just anyone who suffers from PTSD,” Delilah replied, glancing at Emmett. “Studies have shown that working with horses has helped with anxiety and stress levels, and helped people learn how to rebuild trust and feel a sense of accomplishment.”
“There will be ten bedrooms for guests and Delilah will be our on-site therapist,” Beau added. “We’re gonna make it kinda like a wellness retreat.”
“I bet you’re all over this then, huh?” Joseph said to Emmett, who was sitting on the couch with Luke and Tess.
“Not really. Just passed over my contact at the Veterans Affairs office so they can advertise Golden Circle.”
Well, that was denial if I’d ever seen it.
And I knew Beau agreed with the way he looked at me from across the table.
If anyone needed this outreach program, it was Emmett.
Dude was wound tighter than a spring. Although I wasn’t sure how calming working with Delilah could be.
Tess and her boy could probably use it, too.
Or a few sessions with a therapist, at least.
Hell, I might need some myself. Talking to Sav about the mess in my head the other day helped, but things weren’t like they were back when we were together.
I couldn’t dump everything on her while she played with my hair and showered me with kisses until I was too turned on to care about my feelings.
And I had a lot of shit to unpack if my career was going up in smoke like I worried it was.
I glanced back at her, the golden highlights in her hair soft against the light.
I smiled to myself while she fawned over Hattie.
She was everything I could ever want, and I couldn’t have dreamt up a better woman: smart, confident, and strong, yet sweet and compassionate with traces of my Sav in this new version of her.
I needed her the way I needed riding. And if I ever got the chance to hold her again, there was no way in hell I’d ever let her go.
A phone on the table buzzed, the screen lighting up. Savannah’s eyes went wide, and she snatched it up, glancing around to see who’d seen. Her eyes met mine, and she looked away quickly at her phone.
My brows furrowed when all the tension in her body melted away with something like relief, but then it came back with a vengeance as she read the message, her mouth popping open with an enraged scowl.
“Like hell they are,” she snapped, and sprang up from her chair, passing Hattie off to Claire.
“What? What is it?” Beau asked as she came over to the counter, ripping her laptop open across from me. She didn’t go anywhere without that thing.
“Levi just texted me that Sterling and Preston are planning to file a zoning violation claim in the morning. Those motherfuckers.”
“What?” I snapped. What the hell was he doing texting her?
“It’s probably just more B.S. to slow us down,” she said absentmindedly, typing on her phone quickly. I hated that she was too focused on what he was saying to even look at me.
She set her phone down on the counter and went back to her laptop, her fingers flying over her keyboard. My jealousy faded as I watched her work, noticing the small crease between her brows, the way I could practically see the gears in her mind churning at breakneck speed.
“What does that even mean? A zoning violation?” Tess asked. “We’ve owned that land for generations. How is it a problem now?”
“The two pieces of land themselves aren’t the problem. It’s the fact that we’re joining them together. There are laws that limit the number of purposes the land can be used for. Cattle, horses, the veteran outreach, it’s a lot to cram into one piece of land, no matter how big.”
“What will happen if Sterling gets away with it this time?” Claire asked, coming to her sister’s side. “More delays?”
“He’s trying to force a zoning board hearing. Sterling probably has that whole board eating out of his hand, so it would take months for them to pretend to review the case, only for them to ultimately throw it out and stop the merger altogether.”
Claire massaged her temples. “Jesus. I don’t understand why they keep throwing all this shit at us.”
“They want the land,” Beau said.
“I know that, but we’ve told them no, shot down the ridiculous woodpecker thing, and got the restraining order and started the investigation over the cattle. You’d think they’d take a hint that we aren’t interested in selling.”
“Well, they’re entitled assholes. What’d you expect? For them to roll over?” Delilah said with a scoff. “They got told no when they asked, so now, they’re just going to take instead.”
“I can’t believe Levi is related to these jerks,” Tess said from the couch, holding herself.
I could believe it. I didn’t trust him further than Tess could throw him.
“They’re not getting their fucking hands on this land,” Savannah said through gritted teeth at her laptop. “Not if I have anything to do with it.”
Her eyes darted all over the screen, keyboard clicking wildly as she typed. “I’m going to file an appeal. I just need to do some research on the zoning rules first, see the specific codes for our land. I’m sure something isn’t right with everything else they’ve thrown at us.”
There was a fierceness to her now, a confidence she never had growing up. She had always been opinionated and a rule follower, which was annoying as fuck when we were kids and later became endearing. But it was never backed up with the self-assuredness she had now.
It was fascinating to watch her, to see the woman she had become in the years we were apart.
“You’re amazing,” I said.
She froze, her eyes darting from the screen to mine, and then around at everyone else. I should’ve pretended that I hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but I had. I wanted her to know exactly what I thought of her, and I didn’t care who was around to hear it.
If what Delilah said was true, then I wasn’t going to hold back. Not anymore.
Her cheeks flushed a light pink. “Thanks,” she said softly, a hint of that shy girl I loved coming through.
God, fucking help me, I had missed the way she blushed and felt euphoric knowing I could still pull that reaction out of her.