Page 10 of Kipp

Axel was as strong as an ox, and even Kipp found himself admiring Axel’s perfectly sculpted shoulders and bulging arms.Working with heavy duty chainsaws all day was clearly good for getting those boulder-shaped biceps, that much was obvious.

‘So, what can I do for you?’ Kipp asked, sipping on the coffee. ‘You name it, I’ve got your back.’

Kipp paused and could see that Axel was surprised.

‘No, this isn’t about me,’ Axel replied. ‘This is about you, my friend. Now don’t go losing your shit, but I’ve got something to say that you might not like too much. But I just have to tell you.’

‘Go ahead,’ Kipp said, his heart skipping a beat as he realized that Axel wasn’t fooling around. ‘Suddenly I wish this was whisky rather than coffee.’

‘I was at The Tap House last night,’ Axel began, his voice controlled but with a hint of apprehension to it. ‘Nothing crazy, just sinking a couple of beers and having a game of pool with Trey. In walks Leigh Crenshaw…’

‘Fuck. What did he want?’ Kipp asked, the mere mention of his cousin’s name bringing his mood down a notch or three.

‘He’s drunk. Starts ranting. Telling anyone who’ll listen that Eagle Ridge Ranch is rightfully his,’ Axel said, an almost apologetic tone in his voice. ‘He carries on like this for a while. Then he sees me and shouts across the bar. He tells me to pass a message on to you.’

‘Damn it,’ Kipp growled. ‘The coward should speak to me directly if he wants to cause a problem.’

‘Well, don’t shoot the messenger but Leigh tells me to tell you that he’ll be taking the ranch from you,’ Axel said, shaking his head in disgust. ‘Says he’ll do whatever it takes.’

Kipp could feel a surge of anger bubbling up inside him.

Leigh Crenshaw might have been Kipp’s cousin, but that was about as far as it went between them. Leigh was always in trouble of some kind or another. Kipp had been involved in trouble himself in the past, but Leigh was different. Leigh was a sneak and a liar. He had also attempted to swindle Uncle Joe out of a hundred thousand dollars a couple of years before his death.

Even the memory of Leigh’s unforgivable behavior was enough to get Kipp ready to crack some heads.

Keep it cool.

Leigh is a scumbag. But I already knew that.

The second I get mad is the moment I give him the upper hand…

‘Thank you, Axel,’ Kipp said, his breathing now a little more settled as he focused his mind. ‘I need to know about things like this. The ranch is mine. It’s what Uncle Joe wanted. But if someone’s trying to figure a way of taking it from me, it’s best I know about it.’

‘Honestly, I felt like whooping his ass right there and then,’ Axel said. ‘But I held my tongue. The last thing I wanted to do was make things even more of a charged situation. We don’t need another feud in Eagle Ridge.’

‘Agreed,’ Kipp replied. ‘You did the right thing, buddy. Damn. Why does life have to be so complex?’

‘Pffft, it doesn’t!’ Axel laughed, wryly. ‘As long as I’m working on a tree or with some heavy duty machinery, I’m all good. But that reminds me, I need to go and pick up Spartacus from thevet. He’s been having some physio on his rear legs. And boy that shaggy monster won’t be happy if I’m late picking him up!’

‘Hell no,’ Kipp replied. ‘I don’t think Brutus has forgiven me for arriving home late last week either.’

Brutus looked toward Kipp and wagged his tail.

Kipp and Axel were two single Daddies with the perfect canine companions. But with Leigh Crenshaw rearing his ugly head on the scene, Kipp suspected that he might have to get ready for an altogether different kind of dog fight pretty soon.

Eagle Ridge Ranch meant the world to Kipp.

And as much as Leigh Crenshaw might think it was rightfully his, Kipp wasn’t about to give it up. Not for Leigh. And not foranyone.

As Kipp and Brutus drove home to the ranch, Kipp decided to put Leigh out of his mind. After all, Kipp knew that Uncle Joe had left him the ranch and from a legal perspective that was the end of the matter.

Not only that, but Leigh Crenshaw was a bully and a thug. Kipp had seen off his kind many times over the years, and doing the same to Leigh would be a walk in the park.

Instead, Kipp found his imagination filled with thoughts of Dale…

‘He’s trouble, boy,’ Kipp chuckled, leaning across and ruffling Brutus’s ears. ‘But I think he might be worth it…’

As Kipp turned into the long driveway that led toward the ranch, he began to imagine what it might be like to be Dale’s Daddy. It was a crazy thing to do – especially given that he didn’t even know for sure that he was a Little. But Kipp’s Daddy senses were rarely wrong. Every little thing about Dale screamed Little.

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