His Reluctant Cowboy
Page 18
“Did you like the guy you met?” Reid asked.
Zeke blushed. “Eh, he was okay. He left when I wouldn’t stop questioning Jack and come back to the table.”
“Not worth your time then,” Reid declared.
“This time may have worked out,” Walker continued, “but next time, we go out scouting together. And you let us vet the guys you’re talking to on dating apps. At least for a while.”
“You’re a baby gay. You can’t just jump right in with no support,” Reid stated. “You need the guidance of your Godas.”
“Godas?” Walker frowned.
“Gay Yodas,” Reid quipped. “That’s us,” he whispered theatrically.
Walker pinched the bridge of his nose.
Zeke snorted.
Wes, Shay, and Norma laughed.
“Yeah, I got it.” Walker pulled Reid close to his side and kissed the top of his head.
Wes cleared his throat. “So, does this mean the ranch is safe? Our jobs are safe?”
Walker nodded. “As far as I’m concerned, yes.”
“And look at you,” Norma patted Reid’s cheek. “The man who hated horses and was leaving as soon as possible, we’ve turned you into a cowboy after all.”
“He’s the most reluctant cowboy I’ve ever seen,” Walker teased, “but he’s all mine.”
They all laughed.
“All right, enough,” Reid declared with mock sternness. “We’ve got a ranch to run. After all, a ranch is only as good as those in charge lead it to be.” Reid winked at Walker. “Let’s get to work.”
Epilogue
One year later.
“Those two are like a couple little old…,” Reid started, “oh wait, they are little old ladies.” He chuckled.
“Shut it, child,” Norma snapped good-naturedly. “I’ve been lonely on this ranch for too long. Having Rachel here is a dream come true.”
“You two giggle and gossip and scheme for hours at a time,” Walker stated. “Grandma, you’ve been here almost a year, how can you ladies have that much to talk about every day?”
“We have a lot of time to catch up on.” Rachel shrugged. “You and Reid never seem to have trouble coming up with things to talk about,” she pointed out.
“Well, we’re not always just talking,” Reid teased.
“Speaking of grandbabies,” Norma began.
“We were speaking of no such thing,” Walker groused.
“We are now,” Norma continued.
“Need I remind you that ass babies are only in fictional stories.” Reid cocked his head. “Yes, I know you’ve both been reading male pregnancy romance novels.”
“I believe that’s referred to as ‘MPreg,’” Walker chuckled. “You two know that Reid and I want children, but we can’t just pop them out like some other couples. It takes planning. Do we want a surrogate? Adoption? Fostering? There’s a lot to consider.”
“And while we know you two are ready to board the Grandma Train,” Reid began.
“Choo-choo!” Norma and Rachel interrupted and fell into each other laughing.
“We would like a little more time with just the two of us before we become fathers,” Reid finished with a chuckle and roll of his eyes.
A knock sounded at the door.
“Come in,” Walker hollered.
Zeke and the newest ranch hire, Jordan, entered the ranch house. Jordan’s arrival at the ranch six months earlier had brightened Zeke’s demeanor exponentially. While the two hadn’t been seen together romantically or made any type of official announcement, Zeke and Jordan were basically inseparable.
Reid beamed at their arrival. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite little duo,” he teased and both Zeke and Jordan rolled their eyes while blushing.
“Did you guys hear the latest news?” Zeke asked.
“You two are madly in love and finally making it official?” Reid offered.
“Wes was in town,” Zeke continued, ignoring Reid’s incessant matchmaking, “he saw Toweler. I guess he’ll probably give you a call or come visit, but from what Wes said, Toweler said Jack will likely stay in jail for a while. Definitely not letting him out on bail now that it’s been proven he’s a flight risk. How desperate and dumb was he to try to make overseas travel plans. Surely he should have known all of his contacts would be bugged or working for the police.”
“Jack is enough of a narcissist that he thinks he’s invincible,” Reid stated with a snarl.
“I’m glad he’s getting punishment for what he did here, but I think it’s amazing he’s also getting his due for all the other illegal shit he’s pulled over the years,” Walker added.
“It gets better,” Zeke went on, “come to find out, there’s supposedly well over a million dollars worth of gold, diamonds, stocks and bonds buried somewhere here on the ranch.”
“What?” Reid choked out. “That’s why he was so dead set on buying the ranch. He wanted to get that loot before selling it and destroying it.”
“That’s what Toweler said too,” Zeke agreed.
“Do they have details about where this is supposedly buried?” Walker asked. “And if it’s legit or dirty money?”
“No.” Zeke shook his head. “Wes said Toweler told him they’d keep on Jack about the location and where it came from. They learned of it when Jack bragged about it to another inmate. He doesn’t know they know about it. So they are going to try to get more out of him.”
