3. Three
Three
Abi
I plopped down on the wicker chair on my brother’s deck, the soft pad hitting my joints and muscles in the perfect balance, the warm mug of tea sending comfort through my body. The sun had already made its way down over the mountains and the chill hit my skin. It had become a nightly ritual to watch it set from Rhett’s front porch, no matter what time of year. Even though I still had dinner to make and a kitchen to clean, Kyla and I always seemed to find calm here at the end—or close to the end—of every day.
I shifted, pulling my knees close to my chest as I fumbled with the blanket, curling myself into a tight ball. Hugging my legs, I gripped the mug with both hands, not even thinking of taking a sip, just enjoying the silence. That is until the front door swung open and hard boots hit the wood.
I turned and saw Kyla, her hair up in a messy ponytail, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.
“Need some spirits?” she asked, tilting her own mug back and forth. “We have whiskey.”
“No, but my brother apparently thought you needed some?” I answered as I watched my friend sit next to me.
“He may have added a bit of whiskey to my drink.” She smirked.
“I still have dinner to make, and a kid to get to bed, and I think that said kid has homework.”
She hummed. “I can tackle homework if you want to tackle dinner?”
“Deal.” I cheered, moving my legs just enough to lift the tea to my lips. “No plans with Rhett tonight? No dates ?”
Kyla blushed and tilted her chin down.
My brother had married Kyla as a way to fend off her ex, but that didn’t stop love from taking shape. They decided to stay married once the ex was officially out of the picture, but they decided they would ‘date.’ After winning the NFR in Vegas last December, my brother took the year off from his event to focus on his wife. Rhett took Kyla out at least two times a week, and the other nights they simply spent whatever time they had left in their day together. She always took an hour or so out of that to spend the time with me though, and for that I was grateful.
Kyla was a godsend, coming to Hartwell Hills kind of as a fluke, but she ended up staying and loving it just as much as anyone else in the family. She blended in perfectly. Without her, Stetson would still complain when I told him he needed to read before going to bed. Without her, the kitchen would most likely sit dirty some nights. Without her, I would most likely lose my mind.
“Movie night,” she responded.
“Ah.” I smiled. “So, that’s why you got homework. You won’t be at dinner?”
She shook her head. “We’re ordering from June's.”
My eyes widened at the thought of June’s Pizza being brought out to the ranch. I had paper plates, I had napkins…no dishes required. “New deal. I have homework, you order June’s for everyone.”
Kyla laughed, “I’ll pass the message onto Rhett.”
“Already on it.” I heard my brother holler from inside. “Six pizzas would be enough, right?”
I turned and looked at the slightly cracked window and saw my brother hunched over the kitchen island, his hat sitting on the counter as he thumbed through his phone. I turned back to Kyla and laughed, lifting my chin in the air at the simple thought of my brother now ordering pizza for the entire ranch. The blush on her cheeks deepened.
“I love him.” She smiled.
“He’s a good one.” I admitted. “Make sure you get me—” I began to yell towards the house again.
“I got a veggie deep dish, don’t worry.” Rhett interrupted, joining us on the deck moments later. He bent and kissed Kyla on the crown of her head. “Forty minutes and you owe me half of the bill.” He pointed at me, his eyes narrowed. “Meet you at the house?”
“No, I’m coming, I’m coming.” I set my tea down on the small table next to the chair and wiggled my way out of the seat. Rhett shoved his hands in his coat pockets and watched as I hoisted the blanket up over my shoulders and bundled myself even more. Kyla snorted when I turned to get my tea, not quite sure how to accomplish that, completely bundled in the blanket.
“Here,” Rhett sighed. “Allow me. You may stay a burrito.”
I gave my brother a smirk. “Always the gentleman. You comin’ Kyla?”
“Oh, I’ll drive there.”
“It’s less than a mile,” Rhett argued, twisting his torso, reaching a hand out to his wife. Kyla looked at it and shook her head.
“It’s cold, and I’d rather eat hot pizza, so I’ll drive us back when it gets here. You two walk in the snow. I’ll be there soon.” She gave Rhett a wink and then turned to go back into their home.
