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“Raker? He died two weeks ago. Kinda sudden, from what I hear. His nephew took over his business. But if I were you, I’d get your beef elsewhere. That boy don’t know a thing about beef.”
“Then how is he here? You have to meet certain criteria to sell here.”
“He’s here because of his uncle’s reputation. But if you ask me, he’s just lookin’ for a way to sell the whole damn ranch. If I had the money, I’d buy it from him. Good piece of land, and they got some good cattle. But that boy is dumb as a box of rocks in cuttin’ up a cow.”
“Do you think he follows protocol on fresh beef cuts?” asked Gator. The guy shrugged, looking behind him.
“Look, I don’t know. I’m just sayin’ he’s in the wrong business.”
Sara looked at the vendor behind the man, realizing that it was Raker’s old booth. She walked around, staring at the young man behind the counter.
“Can I help you?” he asked in a curt tone.
“I was looking for Raker. I buy from him almost every week,” said Sara.
“Well, he’s dead. What do you need?”
“Change your tone, boy,” said Wilson. He looked up at the big man and swallowed, nodding his head.
“Sorry, I just don’t really want to do this. My uncle left the business to me, but it’s just not what I want to do,” he frowned.
“I see,” nodded Sara. “Are you the one butchering the cows?”
“Me? God, no! I still have all the men from my uncle’s ranch. They’re great, thank God. They just don’t want to be out front and sell.” He jerked a thumb back toward a group of men standing behind him. Sara waved at them, and two men moved forward.
“Hi, Miss Sara. Nice to see you,” said the man.
“Colby, right?” she smiled.
“Yes, ma’am. And this is Tyler. Do you need something?”
“I was just wondering if y’all had heard of anyone complaining about bad beef, chicken, fish, even produce.”
“A few of the restaurants came in complaining about getting some bad produce and beef. You know how we are. The beef is sold the day it’s cut. We don’t mess around. Did you get something bad?” he frowned.
“No, not us. But a friend did, and we’re not sure what’s going on.”
“You know how Raker was,” said Colby. “He was the best I’ve ever seen. Hell, I’d love to own the business and carry on, but he left it to his nephew.” The man rolled his eyes, telling the team all they needed to know about Raker’s nephew.
“Can’t you buy it?” asked Wilson.
“Could if I had the money. We’re short probably three hundred thousand, and that’s just so we could get the business loan.” Dylan smiled at Sara.
“What if you had partners?”
“Partners? You mean you and Miss Sara?” asked Tyler excitedly.
“I mean, we eat a lot of beef,” she laughed. “If we were able to be silent partners, giving you the three hundred thousand and, of course, getting preferential choice of the beef cuts, we’d love to help you buy the ranch.”
“Yeah, y’all sure do know how to make a man’s day. I don’t know. Let me ask if he’d be interested in selling to us.” Tyler walked toward Raker’s nephew, speaking in a low voice. The man’s eyes went wide, and he removed his apron, handing it to him, kissing his cheek.
“I think that’s a yes,” smirked Gator.
“Is this okay?” asked Dylan. “I’m sorry, I didn’t even ask you.”
“You don’t have to ask me, baby. You and Sara know what you’re doing, and between the café, cafeteria, and the kitchen on the other island, we eat a lot of beef. This is a smart business move. Besides, it could help us further down the road, and we might even be able to expand the ranch at some point. I think it’s good business.”
“He said yes,” smiled Tyler. “I can’t believe it. He even offered to lower the price to make the business loan easier. We own the ranch. I can’t believe it.”
