Wrangling Wes
Page 18
Granger was becoming unrecognizable to him, with outsiders, mostly from the city, thinking themselves ranchers. His parents had money flowing into their lodge-style estate, which they had successfully turned into a business. Gwendolyn had been the one to first make the suggestion of turning the main house into a money-making venture. At first, his father had objected, but once he saw it in operation, he was all for it.
They had turned only half of their main house on the BWB Ranch into a rental lodge and had maintained the upper floors as their private family residence. And business was booming. They had reservations scheduled over the next two years. Under Gwendolyn’s expert guidance, they had developed several vacation packages including a bed-and-breakfast experience, a tour of the range and the chance to spend a week with the ranch hands. Their most famous package allowed guests to “rough” it for three days—living in tents, milking cows, and either fishing or hunting for their food and cooking whatever they caught on an open fire.
Jameson respected people who understood the hard work that came with cattle ranching and horse breeding, but people with more money than sense bothered him. He knew his grandfather and parents were worried and they had every right to be. A private buyer could change what Granger was all about, and he wouldn’t let that happen. He vowed he’d prove himself and make the Broward name shine even brighter than it did now.
His cell phone rang. “Hello?”
“We just lost one,” his foreman said.
Jameson lowered his head and swore. He knew he couldn’t say too much for fear of being overheard by the house staff. No one in his family knew what he’d been up to and if they did, he’d never hear the end of it. He’d taken a risk and lost, but it wouldn’t affect anyone but him. “How’s the other one?”
“Touch and go.”
“Thanks. I’ll be over there soon.” Jameson hung up. It seemed to be a day full of pain, but he was used to it. He knew how to handle himself now. He’d stay focused on work and his family because he had no room in his life for more than that. He’d given his heart away once, to Meredith, and had had it broken. The second time, with Priscilla, he’d let his male organ rule and that had gotten him in trouble, too. He knew that his intellect was the only thing that would save him. And help him save what mattered to him. He made a promise to himself that he’d never love another person as much as he loved his land and animals. And he kept his promises.
* * *
Gwendolyn returned to the main living room, where her husband sat, sipping on a cup of coffee.
“Well,” Steven said patting the seat beside him. “Were you able to talk to him? Does he have any idea of what we can do to stop us from losing more of Granger?”
Gwendolyn sat down next to her husband of thirty-four years and sighed. He usually was able to make her feel better, but not this time. Jameson really had them both worried. “No, he’s keeping to himself as usual. He always handles stress by withdrawing. He won’t talk about Wes selling the land or anything else.”
“He wasn’t always like that.”
Gwendolyn knew she didn’t need to reply. They both were aware the painful breakup with Meredith had changed Jameson. He’d been a little more carefree, not so solitary, when he was younger. They both missed that son who could laugh during a Montana rainstorm and talked about the future with optimism.
“No man should let a woman have that much of an effect on him,” Steven said with feeling.
“It wasn’t just Meredith—it was that other woman, too. What was her name?”
“Who cares what her name was? The problem is there’s been no other woman since then to compare her to. He won’t date. He won’t even consider a dating service both online or off. I don’t know what we’re going to do with that boy.”
“He’s not ready.”
Steven shook his head. “I just don’t want him thinking that this place is all that life is about. I want him to have a family of his own. And so does Dad. Besides, there are plenty of other women for him to choose from. He’s just too stubborn to notice.”
Gwendolyn nodded. “He’s stubborn and proud. That won’t be an easy mix for a woman to take on. Sometimes I fear that there’s no woman who will be able to break through his wall.”
Copyright © 2014 by Jacquelin Thomas
ISBN-13: 9781460329047
WRANGLING WES
Copyright © 2014 by Jacquelin Thomas
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