AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sam leaned back and rested his chin on his steepled fingers. “So how was the wedding?”
Since any show of weakness had never been tolerated, Rome figured his father wouldn’t want to hear about his panic attack. “Good.”
“I assume most of the town was there.”
“Pretty much.”
Sam snorted. “The Holidays can’t afford to keep their ranch, and yet they can afford to throw the biggest wedding of the year.”
“She’s their daughter, Dad. You wanted me to have a big wedding.”
“I have the money for it.”
“According to Decker, it didn’t cost them much. Bobby Jay donated the food. Sheryl Ann donated the cake. And Liberty and Belle are wedding planners so I’m sure they got everything else at cost.”
“They shouldn’t have spent any money when everyone knows they’re two steps away from bankruptcy.”
Rome mentally rolled his eyes. His father would never get over the feud he had going with Hank. Rome didn’t know exactly what had started it. All he knew was that his father and Hank had a disagreement when they were young and never got over it. It colored his entire perspective of the Holidays. If Rome was going to get the ranch, that needed to change.
“You’re exaggerating,” he said. “The Holidays aren’t two steps away from bankruptcy. Just because they couldn’t survive in the cattle business, they still have the ranch. They’ll sell it and have plenty left over to live quite comfortably for the rest of their lives.” Rome wasn’t about to lowball them on his offer.
“They would be able to if Hank hadn’t taken out so many loans.”
Rome straightened. “How do you know he has loans?”
“It wasn’t that hard to figure out. Every time a piece of land went up for sale, Hank was right there overbidding on it. I’m sure just to make sure I didn’t get it. He took out one real estate contract after another with the surrounding ranchers. When he couldn’t make the payments, he consolidated the loan. I’m sure at a high interest rate.” Sam shook his head. “Hank never was a smart businessman. If he had been, he would have realized he was never cut out to be a cattleman. But his pride wouldn’t let him. Now he’ll be lucky to break even on the sale of the ranch.”
So the Holidays’ financial troubles were worse than he’d thought. Rome knew the Holiday Ranch had failed in the cattle business. It wasn’t surprising given last year’s drought and the price-gouging cattlemen had to deal with from the major packing companies. A lot of ranches had gone under. But he hadn’t realized Hank was so in debt that the Holidays could lose everything.
“What will they do?” he asked. “How will Hank, Darla, and Ms. Mimi live?”
Sam shrugged. “I’m sure their daughters will take them in. I’ve heard that a couple of them are doing quite well for themselves. No doubt they got their mother’s brains. But where the Holidays live is not our problem. Our problem is who they plan on selling the land to. I might not like Hank”—that was an understatement—“but I could count on him not to lease it to the government so they can put up a bunch of wind turbines. Or an oil company so they could drain it dry. Or even worse, sell it to some California idiot who has watched too many episodes of Yellowstone and wants to start his own dude ranch so he and his friends can play at being cowboys.”
Rome tipped his head. “So, John Dutton, when do you want me to start killing people off?”
Sam didn’t find his humor funny. “I hope it doesn’t come to that,” he said dryly.
Rome figured it was time to tell his father his plan. He would find out soon enough. “I want to buy the Holiday Ranch.”
His father snorted. “Don’t you think I’ve thought of that?”
Rome was surprised. “I thought you didn’t want anything that belonged to Hank.”
A sad look entered his father’s eyes, but it was gone so quickly Rome figured he was mistaken. “I don’t. But if I thought Hank would accept, I’d buy the ranch—if only to keep from having idiot neighbors. But he will never sell to a Remington.”
“He won’t sell to you. But it’s possible he might sell to me. That’s if I can convince him I want to run the ranch on my own.” He thought his father would throw a fit, but Sam seemed to think his desire to run the ranch alone was all a ruse to get the Holiday Ranch.
“You think Hank will fall for it?”
Rome started to tell the truth and then decided to wait. Sam didn’t share all his plans with Rome. Rome figured he didn’t need to share all his plans with his father. “All I can do is try. Maybe I’ll even tell him I’ll keep the name Holiday Ranch.”
“Like hell you will!”
“If a Remington owns it, what difference does a name make?”
“A lot of difference. I’d just as soon the Holiday name disappeared from this county.”
Rome asked the question he’d asked at least a hundred times. “What happened between you and Hank?” He got the same answer.
