The ranch stretches endlessly around us. Eleven hundred acres of rolling fields, grassland, rivers, and mountains.
Home.
I’ve traveled all over the country, ridden in arenas from Maine to Oklahoma, and spent nights in motels just days away from being condemned, as well as in five-star hotels that were nicer than any place I’d ever imagined as a kid.
Nothing compares to this, and nothing ever will.
The horses settle into a leisurely trot as we cross the first pasture.
Albert glances over at me. “Your dad tells me you’ve been busy.”
I know exactly what he’s talking about. News spreads quickly around here, especially when it involves one of the family.
“Yeah? What’d he tell you?”
“He told me you got hooked up with Outlaw Heritage.”
A smile tugs at the corner of my mouth. “Yeah.”
Albert lets out a low whistle. “That’s big time.”
I nod. “It could be.”
His eyebrow lifts. “Could be?”
I shrug. “I haven’t done anything yet.”
“They signed you, didn’t they?”
“They did.”
The old cowboy shakes his head. “Then you’ve done something, son.”
I let that wash over me.
“You know, I’ve worn Outlaw Heritage hats for years.”
“I do know that.”
“Best hats ever made.”
Pride fills my chest because I know it’s a brand he and Dad love. It takes a lot to impress them. If a company earns their loyalty, that’s a company I want to represent.
“Sounds like you belong in one of their commercials.”
He chuckles. “They don’t want a beat-up old cowboy like me. You’re the one with the million-dollar face. You’ve got that Trust beauty. Like my Miriam.”
“I don’t know how I feel about being told I have beauty,” I say. “And I wish. More like a quarter million dollars.”
“Give it time.” Albert takes another sip from his travel mug. “What I don’t understand is why you haven’t told the family.”
I stare out across the pasture. A small herd grazes near one of the ponds.
“I don’t know. I’m not one for bragging.”
Albert snorts. “It’s not bragging. It’s sharing your life with the people who love you—the good and the bad. Don’t take away our joy of being proud of you, son.”
I shift in the saddle.
