Page 58 of Wrangling a Texas Hometown Hero

Mimi huffed. “How dare him try to make you happy.”

Hallie knew sarcasm when she heard it. “He wasn’t trying to make me happy. He was trying to make himself happy by keeping me here.”

“Or maybe making you happy makes him happy because he loves you.”

“He doesn’t love me.” The tears she was struggling to hold back dripped down her cheeks.

Mimi hooked an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “So you being upset has nothing to do with him telling you what you need and everything to do with you loving him when you think he doesn’t love you.”

She burrowed her head against her grandmother, breathing in the smell of home. “I don’t want to love a man who doesn’t love me back.”

“Of course you don’t. But maybe he does love you and he just doesn’t know how to say it. Some people aren’t good at expressing their emotions. Your daddy is a good example. He loves his daughters with all his heart, but he’s struggled all his life to put it into words.” She hesitated. “I don’t think he’s the only one in our family who struggles with it. You aren’t the type who wears your heart on your sleeve either, Halloween. And there’s nothing wrong with that. We all can’t be huggers like your mama. But there are times when you need to let people know how you feel. Even if you think they don’t reciprocate that love. And even if they think they know what you want more than you do.” She paused. “Although I don’t think Jace was wrong about what you want. I’ve seen the way you look after you come in from a hard day of ranching. I’ve seen the big smile beneath the sweat and dirt. And I’ve seen the glisten of tears when you sit on the porch looking out at the land. Our land. You’re just too scared to face down your daddy and take what you want.”

Hallie sat up. “I’m not scared of Daddy! I’m scared of failing!” The words just popped out without any help from her brain. Once they were there, she realized their truth. Her personality clash with her daddy hadn’t been the only reason she hadn’t wanted to take over the ranch. Fear of failure had been a close second.

Mimi took her hand and squeezed it. “Failure is scary. But it’s never stopped you before. When people said you couldn’t do something, it only made you want to do it more. Whether it was playing what was considered boys’ sports or riding bulls or starting your own brewery. Now the question is did you really want to do those things or did you just want to prove people wrong?”

It was a good question. One she had never wanted to examine too closely until now.

“I guess I didn’t want people telling me what I could and couldn’t do.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that as long as you’re doing what you want to do. What do you want to do, Hallie?”

It only took a second for the answer to come. “I want to run the ranch. But what if I fail? Failing won’t just affect me, it affects everyone in the family.”

“True, but you won’t fail alone. Running a ranch successfully takes an entire family.” Mimi sent her a stern look. “Unless you’re going to be as stubborn as your daddy and think you can do it all by yourself.”

“I am pretty stubborn.”

Mimi laughed and squeezed her hand again. “As long as you realize it, that’s half the battle. The other half will be convincing your daddy to let his baby girl take on the responsibility.”

“The responsibility of what?”

They turned to see Daddy coming up the ladder with a big scowl on his face.

“Did you climb this ladder, Mama?”

Mimi stood and faced her son. “I sure did and I don’t want to hear one word about it.”

“You’re gonna hear more than one word if you fall off and get hurt,” Daddy said.

“My decision. My consequence. Now get out of my way so I can climb back down it. Your daughter has a few things to talk over with you.” She gave Hallie a reassuring look before she headed for the ladder.

Daddy waited until Mimi was safely at the bottom before he released his breath. “I swear that woman is going to be the death of me.” He looked back at Hallie. “So what did you want to talk about? Your mama is waiting in the truck to go to the game. And you’re going with us. I won’t have any more of your excuses. We’re Texans and Texans go to their hometown football games.”

She rolled her eyes. “Not every Texan likes football, Daddy.”

“Well, that just proves you’ve lived in a big city too long. And if you’re going to tell me you’re moving back to Austin, you and I are going to have problems. This is your home, Hallie. You belong here. If you want to start a brewery and make some of the best beer I’ve ever tasted, you can do it right here in Wilder.”

Hallie might have gotten riled about him telling her what to do if not for the compliment. “You like my beer?”

He nodded. “It’s obvious you got your Mimi’s knack for making tasty libations.”

“Then why are you so against me starting my own brewery?”

He sighed and looked down at his boots. “I guess I just always thought that . . . well, that you’d be the one who wanted to take over the ranch. But if that’s not what you want, I guess I’ll have to accept it.” He swallowed hard. “I just don’t want my little girl leaving.”

Hallie had always hated him thinking of her as just a girl. But the loving way he’d said the words didn’t bring up feelings of hate.

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