Page 60 of The Cowboy's Unshakeable Love

Travis turned to Tanner, who was standing there listening to the conversation.

“Do you have to wait for him?” he asked Cash.

Travis chuckled. “You just want your big brother home, right?”

“I do. I’ve never made a secret of that.” He looked at Cash. “You used to tell me that you’d come home as soon as you could – and I don’t see any reason that you can’t.”

“You know the deal, Tan. I was never going to come home before the old man’s finally in the ground. I’m not just staying away for Mav’s sake.”

“Yeah, but the old man may as well be in the ground. He’s still in that damn hospital. Still lying there rotting, hanging in just to spite us.”

Cash chuckled. “It sure seems that way.”

“You know my take,” said Travis. “If you stay away because of him, and he knows it, you’re letting him win.” Cash narrowed his eyes at him, but he shrugged. “It’s true.”

Tanner nodded. “He’s got a point. You’re letting the old bastard control you.”

Travis laughed at the look on Cash’s face. Cash liked to think that he was in control most of the time. Thinking that the father he hated was controlling him, even if it was in a roundabout way, would piss him off big time.

Travis winked at Tanner. “I think you might have said the magic words.”

Cash scowled. “You very well may have.” He looked up at the house. “I don’t see myself coming to live back here, though.”

“I know of some cabins that are going to be ready to welcome vets here soon,” said Travis. “You’re welcome to one of them until you figure out what you’re going to do.”

Tanner’s eyes were wide. “Are you serious? You might come home?”

Cash shrugged. “I will come home, that’s never been in question. And maybe it’ll be sooner than I thought.” He met Travis’s gaze. “I’m tired of it.”

“I get it, you know I do. That’s why I’m here.”

“You mean you’d retire?” Tanner asked. “You’d give up the company?”

“Not give it up, but take a step back. A big step. There’s enough of a team now that the place can run itself. I stick around because I enjoy the jobs. I’m not enjoying the rest of it much lately. If I came home, I could still go and meet clients – close the deals. I could go on jobs if I wanted to. But I think I’m aboutready to give up the day-to-day management – whether I come home or not.”

Travis held his friend’s gaze. “If you’re ready, you should do it.” He’d known for a long time that Cash was more than ready to step back from managing operations, but he refused to do it until Mav was ready, too. They had a great management team. It wasn’t as though they held the company together by themselves in the way they had in the early days. He didn’t need to do any of it anymore, but he hadn’t wanted to leave Mav alone with it.

Cash grinned, and Travis knew that meant the subject was closed. “Anyway, that’s enough about me. I heard Retta might need to go back to her house – collect what she wants to get out of there before she sells the place.”

“Where’d you hear that?”

“A little bird. It doesn’t matter. I’m going to have to go back to Seattle soon – close this deal and get the contracts signed. I thought if I pick you guys up on the way back through here, you can drop me off at home base and take the jet to Georgia. It’d be a difficult trip to make with her leg if you have to fly commercial.”

“Thanks, bud. I’ll talk to her.”

“Sure thing.” Cash wrapped his arm around Tanner’s neck again and knocked his hat off when he rubbed his knuckles over his forehead. “I thought you were going to get me a beer, not stand here eavesdropping.”

Tanner laughed and tried to fight him off, but Cash didn’t let go as he dragged him away toward the kitchen.

~ ~ ~

By the time they got back to the house that evening, Retta wasexhausted. She’d had a wonderful day. She loved all of Kolby’s family and each of them had spent some time with her over the course of the afternoon.

Little Mateo and Maya were adorable. Mateo was so serious, he watched everyone carefully. His little sister flitted around, talking to everyone, and he kept a close eye on her the whole time. He’d told Retta all about his plans to become the sheriff, and a horse trainer, a chef, and a cowboy, and how he was going to have his own guest lodge and bakery. It seemed that he wanted to emulate every one of the men in his new family.

Little Maya was the same way: she was going to be a cowgirl, a veterinarian, and of course a country music star, just like Callie.

Their mom, Sierra, had sat with Retta for a while. They’d met before, but this was the first time that Retta had talked one-on-one with her. If she was honest, Sierra made her feel a little uncomfortable. She was as sweet as pie, but she’d inherited millions and millions of dollars. From their chat this afternoon, Retta had come to feel sorry for her. She’d only inherited all that money because she lost her family – her mom when she was small and her father and brother more recently. No amount of money could make up for that.

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