Page 16 of Long Past Dawn
“You’re selling both places?” I asked, standing upright on my bootheels. “Cripes, now I do gotta find a new job. I gotta warn Dawn.” I took off for the barn door like the hounds of hell were on my heels.
“Beauregard Hanson!” Blaze yelled, and I froze, turning back to face him. “We’re not selling the ranches. Geez.”
I tossed my arms out and grunted. “What the hell are you talking about then?”
Blaze pointed at the haybale until I sat again. I went back to rubbing Cloudy Day’s nose to calm me down. “Heaven and I sat down and talked about it over the last few days, and we’ve decided no one is benefiting from things the way they are now. Not you and not Dawn or Tex. That can’t continue, especially once we’re married. Heavenly Lane will be in Dawn’s and Tex’s hands for the most part.”
“That’s true. I know Dawn is a little worried about how it will all work. She’s already overwhelmed and stressed, which I don’t think is good for her health.”
“That’s understandable,” he agreed, rubbing his hands on his pants. “They are already doing most of the work. Part of that is because Heaven is there less, part is because her doctor said if she doesn’t back off the work, her arm will always be painful, and part of it is, she wants to see what they can do when she’s not micromanaging everything.”
I tipped my head at him. “Miss Heaven’s arm is that bad? I noticed she’s always wearing a strap on it now.”
His expression turned from love to guilt instantly, as it always did when we discussed Heaven’s arm. It wasn’t his fault, but he didn’t see it that way. After she fell off the horse as a teenager, her shoulder and arm never grew again, but she could still use it. After she fell off Grover trying to save Callie from that bull, the nerves were damaged beyond repair.
“It’s that bad,” he whispered. “Or it was until I insisted that she see a doctor. Beau,” he shook his head and ran his hands through his hair. “She’s been in so much pain that even daily activities were torture. It turns out that it isn’t uncommon with an injury like hers, but Heaven wouldn’t know that because she refused to talk to a doctor. She has a plan now to treat her arm, and by following the guidelines of the doctors and therapists, it’s improved rapidly over the winter.”
“Will she always have to wear the strap now?”
Blaze nodded, adding a shoulder shrug at the end. “She will if she wants the pain to go away. Keeping the arm supported at the upper arm and wrist stops them from pulling on the tight muscles that want to spasm all the time. The therapists want to make her a specialized one that will distribute the weight of the arm evenly and make her steadier on her feet, but she’s refusing.”
“Why?” I asked in confusion. He rubbed his fingers together to indicate money, and I shook my head in frustration. “Why does she have to be so stubborn?”
Blaze chuckled, which was a relief to hear. I hated how much he blamed himself for her injury. “Someone spilled the stubborn jar on that girl when she was born, but I honestly love that about her. I don’t know if money is the reason or if she feels like she’s admitting defeat by having it made, but either way, once we are married, I will get my way.”
“And your way is her getting the brace.”
He clapped me on the shoulder with a laugh. “You know it, brother. The money excuse will be gone since she will be on my insurance. I’m hoping that the months of improvement she’s seen wearing the shoulder support she has now will be the swaying factor. I’ll try to convince her that she doesn’t have to admit defeat, but a custom brace will help her get more done during the day, especially if we want to have a child. Any help with that would be appreciated.”
I raised a brow. “Help with getting a brace made or help convincing Heaven to have a child?”
He laughed again and shook his head. “Getting the brace made. She already wants to have a baby. I don’t need any help in that department.”
“I didn’t think so,” I said, laughing with him. “Back to the ranches. What’s going on, Blaze?”
“Well, we’re going to discuss it with everyone once our lawyer gets back to us, so I’d appreciate it if you kept this between us for now.”
I clapped my hands once. “That should be easy since I still don’t know whatthisis.”
“The two ranches will come together under the umbrella name Bison Ridge. Both ranches are already called that by the townspeople, so it’s a no-brainer. However, we will both retain the original name of our ranch for business purposes. Heaven will be the CEO of her ranch, but Tex and Dawn will get shares of the ranch as owners, too.”
My eyes widened in surprise. “Damn, son…”
“It’s time, and Heaven knows it. She wants to keep that ranch in the family for years to come, so this is the only way to keep it viable. The terms will be that if Tex or Dawn leave, they must sell their portion back to Heaven, but I don’t see that happening.”
I shook my head. “Me either. Those two are homesteaded on that ranch as much as I am on this one.”
“Which brings me to Bison Ridge,” he said, motioning at the barn. “Once the deal is signed, you and I will be equal partners in the ranch, with the same stipulation as hers. If you want to leave, you have to offer your shares back to me.”
I blinked twice and then one more time. “I think there’s a light or two burned out on your string, Blaze.”
He shook his head and held his hat in his hands. “I’m not crazy, Beau. What you said a few days ago was the most honest anyone has been with me in a long time. Even more so than Heaven. I wouldn’t have this ranch right now if it weren’t for you. You kept me going when I wanted to give up. You broke your back for years to keep our daddy from knowing how bad things were here. You were loyal and remained the kind of friend I wasn’t. That changes now. Now, we’re partners, like we should have always been. That’s why you aren’t going anywhere. Do you read me?”
I grabbed the back of my neck and held tight, my heart pounding in my chest. “I—I ain’t real good at paperwork and business, Blaze. I ca—ca—an’t talk to people like that.”
He gave me the slow-down motion with his hand like he used to do when we were kids. I moved my jaw a different way and puffed up my chest, two other techniques to stop the stutter once it started.
“You’re wrong about not being good at business, Beau. You’ve kept this business alive for years. I know you don’t like paperwork or talking to people, so I’ll take care of all those things. You’ll take care of the hands and the animals, but you won’t be doing all the grunt work. You’ll be hiring, firing, and training the others to work with the bison and the horses. That will give you time to do more work in the workshop.”
