Cowboy Lullaby (The Boones 0f Texas Book 6)

by Sasha Summers

  “Okay.” Cost-saving automatically registered as less compensation in her brain.

  “I’ve only been here a week, so I haven’t had the chance to review all the stables expenses, but I have seen a handful of your invoices.” Garrett fanned out five of her itemized bills across the worn black walnut surface. “Our farrier costs seem high.”

  “You have almost a hundred horses. Thirty of which are Belgians. And you have to factor in all the therapeutic shoeing, too.” Delta hadn’t known what to expect from their conversation, but this wasn’t a good start. “I realize it’s none of my concern, but since we’re on the subject, I don’t understand why you’re maintaining this many horses when you don’t have the business to support them any longer.”

  “Because Dylan doesn’t want to thin the stables. I’ve agreed to give the ranch six months before revisiting the idea.” Garrett removed a pad from the top drawer and scanned his neatly written notes. “In the meantime, I need to reduce the ranch’s overhead at once so we can balance their expense. Please don’t think you’re my only target. But since you’re here today, I’d like to tackle this expense first. Had Dylan or Jax discussed cold-shoeing with you? The cost is significantly lower.”

  Target? Tackle? They weren’t playing a sport. She was a fourth-generation farrier and she took her job seriously.

  “The quality is lower, as well.” Delta only cold-shod a horse when the animal had an intolerance to the hiss of firing up a forge or the smoke produced when a hot shoe met the hoof. “It’s much easier to hammer and shape a hot shoe than file a cold one and it provides a more exacting fit. In my opinion, cold-shoeing is done by less experienced farriers. Some do exceptional work, but they’re not equipped to handle the corrective or specialized work I do for your horses. As you’ve already said, your brother considers me the top in the state.”

  She’d had to justify her prices in the past, but Delta hadn’t anticipated having to defend her value, as well.

  “I think we’re getting off on the wrong foot, no pun intended.” Garrett gathered her invoices and stacked them in front of him. “I’m not looking to replace you as Silver Bells’ farrier. I’m asking if we can cold-shoe from this point forward and hot-shoe only when necessary.”

  Delta weighed her options carefully. Just as Garrett had said, cold-shoeing was significantly cheaper. It also forced her to do twice, if not three times, as many jobs to offset the difference.

  “I prefer not to, but you’re the customer. If you want cold-shoeing, then that’s what I will do.”

  “You are capable of cold-shoeing, right?”

  “I beg your pardon.” Delta abruptly stood, inadvertently shoving her chair backward into a filing cabinet. “I assure you I’m more than capable of any shoeing requirements you might have. But I will also assure you, I’m the only farrier around that will work on your Belgians.”

  “Why is that?” Garrett asked, without a single muscle in his body reacting to her outburst.

  “Because they’re obstinate and they weren’t trained from the beginning to lift their feet. The ones that do tend to lean on me. Since Silver Bells doesn’t have a proper shoeing stall where I can secure their foot to work on it, my back takes a beating.”

  “Good to know.” He jotted down a note.

  “If that’s all, I have another appointment to get to.”

  “I thought you said this was your last stop of the day,” Garrett challenged.

  “I was mistaken. I have one more to make.” Delta had an imminent date with a bar stool after this conversation. She marched to the door and willed herself to open it nicely. “See you tomorrow.”

  “I’m looking forward to it,” Garrett called after her as she stormed toward the exit.

  “I’m not,” Delta mumbled to herself. She hated when a perfectly good man went from sexy to infuriating in a matter of minutes. It was a waste of nice-fitting Wranglers.

  * * *

  THE SOUND OF Delta’s boots reverberated against the floor as she barreled out of the stables. Garrett had hoped she would have been more sympathetic to the ranch’s difficult financial position. And maybe she already was. He didn’t know enough about her to say one way or the other. But a small part of him wanted to know a lot more about the mahogany-haired beauty that couldn’t get away from him fast enough.

  According to Dylan, Delta had extended their payment terms out to ninety days from her usual fifteen. That alone had been generous, but it still wasn’t enough to help their bottom line. Now here he was, a total stranger, asking her to take more of a financial hit for him.

  He respected Delta’s need to earn a living. Hell, he could even understand her getting upset at the prospect of less money. Her attitude was a bit much, though. Answering his questions was part of the job, and she shouldn’t have been insulted by them or his request.

