Page 51 of When the Smoke Clears

“Sutton, good mornin’.” Terrence’s thick accent is so stereotypically Texas. “Wanted to let you know I’ve considered the offer you and your dad gave me.”

I try not to hold my breath. It’s not that we can’t go higher if Terrence comes back with a counteroffer, but I’d prefer to avoid it if we can. Before meeting with Terrence, Dad and I had a sit down with a financial planner in town. After getting a hold on what we have going on and what we want to accomplish, specifically to allow growth without my parents being financially tied down, he was able to set a plan and advise how to move forward with the purchase.

Just one more thing Maci and I haven’t had a chance to discuss.

“I’d like to accept.”

I blink. “Well, that’s wonderful.”

“I’d appreciate sixty days to get things in order here.” I don’t get the impression that he’s asking, but the timeline works for us, too. I hope.

“Yes, sir. Not a problem.” That will put us just into the new year. My mind is already running through what the next few months look like on our calendar, adding in what we need to accomplish to be ready for an expansion. Something Maci said previously about our role in the community stands out in my mind.

“Sounds good.”

I rub a hand over my mouth. There are a lot of people’s livelihoods involved here, and not just the people Strickland Ranch employs. “Is your team aware of the transition?”

“Yep, yep. They’re aware I’m sellin’.”

“Well, we’d be open to considering some staying on if they’d like to. I’d want to meet with them and gauge everyone’s expectations.” I’m working on the fly.

“Ok. I’ll let ’em know you’re open to it.”

“Thank you. We’ll be in touch to coordinate further. You let us know if you need anything in the meantime.”

“Same to you, Sutton. I look forward to seeing what you do out here.”

A little pride joins the mixture of emotions swirling within me.

After hanging up, I step inside the bunkhouse again. The ranch hands sit at the dining table, looking expectantly at where I stand at the door.

“Sorry about that.” My steps echo on the pier and beam floor. The fourth seat at the table is open and I sit down. “I have several things I want to go over this morning, but I’d like to start with anything you want to discuss.”

The three men exchange looks.

“Nothing’s come up on our end. How’s Maci?” Kelly asks. I don’t miss Cody and Jason deferring to him.

My knuckles tap twice on the dining table, thumping hollowly, a distraction for covering my surprised emotion. It’s odd to have them interested in my personal life. I haven’t had much of one worth discussing until recently, so it isn’t commonplace. “She’s doing better. It’ll take time.”

“Some wounds don’t heal. Not completely.” He holds my gaze. Something tells me he knows more than he’s letting on. Maybe not about what happened, but the aftermath of something like this.

I nod. “It’s true. I don’t expect she’ll ever be the exact same Maci she was.”

“Just love her through it.” We don’t speak for a few moments.

Well, this went differently than expected.

There’s a lot of that these days.

I clear my throat. “Alright, let’s get started on the news.” I rattle my phone against the table in my other hand. “That was Terrence. We’re going to be acquiring the property next door.”

Cody’s drops his chin as he speaks. “The whole ten thousand acres?”

“Yep.” I give him a gentle smile. He’s the youngest of the group, and sometimes I forget how green he is. He removes his hat and runs a hand through his short blond hair. “Some things will be easy transitions, and some may be hard. We have sixty days to get things in order over here and have a solid plan in place for what needs to happen over there.”

“Isthere a plan?” Jason is seated across the table from me.

“Somewhat.” I grin. “First things first, I’m going to need one of you to manage cow-calf operations for Strickland Ranch as we expand. We’ll also be making decisions on how we’re going to reorganize the land, if we’re going to grow the herds or add more, and what other endeavors we’ll be exploring out here.”

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