Page 9 of Keep You Safe
“Just keep outta the way.” Grayson’s shoulders slumped as if he already knew I wouldn’t. And he wasn’t wrong. I undoubtedly had a few misguided assumptions about cowboy life. But I was ready to learn?—
Oh. Bingo.I had the best idea ever, and enough sense to not blurt it out to Grayson as he determinedly clomped away.
Chapter Five
Grayson
Early October
“Adler wants to do what?”I gaped at Maverick, not trying to hide my shock. We were in the machine shed for the purpose of me showing Maverick a few things that needed to be replaced. Hadn’t expected Adler’s name to come up.
For a few weeks now, I’d been able to relax a bit because Adler was back in LA, tying up loose ends there. Maverick had mentioned Adler was having a hard time finding someone to take over his apartment lease, and I’d even started to hope he might change his mind about coming back.
No such luck.
“Adler wants to learn more about ranching so he can better help me run the dude ranch side of things,” Maverick patiently explained again. “He’ll be back in a few days, but it’s going to take us a bit to get the visitor side of things going anyway. I’m making a list of renovations?—”
“Renovations is one thing. That’ll be headache enough.” I rubbed my temples as one was already starting to gather from this conversation alone. “But you want Adler to work as a hand?”
“Only for a few months while we work out the details on the new sideline.” Maverick waved a hand airily before pulling out his phone. “Speaking of, I’ve got a Second Chance Ranch logo to show you too. The new signage will be here soon.”
“You want me to occupy the greenest city kid I ever met for a few months?” I ignored the logo he was trying to show me in favor of the first part of what he’d said.Months.
Maverick shrugged. “You’ve said for a while now that you’re short on hands and having trouble finding applicants.”
“I didn’t mean…” I trailed off on a groan because I had been going on about the need for more help. I still wasn’t on board with Maverick’s plan to bring city slickers in, let alone give them chores to do.
“And you wanted me to step up and find ideas to help cash flow.” Maverick gave me a pointed look. He had me, and he well knew it. I wanted the ranch to succeed, wanted him to enjoy being a rancher, and absolutely did not want him and his sister to sell to one of the developers buzzing around like horseflies.
“I did.” I exhaled hard. If a few visitors were the price of saving the ranch, so be it.
“Then give Adler a chance when he comes back?” Maverick gave me the sort of soft eyes that undoubtedly worked on Colt but did nothing for me. The last thing I wanted to do was give Adler Kelly any sort of chance to screw up the ranch operations or an opening to renew his bid for more fooling around with me. However, Maverick was determined, adding a pleading head tilt. “Please?”
“Okay.” I said the only thing I could in the face of Maverick’s request. Wasn’t like I could tell him why Adler was all kinds of under my skin and us working together would be bad news, even if Adler were experienced in ranch work, which he wasn’t.
Damn it. He wasn’t supposed to stick around. I never would have given in at the pond if I’d known this turn of events wascoming. And now, he’d be back in a matter of mere days. Hell, I wasn’t sure years would be enough time to prepare to see Adler again.
Accordingly, I was in something of a foul mood a few hours later at the horse barn when I was going over supplies with Kat and also venting about Maverick’s big ideas to my longtime friend.
“And then you said okay?” Kat blinked her brown eyes at me. She was a tall, sturdy woman with an unparalleled way with horses and an uncanny ability to see through human bullshit as well.
“What else was I supposed to say?” I held up my hands. My work gloves were dusty from loading hay in the early autumn chill earlier. “Maverick’s the boss now.”
“And you’ve got how much more ranching experience?” Kat narrowed those perceptive eyes at me.
“A bit.” I pursed my mouth. Maverick had grown up around ranching, same as me, but there was also a twenty-year gap where he’d been off in California, living the reality-TV lifestyle while flipping hotels, and I’d been right here, working the dirt. Further, even when he’d been a teen on the ranch, Maverick had done every damn thing to get out of chores. Understandable, too, given the way his old man had rode him hard.
And Kat, damn her, knew that too. Her expression softened as she put a hand on my shoulder. “Gray, I say this as a friend, you have to let your guilt over how Maverick’s dad treated him go.”
“I don’t have guilt?—”
“Okay, an unreasonable sense of obligation. Does that sound better?” She shook her head at me. “The whole town knew Melvin Lovelorn was a shitty parent and a miserable person despite being a world-class judge of horse flesh and a decent rancher. You’re not the only one who wanted to save Maverick.”
“I know.” However, I also knew that not everyone had had a front row seat to the arguing. More than once, I’d walked away from the two of them getting into it in the barn, Melvin lighting into Maverick over this or that minor infraction. I carried that private shame with me. At the time, I hadn’t had much choice as I couldn’t risk my own dad’s job, not when this was his last chance, but that didn’t mean I’d done the right thing by walking away.
“Do you?” She lightly poked me in the chest of my thick flannel work jacket. “If you don’t want to work with Adler, just tell Maverick he’s too green for you to train.”
“You think I can’t train him?” I stepped back to stare at her. I didn’t want Adler around, true, but I’d brought any number of lollygaggers up from lazy hands to valued workers, likely to be poached by other operations.
