Page 98 of Dust Storm

“Fuck off. Look, I gotta go. But I’ll be out your way soon. You cool with me crashing at your place for the night before we go to Houston?”

“Actually—”

I didn’t even get my thought out before Ray cut me off. “Wait. Don’t say it. You got someone there with you, don’t you?”

“She works for the ranch,” I said under my breath. “On the—uh—business side. Becks brought her in.”

“Uh-huh. And she’s living in your house?”

“The cabins are shit.”

“Damn. I’ll have to get CJ and Nate to pay up. Nate thought it’d be at least two years before you brought someone around the girls. CJ had six months left on his bet.”

“Fuck off. It’s not like that,” I groused.

“Sure. You keep telling yourself that. I gotta call Mom anyway. I’ll get her to tell me.”

“Mom doesn’t know shit. Don’t go putting ideas in her head. I have enough problems on my plate. I don’t need her pestering me about getting serious about someone that I’m not seeing to begin with.”

Ray laughed. “That’s a big defense for someone who supposedly doesn’t have anything to be defensive about.”

“I gotta get back to work. Anything else you need before you start churning that rumor mill?”

“Nah,” he snickered. “I’ll see you soon. Don’t worry about getting that guest room ready. I’ll just bunk with CJ and the boys.”

“Drive careful. Don’t get trampled.”

I shoved my phone in my pocket and threw on a shirt before heading out to Cassandra.

“What was that about?” she asked, looking up from the stack of papers in her hands as she lounged in my armchair like it was her throne.

She looked damn good on it.

“My brother,” I said as I sat on the couch and patted the spot beside me.

To my surprise, Cassandra was amenable and sunk down next to me. “Considering CJ and Nate are less than a mile away, I’ll assume it was the other one.”

“Yeah.” I draped my arm around her shoulders and tried to steal a peek at the documents she had on her lap. “Ray called to say he’s gonna be in town in a few weeks for the Houston Rodeo. He’s gonna come visit.”

“Hmm.” She tapped her lips. “That works for me.”

“Should I be scared of what you’ve concocted in here?” I said as I pressed my luck and kissed the crown of her head.

“Probably,” she said as she flipped to a typed run-down. “You wanted me to go big? Well, welcome to the Griffith Brothers Ranch Revitalization Project. And before you start whining about the budget, I have investors on board.”

I hated the idea of investors. I didn’t like being in debt to anyone, much less faceless suits who didn’t give a damn about the heritage of the ranch or the care we took to be an integral part of the food cycle.

“Stop growling,” she clipped.

I cleared my throat and resigned to hearing her out, hating it, and figuring out a way to let her down easy. “Continue.”

“Phase one will be short-term projects that are in-budget. The equine program I pitched to you originally will be the cornerstone of that. You’d be crazy not to take advantage of the resources and infrastructure you already have in place. And I don’t think you Griffiths are crazy. Just stubborn.”

She flipped to the next page.

“Renewable energy leasing options will bring in immediate income as the herd is rotated from pasture to pasture. I’ve got written offers for solar and wind, and cell tower leasing. If I may add a personal preference, put a damn cell town out here so you can stop living in the Stone Age. The benefits are stable income and it can take up as little or as much land as you’re willing to give up. We can find spots to put them that won’t be an eyesore for the next phase.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but she cut me off.

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