Page 60 of Road to a Cowboy

Las jerked his thumb at Cal. “He was wondering if he could join him.”

“I wasn’t, actually,” Cal said with a glare for Las.

“Well, we’re on hold with Las’s project until the material arrives to build the cells.” Whitney leaned on the doorjamb opposite from Las. “As long as the rest of your responsibilities are distributed among the hands, I don’t have a problem with you taking the week off. In fact, I encourage it considering how long it’s been since you’ve taken a vacation. When was the last time you took any significant time off? Two winters ago? Three?”

“Dude.” Las met his glare with one of his own. “There is such a thing called burnout.”

Suddenly feeling defensive, Cal glared harder. “I like my job.”

Las’s glared turned epic, pitting them in a glare-on that was possibly the most ridiculous thing ever. “Even people who like their jobs experience burnout. Take the vacation. Go play tourist with Austin. I’ll bring Gwen, Ewan, and Orson in here and we can divvy up the most important of your responsibilities between us and give the rest to the less experienced hands.” He tilted his head toward Whitney. “And Mom will take over any admin stuff.”

Whitney nodded.

Cal stared at them both, not ready to believe what they were saying. “You’ve lost your minds. I can’t just leave. I have things to do. Plus, I need to start working on that proposal.”

Las looked between him and his mom. “Proposal for what?”

“It’s not a rush, Cal,” Whitney said gently. “We won’t see those cost savings that will allow us to buy into the co-op for a while.”

“Co-op?” Las asked. “What co-op?”

“Go,” Whitney said to Cal. “Take the week. Have fun. I promise, the ranch won’t fall apart without you.”

“No, of course it won’t. That’s not...” Cal trailed off and dragged a hand down his face. He wasn’t sure what his issue was, exactly. The prospect of joining Austin in Norway filled him with nothing but excitement, his mouth going dry and his belly filling with anticipation and adrenaline.

So what was his problem?

“What about my mom?”

“What about her?” Las asked.

“She had a fall recently, didn’t she?” Whitney crossed her legs at the ankles. “Does she still need help around the house?”

Cal thought about the help she needed and the help she wanted, but given her injuries, they were currently one and the same. “She can’t stand for long, so mostly she needs help with cooking.”

There was house and yard work too, but he could handle that before his flight.

“Actually,” Cal added slowly. “I should be able to prep enough meals for the week and freeze them, and I can have The General Store deliver her grocery order.”

“I can stop by her house when I’m in town,” Whitney offered, toasting him with her mug. “Make sure she doesn’t need anything.”

Cal forced himself not to grimace as he recalled his mother’s vitriol from earlier. “You don’t have to do that.”

Whitney smiled. “I don’t mind. I’m in town a few times a week anyway.”

“So?” Las crossed his arms over his chest. “What’s it going to be?”

Las and Whitney stared at him expectantly. In the end, with Whitney’s blessing and Las’s assurance that everything would be taken care of, what else could Cal do but agree?

“Go get Gwen, Ewan, and Orson,” he told Las, “while I book my flight.”

“Fine. But after, I want to know more about this co-op.”

Chuckling, Cal pulled out his credit card.

Chapter Eighteen

Ben lived in a two-bedroom flat above a nail salon with three other guys in Islington.

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