Page 9 of Holding On to a Hero
He nodded. “That might work.” Then he grinned. “Or Cole could lend me the money to buy you out, and then he could be the silent partner.”
“What? What purpose would that serve?”
He smirked. “Cole would be more silent than you.”
I threw my pen at him and he laughed.
He said, “Let’s just think about it over the next few days and see if any other options come to mind before we decide.”
“See? This is why you need to be in charge. You come up with the solid, logic-based plans.”
The smirk was back. “That sounds like code for telling me I’m the smarter brother.” He ducked out of the way of the next pen I threw at him.
Less than an hour later I was in the truck and almost home. Cole wanted me to help him and Arturo with the roof on one of the new sheds this afternoon, and I marveled to myself that that kind of work was much more appealing than this morning’s deal-making. A year ago I could never have imagined where my life would lead.
I came around the last curve before the ranch and saw Will Graham’s truck in his usual spot. What wasn’t usual was how late in the day it was. I couldn’t remember him being here as late as noon before. I slowed down as I passed his truck, but he wasn’t inside.
I turned into the ranch’s driveway but parked as soon as I was off the road. I couldn’t see Will from over here so I jogged across to the wildlife preserve. The grass was tall so I had to walk all the way around the pond to double-check if he was there. No Will, but his stool and – was that his camera? Why would he leave that? Uneasiness tightened across my shoulders.
“Will?” I shouted. No response. I walked closer to the camera and stool. His camera bag and tripod were right there as well. It looked like he had been taking photos and had just set his camera down and walked away.
I pulled out my phone and dialed Cole.
“Jason! Where are you?” He sounded…off?
“Cole, did you see Will Graham today? His camera and stuff are all over here in the wildlife preserve but he isn’t.”
“Sure, he’s fine. He just gave his stuff to the porcupine and came over here for some coffee.” Cole started laughing.
I paused before replying. The coffee had evidently been spiked with something. “Um, okay. I’m going to bring his camera and everything to the house then. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
Cole shouted, “Look out for the porcupine!” More laughter. I hung up on him and snorted.
Cole was day drinking with Will Graham. This should be entertaining.
Chapter Six
Will
Note to self: Next time Cole Washburn insists you drink something, take a large step back and use your big head, not your little one.
I was lying on my back on the living room floor with my calves and feet on the couch. I’d explained to Cole that this was the position most likely to get my back to relax. But when I asked for a towel or something to put on the couch so my shoes wouldn’t get it dirty – since there was no way I was going to be able to lean over to take my shoes off – he made me lie down and then he pulled my feet onto his lap and took my shoes off himself. And then herubbed my feetwhile he chatted with me.
Eventually he’d offered me coffee but insisted that it needed brandy to help me relax. He set the mug next to my head with a bendy silicone straw in it so I could sip without getting up.
The brandy in the coffee had at least a slightly plausible medicinal purpose. The brandy that was later poured into both of our empty coffee mugs – twice now – couldn’t be justified for anything but to get drunk. In the middle of the morning.
“I have an important question,” I announced after Cole settled down on the floor beside me with his back against the couch. Fortunately for me he’d changed out of his skintight jogging outfit. Not that the dark jeans and forest green t-shirt were less sexy on him. But they did allow me to avoid staring at his package. Mostly.
Cole nodded sagely at me and said, “I will tell you the answer. Jason is indeed hung like a stallion.”
I didn’t spew brandy everywhere, but the danger was real. “No! No! Not what I was going to ask!”
Cole looked puzzled. It was adorable. “Why not? I wanted to know that as soon as I laid eyes on him.”
“Uh, no, I don’t think that would be appropriate. Um, you’re together! I don’t need to know that!” He looked like he wanted to protest, and even in my drunkish state I knew better than to continue with the topic of Jason’s endowment. Though I would definitely be revisiting that morsel of information later. In the privacy of my shower.
“No!” I resumed my original thought. “I want to know why you don’t have a dog! This is a ranch, even if you’re rescuing animals and not farming them. You need a ranch dog. It’s like a law or something.”