“I’ll give Toweler a call and make sure this information doesn’t get out to the general public,” Walker said. “Need you all to keep it quiet, too. We don’t need a bunch of thieves sneaking onto our land trying to dig up a treasure that may or may not even exist.”
Everyone nodded their agreement.
“You two will stay for lunch,” Norma ordered Zeke and Jordan.
The two young men simply shrugged and smiled.
“Come on, y’all, it’s time to eat.” Norma swept to the kitchen. “Enchiladas, rice, beans, and chocolate cake for dessert.”
Everyone groaned in anticipation and gathered around the table.
“After lunch, we’ve got a shit ton of work to do, so eat up,” Walker commanded.
Reid glanced around the ranch house table at the people who had become his true family on a piece of land he had come to love with every bone in his body.
“Whatcha thinking?” Walker leaned over and whispered in Reid’s ear.
“Just that I owe Grandpa Jack the biggest fucking thank you in the world,” Reid replied as he turned teary eyes toward Walker.
“I’m grateful for his decision every damn day,” Walker agreed. “You may have come into my life angry and resentful and determined to wash your hands of this place, but the land, the animals, maybe even the spirit of Jack kept you here, and I’m so damn glad.”
“Guess I really am a ranch owner, huh? A real cowboy?” Reid nudged Walker’s shoulder with his own.
“Like I’ve said before, the most reluctant cowboy I’ve seen, but you’re mine and I love you more each and every day.”
“I love you, too, cowboy.”
Acknowledgments
This is always one of the hardest parts of finishing a book, but quite possibly the most important part! It’s so hard because I fear I’ll miss someone who has helped me out, supported me, been a listening ear, or offered advice and encouragement. If I miss listing your name here, please know it wasn’t on purpose, and I love you dearly!
A dear friend once again made this book possible. I’m not sure he understands how much his input means to me and how he shapes my stories with his words, answers, experiences, and heart. Thank you, Brett, as always. Don’t ever doubt your potential and how lucky people are to know you.
And, to Gage. You are truly an amazing person. Thank you, again, for all of your help and input. Not to get all mushy, but you have an incredible future ahead of you because you can do absolutely anything you set your mind to. I feel blessed to get to watch you reach the stars.
&nb
sp; To my dear beta readers. Your input, feedback, and encouragement has proven invaluable to me! I truly trust you all and value your opinions more than you’ll probably ever understand. Thank you to my newest betas as well. When I needed fresh new eyes who had never read any of these characters you were there for me and helped me so much!
To my Ellis Elite Private Discussion Group—THANK YOU! Those of you who list me in contests and comments and shout outs all the time, you’re amazing and I love you for always working to get my name out there! If I start naming people here, I’ll be sure to miss some; just know if you’ve ever shared my name or my books, it means the world to me and I appreciate you more than you’ll ever know!
To my READERS!! You are what keeps me going. You are the reason I write some days. When I don’t feel like I have it in me, I’ll get a message or comment from a reader about how a story of mine has touched them, and that will be the inspiration and motivation for me to write. As long as these stories are in my head, I’ll keep sharing them with you.
To the BLOGGERS who read and review and share my books!! You are beyond a shadow of a doubt some of the most dedicated and selfless people I’ve ever known! Thank you so much for being such a support to those of us who have stories to tell. I love BLOGGERS!
To my Juice Box ladies! Thank you so much for welcoming me into your crew and sharing your knowledge, experience, advice, and fun with me! Having some real-life authors/friends I can collaborate with is a great feeling. Dance parties, lunches, movies, videos, wine, painting, pizza, sushi, cookies…the list goes on and on! Thank you for letting me be a Juice Boxer!
To my fellow authors. Those of you who read my work, share your work with me, cross-promote with me, and offer advice and support, THANK YOU! You make this a little easier and enjoyable.
To my family and friends. I know most of you don’t understand my obsession with getting these stories out of my head and on paper, but you’re proud of me either way. Some of you get to read my books, some of you get to see cover ideas, some of you have to watch me lose myself in a story, some of you have to hear me vent about the hard parts of all of this; all of you love me and support me and for that, I am truly lucky and grateful.
About the Author
A.D. Ellis is an Indiana girl, born and raised. She spends much of her time in central Indiana teaching alternative education in the inner city of Indianapolis, being a mom to two amazing school-aged children, and laughing at a precocious cat. A lot of her time is also devoted to phone call avoidance and her hatred of cooking.
She loves chocolate, wine, pizza, and naps along with reading and writing romance. These loves don’t leave much time for housework, much to the chagrin of her husband of nearly two decades. Who would pick cleaning the house over a nap or a good book? She uses any extra time to increase her fluency in sarcasm.
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