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“Beau, that was rude,” Austin put in. “Wyatt, I understand what you want to do, and I think it’s a great idea, but right now, that’s a lot of money. We’re already investing in building the eco-resort—”
“Excuse me,” my mother spoke up.
Austin and Beau turned to her. “Yes, Mama?”
“I think that you forget that this is a family business, and we all get a say. Beau, you are taking over the running of Horseshoe Ranch from Papa, and we are forever grateful for everything that you’re doing. Austin, you are Beau’s right-hand man. But don’t forget, we all have an equal say in this ranch, and I think that Wyatt is onto a winning idea. I think that we should at least have a vote to see whether or not we will move forward with this.”
“Mom, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Beau spoke up. “We really don’t have two hundred thousand right now.”
My dad cleared his throat and looked at me. “That is a large investment,” he said. “I think that a hundred thousand could work.” I could see a keenness and a respect in his eyes that I’d never seen before, and I felt proud of myself for coming up with this idea and moving forward with it.
“I really think that the minimum amount would be a hundred and fifty thousand,” I replied. “I can’t just buy one yearling if I really want to give it a solid chance. I need at least two, and I’m not going to get to great pedigree yearlings for a hundred thousand. I need at least one-fifty.”
“So then, let’s vote. A hundred and fifty thousand.” My father looked around the room. “Sons, I have raised you all to be independent, forward-thinking businessmen. This ranch is our life, and I trust each and every one of you to do what’s best for it. Just because one is the first-born or the second-born or the third or the last, it doesn’t mean that one is more important than the other. Wyatt is twenty-five years old. No, he hasn’t run a business yet, and no, he hasn’t run a ranch by himself, but he has a good head on his shoulders, as do you all, and I would like to think that any one of you who came forward with an idea would be supported by the family. I realize we do not have the sort of cashflow that we’d like to be seeing right now. But we do have reserves, and I, for one, support this idea. So shall we put it to a vote?”
Beau looked at me and then looked at my dad. I could see that he was thinking.
Austin nodded. “Okay, let’s put it to a vote. All those in favor, say aye.”
I immediately put my hand up and said, “Aye.”
Then my mother and dad put their hands up. I looked around the room at my brothers. Were they really not going to support me in this? My chest felt so heavy it was almost like I couldn’t breathe. They didn’t trust me. I was the baby to them. I would amount to nothing. At that moment, I realized that if that’s how my brothers viewed me, I couldn’t stay at Horseshoe Ranch anymore. I couldn’t be the brother that did nothing but listen to orders.
Chet put his hand up. “I support you, bro.”
“Thank you,” I breathed.
“You got my vote,” Flint said finally.
“Me, too.” Hawk nodded.
Knox looked at everyone and grinned. “You got my vote. I think it’s a great idea. I love betting on horses.”
So it was just Beau and Austin. I wasn’t sure if they would change their minds, but I knew that their two votes mattered the most to me. Austin whispered something in Beau’s ear and Beau whispered something back to him. I couldn’t tell what they were saying. I couldn’t tell what they were thinking. They went back and forth for about a minute and then Austin nodded. He put his hand up.
“I support you, Wyatt.”
Beau got up and walked over to me, his hand held out. He shook my hand and smiled. “I support you too, Wyatt. I’m proud of you. I’m proud of this idea, and I’m proud of you for coming to the entire family and thinking of something that was out of the box and something that could indeed be very worthwhile. And I support you. You have my vote as well.”
“Thank you.” I looked around the room. “Thank you, everyone. I don’t even know what to say.”
“Just make us proud, son,” Dad replied.
Mom squeezed his hand. “You always make us proud, Wyatt, but you’ll make us even prouder with this.” She looked around the room and she stood up. “Sons, I’ve never been prouder of each one of you than in this moment. As a family, we support each other. As a family, we stick together. And as a family, we will always have each other’s backs. You hear me?”
“Yes, Mama,” we all chorused.
“Now let me go and make some cookies, and everyone come to the kitchen in five minutes. Okay?”
“Okay,” we replied. She smiled at us and left the room.
There was a huge smile on my face as I realized just how much I loved my family.
Chapter Eighty-Two
Sadie
I sat in my room, staring at the roses and wondering what I should do. There was only one person I wanted to talk to in this situation, and it wasn’t Olivia, or Lucy, or Arya, or Amelia. All of them were absolutely fantastic in giving me advice, but none of them was my best friend.
