by Liz Isaacson
Skyler got the truck moving again, and he reached for the radio to turn it up. A moment later, he remembered he wanted to talk to Mal about Seven Sons. He still hadn’t brought it up with her, and he and Jeremiah had been having a lot of conversations over the past few weeks.
So he turned the radio back down, drawing Mal’s attention toward him. He took a deep breath and said, “Jeremiah and I have been talking.”
“Oh, here we go,” Mal teased.
Skyler supposed he did start a lot of conversations with “I’ve been talking to….”
“It’s about the ranch,” he said. “And where we’ll live down there.”
Mal just waited for him to continue, and Skyler wished he could open his mind and let her see his thoughts. He still wasn’t great at conversing, despite visiting with Dr. Haskell a couple more times this past month.
“I talked to Jeremiah,” he said again, because he felt great about the things he’d been doing with his brothers since he’d come back to Three Rivers. “I’ve been praying about these things, and I feel good about them.”
“Okay,” she said.
“Jeremiah and I want to buy the ranch from Rhett. Jeremiah is going to call a brothers meeting to talk about it. See, Rhett bought the ranch and moved here first. The twins and Jeremiah came at the same time, but the twins don’t really work the ranch. Liam has one of his own now and everything. It’s always been Jeremiah who works the ranch, and now I’m going to be doing the finances, and some other stuff too. So we thought now was a good time to talk to everyone about it—especially Rhett—and see if he’d sell it to us.”
Mal said, “That’s a good idea, Sky.”
“Yeah?” Her opinion meant so much to Skyler, and he looked at her.
“Yeah,” she said. “It makes sense.”
“Good.” A sense of pride filled him, and Skyler couldn’t remember the last time he felt so good about himself. “Which leads me to my next thing: The house will be ready before their baby comes.”
“That’s great.”
“Yeah. I’m excited to be down at the ranch instead of so far up here.”
Again, Mal just smiled. “It’ll be quicker to the bakery than it is now,” she said.
“That it will,” Skyler said, grinning too. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t brought these topics up earlier. Only that he liked to have time to think things through, get down on his knees and ask the Lord what he should do, and then go from there.
He pulled up to the house where he and Mal had visited the puppies a couple of times while they waited for them to reach the eight-week mark when they could be adopted out. “Ready?”
“So ready.”
“What have you decided on for the name?” He opened his door and slid out of the truck. Mal met him at the hood, and he put his hand in hers. “Ribbon or Rosie?”
“I haven’t decided yet.” Mal looked up at him, and she seemed so happy to him. Four months ago, she might have laughed at something he said, but she didn’t wear the easy happiness on her face that she did now.
The front door opened before they got there, and the sixteen-year-old girl they’d been dealing with, Holly, stood there. “Hey, y’all, c’mon in.” She held open the door, and Skyler guided Mal to go in front of her.
The mother dog stood there, a pretty, doe-eyed cattle dog. Skyler had always wanted a dog that could run and run, and there was nothing better than a cattle dog for that. He wanted to train it to work with the cattle at Seven Sons too, and he couldn’t wait for Micah to get the house done.
“Here she is,” Holly said, stooping to pick up one of the puppies from the pen in the kitchen. She handed it to Mal, who giggled as the black and white pup licked her face.
“She’s got the food we’ve been feeding her,” Holly said. “Her blanket, and her papers.” She smiled at Skyler. “If you have any trouble with her, let me know. I’ll help any way I can.”
“Thank you,” Skyler said, watching Mal as she cuddled the dog, pure love in her eyes. She’d looked at him like that too, and he’d never felt more loved by anyone in his life.
And he knew one thing—she’d be a great mother.
Their eyes met, and grinning, she said, “Definitely Rosie.”
“All right, Rosie,” he said. “Time to go to your new home.” He wasn’t nearly as nervous loading up the ten-pound dog as he would be loading up a baby and taking it home with him. He knew how to deal with a dog. He knew she would cry that night, and he knew how to train her to sit, and shake, and fetch, and come when he wanted her to.
