Page 21 of Disarming The Rancher

“Too bad they can’t drill without our permission.” Brax couldn’t help but smile a little bit at the situation despite the heavier mood.

The Marshall had put his fighting sons in a precarious position. He bequeathed the ranch and cattle to Brax’s father and the mineral rights to Kellan’s dad. The law stated the owner had to give express permission to drill on their land, so Kellan’s side of the family couldn’t do anything with their precious mineral rights without permission from Brax’s dad. The brothers were fire and gasoline, so coming to a compromise didn’t seem likely in this lifetime. Proof the Marshall had a sense of humor behind a tough as nails exterior.

Of course, the Marshall had done nothing but encourage his sons to compete against each other since the days they were born. So, he was probably looking on with a smirk on his face.

The other kink in the plan stated if the last grandson married before an agreement could be reached then all the land, cattle, and rights was to be split equally among Brax’s generation.

Most of the Firebrand men were committed to single life in the near future. A couple had already gone through, or were in the process of, a divorce. So, that was about as likely to happen as a snowstorm in August. But it did light a different kind of fire under the elder Firebrand men’s backsides. It told them they didn’t have forever to dicker around.

Adam reached up with his good arm and scratched his head.

“As far as Raleigh is concerned, she’s like one of the family and we always take care of family,” Adam said.

“My thoughts exactly,” Brax said. “Except she doesn’t see it that way. From her perspective, she sees it as putting people she cares about in harm’s way.”

“Well, I guess I can’t blame her when you put it like that,” Adam stated. “We’ll think of something to say to help her see the light.”

With her stubborn streak, that was easier said than done. He also took note of what Adam had said about the pressure on her new album. She handled it all well. The lifestyle. The fame.

He needed to pick her brain a little bit to see if he could help figure out who in her circle might not want her to succeed. An overzealous fan upset she wasn’t releasing music fast enough? Or not happy with her songs or the direction of her career?

His mind snapped to Selena Quintanilla, a promising young Latina singer, also from Texas, who was murdered by the person who started her first fan club. He made a mental note to ask about any fan clubs Raleigh knew about or interacted with.

“You better take the blanket to Angel.” Brax nodded toward Adam’s shoulder.

“When are you planning to send out the text?” Adam asked.

“Now, before I head back to the kitchen. People need to know as soon as possible,” Brax said.

“I’ll save you a place at the table for lunch.” Adam patted Brax on the shoulder as he started toward the hallways. He paused and seemed to be searching for the right words. He seemed to settle on, “Just be careful, man. Okay?”

“Always.”

Brax fished his cell from his pocket. He pulled up the ranch group message so he could include everyone in one shot. He entered the description of the ATV driver as best as he could. From the distance and with the trees, Brax had a general idea of what the guy had looked like. The most important thing was to get an alert out. Then, everyone would be on the lookout for a suspicious person.

His second text mentioned there was a VIP on the property who was a target.

Guesses filled up the chat in two seconds. All but one hit a bullseye. Casey’s guess was out in left field. But then, the ranch hand wasn’t getting a whole lot of sleep when he went home on weekends considering he had a newborn. After being around Angel, who held Brax’s heart with her pinky finger, Brax realized how much work those little buggers were. He’d heard the term, sleep like a baby, and would never look at it the same again. Apparently, that meant sleep in three hours bursts twenty-four hours a day. No days off. No change in schedule. Just sleep, feed, and repeat.

He issued a sharp sigh. Great for Adam, not so much for Brax.

By the time he jotted a few notes into an app on his phone before he forgot, the hum of chatter floated down the hallway from the kitchen. So did the smell of Mom’s meatballs. Hunger and curiosity got his boots headed down the hallway.

A half dozen Firebrands added to the five who were already there. Chatter was loud and his heart skipped a few beats when he didn’t see Raleigh sitting there. For a split second, he feared she might have gone on home.

He walked through the crowd toward the table where he’d last seen her. She wasn’t there either.

And then he caught sight of her by the sink on the other side of the island. His brother, Corbin, entered through the back door with his guitar.

Raleigh caught Brax’s gaze from across the room and shot him the most helpless look before recovering with the smile that had looked genuine to him when he’d seen it on stage. Now, he wasn’t so sure it wasn’t the performer in her acting.

Brax cut through the crowd and then took her by the hand.

“Excuse us,” he said to several not-so-thrilled faces as he walked her out the back door.

“Before we say anything or things get awkward between us, what happened in the playroom was a mistake,” Raleigh started right in. She didn’t want to blow a good thing and having Brax on her side definitely qualified.

“Agreed,” he said.