  Back in Wyoming, his farrier had cold-shod their horses to his satisfaction. So then why did he have a strong desire to call Delta and apologize? He had done nothing wrong. He just wished he hadn’t made her mad. Although making people mad seemed to be his new norm.

  His in-laws were mad at him for moving their grandkids thirteen hours away from Wheatland, Wyoming, back to his hometown of Saddle Ridge, Montana, with only two days’ notice. Garrett had been living with his in-laws and managing their three-thousand-acre cattle ranch for the last three years, after his wife had passed away from pancreatic cancer. He’d known for a while it was time for him and the kids to stand on their own, but he didn’t know how or where.

  When Dylan offered him a chance to partner with him on the Silver Bells Guest Ranch, he hadn’t had to think twice. They weren’t quite on their own, but he needed to be near his own family again. Plus, Garrett’s brother-in-law had been more than ready to take over the cattle ranch and he was confident he’d left it in capable hands. Moving back to town was the best choice for him and his kids. If only his seven-year-old daughter felt the same way.

  Kacey was mad at him. He had torn her from her friends and grandparents during Christmas vacation and then told her they were moving a few days later. She had cried all night after her first day of school almost two weeks ago. The crying had stopped, but she no longer spoke to him. The silent treatment was alive and well in the Slade household. Except for his four-year-old son, Bryce. The kid found happiness everywhere and loved his new preschool.

  Garrett fired up the snowmobile and headed for the ranch’s main entrance. Even the biting wind against his cheeks didn’t help erase the flash of Delta’s bright smile when they first met...or her resentment toward him when she left. She was the last person he needed to be thinking about. His kids were his first priority, the ranch second. There was no room for hurt feelings.

  He arrived at the front gate and waited. The school bus would drop Kacey off in a few minutes and he hoped a ride to the house would cheer her up. The scowl on his daughter’s face when the bus doors opened told him that wouldn’t be the case. He needed to stick to horses. At least they liked him.

  “Get on, baby,” Garrett said as she marched past him. “It’s too cold to walk.”

  “You’re embarrassing me in front of the other kids,” Kacey ground out. She gripped the straps of her backpack tighter and trudged down the ranch road. “Now they’re going to pick on me tomorrow.”

  “No they won’t.” Garrett wondered if all girls were this dramatic at her age. “Get on. The bus left and I’m not taking no for an answer.” He scooted back for her to sit in front of him.

  “What about my bag?”

  “Give it to me.” Garrett lengthened the straps on the yellow Beauty and the Beast backpack and slung it over his shoulder. Appropriate considering he felt like the Beast this afternoon. “Now get on.”

  Kacey climbed over his legs, doing her best not to hold on to him for support. Garrett grinned and revved the engine, causing the snowmobile to lurch forward a fe
w inches. She immediately leaned against him and gripped his arms. “And away we go.”

  Dylan hopped out of his lifted black pickup before helping Bryce down as Garrett drove up to the small two-bedroom log cabin. It had been Dylan’s until he’d moved into their uncle’s house. Garrett had given each of the kids a bedroom and he’d taken the loft. It served his needs, plus it wasn’t like he was bringing anyone home to share his bed. He doubted he’d ever be ready for that again. Rebecca had been his entire world for nine years until Kacey came along. And then Bryce. His family had been perfect.

  The second the snowmobile stopped, Kacey slid out from under his arms and stomped up the front porch steps. He was getting tired of seeing the back of his daughter’s head all the time.

  “Daddy!” Bryce ran to him. “I can write my name.”

  Garrett lifted him into his arms. “You can? You’ll have to show me when we get inside.”

  “Hey, man, I like the new look.” Dylan nodded to the backpack. “Kind of clashes with your jacket, but I think you wear it well.”

  “I thought it complemented my eyes.” Garrett laughed as he climbed the stairs. “Thanks for picking up Bryce from preschool. I appreciate it.”

  “No problem.” Dylan followed him into the house, just in time to hear Kacey slam her bedroom door. “It gives me a chance to prepare myself for when Holly’s this age.”

  “I think you have a while considering she’s only a few weeks old.”

  “You and Harlan keep telling me they grow up fast.” Dylan glanced down the hall toward Kacey’s room. “I take it there hasn’t been any improvement.”

