Page 5 of Awaiting the Storm
“I’m Caison.”
“I know who you are. Holland’s been talking about you for weeks. Thinks you’re some kind of whiz kid who’s gonna fix everything that needs fix’n and take Ironhorse to the next level. I’m not quite sure what that level is. We’re already the most successful cattle ranch in the county, maybe the state, but that man’s ambition knows no bounds.”
“No pressure then.”
She grins. “I’ve got files in the office for you to look at. I’m sure you’ll want to see all the goods—employee records, expense spreadsheets, sales reports, branding and vaccination schedules, insurance breakdowns, et cetera.”
“Yes, ma’am. Lead the way.”
I follow her inside the office, and she gives me a rundown of the logistics. Payroll, auction entries, income earning, and partnerships—all the things I love. Ranching, to me, isn’t just hay bales and mucking stalls. It’s numbers, projections, branding, and market timing. And Ironhorse is ripe for expansion and growth.
By late afternoon, I’ve shaken a dozen hands; memorized the layout of the offices, barns, and stables; and started my first page of notes in a leather journal. I join Holland and his wife, Priscilla, for supper, and after we’ve eaten our fill and the table is cleared, Holland gets down to business.
“So, we want to build a new racehorse training arena with a state-of-the-art starting gate to train both horses and jockeys. I had plans drawn up,” he says as he unrolls and spreads a set of blueprints across the table. “Here’s where the arena would go, and over to the side, there will be a new barn, stalls, parking area, and other amenities catering just to the racehorse training facility.”
“And here I thought you just wanted to get started in the horse ranching game,” I say.
He gives me a look. “I don’t want to just tiptoe in. I’m ready to move full steam ahead and build a horse dynasty.”
Carla was right. He’s all ambition.
I nod, looking down at the blueprints. “Looks good, and Carla already gave me the financial breakdowns. I’ll look over those numbers tonight,” I say.
His eyes lift to me. “Money isn’t going to be a problem, but Maitland Storm is.”
“Maitland Storm?”
He nods. “Her father owns Wildhaven Storm Ranch. It borders our property here.” He points to where the new arena is planned. “I want to purchase a thousand acres of their land for this project.”
“And they don’t want to sell?”
“I haven’t approached them yet. But they already train horses over there. It’s not a huge operation—mid at best—but they’ve had moderate success. Enough that they’ve got the attention of owners from across the country. I’ve been in secret talks with Giles Godwin. He’s their head trainer. He’s been wanting them to expand for years so they could take more clients, but Maitland has refused to even consider it. I had my guy at the bank do some digging, and it seems they may be in a bit of a bind, and the bank isn’t willing to extend them any more credit. I suspect that’s what’s been holding them back.”
“Which is good for us,” I surmise.
“Which is good for us,” he repeats, then continues, “Giles is willing to jump ship and come train for us as soon as we break ground.”
“Okay. So, what’s the problem?” I ask.
“We need Wildhaven Storm Ranch to sell us those thousand acres first.”
“Why?” I ask. “Don’t you have plenty of land already?”
“Because all our existing acreage is spoken for between the cattle and few horses we do have. We’ve primarily been a cattle ranch, and we’re just now dipping our toes into horses. And I like it. My father was always hesitant. He was a cattleman. But me? I’m a horseman. However, I’m not a stupid man. The cattle are the bread and butter of this ranch at the moment, so we have to keep them in place and paying the bills until this takes off. So, I want that thousand acres.”
“And you don’t think the Storms will sell?” I ask.
“I think it might take some persuasion, and that’s where you come in. Albert Storm is a reasonable man, but he’s pretty much given the reins to his eldest daughter, and she’s a spitfire. So, I’m counting on you to use charm and that college-educated financial prowess of yours to make her see the benefits of taking our very generous offer,” he says.
“Financial benefits,” I repeat. “You mean selling us the land we need to build a competing training facility that could possibly put them out of business?”
“Well, now, she doesn’t need to know the details of why we want the land.”
“I see.”
“That’s enough business talk for the night.” We both look up to see Priscilla standing in the doorway of the dining room. “I’m sure Caison is exhausted after his long day of travel and ranch introductions.”
Holland agrees with his wife and rolls up the blueprints and returns them to a cardboard case. Then he gives me the keys to the ranch manager’s cabin that sits on the property about half a mile from the main house.
