Page 11 of The Cowgirl's Secret Love
“How long does she get to think before it’s a no? Is this an open-ended thing where she gets to hitstartanytime she wants?” Zach asked.
Josiah considered for a moment. “That’s kind of how women work, Zach. The last time I looked, I wasn’t calling the shots in my relationship with Lisa. Not when it came to where we go,whenwe go, or what we do.”
“If you two are finished, I do have an update.” Finn waited until his friends turned back to face him, smirks and all. “One thing I’m sure Karen will say yes to in the morning will be helping to prep this place. Horse purchases and livestock staffing.”
Zach swore softly. “You offered her ajob? I mean, not that she won’t be brilliant at it, but when she says no to dating you, won’t that make things a little complicated?”
“If she says yes to dating you, that’s gonna make things even more complicated,” Josiah pointed out.
“Not really. Zach, you’re foreman on the project, so you’d be her boss. Contract work. Means she’ll have a lot of autonomy. You plan to second-guess any of the purchases she makes for this place?”
“Of course not.” His friend shrugged. “Would’ve been nice to have talked about this before, but it’s a good twist. I approve.”
“Thanks.” The word dripped with sarcasm.
Then Zach lit up. He smacked a hand on Finn’s shoulder. “In other news, I tracked down contacts at those restoration sites you mentioned. Got leads on at least a dozen old barns within the radius you were hoping for. You’ll have to work your magic to purchase them for a decent price, but when you do, I know exactly who to bring in to make them into the best guesthouses any dude ranch ever had.”
Which is why at the end of the day, when the bullshitting was done, Finn appreciated Zach so much.
They both brought skills to the business they’d been building ever since Finn officially left the homestead where he grew up. Zach had the magic touch when it came to tracking down one-of-a-kind items and the eye to choose the perfect spot for new businesses. He also had freaky good timing.
Finn knew how to work the numbers.
While they’d both had some good luck at key moments, like falling in with their mentor, Bruce Travers, they’d worked damn hard as well, and that’s what had made them successful in the end.
Finn gave Zach an approving nod. “Knew I could count on you.”
“Of course you can, because I’m so count-on-able.” Zach turned to the other man in the room. “So, the spaces I pointed out for the horses. Approval from the veterinarian, or do we need to make changes?”
“Looks good on paper. I want to see a few more measurements for your main barn. Also, if you can double the size of the arena now, you’ll appreciate it down the road.” Josiah pulled some of the papers forward, and he and Zach fell into a discussion that Finn only partially listened to.
He’d come to Heart Falls with one real goal—to get back together with Karen.
Making a success of the dude ranch was important in a totally different way. Business achievements were a way of keeping track of the progress in one’s life. It was too easy to get stuck in one spot. To watch life pass by as you did the same old thing, time and again.
Finn’s mentor, Bruce Travers, had been all about attempting the new and reaching beyond what was possible before. It was part of the reason he’d taken Finn and Zach on as apprentices.
He’d changed their lives in ways they could never have imagined.
Being in Heart Falls with enough money in his pocket to make dreams come true was very much a legacy Finn had received from the man. But the true gift wasn’t the cash. It was the sense of adventure and the striving for freshness. Those were newer attitudes Finn never wanted to lose.
He pulled out his phone, intending to check his emails, but his screensaver distracted him, pulling him into the stash of photos he’d gathered of Karen.
The ones Karen had posed for five years ago once they’d agreed to let the passion between them flare.
He found himself staring at her face again, a confident woman on horseback. Her hands rested easily on the saddle horn as she stared at him with a bright smile on her face, cool self-assurance shining through in the way she sat.
If he remembered correctly, that horse had been a hellion, yet for her the beast had all but purred. That was one of the many things he admired about her.
“Finn.”
He glanced up, tucking his phone into his back pocket. “What?”
Once again, the two men before him exchanged amused glances before Zach shrugged. “It’s so much fun to see you besotted. I wanted to remind you we’ve got a meeting at the bank in an hour. If you want to go now, we can grab lunch beforehand.”
Finn had no idea what his friend was talking about. “Who the fuck uses a word like besotted these days? And why are we meeting at the bank?”
A long-suffering sigh drifted from Zach. “Because I’m purchasing the old Brewster building on Main Street.”
