Page 5 of Fated to the Wolf Cowboy
A farm was very different than a ranch, but Thomas Collier, our Alpha, had decided it was time to expand. I hadn’t wanted the job, but I wasn’t turning down a chance for advancement. Maybe if I showed Thomas I was a team player and could handle the responsibilities, then he’d consider me for a higher position on the range.
I knew Cruz had been promoted and was working closely with Emmett. I couldn’t complain about that one bit. He had seniority and everyone looked up to him. But the more we grew the ranch, the more opportunities would open.
“Brady!” Peyton yelled.
I groaned. “I’m right here, Pey.”
“You’re supposed to be dropping Parker off at preschool today,” she reminded me. “Please tell me you didn’t forget because the girls are already late for school.”
I kissed her cheek. “I didn’t forget. P-man and I are good.”
“He dribbled syrup all over his shirt so can you change him?”
“Get out of here. I’ve got this. You act like I’ve never done this before.”
She sighed. “I know. I’m sorry. Oliver’s finishing up that big project for Thomas and I’m kind of lost without him this morning.”
I grinned. I was damned proud of my big brother. Oliver had started his own woodworking business building beautiful furniture. Sometimes the boys and I helped out too, but none of us had his natural talent.
No one would ever have believed my big brother would someday be a thriving business owner, least of all us. He’d not only changed his own life, but all of ours too. What would I even be without him?
And now he was busy building all the raised beds and whatever else was needed to complete the greenhouse I was overseeing.
Peyton reminded me of the time and then kissed the top of Parker’s head before rushing the girls out of the house.
“Alright, buddy, it’s time to get you cleaned up.”
“Can I go to work with you today?”
“Nope. You have school.”
“But I don’t like preschool. I wanna be a cowboy like you.”
I felt like a goddamn hypocrite because lately I wasn’t anything close to a cowboy. I hadn’t ridden a horse in weeks and some days it was torture looking out on the range while stuck overseeing the construction of the new greenhouse. My brothers got excited about that sort of shit, but my heart belonged to the wide-open spaces on the back of a horse.
It won’t be forever,I silently reminded myself.
“You have to go through school before you can become a cowboy.”
“Did you go to school, Uncle Brady?”
“Of course I did, all the way through twelfth grade when I graduated and then started working at the ranch.”
That wasn’t exactly true, but mostly. I left out the in between when I’d gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd.
I’d have done almost anything for a bit of cash back then, including sleeping around for money or perks that helped me steal things I could pawn, and for a while I even stooped to dealing drugs for a quick buck. I wasn’t proud of it, and I’d been damned lucky I was never arrested. But Parker never needed to know about that time in my life.
“Oh,” he said sadly.
“Cheer up. School’s fun and you’ll learn a lot,” I lied with a smile on my face.
I had hated school, too. How I had managed to actually graduate was a true miracle. But Peyton would likely rip my throat out in my sleep if I admitted that to the kid. So I kept my mouth shut and tried to be encouraging.
And it wasn’t just for her. I’d cleaned up my act, walked away from a terrible situation, and worked hard every damn day to be a responsible and good role model for my nieces and nephew. Some days I still didn’t think it was enough. No amount of good could atone for all the bad things I’d done in my life.
I knew Oliver and Peyton would strongly disagree, but it was how I felt. Still, I couldn’t just erase my past. All I could do was move forward and try harder.
“Let’s get you cleaned up and out of here so you aren’t late to school.”
