Page 3 of His True Mate
“Whatever you have on tap would be great.”
“Sure thing. Coming right up.”
True to her word, before I’d said hello to everyone, she was back with my beer.
“Thanks, Milly.”
“So what are you boys out celebrating tonight?” she asked.
“A rare night where everyone’s available to hang out,” Wyatt told her.
“Cheers to that,” James said holding up his glass in a salute.
“Clay, how have you been?” Thomas asked. “Feels like we haven’t caught up in a while.”
“Because someone has been busy, and I’m not talking about me,” I said with a chuckle.
“Guilty,” Thomas said with a sigh.
“It’s cool, man. You’re the Alpha now and we understand you have a lot on your plate,” Wyatt told him.
I nodded in agreement.
I missed my friend, but at the same time, I understood. Being Alpha was a big deal and a lot of responsibility. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be in his shoes.
“How’re things out at the barn?” Thomas asked me.
“Boo!” Austin threw a wadded-up napkin at Thomas’s head. “No shop talk.”
“Ignore him,” Thomas insisted. “How are things going out there?”
“Great. With Cruz and Brady pitching in, things are flowing well. No issues whatsoever.”
“Ruby tells me you’re ready to expand again.”
I shrugged. “I’ve still got room for about fifteen more head from the last expansion. I was just inquiring about filling those spots.”
“Okay,” he said.
“Okay?”
“Yeah, okay. We have room in the budget for it. The dairy has more than paid for itself several times over already. It was a wise investment. You and Ruby were right. If you think you have space for fifteen more then let’s do it.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll put out some inquiries and get you prices.”
“Actually, I have a better idea.”
I had a bad feeling that I wasn’t going to like whatever he had to say.
“What?”
“I’m sending you, Cruz, and Brady over to Omaha. There’s an annual cattle auction there. Stay for the rodeo, don’t, I don’t care, but get in there and bid us a solid price on your girls.”
“I could just put in an order with our usual supplier,” I argued.
“Ruby already looked into it, and they’ve raised their prices by nearly double. She feels strongly you’ll get a better deal at auction.”
“So why isn’t she the one going?”