I offered Rhett a cheeky grin as we both marched off towards the main house. I had no choice but to follow my brother. He had my tea after all, so I had to keep up.
The man sitting in front of me was determined. Strong. Confident. Caring. His broad shoulders took up most of the space of the chair and his dark facial hair still refused to turn gray like the rest of his hair had. This man knew how to run a ranch. He knew how to lead the family and make sure every single need was met.
Leonard Hartwell.
My father.
And the look he was giving me and my brothers was downright terrifying.
My father wasn’t a scary man. Maybe when I was fourteen and chasing after a certain somebody—but that was a different story.
Lachlan leaned against the windowsill, his ankles crossed and his arms folded over his chest. My dad looked from Lachlan to the three of us sitting in the chairs across from his desk. Rhett relaxed in his chair; Wyatt slouched and gave a yawn. I simply crossed my legs and tried to look ready for anything. These meetings with my dad weren’t uncommon, but today the feeling in the room was completely different.
He broke the silence. “I’m retiring.”
Right to the point, huh dad?
“We knew that,” Wyatt said coolly.
Narrowing my eyes, I gave my brother a side glare.
“What?” He shrugged. “We did. He’s been talking about it for years.”
“I’m leaving the ranch. You’re mother and I.”
Oh, ok…that was a new development.
“Leaving?” Rhett parroted.
Looking over at my cousin, who currently owned half of Hartwell Hills Ranch. He gave me a slight nod.
“We're going to travel. We’ve spent the majority of our life here, and yes it’s home and always will be, but we want to see the world.” My dad leaned back in his seat.
“You have seen the world.” Wyatt stated.
My father’s gaze turned to his youngest son. “We’ve never been outside the US or Canada. It’s time I focus on your mother.”
Rhett took a deep breath. “I get it. I want to spend all the time I can with Kyla.” He shifted in his seat. “So, what does that mean for Hartwell Hills?”
“Well”—my dad turned to Lachlan—“Lach owns half. That’s what Levi’s will stated. He and I owned it fifty-fifty. The other fifty needs to be split between you three.”
“Equally?” I asked, knowing very well my twin brother didn’t want any part of the ranch. I didn’t exactly know what Wyatt wanted from life, but I did know he didn’t want to be tied to a piece of land. Rhett on the other hand, this was his life. Once he was ready to retire from tie down, his plan was Hartwell Hills. I have overseen the finances and day-to-day of the ranch for five years now. Lachlan and I worked together to make sure everything ran smoothly, and it was a well-oiled machine. But, despite doing it every day, I had my father to fall back on. He was always there when I needed guidance.
He knew what was happening behind the scenes now. He knew what those books showed. The truth was, Hartwell Hills needed extra funds somehow. We weren’t bleeding money, but we weren’t really making a profit either. We’re barely breaking even every month. We were able to make payroll and supplies, but I would like to see something come of it.
“That was a plan,” my dad spoke, “but…”
“I don’t need an equal share.” Wyatt interrupted, moving to rest his elbows on his knees.
“And we accounted for that. So, here’s my proposal.” Dad stood. “Abi gets the majority.”
My eyes widened. “Excuse me?”
“You’re already running it.” Dad leaned on his chair, placing a hand on his hip as his eyes bore into mine. “Lachlan and I talked about it.”
“But…Rhett…” I looked over at Rhett, who simply blinked. My big brother was showing zero emotion here. I wanted him to protest. I had seen him get angry—granted, never at our father—but I knew it was there. He needed to claim the ranch.
“It makes sense.” Rhett sighed. “I’m only here for the year, and then I’m back on the circuit. You and Lachlan already know it inside and out, more than I do so…” He met my gaze. “It makes sense for you to get the majority of my share.”
I chewed on my lip to stop my jaw from dropping.
“It does.” Lachlan nodded. “You know more about the finances than anyone, and you know the land just as well as I do. You have the drive for it.”
The drive.
“The ranch may fail in the next couple years if something doesn’t change,” I blurted out. “And I don’t want to be the one responsible for it.”
“Wait…” Rhett sat up in his chair. “What? The ranch is failing?”
