2. Luke #2
We walk in comfortable silence for a few moments, boots crunching over gravel.
The morning sun's warm on my shoulders now, burning off the last of the chill from last night's rain.
I can hear the distant sound of cattle lowing somewhere beyond the main pasture, the faint rumble of a truck engine starting up near the equipment shed.
Sadie glances at me sideways. "So how's everything been going lately? You guys seem busier than usual."
"We are." I keep my voice neutral. Easy. "Bookings are up. Way up."
"That's good, right?"
"Yeah. It's good."
She waits, like she knows there's more I'm not saying. Sadie's always been good at that. Waiting. Letting silence do the heavy lifting until people fill it with the truth they didn't mean to share.
I don't take the bait.
"Harper mentioned you've got new horses," she says after a moment. "How many did you bring in?"
"Four. Two for trails, two for training." I shove my hands deeper into my pockets. "We needed them. We were running the same rotation too hard. Guests were complaining about availability."
"Makes sense." She nods. "Your dad must be happy about the expansion."
"He's happy we're solvent."
She laughs, soft and knowing. "That sounds like Caleb."
We reach the lodge porch and I lean against the railing, pulling out my phone to scroll for the farrier's number.
The screen's covered in notifications. Three missed calls from a guest about a cabin heater.
Two emails from the trail guide asking about tomorrow's schedule.
A text from the feed supplier saying they're running behind on delivery.
I ignore all of it and find the contact.
"Here." I show her the screen. "Dale Morrison. He's out of Billings but he's worth the drive. Does better work than anyone local."
Sadie pulls out her own phone and taps in the number. "Thanks. Dad's been complaining about the last guy for months."
"Morrison won't give him anything to complain about."
"That'll disappoint him." She grins. "Dad loves having something to grumble about."
I huff something close to a laugh. "Yeah, well. He's got plenty of other material."
Sadie finishes saving the contact and slides her phone back into her pocket. She doesn't move to leave, though. Just stands there watching me with that thoughtful expression she gets sometimes, like she's reading something I didn't write down.
"What?" I ask.
"Nothing." She tilts her head. "You just seem... I don't know. Stretched thin."
"I'm fine."
"You always say that."
"Because it's always true."
She raises an eyebrow but doesn't push. Not directly. Instead she shifts tactics, leaning against the railing next to me. "How's the guest side holding up with all the new bookings? You keeping up okay?"
"We're managing."
"That's not what I asked."
I scrub a hand over my face, suddenly aware of how tired I am. How many hours I've been awake already. How many more I'll probably work before the day's over. "It's a lot. More than it used to be."
"Because of Dean?"
"Because of Dean. Because of Harper's marketing push. Because we're visible now in ways we weren't before." I stare out at the pasture, watching the horses graze in the distance. "It's good. I mean, financially it's exactly what we needed. But logistically..."
I trail off, not sure how to finish that sentence without sounding like I'm complaining.
Sadie waits again. Patient as ever.
"We're just busier," I say finally. "A lot busier.
And the guest side has always been my thing, so I'm handling it.
But there's a ton of administrative work now.
Bookings, scheduling, coordinating with suppliers, managing staff, handling complaints.
And every time I think I've got it under control, something else breaks. "
"Like what?"
"Like yesterday a couple from California complained that their cabin didn't have cell service.
Which we advertise. Explicitly. It's literally in the booking confirmation.
" I shake my head. "Or last week when two families both claimed they'd reserved the same trail ride slot and I had to dig through emails for an hour to figure out who screwed up the double-booking. "
"Was it you?"
"No. It was the booking software. But I'm the one who had to fix it."
Sadie nods slowly. "Sounds like you need more help."
"I do." The admission comes easier than I expected. "We need more hands on the guest side. Someone who can handle the admin work, take some of the scheduling off my plate. Let me focus on the actual operations instead of drowning in emails all day."
"Have you talked to your dad about hiring someone?"
"Not yet." I glance back toward the barn, where I can still hear faint laughter drifting through the morning air. "He's got enough on his plate with the cattle operation. And he's... happy. I don't want to dump more problems on him when things are finally good."
"Luke." Sadie's voice softens. "He'd want to know if you're struggling."
"I'm not struggling. I'm just busy."