  Garrett set Bryce down and helped him out of his snow boots and jacket. “I made it worse. I embarrassed her in front of the kids on the bus because I picked her up on a snowmobile.” He eased Kacey’s backpack from his shoulders and tossed it on the armchair. “My kid hates me.”

  “Has she really said that?”

  “No, but she thinks it.” Garrett kicked off his own boots.

  “I can remember us hating Mom and Dad a time or two when we were kids. It’s growing pains and the stress of starting over in a new place while trying to make friends. We were lucky. We went to school with the same kids year after year. You and I don’t have a clue how hard it is for her to adjust.”

  “I know you’re right. It’s just difficult to take sometimes. I hate knowing she’s hurting. She barely eats and stays locked in her room.” Garrett grabbed a box of crayons and a stack of paper from the kitchen counter and set them on the coffee table. “Show me what you learned in school today, champ.”

  Bryce chose a blue crayon and began drawing a large letter B. His tiny tongue stuck out between his teeth as he concentrated on his letters.

  “How did things go with Delta this afternoon?” Dylan sat cross-legged on the floor across from Bryce. “That’s the most perfect B I’ve ever seen.”

  “She’s mad at me, too.” And that bothered him more than it should. He peered over Bryce’s shoulder as he drew a C. “Very good, you’re almost there.”

  Dylan’s brows rose. “You better not run off my farrier. She’s one of the nicest people I’ve met. She stays mostly to herself, but she’s a real sweetheart.”

  “Look, Daddy.” Bryce handed Garrett the paper.

  “Wow!” He ran his fingers over the printed letters. “I’m so proud of you.” He gave Bryce a hug and held it up proudly for Dylan to see. “My son did that.”

  “Way to go, little man.” Dylan high-fived the boy.

  “Can I go show Kacey?” Bryce asked.

  “We’ll show her when she’s feeling better. Go hang it on the refrigerator for me while I talk to your uncle Dylan for a minute.” His son’s sock-covered feet thumped across the hardwood floor as he ran from the room. “The farrier bills are astronomical. With you wanting to keep the horses, I had to cut costs. So, I asked her to cold-shoe them from now on.”

  “No wonder she was mad.” Dylan eased off the floor and onto a chair. “That’s not her style. She hasn’t been able to take on new customers in months. She’s in high demand because of her superior craftsmanship. I like her work. Her knowledge has prevented a lot of problems. When our last farrier retired, she effortlessly slid into the position. Let her do her job the way she sees fit.”

  Garrett sagged against the back of the couch. “If you wanted a silent partner, then you should have said so ahead of time.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “You asked me to go in fifty-fifty and that’s what I did. My fifty percent needs to cut costs in those stables, but you’re making it impossible. I can’t sell any horses. I can’t ask the farrier to save us money. You told me last week you’re happy with our feed distributor. What’s left? The veterinarian?”

  “Don’t you dare.” Dylan braced his hands on his knees. “Lydia Presley knows each of my horses by name.”

  “Our horses,” Garrett corrected. “A partnership shouldn’t be difficult to grasp considering you had one with Jax.”

  “I accept our partnership, but I need you to focus on moving forward and making us money. I cut back all I could last year. When I asked you to run the stables, I didn’t mean for you to change anything. We have guests booked into the ranch the first of the month and we need to stick to our renovation schedule. Let’s try to avoid any further hiccups, please. I’ve had enough of those around here.”

  “Fine.” Now Garrett needed to apologize to Delta tomorrow. He’d spent twenty minutes around the woman and already made an ass of himself. Not that he should care. The ranch employed her services and that was the extent of their relationship. “I need to feed my kids. At least the one that will eat.” He started for the kitchen and tripped over Bryce’s boots, causing him to stub his toe on the fireplace hearth. Totally his fault. He’d left them there. “Dammit, that hurts.”

  “I have an idea.” Dylan slapped him on the back. “I’ll take the kids to my house, feed them and help Kacey with her homework. You need to let off some steam tonight and Kacey would probably enjoy spending time with Holly. Go into town, get a drink and a bite to eat and then pick them up when you’re ready.”

  It was the best idea he’d heard all week. He needed to clear his head of the ranch, and that included Delta. The woman had already stuck in his mind like a fly to honey, and he didn’t need any more complications in his life.

  Copyright © 2018 by Amanda Renee

  ISBN-13: 9781488082214

  Cowboy Lullaby

  Copyright © 2018 by Sasha Best

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