Mal cuddled the dog the whole way home, and back at Wyatt’s, the dog tiptoed around like she wasn’t sure about all the tile. Wyatt accepted the pup from Mal, chuckling as she licked his face too.
“You’re just the cutest thing ever,” he said to her, settling her on his chest. Skyler worked around the house, getting her blanket in the kennel he’d bought, and setting out food and water bowls.
Mal busied herself in the kitchen, and an hour later, Wyatt took the puppy into his bedroom, where a yelp came out a few moments later as he used the dog to wake Marcy from her afternoon nap.
Skyler breathed in the life and love in this place, and he once again thanked the Lord for guiding him back to Three Rivers. Back to Wyatt, where Mal could befriend Marcy—and his Momma. Where they could truly start a real life together, filled with real love, and a real marriage.
No one from the immigration office had called him, and he’d almost forgotten about their investigation. Almost. Every once in a while, the thought lingered with him through the day, while he took Wyatt on walks, or drove him down to Momma’s for lunch, or as he enjoyed a sermon on Sunday with his family.
But he really felt that even if he did have to go in for an interview, he wouldn’t have to lie about the legitimacy of his marriage.
Nope, he thought. Nothing wanna-be about this.
“Do they know why you called the meeting?” Skyler asked as Jeremiah continued setting out plates, forks, and knives.
“Nope,” Jeremiah said. “They know what I sent on the text. Family meeting. Brothers only. Tuesday night.” He looked up, obviously seeing Skyler’s nerves. “It’s going to be fine.”
“I just haven’t done many of these,” he said. “You don’t think Rhett will feel…ambushed?”
“I can’t remember the last time Rhett worked here,” Jeremiah said. “He works a few days a week next door, if that. For the most part, he’s taking care of his land, house, and family. And I know he just picked up a new case for the state, and the prep work for those takes a lot of time.”
“Why did he buy this place then?” Skyler took the salt and pepper shakers over to the table and returned to the counter for the two plates of butter Jeremiah had prepared.
“He needed a fresh start,” Jeremiah said. “That’s what we all need when we come here.” Jeremiah paused and looked at Skyler. “You seem to be doing a lot better, Sky. Are you?”
Skyler looked right into Jeremiah’s eyes, the way Dr. Haskell had asked him to do. “Yeah,” he said. “I’m doing a lot better.”
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Jeremiah said. “But what was it that drove you away?”
Skyler’s first instinct was to shrug and bury the true reason behind an excuse. Or an “I don’t know.” Heaven knew he’d said that dozens of times when he didn’t want to truly answer a question.
He pushed back that instinct, and said, “I had some hard things happen in Dallas. Really hard things.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Skyler said. “Not as public as yours, and you know, Jeremiah, you’ve been a good example for me.” His emotions surged, and Skyler’s mouth felt too sticky. “My girlfriend stole money from me over a period of two years, finally loading up my brand-new truck and leaving town in the middle of the night.”
Jeremiah opened his mouth to say something, but promptly closed it again.
“Yeah, that’s how I felt,” Skyler said.
“And when the federal agents showed up and accused me of embezzlement? That wasn’t fun either.” He turned away from his brother, unsure of what reaction he’d get from Jeremiah. His older brother was so perfect in so many ways. Sure, he’d had a few years there that were dictated by anger, but that was understandable.
Your situation is understandable too, he thought as he set the two pitchers of sweet tea on the table and turned back to Jeremiah.
His brother stood right there, around the other side of the island from where he’d been working. “I’m so sorry.” Jeremiah took Skyler into an impromptu hug, right there in the homestead.
Skyler gave a nervous chuckle, though it wasn’t the first time he’d hugged his brothers. But Jeremiah didn’t laugh, and the awkwardness quickly passed. Jeremiah stepped back a few seconds later and looked at Skyler. “You thought you weren’t good enough for us, is that it?”
“Maybe a little,” Skyler said, though he’d been nearly overcome with inadequacy.
“Maybe a lot.” Jeremiah smiled at him. “But the real change happened when you married Mal.”
