Page 19 of Wrangling Hearts
Joseph clapped my back as we turned to face the reps in their polished pickup. “Don’t worry. We got this, brother,” he said through his smile.
It would’ve been real great if I had felt the same.
Two men climbed out of their polished truck in tailored suits and cowboy hats, surveying the property. And I wasn’t a man who prayed much, but I was praying to every god there was that Mount wouldn’t come outside and chase them off with a shotgun, busted hip and all.
My stomach twisted with doubt as the reps drew closer. “Gentlemen,” Joseph greeted with a charming grin, extending a hand. “Joseph Roberts, and this is my brother-in-law and partner, Beaumont McLeod.”
I woodenly shook their hands, vaguely catching their names. These men weren’t real cowboys, not like me. The knowledge only sent another wave of apprehension through me. They were used to working with men like Joseph—clean-cut, polished, established.
And while Circle M and I were established in the cattle world, we were anything but in the horse breeding world. I was way out of my depth here, and Claire’s snide remark from last week about not knowing horses popped into my head to remind me of just that.
“So, Beaumont, why should we partner with Circle M?” one of the reps, Oliver, asked me, and I almost choked on my spit.
What the hell kind of opening question was that?
I glanced at Joseph, but he was looking at me expectantly, waiting for my answer.
“Beau’s fine,” I said, clearing my throat. I looked around the land, scrambling for a response. “Well, Circle M might not be in horses, but uh, we’ve got the space to offer the kind of setup your company’s used to.” There was an awkward lull that told me they were expecting more, so I filled it with nonsense. “And,” I scratched the back of my neck, “Circle M is known for our quality in cattle, so you know you’ll get the same quality in your horses.”
“Space and quality,” the other suit, Trent, echoed. He arched a brow, unimpressed. Heat crawled up the back of my neck at the boredom in his eyes.
Shit. I opened my mouth to respond, but Joseph beat me to it, stepping forward like he’d been waiting for this moment. My stomach hollowed out.
“Absolutely. What Beau is saying is that we have more than enough acreage to accommodate a state-of-the-art setup. We were thinking of a twenty-stall facility. With a vet bay, of course. As well as an indoor and outdoor arena. The works.” He gestured to the golf cart parked by the barn that came out of fucking nowhere; he must’ve brought it with him. “We can take you out to the south pasture to show you our ideas.”
Oliver was writing something down on a clipboard, while Trent said, “That’d be great. Lead the way.”
As we rode to the pasture, I only did worse, too stuck in my head. I could handle Circle M questions. But horses? Our plans? I froze like a deer in headlights. Every time I tried to come up with something, Mount’s voice popped up instead.
You don’t know the first thing about horses, boy.
By the time we reached the pasture, it had become Joseph’s show, and I just stood there like a fool with my thumb up my ass, hoping nobody would notice. He walked them through everything. Answered every question. Eased any concern. All with his preppy voice and lingo that I’d never heard him use before. He sounded like a car salesman.
But if I didn’t have him, I would’ve been screwed. I probably already was, given the fact that the reps stopped speaking to me altogether.
Maybe Mount was right in thinking this was a mistake, and I was just an idiot with dreams that would never come true. Maybe I needed to back out before I got us in too deep. Before I risked anything more than our reputation.
The sun was setting,casting the pastures in a blanket of golden warmth, and the cicadas had begun their chirping by the time we wrapped up. Joseph and Oliver were talking about water draining and filtration and shit I didn’t know about when Trent looked around and said, “It’s beautiful out here.”
“Thanks,” I murmured.
“A lot of history here, I bet.” I nodded, struggling to find the words. “I heard this isn’t the first time your family’s ranch has tried to expand into horse training.”
I stopped walking then. “Where’d you hear that?”
He shrugged a shoulder, looking pleased with himself. “Cavendish Academy does extensive research on all our potential partners. We’re aware of the merger that fell through with Golden Bridle in the seventies. As I’m sure you know, Claire Hayes has also applied for this partnership.”
“I’m aware,” I forced out. “I can only hope that after this tour, you know we’re the better option. Golden Bridle doesn’t have even a quarter of the space we do.”
“Yes, Joseph has been incredibly informative.” I didn’t miss the insult as he sped up to catch up with Joseph and Oliver, getting into the golf cart.
My eyes drifted shut, a weighted sigh leaving me, and I trudged after them. I felt like a dead man walking to that golf cart.
We rode back to the barn, and Joseph and the reps talked about their golf game, while a silent storm brewed inside me. We were all practiced smiles and firm handshakes as they left, and Joseph gave them a wave as they pulled off.
He let out a contented sigh, hands on his hips. “I think we nailed it.”
“Sure,” I said, dropping my act. “We as in you. You carried that whole meeting.”
