Page 102 of Brands

I don’t get it. The numbers goingintothe tanks look normal. It’s the load receipts from the trucks that are coming up low.

My phone dings, sending my heart racing as I grab it. I hit dial right away.

“Miss me?” he says before it even rings.

Letting out a long breath, I don’t try to hide it. “Yea. Always. Darla thinks I’m ridiculous.”

“Hey, I’m okay with my wife wanting me around. Zero complaints.” The sound changes to an echo. He must have put me on speaker.

“I need to brainstorm. My production isn’t matching the truck tickets, but I haven’t seen that before.” I’d rather bounce ideas off him than Dad.

My father still has his nose out of joint over the whole thing. I’m not sure if he’d be willing to problem solve when we’re barely in the being polite stage.

“Are youmissing any of the haul receipts? That would be my first guess.” His last few words are garbled, like he’s underwater.

I bet he’s going through hills.

“I’ll go back and double check. I thought I had them all.” Maybe one didn’t get logged?

Ugh. That means a ton of backtracking.

He lets out a low groan. “I don’t envy you. I have to swing by Mason’s on the way back, want me to grab a pizza since you’re gonna be stuck?”

My belly rumbles on command. “That sounds amazing. I’ll be stuck here in the office, waiting for you to rescue me from paperwork.” Flipping through the metal cabinet, I pull out the last month’s worth of slips.

Fuck, there’s a lot.

“One white knight carrying a Hawaiian pie, coming up. Heading into a valley and will probably lose you. Love—” His line cuts out before he can finish.

I stare at his name on the screen for a moment, then sigh.

Darla’s right. I’m a sappy mess today. I just need to knuckle down and get my shit done.

Chapter Thirty-seven

Blue

When I pull intoBlack Gulch, I realize how much my priorities have shifted.

I used to love the traveling that my job required, seeing new country.

Now, all I can think about is wanting to be back home, with Libby.

All the years of shit I gave Mason for wanting to be a family man come back to choke me.

He had it right all along. I was the fuckup chasing girls, bars, and freedom.

True happiness is being wrapped in the arms of someone who loves me.

When I climb out of the truck, I grab the folder of pictures that Wade gave me, and my checkbook.

It’s a big moment, making the first payment on the cows. Libby has been working her sweet ass off to implement improvements, and it’s payingoff.

The discrepancy in paperwork is probably nothing. Kinda makes me wonder if I misplaced a slip since I help with her record keeping.

I gotta remember to look when I get back.

“Blue, come on in.” Mason steps away from the heavy door.

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