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The answering frowns told Shep neither Nash or Chase were thrilled with that idea.
“Exactly,” Shep agreed with nod. “I’m not keen on that option either.”
Emma clanged a spoon against a plate, glanced over her shoulder, and gave a smile that eased the weight on his chest. In fact, he suddenly realized he was talking family business with her there, not even second-guessing himself. They’d come far, him and her, so quickly that it was easy to forget that he hadn’t been with her a long time.
Staying on task, Shep focused on Nash again when his brother asked, “What’s the second option?”
Shep drew in a deep breath to prepare himself, knowing the reaction he was going to get before he opened his mouth, but what choice did he have? “We sell the land to Clint.” Nash’s nostrils flared. Shep pushed on. “What they’re offering is a fair amount. I called my real estate buddy, Rob, and he told me the offer is solid. We’re not being shortchanged.”
Nash leaned forward and said through gritted teeth, “You talked to Harrison?”
Shep nodded. “He called yesterday.”
“Of course he fucking called,” Nash growled, pushing out of his chair. “Harrison’s a snake. He wants to slither his way onto our property.” He shoved the chair, sending it toppling over, and moved to the living room window, staring outside, tension vibrating off him. “Harrison’s wanted to take over our land for years.” He glanced over his shoulder and all but spat, “We cannot let him have it.”
Shep leaned back in his chair, folding his arms over his chest. This was why his father had left him in change of the estate. Nash was too hard. Chase would’ve been too soft. Shep had to find a middle ground. “All right, Nash, you tell me what we should do, then? The business is sinking. Either we have to focus on the company, or we need to sell. Do you want to leave the employees that are like family to us, and Mom, with nothing?”
Nash scowled over his shoulder. “Of course not.”
Shep pointed to the knocked-over chair. “Then get your ass back in this chair and calm down, so we can figure this out.” A tense moment passed with Shep’s younger brother locked in a glare showdown with him before Nash finally accepted defeat. With a huff he returned, picking up the chair, and took his seat, glowering at the table.
Only then did Shep continue. “Believe me, selling the land is the last fucking thing I want, but we would have commit to saving the business to fix it.” To Chase, he asked, “Do you remember what handling sales was like?” They’d both done that part of the job for their father growing up.
“I do,” Chase grumbled. “It’s not something I ever thought of myself returning to.”
Shep agreed with a nod. Heading up sales for a cattle company was not his dream either. “You’re only months away from finally getting your construction company off the ground.” Chase had been saving aggressively to open Blackshaw Construction, so that when he did open, the company was successful out of the gate. He needed the money to hire workers, advertise, build one commercial property to show off what he could do. “Is that still your goal?”
Chase nodded. “It is, yeah.”
“You shouldn’t have to give that up.” To Nash, Shep added, “You’ve never shown an interest in running the cattle at the ranch. Has that changed?”
He shook his head, arms folded over his chest. “Running a cattle ranch is not the dream.”
Even Shep knew Nash didn’t quite know what that dream was anymore, maybe that was where a lot of his anger came from. “Which is why we’re left at an impasse. To keep Dad’s dream alive, we have to give up ours. This cannot be a quick decision. There are people counting on us. All the Blackshaw employees, and most importantly—Mom. We need to think clearly about this,” he said, glancing at Nash, “and stay calm, and then we can decide what our next steps should be.”
Nash bowed his head.
“Why are those your only two choices?”
Shep glanced over his shoulder, finding Emma standing behind him. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her in close. “It’s the only two choices that I think will get us out of this mess.”
She drew in a long, deep breath, her eyes narrowing in thought. “Both those choices just sound so terrible.” She wrapped an arm around his neck. “There needs to be another way.”
Shep looked down into his coffee mug. He still came to the same conclusion. “If there is one, I can’t think of it. We can’t hire anyone to take over sales for the company. We’d have to do it ourselves. And we’d have to go hard, fighting like hell to recoup the losses.”
Chase gave a dour nod. “Or do we sell the land, give Dad’s employees a payout that will keep them well until they find new jobs, and give a package to the employees up for retirement soon so they don’t have to worry?”
“I fucking hate this,” Nash spat, running his hands over his face. In the
lowering of his shoulders, Shep knew he had accepted the downfall of Blackshaw Cattle. “Running the ranch would make me miserable,” he said, his voice softer now. “That’s not the life I want.”
Chase patted Nash’s shoulder. “The construction company is not something I can let go of either.”
“Dad wouldn’t want you to give up on your dreams to save his,” Shep told them, resting his elbows on the table.
Silence fell, all eyes on the table, and it was heavy silence, where the truth was right out in front of them. Blackshaw Cattle was their father’s dream, not theirs. Sure, they’d always been proud of their father and looked up to him. But they had never wanted to be a part of the cattle company. Not in their teenage years, and certainly not now.
Emma finally broke the silence, her voice soft and tender. “I didn’t know your dad, but he didn’t tell you all about the company’s financial trouble for a reason. I suspect that reason was he didn’t want you to give up what you loved most in life. Just because his company is coming to an end, it doesn’t mean the Blackshaw name isn’t stil important.” She gave a sweet smile, looking between all the brothers. “You all make the name important.” To Shep, she said, “You have Blackshaw Survival.” To Chase, she added, “You’re going to build the most amazing houses that people will turn into homes to raise their families and make lasting memories in.” To Nash, she added, “You were in the PBR, and if you ask me that’s pretty damn cool.” She hesitated and laughed softly. “Kinda crazy, and makes me question your sanity, but still cool, and no one can take that away from you.”
