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"Yeah, I'm back." I reply, trying to exude a confidence that I'm not exactly feeling. The dust kicks up around Joey's boots as he shifts his weight, the crease in his brow deepening.
"Kinda thought that was the last we'd see of you. Why didn't you tell anyone you were a Calloway? Especially me, man. I thought I was your best friend."
"You are," I start, but he cuts me off.
"No, Clark. We've known each other for years, man. Years! And you didn't once think to confide that in me?"
I let out a sigh, years of guilt weighing on me, desperate to break free. "I know, Joey. I messed up," I say, running a handthrough my unruly hair in frustration. "I just...I wanted to be seen as myself. Not as Magnus Calloway's son. Because I'm not like him. I love working on the land. I've got no interest in buying it all up. I grew up on the family ranch takin' care of my grandfather's animals. And when he let me tag along to see one of the company ranches during a cattle run, I knew that all I wanted was to be like those guys rounding up the cows on the back of a horse. Hell, some of them even had dirt bikes, and I thought it was the greatest thing a man could do in life. I spent all of my teenage years locking heads with my father over it. He wanted me following in his footsteps, but I had my own path to forge. And I fought, and I fought, and when I couldn't fight anymore, I left that life behind me. I changed my name and started chasin' my own dreams until I landed here. With you guys. And I couldn't risk anyone figuring out who I was, or where I came from. Because this," I gesture around the ranch, "This is everything to me. If anyone here found out I was a Calloway, I never would have been accepted. I'd never fit in, because they'd all be lookin' over their shoulders waiting for the day my father strode in and announced he was buying this land right out from under them. Just like he did all those others."
Out of breath, I stop speaking and wait for Joey to say something. Anything. The dust around us seems to still in the silence, my words hanging in the air like fireflies on a summer night.
Joey's brows furrow. "Is that what today was? He's buyin' this place up?"
"No," I say, letting out a heavy breath. "I wouldn't let him even if he wanted to."
"Then what was that all about? What'd he want?"
"Me. He wanted to retire and have me take over."
Joey lets out a low whistle. "So this is it, then. You're some big-wig executive now?”
"Far from it," I say, shaking my head. "I don't wanna run the company. I want to stay right here, where I'm happiest."
"And that's it? He said OK and here you are?"
"Not quite." I explain the agreement we came to and Joey curls his lip slightly.
"So you'll be some glorified cowboy model?" He lets out a slight chuckle. "The guys are gonna eat this up."
"Yeah, I know. Laugh it up," I say, rolling my eyes. "But if it's between sitting behind a desk all day and smilin' for a few pictures here and there, I'll take the pictures and keep the life I love."
Joey kicks at the dirt beneath his boots, leaving an almost comical cloud of dust in the aftermath. His eyes are heavy on me, a mixture of disbelief and slight admiration.
"I reckon..." he begins slowly, chewing on his lower lip in thought. "I reckon it takes a whole lotta guts to choose what's right for you over followin' the path laid out by someone else." Joey nods slightly, eyes still piercing me with that mixed look. “Still hurts you didn't trust me enough to tell me, but I get it. I guess..."
"I appreciate that."
Joey's features soften, and his mouth kicks up in the corners. "And I reckon," he continues in a mirth-filled drawl, "that you're gonna have to get yourself a better-lookin' hat if you're gonna be a cowboy model."
I throw my head back in laughter, relief washing over me. "And what do you suggest?"
"I don't know, buddy. Somethin' fancy. Maybe one of those black ones with the silver studs in the hatband. Those ones are real nice. Maybe something with a feather."
"Shut the fuck up, man." I laugh, knowing he's pulling my leg.
"I'm serious, man. That old thing you wear ain't gonna cut it once that pretty face of yours is up on billboards," Joey replies, eyes gleaming with evident glee. He nudges my shoulder softly with a wicked grin on his face. "I'm tellin' you. You'll need one of those hats that screams 'Howdy, ladies!'. One that yells 'Yes, I am a cowboy, but also a heartthrob.' You know?"
"All right, all right." I chuckle, swatting away his teasing jabs. "Don't you have some heifers to check on or something?"
"Maybe I do," Joey drawls, his grin not dimming the slightest. He adjusts the brim of his own hat, shielding his eyes from the setting sun. "But watching you squirm is way more entertaining."
"I'll bet. But I need to be serious for a moment," I start, needing to ask his opinion on how the boss is going to react. "Do you think Austin will even want me to stay on here now that he knows who I really am?"
Joey shrugs. "You'll have to ask him. But I think if you explain it just like you did with me, he'll understand."
I clap Joey on the shoulder, gratitude welling up inside me to have a friend like him. After saying a quick goodbye, I push through the ranch house's gate so I can find Austin and plead my case to stay on at Double C.
This ranch has become my home, these people, my family. And I'll fight to stay and prove I'm still the same man, no matter what name I go by. All that matters is being true to myself and living the simple life I love with the woman I love. It's all I want.
