Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
brADY
D espite the spring equinox happening more than two weeks ago, we had a doozy of a snowstorm blow through here yesterday, covering all the spring flowers with three inches of snow. It’s not uncommon, and yet every single time it seems to take us by surprise.
Thankfully, that should be the last snow of the year. Although, this was the most satisfying winter I can ever remember having, despite the colder than usual temps and harsh working conditions at the ranch.
I’ve had Abbi. And Daisy. I can’t get enough of the two of them, and over the past few months, we’ve settled into a routine that seems to be a balm to my battered cowboy soul.
“I’m on my way,” I assure Abbi as I drive into town from the ranch. “Do you need me to pick up anything from the store?”
“No, I think I have everything. The bread’s toasting in the oven, so we can eat when you get here. Daisy is impatient . You know how she gets.”
I grin as I slow down for a deer that’s decided to cross the highway.
“Yeah, I know. Friday movie night is her favorite. I’m only a few minutes out. I have to stop by the coffee shop to drop something off to my sister, and then I’m there. Ten minutes, tops.”
“I’m not the one you have to answer to, Cowboy,” Abbi says with a smile in her voice. “And don’t worry. We’re fine here. See you in a few.”
“’Bye, Blue Eyes.”
I hang up and turn onto the main street and park in front of Bitterroot Valley Coffee Co. It’s too late in the day for Millie to still be open, but she said she had a book club meeting there this evening, and she left something out at the farmhouse that I’m dropping off to her.
I push through the door and find my sister at the counter, looking at her phone.
“Hey,” I say as I approach. “Here’s your…whatever this is.”
“It’s a hair straightener,” she informs me with a laugh. “Thank you. I wish Billie Blackwell would pull the trigger and open a bookstore next door so I wouldn’t have to stay open for this book club.”
“The last time I checked, you’re not required to do anything. They could have it somewhere else.”
“But they’re so cute ,” Millie says. “And they buy a lot of coffee and snacks, so at least it pays for itself. Anyway, thanks for this. What are you up to?”
“Movie night with Abbi and Daisy.” I grin and tuck my hands into my pockets. “It’s a Friday night thing.”
“You guys are so sweet, you make my teeth hurt.” She smiles and pats my arm. “I’m happy for you. All of you.”
The bell over the door dings and Chase walks in. “You’re still here.”
“Book club,” I say, and my brother nods.
“I could use a coffee,” he says. “I’m going to work all night, and I can’t do that without a shot of caffeine.”
“Why are you working the night shift?” I ask him.
“We had someone get sick. It’s fine. I just didn’t plan for it.” Millie whips up what she knows he likes and passes it to him, and then the door dings again.
But this time, it’s Holden Lexington who walks in.
No, he doesn’t walk. He stalks , his blue eyes trained on my sister, and it puts my back up.
Our family has a complicated history with the Lexingtons. We were rival families for more than a hundred years, with property that borders each other and grandfathers who hated each other, so we’re not exactly friends.
Holden doesn’t spare either Chase or me a glance as he marches right past us and over to our sister.
“Are you fucking Bridger Blackwell?” he asks, leaning into her, his entire body tight with frustration.
“You’re going to want to watch yourself,” Chase says casually as he takes a sip of his coffee, as if every muscle in his body isn’t poised to knock Holden on his ass.
My eyes narrow as Millie’s face goes hard, and her hands fist at her sides, staring up at Holden almost defiantly.
I wonder what in the hell happened between these two?
“That’s absolutely none of your business,” she snaps back.
“Like hell.”
“What I do with my life doesn’t concern you,” she says again, her voice breezier this time. “Now, do you want coffee, or are you going to fuck right off?”
“You’ve been parked at his house at night all the goddamn time for months now, and I want to know?—”
“Get any closer,” I say, stepping forward, “and I’m going to put my boot up your ass.”
“I’m not doing this with you,” Millie says when he doesn’t move an inch at my warning. Her voice isn’t as hard, and her eyes have softened, but she doesn’t back down. “I’m not doing this, Holden.”
