26. MATTHEW
Chapter twenty-six
MATTHEW
WHEN THE LUCKY PENNY DROPS
After I spoke to Mom, I sat at my desk watching the people move down Main Street through the large office windows, the old tailor’s signage still printed on the glass, though slightly cracked and peeling in places, and I started to think about both of the things I wanted and why I wanted them.
Atlas is so free and open, and he pushes me to be better, to try new things.
I laugh. He makes me want to do the scary thing, I said to myself.
Then I started to think about how I’d worked for years for a chance to do more in the Richmont Group than fetch coffee and organize an executive’s schedule.
Then my computer made a chime as an email dropped through from a project manager asking for my sign-off on the proposed plans before they took it back to the board, and I realized, I am already so much more than some young kid fetching Connor’s coffee or organizing his day.
I’m more than a junior project manager. I came up with the idea for the emergency response program.
I researched the factories, the facilities, the farms, and the tech.
I drafted the proposals and presented my ideas to Connor.
If I take the job they’re offering, I won’t be giving up on one dream; I’d be giving up on both.
Walking away from a man I know I’m losing my heart to, and the dream of making a difference in this industry.
Then, all I had left was to do the scary things and ask for the job I really wanted, one that didn’t exist yet, and tell Atlas that I was choosing this place and him, and hope that it wasn’t too late for us to be something real.
It turned out talking to Connor was easier than I thought. He actually laughed, saying, “How the hell didn’t I think of that? That’s brilliant.”
So, there I was at dinner, watching the empty chair where Atlas normally sits as Connor announced my new position to the family.
I am now the Richmont Group’s Innovation Specialist, and not that money is even a factor in all this, but it comes with double the pay.
I was thinking of maybe saving up to buy Mom and Dad a place out this way, so they’ll have somewhere of their own to stay when they come to visit.
Though I have a feeling that when Mom does come here, she’ll fall in love with the small town just like I have and never let Dad leave.
“So, I’ve been finding more and more pennies around the ranch. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” I ask as I lie in Atlas’s arms on the blanket beside the fire, staring up at the sparkling sky.
His chest jiggles under my head as he laughs.
“No idea what you’re talking about.”
“Sure you don’t,” I say, resting my head over his heart, the soft beat thrumming in my ears until the world drifts away to darkness.
***
The bell on the door chimes, and I look up to find Denver Royal, the oldest of the sons who bought the property next door to Beaker Brothers.
Atlas fixed the old-style doorbell after we were almost caught doing it in the empty fitting room again the other day.
I tried to tell him that locking the door and flipping the sign over to say “I’ll be right back” would be enough if he actually remembered to do that before dragging me in there to have his way with me.
“What can I do for you?” I ask as I close my laptop to give him my full attention.
He’s a tall kid, has grown a good foot since I first met him, and his shoulders have bulked out too with all the manual labor he’s doing on their family farm, plus all the extra work he helps Nial and Dean with out on the ranch.
His mini digger came in super handy when we were laying the gravel for the new horse trail too.
“I had an idea for my goats that I wanted to run by you. You know, get your thoughts on whether you think it’s something that could work, and maybe how I could make it work.”
“Sure, lay it on me,” I say, leaning forward with anticipation.
Since becoming the Innovation Specialist for the Richmont Group, more than a couple of Bellerelle’s residents have come by for advice on their new business ideas.
I talked it over with Connor, and he was happy for me to offer my services outside of the company.
He was especially excited to hear that one of the ideas a recent graduate from the high school had was for a mobile grooming service.
He struggles to keep all the mini highlands looked after on top of his other tasks, so I gave him her name, and he’s already booked in as her first repeat client.
“My herd’s going really well, and Mom is making soaps and lotions and stuff from their milk now too, but with all the visitors to Beaker Brothers Ranch, I thought maybe I could open a goat wellness center or something. I could offer goat yoga, and people could sample the stuff Mom makes.”
“Sorry, you’re going to have to elaborate a little. What is goat yoga?”
His big green eyes light up with an excitement that only someone truly invested in their idea has.
“It’s so good. An ex of mine was really into yoga and made me go to the park every morning with them, and at first I thought it was just a bunch of breathing and stretching, but then I was getting stronger and feeling better every time.
Now I still do it every day, but I started doing it with my herd at sunrise, and they seem to really like it.
After a few sessions, they started to get in on it too, climbing onto my back when I was in a pose on my knees, copying my moves, and nudging my head for pets, and it was fun.
I’ve heard of places in the city offering things like puppy yoga, and my goats are way cuter than puppies. ”
“So, you’d have guests come over to your place early in the morning to do yoga with you and your goats?”
“Yeah,” he says nervously, cheeks starting to blush. “It’s silly, isn’t it?”
“It sounds like a lot of fun, actually.”
“Really?” He beams.
“Really. Have you talked to Dean and Nial about offering it to the guests at the ranch yet?”
He shakes his head.
“No, but Nial has started to come over and do yoga with me some mornings, when he doesn’t sleep late and has to get straight onto the cows.”
“Nial has been doing yoga with goats?”
He rubs the back of his neck with one hand, a look on his face that screams, Oops, maybe I shouldn’t have said that.
“Okay,” I say. “You’re going to need a few things before you can start having guests join you, like insurance.
I’ll write down a few websites you can go to that’ll explain what you need and will have links to the forms and stuff.
But if you get stuck on anything, you can come see me or give me a ring, and I’ll be happy to go over it with you. ”
“Amazing, thank you,” he says, leaning forward in his chair and resting his arms on the desk as I go through my list. After about half an hour, he has four pages of notes and a to-do list as long as my arm, but he’s excited to get started.
When I get to the ranch later that afternoon, Denver is with Nial helping to clean out the milking barn, making it ready for the next day, and he waves excitedly at me as I pass.
“Hey Matthew,” he calls.
“Hi,” I call back with a nod and a grin, and Nial looks at him confused, then says something I can’t quite hear.
Then Denver turns his attention to Nial, with a wide smile as he talks, and I know he has to be telling him about the goat yoga plan of his, because his face is flushed, and that excited, slightly nervous smile is plastered across it.
I leave them to it and head toward the horse paddocks, and spot Atlas right away in the middle, talking to Loki. I climb over the rail, and when Loki sees me, he barges past Atlas and gallops toward me, circling me once before nudging his head under my arm from behind.
“Aww, I missed you too, buddy,” I say, scratching between his ears.
“That’s right, totally forget about me and run to your new favorite,” Atlas calls as he strides over.
“I can’t help it, your horses have good taste,” I say, and he shakes his head.
“Loki isn’t mine. If anything, he’s yours. No one else can ride him, and he listens to you as if he can actually hear you, which I had the doc confirm again last week is not the case.”
“Won’t stop me from talking, will it?” I say to Loki, and he grunts like he’s acknowledging my words.
“So, you up for a ride? I thought we could have dinner under the stars tonight,” Atlas says.
“Can I take Loki?”
“Would I be able to get you on any other horse?”
I laugh and shake my head.
“Probably not.”
“Do you have any plans for after dinner?” he asks, throwing me that cheeky grin of his that sends a flutter through me still.
“No. I’m all yours.”
“Good. Because I thought maybe after we ride to the clearing, you could ride something else that’s just as eager to see you.”
He glances at the bulge in his pants, and I reach out, grip him by his stallion belt buckle, and pull him to me.
“Saddle up. It’s going to be one hell of a ride.”