Prologue
Jay
“Jay!”
Jack yelled across the arena from the office doorway. It was a cold Monday mornin’ in November. The day had just gotten started, and already, I was freezin’ and miserable, workin’ harder than I ever wanted to on my family’s horse ranch. Every day, I had to convince myself I didn’t hate bein’ a horse rancher. Well, more like a shit shoveler. I’d never had the knack for horses, not like my brothers.
“Yeah?”
“C’mere for a sec.”
Uh… okay. It wasn’t very often my oldest brother, Jack, called me into the office. I kinda felt like I’d been summoned to the principal’s office even though I claimed part ownership of said office just like the rest of my brothers.
I stopped what I was doin’, set my shovel against a stall door, and headed over to where my brother had disappeared behind his big desk.
Knockin’ on the doorframe, I looked in at him standin’ there, waitin’ for me.
“Jesus, Jay. You don’t have to knock. This is your office too.”
“Right.” I stepped in, claspin’ my hands behind my back.
“Well, sit down.”
Like I said, called to the principal’s office.
Jack sat in the computer chair behind the old dinged and weathered wooden desk, and I sat in the hard-backed chair opposite him. If I ran this office, the first thing I’d do would be to upgrade all this mish-mosh furniture. You can’t have a respectable business without respectable surroundin’s.
“We talked about your ideas for the ranch.”
“Yeah?” I sat straighter in my chair. Really? He’d actually listened to me? He’d actually thought about my idea to grow our business and, hopefully, increase our profits? I couldn’t believe it. Every time I’d brought it up, he dismissed it. Or me. Or just slammed a door in my face.
“You mentioned a dude ranch.”
“Yeah?”
“Like I said, we ain’t doin’ that.”
“Oh. Right.”
I was sure he could read the disappointment on my face even though I tried hard not to show it. I hated showin’ weakness in front of my oldest brother or any of my brothers—they were all older than me—but I knew I possessed the skills to make our business great. It was what I had gone to school for, but… I just couldn’t find the courage to stand my ground.
Jack had held our business, and our family, together through thick and thin, bringin’ it back from the brink of death more than once. How arrogant would it be for me to disregard all that?
“But…”
“But?”
“But I been thinkin’ about what Mr. Williams said, about them therapy animals they got over in Jackson. A dude ranch just ain’t us, Jay. Buncha rich people hangin’ around the ranch, payin’ us money to clean up after ’em and teach ’em how to ride for five minutes? Sure, we’d make money but we’d be miserable. I think we’re better than that. I think we could do somethin’ to make a little money and help people at the same time.”
“Yeah. That’s—yeah,” I said, noddin’.
“You look surprised.”
“No, I mean, I just didn’t think you—”
“I looked it up. There’s a shit-ton of information about it all, many different kinds of therapy we could provide. But we couldn’t do it by ourselves. We’d need therapists, doctors, equipment. We’d have to train the horses specifically for it. But”—he waved his hand at the computer screen on the desk—“it’s all makin’ my head hurt. So, you do it. Research it. Come up with a plan. Talk to whoever you need to. I dunno. Whoever. Do whatever it is we paid all that money to send you to that fancy school for.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“Okay,” I said, shakin’ my head in utter disbelief. “I’m on it. I’ll start now.” I jumped up and turned toward the door, ready to go. I already had a million ideas runnin’ through my mind.
“But Jay?”
I turned back around. “Yeah?”
“I still expect you to do your work every day. You ain’t gettin’ off the hook. We still need your help around here.”
“Right. I know. I’ll work on this in the evenin’s.” Ughhh. More horse shit. Didn’t my honors degree in business mean anything to my family?
“If you need time off to, I dunno, meet with people or whatever, schedule it. Just like you would any other job. I need to be able to depend on you bein’ here.”
“Right. Okay.”
“Here,” he said, holdin’ out a stack of papers. “This is everything I found. It’s not much, but I printed it all out.”
Huh. I hadn’t thought Jack even knew how to use a printer.
“Thanks.” I took the papers from him. “Can I ask, what changed your mind? I’ve been buggin’ you about this for a while.”
“Yeah, you have.” He squinted, considerin’ me. “I ain’t adverse to makin’ money, Jay, but the whole dude ranch thing just don’t sit right with me. This does. And, I guess, Evvie.”
“Evvie?” The woman who stole my brother’s heart in a heartbeat.
“Yeah. She says I’m bein’ a dick and I oughta give you a chance. I should trust you.”
“Oh, well…” I laughed. “Okay.”
“Go on then,” he said, wavin’ me off with a flick of his wrist and a nod.
I turned and headed toward the door but stopped at the threshold. “Jack?”
Sighin’, he looked up from his messy desktop. “What?”
“Thanks. Thanks for trustin’ me. I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t,” he said, and he actually smiled.
Walkin’ slowly from the office, I tried not to grin like an idiot and to look professional, but as soon as I cleared his eyeline, I ran to find Evvie. She was standin’ in the stall closest to the arena entrance, brushin’ a horse and cooin’ to her about fairy princesses in big country castles. I had no idea what in the world she was talkin’ about.
“Evvie?”
“Oh!” Both she and Fancy jumped a little. “You scared me, Jay.”
“Sorry.” I stepped in front of her and reached out to pull her into a hug, careful not to squeeze too hard. She still had stitches, her whole body bruised and sore. She’d been through absolute hell, but still, here she was, workin’ as best she could to help Jack. To help us all ’cause she loved him. She loved us.
“What’s that for?”
“Just… for lovin’ my brother. Thank you.”
She giggled and hugged me back. “No thanks necessary. I couldn’t stop if I wanted to.”
Steppin’ back, I leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Yeah, but still, thank you.”
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