“Goddamn it.” He pushes off of the counter and stomps out of the coffee shop, the door flinging under the force of the shove.
“You ever going to tell me what the fuck happened there?” I ask her as she stares at the doorway that he just stormed out of.
“No.” She shakes her head and reaches for a towel, letting out a gusty breath as she wipes it over the countertop. “It doesn’t matter. And for the record, I’m not fucking Bridger. People have got to stop asking me that.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have your car parked in front of his house every night,” Chase says. “This is a small town, Mill. People talk.”
“Obviously. Busybodies.” She makes a face, and then the place starts to fill up with the book club girls, so I take my leave and head over to Abbi’s.
“Where were you?” Daisy demands as I walk through the door. “We’ve been waiting forever. ”
“You’ve only been home from school for two hours,” I remind her and kiss the top of her head before I round the island and pull Abbi in for a big hug. God, I missed her today. Her arms tighten around me, and when I pull back, she’s grinning up at me. “Got a kiss for me?”
“Maybe one.” She boosts up on her toes, kisses my lips, and then turns back to the dinner bubbling on the stovetop.
“I want a kiss!” Daisy races into the kitchen, holding up her arms, and I scoop her up and kiss her cheek, making her laugh. “Your whiskers are scratchy.”
“Oh, no, not the scratchy whiskers!” I rub my face against her neck, making her giggle, as I carry her around to the other side of the island so we’re out of Abbi’s way. “We’re having spaghetti for dinner. That surprises me.”
“Why?” Daisy asks.
“Because you hate spaghetti, remember? It looks like Robert’s hair.”
“He got a haircut, so it’s okay now,” she replies as I set her down, and I share a look with Abbi. “Why were you so late this time?”
“I had to help a calf be born.”
That makes Daisy frown. “I thought all the calves were already born.”
I loved telling Daisy all about calving season when the babies started to come in February and then taking her out to see them. It’s our most strenuous time of year, but it was fun to show Daisy the tiny cows at the ranch.
“One decided to come late, and the mama had a hard time delivering him.”
“Oh, no, is she okay?” Abbi asks from the kitchen.
“Yeah, she’s fine now. I think they’ll both recover nicely. They’re tucked in the barn for the night. Now, what movie are we watching?”
“Elsa,” Daisy says with a grin.
“Didn’t we watch that last week? And the week before that? We know all the words.”
“It’s my favorite ,” she reminds me, patting my arm as if in sympathy.
“Well, I guess the cold never bothered me anyway.” I buss her cheek once more and then turn my attention to my lady. “What can I help with?”
“It’s ready,” she says as she pours the pasta into a strainer. “If you’ll pull the bread out of the oven, we can dish up.”
“I’m starving ,” Daisy says as she climbs into her chair at the table.
As usual, Abbi and I make our plates, adding one for Daisy, and then we sit at the table to eat together.
“So, what’s happening at the ranch with spring here? Sort of.” Abbi takes a bite of bread and sighs in happiness. God, I love watching this woman eat.
Or do anything at all.
“We have a lot of cleanup,” I reply. “Fences need mending. We’ll move the herd a little further out so they have fresh grass and more room to spread out. Next week will be interesting, though.”
“Why’s that?” she asks.
“We have camera crews from Rancher Jeans coming to film me while I work for a commercial and some online ads. I told them I was needed here, so they’re coming to me.”
“Wow.” Abbi blinks in surprise and then smiles at Daisy. “Hear that? Brady’s going to be on TV.”
I don’t bother to tell them that I’ve been on TV plenty, but it’s usually when I’m riding a bull or being interviewed.
Daisy’s eyes widen, and then she dances in her seat. “You’re gonna be famous, Brady.”
“If you say so, Princess.” I wink at her and then smile over at Abbi. “You guys are welcome to come out to see what it’s all about if you want to.”
“I do believe we want to,” Abbi confirms. “Just let me know which day, and I’ll get it covered at work. I just hired four new people, so it won’t be an issue.”
