Page 38 of The Earl's Wrangler
“Good for you.No one at the ranch is going to tell him where you are, and now he’s cut off.He’ll have to sink or swim on his own.”
Sawyer sighed.“He’ll sink.I don’t think he has the strength to do anything else.But I can’t let him sink me too.He’s had a problem for a long time, and he doesn’t know how to stop.My father won’t get any help….”
“He keeps saying you owe him,” Randall probed, trying to figure out what the hell that meant.
“Yeah.Like since his sperm is valuable or something,” Sawyer said.“Or all the times I had to scrounge for something to eat was a life lesson.”He rolled his eyes.“My father is a selfish asshole, and I hate that he’s making me angry even though I’m way over here.”He looked out over the lake and grew quiet.Over time he calmed down, but Randall knew this hurt him.
“Both our fathers should never have been parents,” Randall pronounced, and Sawyer nodded slowly.“Somehow our job is to get past all that.”
“Yeah.”They sat together for a while, listening to the breeze rushing through the grass.“We should get to the village if we’re going to have lunch before you meet the workmen.”
“All right.”He wasn’t sure if Sawyer was looking for a change of subject or simply wanted to stop talking about this.“You know you don’t need to be embarrassed or anything.”
“Yeah… well… I guess I am, and I don’t know how to handle it.My father is a compulsive gambler.He will take a bet anywhere and anytime.It’s pretty bad.”He lifted his head enough that Randall could see the trouble in Sawyer’s eyes.“Why did we need to scrape the bottom of the barrel when it came to fathers?I bet Alan and Chip had a real good father.I know he died and left the ranch to the care of Mrs.J and Alan, and that they had a hard time of it for a while, but by all accounts he was a good man.Didn’t we deserve fathers like that?”
Randall made no move to leave.“We get the luck of the draw when it comes to parents.If you ask me, every child deserves a father like that.It doesn’t mean you get it, though.”He cleared his throat.“Did you ever think about having kids?Do you want them?”
Sawyer hesitated, gazing away from him.“I don’t know.What if I turn out like my father?No kid deserves that.”
Randall couldn’t help laughing softly.“Do you really think that?You are nothing like your dad.You’re thoughtful and gentle.You care about other people and look after them.Sawyer, you’re one hell of a man, and any kid would be lucky to have you as a parent.”He cleared his throat.“I have to have a child.I need a son and he must be mine, or else the entire estate will go to some distant cousin or other, and I have no idea who that is.”
“Do you have to marry the child’s mother?”Sawyer asked very softly, his words carrying on the wind.
“No.As long as I acknowledge the son as mine, then that is enough.I was thinking about looking into surrogacy.I know that Alan and George are doing the same thing.”
“Okay.I get that you need to have a son, but do you want one?”Sawyer asked.“There’s a huge difference.”
“I know.That’s what I need to be sure of.”He turned his horse and headed back down the trail, with Sawyer behind him.That was the big question, and one he didn’t trust himself enough to answer.
LUNCH ATthe pub was as good as dinner had been the night before.Sawyer seemed to think so too, judging by the speed at which he ate his bangers and mash.“On Fridays, we do fish and chips,” the server told them with a smile.“It’s my favorite.”
“Good to know,” Sawyer told her, returning the smile.“Randall and I will have to come in to see how it is one of these weekends.”
She took their dishes and hurried away.
“How do you do that?You flash a smile and everyone goes all gooey-eyed.”
“I’m just being nice, and they do not,” Sawyer protested.
“Yes, they do.That server is barely legal, and she’s looking over here dreaming about taking you for a ride.”Part of him was teasing and part was jealous.
Sawyer glanced to the server and then back, his cheeks reddening.“I was just being nice.My mama told me that being nice to people didn’t cost anything, and sometimes it came with plenty of rewards.It’s not like I’m interested in her.”
“I know that,” Randall told him.“I guess I wish I had your charm, your way with people.They respond to you.”What a huge change between the uncommunicative, almost grouchy man he had first met.Sawyer was certainly a bit of a mystery, but that was good.Randall was pretty sure Sawyer was never going to be boring.
Randall paid their bill when the server returned, and he thanked her before heading out.They mounted their horses and continued down the lane to the first house, where the plumber’s van was already parked out front.
“Your Lordship,” Steven Bishop said as he hurried out of the house with a huge grin.“I thank you for the help, but I wasn’t expecting you.”He was all flustered.
Randall climbed down from Caesar, and Sawyer dismounted as well, taking the reins for him.“I wanted to make sure that everything was being fixed and that you were being looked after.”
“I am, thank you.The plumber is still working.He says some of the pipes need to be replaced, and he’s doing that now.”
Mrs.Bishop hurried out.“I’d offer you and your friend some tea, but I don’t have any water.”She seemed nervous.
“It’s all right.You let me know when the plumber is done and if the problem is fixed.That’s the most important thing.”He shook hands with both of them and then climbed back on his horse.He smiled and waved before continuing through the village.He greeted most people he knew with a nod and another smile.If he stopped to speak with everyone, the electrician would have come and gone before he got there.In fact, he was putting his tools back in his van as they arrived.
Randall dismounted and strode up to the electrician.“Is everything okay?”he asked.“Were you able to fix the problem?”
