Page 55 of Keeping His Brat

Nick cut him off, and his whole tone changed to one of excitement. “Sam Mason! Hell yeah, it’s been a while. What? Three years since we talked?” He laughed.

Sam winced. Had it really been that long? It had to be. Last time they’d spoken had been before Jimmy had gotten really bad and Sam had needed to step up and take on more work.

He’d met Nick during his wild years when he’d been determined to make it on the rodeo circuit. He’d set those dreams aside when he took on more responsibility at the ranch, but he’d still gone out for an occasional event until Jimmy had no longer been able to cover things for a week here and there. But he’d kept in contact with a few cowboys he’d worked with.

“Well, now I feel old,” Sam replied. He sighed. “Hard to believe it’s been that long.”

“About that, and maybe eight since I saw you in person. So, what’s up?”

“Do you have a minute to talk? I’ve got a proposition that I’m hoping will interest you.”

“Well, now, it’s work hours and my boss is a dick, but give me a second.” The phone went silent.

Sam watched the seconds ticking by on the call counter, waiting patiently until there was a crackling sound and Nick was back.

“You still there?”

“Yeah, Nick I’m here.”

“Cool. I ducked out of sight, so I have a few minutes. What’s up? Last I heard you were foreman on that spread out west.” He sounded out of breath, or else it was windy wherever he was. The call kept cutting out for a second here and there.

“Yeah, still am. Actually, I’m half owner now.”

There was a surprised laugh. “Shit man! That’s something. Surprised you even want to talk to a lowly ranch hand now, being one of the bosses.”

Sam had to laugh. “Well, I grew up on this ranch. When the owner died, he left me half. I share the other half with my girlfriend—uh, fiancé now actually.”

“Whoa, hey congrats, man! Sounds like you’re doing real well. I just got married myself a couple of years ago. Had to give up the circuit with a wife and all, needed steadier income. Miss it though.” The nostalgia was strong in his tone.

“Congratulations to you too. I didn’t know you’d settled down,” Sam said. He sat back in his chair with a smile. He’d always seen himself as a family man one day, hopefully with Charlie, but Nick—Nick had been wilder. It was hard to picture him married.

“Well, what can you do when you meet the woman of your dreams, right? Seriously took me by surprise too.” A loud laugh crackled through the phone. “But Katie’s worth it. Everything I ever wanted rolled up in one little spitfire. She keeps me busy.”

Sam knew exactly how that was, but then Nick had always had similar taste in certain things. It was sounding more and more like this could work—if Nick was willing.

“So, how are you liking the job out there?” he asked, casually.

There was a snort. “If I didn’t need the money, I would have walked ages back. It pays okay, but it’s not worth it. The head boss here thinks he’s the king or something. Micromanages the fuck out of things, then can’t figure why he’s always shorthanded.”

There were a few snarled curses of a rougher variety. Sam grinned. He’d forgotten Nick’s penchant for making up long strings of obscenities. “So, I’m guessing you wouldn’t be totally averse to a new job offer?”

Nick went silent. When he spoke again his voice had taken on a cautious tone. “Depends on what we’re talking about, I guess. You looking for a hand out there?”

“No.” Sam let the silence play out for a few seconds. “Actually, I’m looking for a foreman and I was thinking you might do.”

There was a muffled thump and then a scraping sound. A second later Nick said, “Sorry, dropped the phone. Are you serious? I mean it would have to be worth it for me to uproot Katie, but I’d love to get out of here.”

After that it was just a matter of working out the details before Nick agreed. The last thing Sam heard before they hung up was Nick yelling, “Hey asshole! I quit!” and then the phone went dead.

Sam sat back laughing and shaking his head. Having Nick around was going to be something. Maybe like old times. They’d had a lot of fun together back in the day. Of course, they’d both been younger and wilder then without the responsibilities they had now, but it would be nice to have him around.

He hadn’t really thought about it before Charlie brought it up, but now, talking with Nick, he realized that she wasn’t the only one who missed socializing. He’d been so busy, for so long, that Charlie was the only person he had time for. But that was going to change soon.

Yeah, it was going to be nice having an old friend around. And if he knew Nick’s taste in women, he had a feeling his Katie might just be enough like Charlie that they could be friends. One thing for sure, Nick wouldn’t have settled for a vanilla girl.

Whatever Katie was like, it was dead certain she was kinky and a handful. One of the things he and Nick had first bonded over was their interest in Domination. They’d even attended a few play parties together. He’d never seen the man take an interest in a girl who didn’t love to be spanked and tied up.

That made them even more perfect, because one of the concerns they’d both had about having someone on the spread after hours was that it might curtail any kinky activities. That wouldn’t be an issue with Nick for sure.

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