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“Why you came to the bar.”
“I’m drinking a Sprite,” I say, holding up my glass.
“We both know you don’t come here for the booze.”
Well, shit. Guess I should’ve known better than to try to hide something from my twin.
“You’re annoying, you know that?”
He laughs, bringing his beer to his lips. “Yeah, you’ve told me that our entire life.”
“So, you thought about the proposition at all?” I ask, referring to the fact that a few months ago, I worked with our cousin Tyler, who runs the ranch with me, and our dad, Colton, to come up with a plan to expand Slade Ranch. Uncle Drake was on board from day one. A few of the others are still on the fence, but most of the family and board all agree it’s the next best step. The ranch has really taken off over the last decade, and we’re going to outgrow our pastures in the next decade if we keep moving in the same direction.
“Yeah, between that and Dad retiring and leaving his seat open on the board, I feel like it’s all I think about these days.”
“Same,” I agree.
“Is it for sure Texas? I know they briefly mentioned Wyoming at the start of the talks, but it didn’t seem like a viable option.”
“Yeah, it’s Texas. Milder winters, cheaper land, and it’s the top cattle state.”
“Are you going to go down there again with them when they look at land?”
“Nah, Tyler is, so he wants us staying here to run things. We decided on the land we saw a few months back, so no need for me to go this time,” I say, referring to the trip I took with my dad and Tyler back in June to look at a few hundred acres.
“It should be you,” Decker says.
“What should be me? Negotiating the land deal?” I shake my head. “It’s not a big deal; Tyler and dad know what they’re doing.”
“No, leading the expansion. If it goes through, you should be the one running that ranch down there. It was your idea, and it’s your legacy.”
“Is that what you want?” I spin my glass in my hand, wondering if it’s whatIwant. It would be nice to have a fresh start, away from the constant reminder of being in love with a woman I can’t have. That isn’t the reason I made the suggestion last year to my dad, though. I truly believe that based on our current operations and the growth of our cattle business, it’s the right next step.
He rubs his hands over his face, dragging them down slowly as he groans. “I don’t know, man, this is all so much. I know we’re going to be 31 this year, but shit, sometimes I still feel like I’m 18 . . . like I shouldn’t be having the responsibilities we have.”
“I know, crazy to think that dad was a father already and married while owning his garage and working at the brewery at our age.” Our dad married young, to his high school sweetheart, and had our half-sister, Milly. Sadly, his first wife died of cancer, leaving him a shell of a man until he met our mom, Brennan, who was hired as a nanny when Milly was just a little toddler.
“Yeah, it’s a lot. I know that Dad wants us involved in the brewery—at least one of us, anyway—and I know we’ve both always preferred the ranch, but I also know it can be done. We can balance both. Tyler does it and he has a family. I’m not saying being on the board while you take the ranch down to Texas is what I want. I’m just saying that whichever way this all plays out, I know we can manage it. So . . . how did dinner with Dolly go?” he asks, changing the subject.
“It was fine. Uneventful,” I lie, looking down into my glass.
“I might be annoying, but you’re an idiot and a shit liar. You both still doing the same song and dance?”
“Both? Nah.” I shake my head. “She doesn’t see me like that.”
“Come on, man, she does and you know it. You can see it from a mile away.”
“I don’t think she does. I think she’s lonely and scared. I think I’m the last tie she has to Dean, and there’s a sentimental element wrapped up in that. She feels safe with me because of him.”
“And you don’t think genuine feelings can or have maybe already grown out of that?”
“Maybe I don’t wanna be someone’s leftovers. It’s kind of a kick to the dick to think you’re someone’s second choice.”
“You think that’s how Mom felt?”
Fuck, didn’t think about that.
“I dunno, maybe.”
