Page 86 of Roping Her In

“That’s what a manager does,” he said. “They know all the pieces. They know all the little things that need to be done and when they need to be done. And they love Texas, and they love animals, and they’re really, really good at their jobs.”

He sighed but didn’t look at her. “And I don’t know, Hailey. I’ve been trying to find a farm manager for months, and it wasn’t until Elaine said she thought you’d be a good fit that I felt good about anyone I’ve thought about or interviewed.”

“So I’d be basically running a farm I don’t own,” Hailey said.

“The pay’s not bad,” Conrad said. “And you get the entire house and yard and garden as your personal property. Glory Rose and I will never come here without your permission.”

“What if I wanted some animals of my own?”

“No problem,” Conrad said. “There’s room here.” He looked out over the pasture, and Hailey noted that some of his miniature donkeys had clearly seen him and were coming to say hello.

“There’s one more thing,” Conrad said. “This land borders JJ’s ranch. He said if I hire you, he wants to go in on the contract, so he can have you come work at Seven Sons in a veterinarian capacity when he needs you.”

“I’m not a veterinarian,” Hailey said automatically “I’ve been to school for two years, Conrad. I’m a vet tech—and I haven’t even passed my certification test yet. I can’t diagnose anything.”

“No, but you’ll know when there are problems.”

Hailey pressed her lips together and didn’t answer.

“And you can give vaccinations, and you can consult with Bev or Smiles or Jake.” He raised his eyebrows, but Hailey steadfastly refused to look at him. “Heck, if you and Jake get married, maybe he’d move here, and you two could be a farm manager and a vet over my property and Seven Sons.”

Hailey started shaking her head before Conrad finished speaking. “Jake is inbred at Three Rivers Ranch,” she said, her voice hard. She wasn’t sure why she was resisting this or putting up such a fight. “I don’t think you’ll be able to get him away from that ranch.”

“Well, we’ll see,” Conrad said easily. “Sounds to me like you guys are still at the beginning of your relationship.”

Hailey nodded. “Only a few months in, yes.”

Conrad turned his back on the pasture, though his miniature donkeys were nearly upon them. “Is there a job for you out there?” He folded his arms, and Hailey wished he didn’t stand quite so tall and make himself quite so imposing. She also didn’t want to answer that question.

Conrad chuckled. “I can see there is. If you read Jake’s text, surely you know he’s not too happy about me interviewing you.”

“I didn’t tell him about the interview yet,” Hailey said, and she finally dared to look at him. “So if you could please not tell him until I do, that would be great.”

“I won’t mention it,” Conrad said. “But I am surprised.” He wore that shock right in his face, and Hailey turned away.

“It’s complicated,” she said.

“I’m sure it is,” Conrad said sincerely. “I don’t profess to know everything going on between the two of you, or what kind of job you want. But every time I think about who I want living in the house on the property I own, it comes back to you, Hailey. I’ve turned down several other people who would do a good job, and I don’t know. There’s just something about you that feels right.”

Conrad took a deep breath. “Well, that’s the pitch. I can show you the stables and the barns. We’ve been working on those too.”

“Did no one live on this property before you bought it?” she asked.

“They did,” he said. “But it was a widow, and she didn’t get around very well.”

Hailey nodded, because she understood that.

“Can I send you the contract at least?” Conrad said. “Mine and the one that JJ wants to go in on?”

“If you’ve got them, I’ll look at them,” Hailey said. “When do you need to know? I don’t graduate for another three and a half weeks, and I won’t be able to start before May fifth, like I told you, because I still have my intern hours at Three Rivers, and I have to give Lila Mae notice if I’m going to quit at Feline Friends.”

Conrad nodded. “I won’t hire anyone until I hear from you,” he said. “I’ve gone nine months. What’s another one?”

He grinned at her and indicated the solid wood building ahead. “This here’s the horse stable,” he said. “And you can see the poles there where we’re going to put in the pasture. We’ll tear down all this fencing, and like I said, all this will be done before you move in—if you take the job.”

Hailey followed him into the stables, and she listened as he pointed things out and told her what he was still working on. She didn’t fancy herself a farm hand, but she truly would be a farm manager here, dealing with feed ordering and storage, pasturing and rotational practices, breeding, and the animals. Conrad even said if she needed extra help, she could hire people. Nothing had to go through him.

She finally shook his hand, said, “I’ll watch for the contracts,” and got back in her car. He went back in the house, and Hailey took one long last look at it. Then she pulled out her phone because she had a couple of texts to send.