“Yeah,” Skyler agreed. “She’s great.” He ducked his head, and thankfully, the back door opened and Liam came in. A new kind of nervous energy inflicted Skyler, and soon enough all the brothers had arrived.
The noise level increased with each one that came through the door, and Tripp seemed to be starving to death as he tried to eat everything in sight, despite Jeremiah’s protests that he wait.
Finally, Jeremiah nodded at Micah, who went down the hall and returned with a rolled-up blueprint. Skyler’s pulse skipped and leaped, and he made his way to Micah’s side. “I want to see that.”
“I’ll reveal it after we see how they handle the ranch transfer,” Micah said out of the corner of his mouth.
“All right,” Jeremiah said over the din. The brothers quieted down, and everyone looked to him. He clearly ran the ranch, and Skyler sent one more prayer heavenward that Rhett wouldn’t get his feelings hurt by this proposal Skyler and Jeremiah had come up with.
Chapter Nineteen
Jeremiah wiped his hands on a paper towel while everyone calmed down. They all looked at him expectantly, and a flash of love for each of his brothers individually passed through him.
For Rhett, who had always been the best example of how to be a leader, how to work hard, and how to be a good man.
For Liam, who had shown Jeremiah what it was like to truly forgive, how to get out of the way when he wasn’t needed, and how to follow any and all promptings from the Lord that he received.
For Tripp, who’d taught Jeremiah how to love unconditionally, that emotions didn’t make a man weak, and that there were multiple paths to happiness.
For Wyatt, who had demonstrated absolute faith in a tough career choice, shown Jeremiah what it was like to suffer and still be happy, and who brought life and joy to everything he touched.
For Skyler, who had more depth than Jeremiah even knew, who thought he didn’t fit when he was the glue that held them all together, and that he could change his circumstances no matter how old he was.
And for Micah, who had been Jeremiah’s best friend for the past year, who loved Whitney as much as Jeremiah did, and who had big dreams and plans he would surely accomplish.
Jeremiah cleared his throat and looked at Skyler for strength. He nodded, and Jeremiah’s gaze went back to Rhett. “Skyler is going to be moving here permanently,” Jeremiah said. “And working the ranch more fully with me.” He cleared his throat again. “I know Rhett originally bought the ranch and opened it up to anyone who wanted it.”
He looked around at each of his brothers, noticing the twins exchanging a glance. Surely they knew this was coming. Everyone had to know.
“I want to buy the ranch from Rhett,” Jeremiah said, being as bold as he dared. “Well, Skyler and I do. We don’t want anyone to feel like they’re not welcome here, or they can’t buy-in too, if they’d like to. Heck, Rhett might not even want to sell it to us.”
Rhett wore an expression of shock, that was for sure. Maybe he hadn’t thought about selling the ranch. But honestly, he worked more on the Shining Star than he did Seven Sons.
“I haven’t had my lawyer draft up anything yet,” Jeremiah said. “I thought we’d eat and talk about it and see where everyone was.”
Micah raised his hand, and Jeremiah nodded at him, feeling a bit foolish that he had to call on him.
“I’m going to be opening my general contracting business soon. I’m working with someone to come up with a good name, and then we’ll license the business, get cards, all of that. But my first design will be Skyler’s homestead, which will sit right across the driveway in that field where Jeremiah sometimes puts his pregnant mares.”
Everyone looked at Skyler, and Liam even said, “Wow, Sky. You’re moving here.”
Skyler shifted next to Jeremiah and said, “Yeah, as soon as the house is done. I’m not going to finish school. I know enough to be able to run the ranch finances, and I’m tired of being trapped in a desk.”
Skyler was a lot like Jeremiah in that he craved the outdoors, and he adored dogs, and he wanted an honest day’s work to feel like his life meant something good.
“I don’t want part of the ranch,” Tripp said. “I mean, I was thrilled to come here, and live here with y’all for a while. But I’ve got my place in town, and Ivory and I are happy there.”
“Same,” Liam said. “I’ve got Callie’s place to deal with, and my contract with Marvel doesn’t end for another two years.”
