Page 111 of Boston
“What’s with all the sevens?” he asked, glancing over to his cousin.
“I guess it was established in eighteen seventy-seven,” Cash said. “By a seventh son who also had seven children.”
“Oh, brother.” Boston hated stuff like that, but one look at Cash’s beaming face, and he told himself to give the place a try. “Outbuildings,” he said. “Looks like multiple wells.”
“Three,” Cash confirmed.
“Electricity.” He swiped and saw the first house. It stood two stories tall and had been painted blue at some point in the past. The shutters looked back at him with gray faces, though they could be spruced up with some white paint.
“This looks really rough,” he said.
“Oh, it’s rough, all right.” Cash chuckled. “No one’s lived there for fifteen years, which only means we get to make it whatever we want, Boston.” He took the phone back and said, “I think we should at least go look at it.”
Boston had seen the price before Cash grabbed the phone away. Over a half a million dollars. He’d been saving for a couple of years, and Harry had paid him really well to manage the tours, but he would not be able to buy a half-million-dollar property on his own.
Cash had been in the rodeo for five years as a professional, and he’d won quite a bit, but nowhere near the level of his father or Uncle Jem, who’d been career cowboys, riding for decades on the circuit and winning everything they entered.
“We can talk about money and stuff later,” Cash said. “I actually wanted to talk to Bryce about how he and Kassie bought their farm together.”
“That’s a good idea,” Beth said. “And it’d probably be way smarter to get a loan from your daddy than from a bank.”
She nodded like this was really going to happen, and Boston felt like he’d gotten on a magic carpet he hadn’t beenanticipating and was soaring fifteen miles above the Earth at a fast rate of speed. Yes, he and Cash had talkedbrieflyabout looking at property, but individually, never together. He liked living with his cousin now, but long term?
The house has two properties.
“Looks like the realtor will chat with me online,” Cash said. “I’m gonna ask him if we can set up a time to come look at it.” He looked over to Boston, questions in his eyes. “Is that okay with you?”
“Yeah,” Boston said. “You’ve got my calendar.”
Cash nodded, the dinner Beth had made for them forgotten as his thumbs flew across the screen.
Boston started eating. “Oh, yeah,” he moaned with the first bite of the creamy, cheesy sauce Beth had poured over the chicken cordon bleu. “Beth, this is amazing.”
She brightened. “You think so?”
“Yeah, I really like it.”
Cash frowned and tapped, swiped and tapped some more, and then said, “You sure there’s nothing else you need to check?”
Boston glared at him. “What else would I need to check?”
“I mean, I don’t know. I thought maybe you and—” He didn’t say Cora’s name, but it hung in the air anyway.
Boston stabbed another piece of chicken and put it in his mouth. Cash returned to frantically typing on his phone, and half a minute later, he put it down with a loud thunk and a triumphant yelp.
“Done,” he said. “Next Sunday after church.”
“Great,” Boston said, and he really tried to sound like he meant it. He did really want to go look at the place with Cash, but he could also admit that a certain amount of bitterness and resentment sat on the back of his tongue that he hadn’t had to check with Cora to see if they had plans before committing to touring the property.
“All right,” Cash said. “Let’s talk about cousin night, so I can make sure that I don’t host the lamest one of the year.”
CHAPTER
THIRTY-TWO
Cora’s alarm had gone off twenty minutes ago, and she still had not left her office. She still had more emails to comb through, probably a dozen to answer, and stacks of paperwork on her desk. She took a moment to breathe, and she went through a quick list of tasks that had been top priority for today.
Payroll had gotten submitted, so everyone at the lodge would get paid. She’d signed off on the hiring of two new horsemen, so that she could move some people into guide positions. She’d gotten through three meetings today, and since she hadn’t heard from Boston since yesterday afternoon, if she left now, she’d have her whole evening open.