“But I have to go to school,” Daisy reminds us with a frown. “Will you still be taking pictures when I’m done?”
“I’m sure we will. It sounds like it’ll be an all-day thing.” I’m already exhausted just thinking about it.
“Then yes , I want to go, too,” Daisy says, doing another dance.
“Now, tell me about what’s happening with you ,” I say to Abbi. “You hired new people?”
“Yes, and I have interviews for three more tomorrow.” She smiles at me, her blue eyes lighting up. “The business is growing by leaps and bounds, thanks to tourist season ramping up for the summer and all the lovely people coming to visit our little town. Plus, more locals are hiring us, too, and that really makes me happy. Before long, I’ll have to move to a bigger office space so I can buy more washers and dryers for linens, but I’m not complaining.”
“Your mom is a powerhouse,” I inform Daisy.
“I know,” she says and swirls her fork in her pasta.
“This also means that I can help out at Daisy’s school more often and really cut back to part time for a while, which has been my goal since she was little.”
I wish I’d known her then. I would have made sure that she could be a stay-at-home mom, if that’s what she wanted to do. I would have made sure that they both were taken care of.
Not that she needed me. Obviously, she didn’t. She doesn’t need anyone.
“Okay,” Abbi says when we’ve finished dinner. “Let’s have some popcorn and watch our movie.”
“Can I have M&Ms?” Daisy asks.
“I got you some,” Abbi assures her daughter, and as we settle in front of the TV, with the lights low and me in the middle of these two girls, there’s nowhere else in the world I’d rather be.
“No,” I reply, irritation humming through every pore of me. “I can’t do it again. I’m not making a movie here. I’m working. ”
The guy in the designer suit with the expensive shoes he’s already ruined sighs. “Can’t you just try to lead the horse around again so we can get another shot of it?”
“For fuck’s sake,” I mutter and grab Blackjack’s bridle. “I’ll lead him around one time. And then I have to ride out to mend a fence.”
“Oh, good, we get to catch him riding,” he says, turning to his crew.
Why he thought he’d be comfortable in that getup on a working cattle ranch, I’ll never know.
“You could walk Blackjack around this ring all day and he wouldn’t care,” Dad reminds me as he falls into step next to me.
“Yeah, but I have shit to do, and it’s not walking my horse in circles.”
“Fair enough,” Dad says. “Are we going to lead them to the event space? There are some pretty shots over there, and if they use it in the ad, they have to pay more. Which will get me a nice vacation on a cruise ship with your mother. Alone.”
“Dad. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but you and Mom live alone already.”
“Not the same,” he says with a wink and hops onto his own horse, making me laugh.
“I don’t even want to think about that.” I glance ahead and see Rem and Ryan riding over on their horses. Ryan wanted to keep an eye on things here, to make sure we’re not being taken advantage of, and he always did like riding the fence line with us.
The only brother not here is Chase, but I suspect he’ll put in an appearance before the day is through.
For the next few hours, we put the crew through the paces. They’re not used to the altitude or the chilly weather, so finally around lunchtime, we take pity on them and head back for the barn to rest for an hour.
When we get there, I’m happy to see that Abbi, Erin, Polly, and Mom are here, too, and Abbi doesn’t hesitate to hug me when I get close.
“I’m sweaty,” I warn her.
“Don’t care,” she replies, burying her face in my neck. “Don’t care at all. Have I ever told you how hot you are when you’re doing ranch stuff?”
“I don’t think you have.”
“Well, you are. It kind of turns me on, Cowboy.”
I growl and then kiss her and wish that I could sneak her off to my cabin for a while, but I know that I could never get away with it.
“Break it up,” Millie says, rolling her eyes as she walks out of the barn. “We have a bunch of lunch here for everyone. Soups and bread and stuff. You should eat.”
“I think I will.” I try not to pay attention to the cameras pointed my way as we walk in to get some food. “They won’t stop following me.”
“That’s why they’re paying you,” Ryan reminds me, but then his eyes narrow. “However, if they keep taking photos of all of us, they’re going to pay all of us.”