Jeremiah nodded; he’d fully expected the twins to bow out quickly. They had never really worked the ranch, except for help during calving, haying, or branding season.
“I’ve got a place too,” Wyatt said. “And my job at Bowman’s. I’m happy to come help here any time you need it, Jeremiah, but I don’t really need to have ownership in the ranch.”
“I figured,” Jeremiah said. He looked at Micah.
His youngest brother drew in a deep breath. “I’d like to have some ownership, mostly because I’m not sure how much business I’ll have with the general contracting. I’d like to be able to say I’m a real cowboy.” He smiled around at everyone. “And I’m going to find out about the land across the lane there, and see if I can buy that. Then I’ll build my own luxury dream ranch house, be close, and be able to help Seven Sons and the Shining Star when they need it.”
And there were those dreams and big plans. Jeremiah grinned at Micah. “That sounds great. How much of a buy-in?”
“What were you and Skyler thinking?”
“Well, we haven’t heard from Rhett yet, but I think Sky and I were thinking like sixty-forty, with me having the majority.”
“Something like that,” Skyler said. “I don’t need full ownership. I want to be able to work here, have some say in things, run the finances, and all of that. But I don’t need to be equal to Jeremiah, who’s built this place into what it is.”
Everyone looked at Rhett now, who had his head down, the brim of his cowboy hat obscuring his face.
“Rhett?” Jeremiah prompted.
His oldest brother exhaled as he lifted his head. “Well, I haven’t really thought about selling the ranch.” He looked around the homestead, as if he could see the memories of the last few years here. He probably could. Jeremiah could see them, hear them, smell them, trapped right in the walls of this huge room where he’d cooked, cleaned, entertained, heard and given multiple announcements, found forgiveness, and built his family.
“I’m happy to sell it to you and Skyler,” Rhett said next. “But I think I want a small piece, like Micah.”
Jeremiah’s relief was instant. He didn’t want Rhett to feel like he was being shoved aside. His relationship with Rhett had been through ups and downs, that was for sure, but Jeremiah owed a huge part of himself to Rhett. That also couldn’t be denied. He’d provided respite and relief for Jeremiah in the most trying of times, and Jeremiah wouldn’t be here
without Rhett.
“How small is a small piece?” he asked, looking from Rhett to Micah.
“Ten percent?” Rhett guessed.
“I’d take ten percent,” Micah said.
“That leaves eighty for us,” Jeremiah said, looking at Skyler. “Forty-five, thirty-five split?”
“Sure,” Skyler said. “That puts four of us on the board for Seven Sons. When we have major things come up, we’ll have to meet and discuss them.”
Jeremiah nodded. “That’s fine. I can have Tim get the papers together. Rhett, what would you sell the ranch for? Micah, Sky, and I will put our money together to equal ninety percent of that.”
A timer went off, and Jeremiah bent to get the heat-and-eat rolls out of the oven.
“I’ll sell it for what I bought it for,” Rhett said.
Jeremiah looked up even as he reached for the pastry brush to wipe butter across the tops of the rolls. “Really? It’s surely worth more than that now.”
“Only because of the work you’ve done on it,” Rhett said. “I’m not going to gain from that.”
Jeremiah quickly brushed butter over the rolls. “Okay, well, name the price, and I’ll get the papers drawn up. We’ll get our money together.”
“I bought the place for four million,” Rhett said. “Minus ten percent, I need three-point-six million to be bought out.”
“Deal,” Micah said, because his share was only four hundred thousand.
Jeremiah put the rolls in a basket and set it beside the slow cooker, doing the math in his head. Forty-five percent of three-point-six million was almost two million dollars. One-point-six? One-point-seven? Somewhere in there.
He had the money. That wasn’t the problem at all.
And he wanted the ranch.
A sense of excitement built within him, and he looked around at his brothers. “Okay, let’s eat.”
“And after,” Micah said before they could burst into noise again. “I want to show everyone Skyler’s design. Even he hasn’t seen it yet.”