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“Son, I put you in charge of the ranch because you are the best man for the job. You’re diligent and you’re hardworking, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a personal life. You need to also take care of yourself.”
“Right now, the ranch has a cash flow problem. Austin’s getting married. I’m sure he’s going to have kids coming soon. That’s a lot of expenses we have coming up. And, who knows, maybe Sadie and Wyatt will figure it out sooner rather than later, and that’s even more expensive.”
“We’re not poor!” Dad banged his hand down on the desk. “We have money.”
“Dad, we have money in trusts, and we have operational costs for the ranch. You know that we need to increase cash flow. We have a large property. We hire a lot of people. I don’t want to have to fire anyone. We keep a lot of people in their homes, and I want to make sure that we continue to do that while still making a decent profit.”
“You just want to keep your most eligible bachelor in Montana status, don’t you?”
“Not really.” I thought of Arya and her sister. “I’ve become too much of a target for women.”
“I would’ve thought you’d like that.” My dad grinned. “Seeing as you are a ladies’ man.”
“I’m not a ladies’ man. Yes, I’ve dated many beautiful women, and I’ve had fun, but my focus right now is the ranch.”
“And I’m glad to hear it, son, but please don’t forget that no man is an island. You cannot do it by yourself. I wouldn’t have gotten through everything without your mom. You need to take care of yourself, and you need a partner.”
“Please, you’re sounding like Mom. I don’t need two moms in my life.”
My father chuckled. “You know your mother means well. And by all means, see if Olivia’s interested in the project. Get her input. Maybe take her down to the spot where you’re thinking of building the lodges.”
“Yeah, I was thinking about doing that.” I nodded. “I also need to finalize exactly where Austin is building his house for him and Lucy.”
“Okay. And what about yours?”
“What do you mean?”
“I know you want your own space, son. I know you wanted to build your own house.”
I sighed. “Well, we all want our own space.”
“Don’t think about the money, son.”
“How can I not think about the money? It’s important. I don’t want us going into the red for this.”
“You’re a worrier. We have plenty of money.”
I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t getting it. “Yes, we have money in the bank. But by my calculations, if our income from the ranch remains stagnant, then we are going to run low on funds within the next five years.”
“Don’t worry. Everything is going to look up. I promise you.”
“It’s my job to worry. And it’s my job to plan ahead and look at all possible circumstances to ensure that no matter what happens, everyone at the ranch is protected. The family, our extended family, our workers, our friends. Horseshoe Ranch means something. It stands for something in the community.”
“I know.” My dad got up and put his arm around my shoulder. “You’re a good boy. I love you, you know that?”
“Yes.” I narrowed my eyes. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because it’s true. Your mom and me, we’re proud of you boys. We taught you right.”
“Yes, you did, Dad.”
“Thank you. Now you go and tell your girl—”
“What girl?”
“Sorry.” He grinned. “You go ask Olivia if she’s interested in helping you with the eco-retreat and maybe get started on that right away.”
“I’m trying to get a loan for it right now.”
