Page 5 of Wrangling Hearts
We shared a brief smile. There was always something new at Golden Bridle to keep us on our toes.
Leaning against the fence, I checked my phone and emails. I gasped.
“What?”
“Cavendish Equestrian Academy is looking to open a location in the area, and they want to partner with an already established ranch for their horse breeding and training program.”
“Oh?”
I rolled my eyes at his lackluster response. “This is big, Em.Huge.” I’d been trying to do the same thing here already, but with a company as big as Cavendish, it’d put Golden Bridle on the map. Not to mention, bail us out of debt.
I chewed on my bottom lip, reading over the extensive interview process that involved presentations, tours, and meetings. With everything going on here, I wasn’t sure I could juggle it all.
If I got their email, then surely every ranch in the area did as well, including Circle M, the cattle ranch run by the pretentious McLeods, who also happened to be my neighbors.
Beaumont “Mount” McLeod and his son, Beau, liked to turn everything into a pissing contest and flaunt their money at every opportunity. No matter how hard my family tried, they always came out on top. The McLeods had been beating us ever since they cheated us out of a merger in the seventies, and our families had been at each other’s throats ever since.
I looked over at my brother. “Do you think I should apply?”
Emmett kicked a rock around. “Whatever you think’s best, bear.”
I sighed, wishing he’d give me some input. I was thankful he trusted me, but it would’ve been nice to have a partner in this—in all of it. Just because I’d been doing it alone these last eight years didn’t mean I wanted to. Or that it wasn’t hard. Being the only one calling the shots with no sounding board was exhausting.
Some days, it took all the strength I had not to pull a Tess and run away. But that was the luxury she had of being the youngest that I sure as hell didn’t.
I shoved my phone in my pocket roughly. “Sometimes I wish I wasn’t the only person on this ranch who gave a shit,” I snapped. The words came out harsher than I intended, but the sentiment remained.
His eyes softened, that same green shade as Dad’s, the same as mine. “I don’t know anything about running a ranch, Claire. If you want to apply, then apply. I trust you. We all do.”
I gave him a weak smile. It was all I could muster. “Thanks.”
Emmett left to repair some fences. I watched him go, still wishing I had someone to share the weight of all this with.
After finishing my chores,I drove into town to talk to Gran at the Wild Creek Diner about the email. Even though she hadn't made a decision affecting the ranch since the nineties, after Grandpa died, she had a way of making me feel better and helping me gain perspective.
The diner smelled like fresh coffee, bacon grease, and a hint of smoke. I found Gran holed up at her usual corner booth with her best friend, Louise, the owner, sharing a banana split like they did every afternoon while they gossiped.
She smiled when she saw me, her wrinkles deepening. “Hi, sweet pea.” Some of the weight eased off my shoulders just at the sight of her.
That was one thing about Kelly Hayes: she never failed to make you feel like you were the most important person in the room when she saw you.
I slid in next to her, resting my head on her shoulder. “Hey.” I grabbed her spoon and shoveled a mound of chocolate ice cream into my mouth.
It did nothing to fix me.
“What’s wrong with you?” Louise asked, gesturing to my face. “You keep frowning like that, you’ll get wrinkles. Just look at LouAnn Stratton. Poor thing’s face looks like a railroad track.”
I almost spat my ice cream out. “Louise!” Gran scolded, fighting off giggles. “You’re terrible.”
Louise shrugged. “It’s true. And our Claire is too pretty to turn into a railroad face.”
“Thanks, Miss Louise,” I chuckled, taking another bite of ice cream.
“Now tell us what’s wrong,” Gran insisted, taking the spoon from me to get a bite for herself.
I let out a heavy breath and told them about Cavendish. “I’m not sure if I should apply or not with everything going on with Mama.” I looked between the two women staring at me like the answer was obvious. “It’s a really extensive process. And with it being just Em and me at the ranch, I don’t know if I have the time to focus on it. It’d be easier if Savannah and Tess were here, but they aren’t.”
“Nobody knows where that little hellion is,” Louise muttered, talking about Tess, while taking a drag of her cigarette even though she has a no-smoking policy.
