Page 23 of Redemption

“I’ll get down to business. I wanted to ask you about the offer you made to my father,” I said when he sat, resting his ankle on the opposite knee. He cocked his head at me in surprise.

“Since he’s passed, the estate has fallento me, and I found your correspondence.”

“Ah.” He balanced his whiskey on his knee, his eyebrows dipped and a softness appeared that I hadn’t been ready for. “I’m sorry about your father. There aren’t many people in this business who are as…gracious as Charlie Cartwright.”

I inclined my head. “He was a good man.”

He swallowed his whiskey, glancing in the tumbler, his expression still soft and I was taken aback by it. “Yes. He was good to me when I first started out and kind in his rejection of my offer to buy.”

“Thank you,” I replied. “I have to be honest here, I don’t know the first thing about running a ranch and was hoping you could help me? Help us?”

I immediately knew I’d said the wrong thing. His expression hardened again, back to the cold Duke I recognized. “I don’t believe in giving survival tips to my competition, evenRamshackleRanch.”

I was taken aback by his sudden change, flinching at his rudeness. “But—”

He downed his whiskey and sat forward. “Hear me now, Katarina. I am not going to mentor you through this. We are competition, not friends or partners. I offered to buy the ranch for my own selfish reasons.”

My weakness showed for a moment and I hated it. “But I don’t know how to keep it going, I don’t know how to keep a roof over the girls’ heads.”

There was a hard glint in his eye and he bit the inside of his cheek. “Unless you wish to sell, I can’t,won’t, help you.”

I swallowed, feeling alone in this whole situation once more. “Then I guess we’re done here.”

He stood abruptly, tugging at his cufflinks. “Thanks for the drink, although it tasted like cheap whiskey.”

I nodded, not knowing what else to do. He peered down at me, then grunted and the clomp of his shoes on the wooden floor echoed around the small office. He tugged open the door, paused before he left, glanced around the room once more with something that looked like yearning before he shook himself.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You need to cut costs, Kat. Get rid of some of your cowboys. It’ll be tough for a while. It’s not nice but there’s no room for nice in business. And it’s a lot nicer than putting the girls on the street,” he finished, before spinning on his heel and stalking towards the front door.

“See you again soon, Buttercup,” I heard him purr before the front door banged closed behind him and I heard Daisy cursing. I inhaled deeply, leaning back in my seat, staring up at the ceiling.

“He’s an asshole,” Daisy said from the doorway.

I tilted my head forward and met her shining green eyes. “Why didn’t you say you’d been to see him?”

She shrugged, tugging at the bottom of her shirt. “Because I was embarrassed. He wasn’t exactly nice. His looks are his only redeeming quality,” she grumbled, then clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide.

I arched a brow at her. “Daisy, stay away from him. He’s a creep.”

Although there was something about the way he looked around the office and the yearning on his face. His cold, arrogant mask slipped for a moment. Especially with the fact that he gave some parting advice after refusing to help. Maybe he wasn’t as big a douche as he seemed.

Daisy shook her head. “I was just kidding,” she muttered, before leaving the room.

I drank the rest of my whiskey, thinkingabout Duke’s words. I needed to get rid of a couple of ranch hands, but if I did that who would help out? I needed someone to work for free because I couldn’t do it all on my own. Maddy had a job and helped out when she could, Daisy was trying to work in marketing and events, August already managed the horses and Tilly was too young.

I was shit outta luck.

I needed someone with nothing to do and no other options.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Jack

“Do I look like I want to hire you?”

“I kind of wanna say, yes?” I teased, trying to charm the owner of Wake Me Up Before You Cocoa, the local chocolate shop and café in town. Her hard expression didn’t change, and my stomach sank.

“Thanks for your time, ma’am,” I sighed as I reluctantly left, ignoring the whispers and stares from patrons in the café. Once outside, I drew in a deep breath, mentally crossing another place of business off my list.

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