My heart pounded. “Well, not technically. But if something doesn’t happen soon, we won’t be breaking even every month.”
“But, we do need another source of revenue.” Lachlan added as I caught his gaze. I nodded.
“Yeah we do.” I returned his nod before turning to look at my dad.
“Ideas?” he asked, and I froze. “You’ve been looking at the books for years now Abi. What do you see?”
I racked my brain, looking over at Rhett, wishing in this moment he was my twin instead of Wyatt—who had all but checked out of the conversation—hoping he could give me some telepathic answer as to how to bring in more profit.
“Well,” I began, still hoping for something from Rhett. “It’s winter, we’re always slower but…this started about a year ago. To be honest, I was a little upset we didn’t sell to David—”
Rhett’s head spun my way. Bringing up the events of last year surrounding his wife wasn’t an easy topic, but the man—as sleezy as he was—wanted to buy five hundred acres for 3.7 million dollars. 3.7 million dollars we could have used to update the barn and stables, get more staff, expand the garden, fix the fences, and possibly get more cattle. When dad was tip toeing around the idea of selling, I was secretly hoping he would. Lachlan and Rhett would have never allowed it, and I played their side. But, I silently wanted that to happen. I wanted the money for the ranch.
“You didn’t just say that?” Rhett grumbled, leaning forward on his chair and burying his head in his palms. See—I knew he was capable of anger.
“It was a lot of money, Rhett. You never saw the total.” I argued.
“It was substantial.” Lachlan heaved a sigh, “But it wasn’t worth it at the time.”
“It really was though. There are so many things around here that need to be expanded or repaired or…hell…that was five hundred acres we didn’t have to worry about anymore.”
“But it was David.” Rhett dropped his hands, his voice hoarse.
“I get that, but if it wasn’t him and if it really was a genuine offer, not just to weasel his way back into Kyla’s life, I would have loved to take the money. The issues we’re facing now wouldn’t be as big as they are.”
Rhett shook his head, “Okay, well moving on from that…” His voice was gruff, but yet, no guilt formed in my own stomach. It was the truth, and about time he heard it. “We’re not selling land, so we need to think of other ways to make money.”
“We could board horses,” Wyatt finally said, all of us twisting our heads at the sound of his voice. I guess he didn’t fully check out. “We have what”—he looked at me—“ten empty stalls? People pay a lot of money to house their horses correctly, and we have the room. We could also rent out the arena. Rodeo training. And maybe even the barn for events once it gets fixed up.”
“And you don’t want anything to do with the ranch.” My dad chuckled.
“Oh, hell no.” Wyatt flopped back into his chair. “While you guys were remembering the asshat, I was thinking. We have room in the stables for at most ten horses. The arena isn’t being used as much anymore since Rhett isn’t on the circuit, and the barn sits empty a lot of the time.”
“It needs repairs before we can rent it out for any kind of events,” I added, thinking of the long list of to-dos that currently sat on my desk. Paint the barn. Repair the roof of the barn and stables. Fix the fences on the south pasture. A million pounds of stress began to settle in my stomach just thinking about everything that had to get down before the next winter hit.
“Easy fixes.” Lachlan agreed, not a stitch of stress in his voice, which thankfully reminded me to stop stressing. “Rhett and I can get started on that. Renting out the stable—that sounds easy enough to fill—and using the arena as a training ground…I may have the perfect person who could use the space.” He pushed himself off the windowsill. “I’ll give him a call and let you know.”
Rhett stood and followed Lachlan. “Can you look at the numbers Abi?”
Hunching my shoulders, I peered at my dad for reassurance. I nodded at him. “Yeah. I can research the amount people are charging for boarding horses.”
It just may work. Wyatt was full of surprises after all.
“This is just further proof that you don’t need your mother and me. We trust you three, even if one doesn’t seem to care.” He looked over at Wyatt, who gave our dad his award-winning smile, “Once we get the title and papers drawn up, we can talk about percentage between you two, but again”—his eyes met mine—“I think Abi needs to get the majority.”
I gave him a tight smile, trying to look excited for what the future held for me.