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Nash gave a half shrug. “Yeah, I’m in. It’ll be better than sitting around doing jack shit all day.” He gave Chase a quick look but within that look, Nash’s sense of purpose held strong. Nash needed this as much as Shep needed this venture to succeed, because as the oldest brother he felt it was his duty to see that Blackshaw Cattle didn’t crumble into bankruptcy. Chase needed this for his reputation with builders and investors. And Nash needed to find a reason to wake up every day.
“Good.” Chase smiled.
Nash straightened after the dogs took off again, with Houdini nipping at Gus’s legs. “When is all the furniture for the cabins coming?”
Chase allowed the subject change. Nash didn’t share his personal struggles with anyone. “The second we pass the inspection, we can have the furniture delivered. It’s all ready and sitting in the warehouse.”
Behind them, more crunching of tires against gravel had Chase glancing over his shoulder. A red Mazda made its way toward the house.
“Expecting anyone?” Nash asked, watching Gus take off running to the car.
“Nope.” Chase jogged forward, snatching up Houdini as he tried to follow, keeping him far away from tires.
When the car came to a stop, a woman exited, giving Gus a pat on the head. Pretty and thin, she looked out of place here in her high heels and black pantsuit, a notepad in her hand.
“Can I help you?” Chase asked, placing Houdini back down on the ground. This time, the pup stayed near him.
The woman’s clear blue eyes that were surrounded by black-rimmed glasses crinkled with her smile. “You can if either of you are Chase Blackshaw.”
“That’d be me.” He offered his hand.
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sp; She smiled, returning his hand shake. “I’m Katie Sanders, a reporter from the River Rock Tribune.”
Nash’s brows shot up, mirroring the surprise shooting through Chase.
She took out a pen from the top of the notepad. “Emma Monroe contacted me about doing a piece on the new guest ranch opening and thought it would be great for the community to see what you’ve got going on here.”
Nash turned to Chase and gave a knowing look. “Marketing.”
Before Chase could reply, at maybe the worst time possible, Todd said, “I’m done.”
Chase turned around, restraining the curses sitting on his tongue. The last thing he needed was a reporter hearing Todd’s findings. He glanced at Nash, discreetly gesturing at the reporter.
Nash gave his million-dollar smile, then hit Katie with it. “I can tell you everything you need to know about the Blackshaw Cattle guest ranch.” He sprawled his hand across her lower back. “Why don’t we talk over here?”
Chase waited for there to be distance between them before he addressed Todd. “We all set?”
“The fixes you made are solid. Really great job,” said Todd, signing off on the piece of paper clipped onto his clipboard. He clicked his pen shut then lifted his hard gaze to Chase. “Though I’m afraid I found bigger issues here.”
Chase’s smile began to fade. “What issues?”
Todd handed him the piece of paper. “Six sets of your stairs are off code measurements. And five of the toilets in the comfort station don’t have sufficient space around them.”
Chase stared into Todd’s eyes, looking for any sign this guy was working with Clint. One time to fail him over small things seemed plausible. But twice? “Is there a reason you didn’t point these issues out the last time you were here?” he asked.
Todd tucked the clipboard under his arm and gave an easy shrug. “That’s an error on my part. I didn’t see them.”
Chase inhaled and exhaled, trying not to lash out. What was worse for his reputation than failing an inspection was word getting out that he had a temper when it came to dealing with inspectors. On top of that, he had a reporter right behind him to document it all.
He studied the paper. “You do realize your measurements are suggesting I’m one centimeter off from code, sometimes half a centimeter?”
“It doesn’t matter,” said Todd with a firm, steady voice. “That one centimeter, even half a centimeter, is not to code. You’ll need to fix all this before I can pass you.”
“Excuse me?”
A cold sweat washed over Chase at the curious, feminine voice behind him. He slowly glanced over his shoulder. “Yes?”