“Today is going so well ,” Designer Suit Man says as he joins me near the food. “We have some great footage already. We’d like you and your brothers to sit on the fence for some shots, since you’re all wearing Ranchers today.”
“And you plan to pay them for that?” I stare him down until he swallows hard and nods.
“Of course, yes. Now, the magic is really going to happen during the golden hour, as the sun begins to set.”
“You want a bunch of cowboys to stick around after dinner?” I raise my eyebrows, but then remember the paycheck from all of this and shrug a shoulder. “Fine.”
He nods and returns to his team, and I let out a breath.
“It’ll go fast,” Abbi assures me. “And Daisy will be excited that she didn’t miss too much when she gets here. She’s coming home from school with Holly and Johnny.”
I have to admit, as the rest of the day wears on, I like the crew they sent. I don’t even mind Designer Suit Guy too much, especially since he took off his jacket and tie and rolled up his sleeves. He’s way more likeable this way.
“I have a question,” I say as he and I are looking over a few of the shots from earlier. “How is it that a guy who works for Rancher Jeans , shows up to a ranch in that suit?”
That seems to stump him for a second, and then he looks at me and starts to laugh. “You know, that’s a good question.”
“I’m just saying, man. You gotta loosen up a bit.” I clap him on the shoulder, and now that the damn sun is starting to go down, we can shoot the last of the shots they want.
Once again, I take Blackjack into the ring and walk him around, then I get in the saddle and ride, kicking up some dust.
As if we’re not already filthy from a long fucking day.
When Designer Suit nods at me, the signal that they got what they wanted, I lead Blackjack into the barn and give him a good wash down and brushing, and they don’t stop filming. I’m aware of them around the whole time, and the rest of my family, including Abbi and Daisy, watch from the sidelines.
Finally, I put my horse in his stall and kiss him, lay my forehead against his, and whisper, “Thank you, buddy. You did good today. Get some rest.”
“Brady!”
I glance over and grin as Daisy, holding Abbi’s hand, hurries to me and then launches herself into my arms and kisses my cheek.
“I’m pretty dirty,” I tell the little girl, but she just giggles and kisses me again.
Abbi takes my free hand and offers up her lips, which I greedily take.
“That was incredible ,” Designer Suit says as he joins us to walk out of the barn. “Thank you for today. You have a beautiful home and a welcoming family. Even Ryan Wild, who’s been wheedling more money out of us all day.”
“That’s just what he does,” I say with a laugh as I set Daisy down and then shake the other man’s hand. “I hope you got everything you needed.”
“I’m sure we have that and more. I actually think we might like to do a short film with what we’ve collected today. If we do that, we’d need to have you do some voice-over work for us. Would you be willing to do that?”
“Can I do it from Montana?”
“I don’t see why not.”
“Then I will have my agent ask for more money and be happy to do it.”
He laughs, pats me on the shoulder, and then waves as he joins his crew to pack up and go home.
I was right, Chase did join us a few hours ago. I was glad that the whole family was here throughout the day. Even though I’ve done things like this before, this is the first time we’ve allowed anyone to film at the Wild River Ranch, and I wanted to make sure that it was done respectfully.
So far, I’m happy with how it all went down.
“Good job today,” Ryan says, shaking my hand.
“I should say the same to you.”
That makes him smile. “I didn’t get rich by being dumb, you know. Besides, they can afford it.”
“Maybe you should be my agent.”
“You can’t afford me.” He winks and then walks away when Abbi and Daisy join me again, but Erin walks over, too.
“I’m going to take the kids to the house,” Erin says with a smile to Abbi. “Get them fed and ready for bed. Why doesn’t Daisy just stay with us tonight?”
“Oh, but school tomorrow,” Abbi begins, but Erin smiles.
“She can wear something of Holly’s. Really, it’s fine. Come to the house when you’re ready to eat,” she tells us both and then hurries off with the others.
“Are you going to come with me to the cabin to clean up?” I ask Abbi.
“Duh,” she says. “I told you, Cowboy Brady is hot . And I have some practicing to do.”