Page 10 of Broken Boundaries

“Good.”

“Anything else?” she asks.

“That’ll do it.”

She nods and turns to leave my office. Not even five minutes later, Harper is bursting in and taking a seat across my desk. She doesn’t bother knocking anymore.

“Hey, Harp. How are you doin’ this lovely morning?”

“Overworked and underpaid,” she states flatly.

I roll my eyes. “You’re the highest-paid person on this ranch.”

She laughs. “I know. I just like hearing you say it.”

“Of course you do.”

“Listen, you know the Reynolds family is checking in this afternoon?” she asks.

“I wasn’t aware, but I’ll make sure to track them down.” The Reynolds family has been coming ’round the ranch every year since I can remember. They used to bring their kids, and now their kids bring their kids. Those are my favorite kinds of guests. The ones that love the ranch so much that they come back over and over again.

“Good. You ready for the meeting with the mayor?”

“Is there something for me to be ready for? Same shit, different year.” The town wants my money and my staff to help with the celebrations. It happens every year for every holiday. You’d think the town treasury was directly linked to my wallet at this point. But if I don’t do it, I’m the bad guy.

“True. Well, in other news, the new girl seems promising.”

Thank god. The last thing I want to do is have to start interviewing. When Zach mentioned Aspen needed a job, I was glad to jump on the opportunity. I trust my son to be with someone who has enough common sense to do this job. Hiring Aspen has hopefully earned me some points in Zach’s eyes, too. He used to love hanging out with me and being at the ranch, but the older he got, the more he pulled away from me. I thought it was just a teenager phase, and that I just needed to give him time and space. I mean, I was a kid once. I remember not wanting anything to do with my dad. I came around, though. Unfortunately, I’m still waiting for Zach to do that. With any luck, now that he’s back in town, I can try to fix whatever is broken between us. It would help if I knew what that was, though.

Aspen was also a blessing because I needed to get Harper relief for the desk fast. She’s got enough to do around here besides checking people in.

“That’s good to hear,” I tell her.

“Yeah, she picked everything up quickly. Seems really smart and motivated. I think she’ll fit right in.”

“Good. She told me yesterday that she’s never ridden a horse, so we need to change that quickly.”

Harper laughs. “Got it. I’ll add it to the list: teach the new girl how to ride.”

“Get her a time slot with Beck. He can teach her.”

“Alright. You going into town tonight?” she asks. Occasionally, we meet up for dinner or drinks. Both of us being over thirty and single doesn’t give us a whole lot of options around here, unfortunately.

“Wasn’t plannin’ on it. You need a wingman?”

She huffs a laugh. “No. I’m out of food at home and dreading going to the grocery store.”

“I made pulled pork last night. You’re welcome to come get some. Got tons of leftovers.”

“I might take you up on that.” She stands from her chair. “Alright. I gotta get back to it. Good luck with the mayor.”

I get at least forty-five minutes of silence to answer emails and finish my coffee. At two minutes to ten, there’s a gentle knock on my office door before Aspen walks in and takes a seat. She puts her notebook and pen on the corner of my desk as if she’s worked here for years. I like that. I like that she’s confident. I’ve had plenty of associates act like they’re terrified of me, which always confuses me. I’d rather us all be one big family.

“Ready?” I ask.

“Yes, sir.”

Before I have a chance to say anything else, my phone rings. Eli Cunningham’s name pops up on my screen, and I sigh before sliding to answer and putting it on speaker.