Page 56 of Dust Storm

Freshly manicured nails slid between the pages and opened them up to a budget breakdown. She pilfered through the stack until she found the page she was looking for.

Her countenance went from soft to shrewd in the blink of an eye. “When Becks connected me with your father, the goals he expressed were for me to create additional revenue streams that utilize the resources at hand. He told me a little bit about the last few years. Between the drought, a disease outbreak in the herd, and the economy being trash, he wanted to expand beyond cattle as a failsafe if it happens again.”

Guilt dropped into my stomach like an anvil.

I had done everything I could to keep the ranch afloat. I knew my dad was right, but that didn’t mean it didn’t suck balls.

No matter how much I tried to keep the bad stuff from happening—how much I tried to protect my family from it—dust storms happened.

“My goal is to bring ideas to the table that don’t affect the day-to-day of the ranch.”

I covered my discomfort with a laugh as I took a swig and stretched my arm across the back of the porch swing. “Just hit me with it, Cass.”

“Working within the available budget, my recommendation is that the ranch builds an equine program. I’m thinking boarding, riding lessons, track-out camps and summer camps. An equine therapy program would be a great draw as well. There’s a void in the community for programs that support kids with special needs. Copious amounts of evidence supports the idea that equine therapy greatly benefits children with autism spectrum disorders. You could coordinate with adult rehab programs for substance abuse or domestic abuse recovery. If Nathan is involved in any support groups for veterans, that would be a good connection. You could block out sessions to donate and use it as a tax write-off. Your biggest costs would be more horses, obviously. The barn could use an upgrade. Some cosmetic updates around the property—but just where customers would see. An indoor arena would be great, but it’s not necessary for the first few years. You’d only need to bring on one staff member to run it. You or the ranch hands could pitch in if necessary.”

I reached over and took the file from her, perusing the pages as she finished weighing the pros and cons of the equine program.

I had to admit, it was a good idea.

“No,” I said as I closed the file and handed it back.

Cassandra paled. “What do you mean, no?”

“It’s good, but it’s not right.”

Her face hardened, and her eyebrow twitched with frustration. “What is causing you concern the most? Let’s start there.” Her tone was unsettlingly frosty, like she wanted to rage and bitch me out, but she was holding it together for professionalism’s sake.

“All of it.”

Her fingers flexed, trembling before she balled them into a fist. “Be a problem solver, not a problem.”

I chuckled. “I’m going to start using that with the girls.”

Cassandra huffed and pressed her fingers into her temples. “Work with me here. I need to know what your concerns are so I can mitigate or eliminate them.”

“It’s not big enough.”

She looked stunned. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me, Griffith,” she muttered with manic disbelief as she pushed out of the swing and started pacing the porch.

“Listen, it’s good. It’s just?—”

“Not enough.” Cassandra looked gutted.

Shit. She thought this was about her.

My heart sank. “Cass, listen to me,” I said as I hunched forward and rested my elbows on my knees. I tapped the folder. “This is good. It is. Any other client would probably give you a bonus for doing something reasonable and staying within the budget.”

“Let me guess,” she spouted off. “You’re going to hit me with some vague cowboy fortune cookie saying that will give me an epiphany in the middle of the night, two months from now.”

“Do you think I’m Mr. Miyagi or something?” I sifted my fingers through my hair. It had mostly dried and was starting to curl. “No, sweetheart. I just think if we’re gonna do it, we’ve gotta make it worth our time.”

Her long string of curses ended with “fucking cowboys.”

I caught her hand when her pacing path came close enough. “Cass, listen to me. You did a good job. I want more because I want to see what happens when you don’t hold yourself back.”

Her jaw ticked, but she didn’t pull away.

“The more you ask of me, the longer I’m here.”

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