Page 85 of The Doctor's Irreplaceable Love

“Nah.But I’d give up the management side—leave it all to him—and just work from here.Seems like half the world’s doing the remote working thing these days, I don’t see why I can’t do it.”

“Other than the fact that you and Mav run the place, the team, and all the jobs between you.How could you… Oh!”He stopped when he saw the way Cash was smiling.

“You’re calling his bluff?”

Cash nodded.

“What if he calls yours and says youshouldcome home?”

“Then I’ll do it.It’d make life difficult for a while, but I reckon Mav would cave before I did.I’d be here around the family, having a life.He’d be left out there by himself, with no one to talk him off the ledge when he starts whining about Libby.”

Trip had to laugh.“Mav’s never whined in his life.”

Cash shrugged.“When you spend as much time with him as I do, you know what every sigh, every drum of his fingers, every little mutter means—he’s whining, all right.And I’m tired of it.He needs to come home and make things right with her.”

“I hope they can figure it out.”

“We all do, but it’s never going to happen till he comes home.”

“You two have always been as stubborn as each other.Do you think he might just dig his heels in if you come back without him?”

“Maybe, yeah.But if he does, then nothing’s changed for him.And it’ll have changed for me—I’ll be back here around the family.”

“Mind if I ask you something?”

“Ask away.”

“You said you wouldn’t come home until Connor’s gone.”

“I did, but I never would have believed that the old bastard would have hung in this long.”He smiled at Trip.“He must have the best doctor in the world or something.”

Trip made a face.“Stubbornness seems to be a genetic trait of you MacFarlands; I never expected that he’d last this long either.Will you move back to the ranch—or move down to Mav’s place if you bring the whole operation back?”

Cash’s lips pressed into a thin, straight line as he shook his head.“Neither.”

“What then?”

“I’ll find a place of my own, rent something while I figure out what I’m going to do.I dunno; it doesn’t matter.All I know is that there’s no way I’d want to live at Mav’s place and there’s no way I’m moving back to the ranch.”

“Don’t you think they’d all love to have you back?”

Cash let out a short laugh.“Most of ’em would, yeah, but I won’t tread on Ford’s toes like that.He’s run the place all these years, he’d hate it if I was there.”

Trip held his friend’s gaze.“He’d get over it, I’m sure.”

“I’m not going to put him in that position.He’s earned his place managing the ranch.”

Trip nodded slowly.It didn’t surprise him.Cash had always looked out for his younger siblings, even at his own expense.

“You can have the cabin up on the ridge if you want it.We might need to tidy it up some—no one’s lived there since Billy and Joan moved away a few years ago—but it’s solid, we could soon have it …”

Cash grasped his shoulder.“Thanks, bud.I appreciate the offer, but I’ll find a place of my own.”He winked.“I kind of like the idea of renting some little cabin and not telling anyone where it is—so I can finally get some peace.Not saying that you wouldn’t give me any peace, just that when they all know I’m back here, they’ll be dropping in all the time.”

“And you’re trying to say that you wouldn’t love that?”

“Maybe.We’ll have to see, won’t we?Anyway, are we ready to throw those steaks on?We should eat before I have to run again.”

Chapter Nineteen

---