Page 7 of Take My Name
“Damn, settle down. No wonder you’re makin’ Lilith anxious as hell. She can sense your nerves.”
Sliding my palm down her rear and leg, I motion for him to move.
“Nice and easy,” I say calmly. Once I’m in position, I pull her hoof into the farrier stand and when she doesn’t move, I pat her again. “That’s my good girl.”
“Well, shit. Didn’t know I was supposed to talk dirty to get her cooperation.” He shoves his hands in his pockets and huffs at how easy I made it look.
I lift a shoulder, crossing my arms. “It’s what every woman wants to hear.”
“Pfft. How would you know?”
Rolling my eyes, I don’t bother engaging. It’s not the first time he’s given me shit for staying single for seven years and it won’t be the last. I may not be with Maisie anymore, but she’s still my damn wife. I’m nothing if not loyal and faithful to the vows we said to each other eight years ago.
Even if she’s not.
“Get outta the kick zone and stop being squirmy, then she’ll do exactly what you want,” I tell him, handing him the rasp.
“Another woman tip?” he mocks.
“Yeah, consider it a freebie,” I deadpan, leaving the grooming stall and heading toward my office at the back of the barn.
It’s been a long week, and I’m ready to wrap it up. One more day and then I can take it easy for the weekend. Not that thereisn’t work to be done, but we save the hard shit for the weekdays when we have more workers. As the Ranch Operations Manager, my tasks include a lot more than ranch hand duties.
It comes with a bullshit amount of paperwork and emails.
Bodie’s the only other sibling who works exclusively on the ranch side with me. Posey manages the goat farm and the family soap company, Langston Soapworks. Colton and Bellamy work on the resort side, dealing with operations and guest services.
My parents couldn’t pay me enough to deal with people every day. It’s bad enough I have to manage the employees and their half-assed excuses on why they’re late or how they forgot to request off—usually the day before they need it, too. Most of them text me instead so they don’t have to see the disappointment on my face or get told no in person.
I wasn’t always this way, but certain life experiences made me bitter and less tolerable.
Like after my wife and I did long-distance while she went to college, all for her to leave again four months later for an apprenticeship in New York.
I supported her the best I could, hoped she’d gain the experience she was after, then return and find a job here. Or hell, work remotely or start her own business.
But then?—
I shake my head to get rid of the dark thoughts threatening to consume my mind. There’s no use going down that path again when I know where it always leads me—drinking until I pass out and sending her drunken voicemails she’ll never listen to.
The only response I’ll get is another certified letter with divorce papers inside.
Over my dead fucking body am I signing those.
She can face me instead of being a coward if she wants onethat badly. Until then, I’ll continue writingreturn to senderand let her eat the cost of her lawyer’s fees.
“Hey, boss!” Nicky pops in through the doorway while I sit behind my desk and read through emails.
Hesitantly, I glance up and grimace at his too-wide grin that’s probably meant to butter me up before he tells me something I don’t want to hear.
“Whaddya want this time?” I grumble, shifting my gaze back to my screen.
“It’s not as bad as it sounds…” His eager tone tells me otherwise and he continues without waiting for me to respond. “I need a couple weeks off.”
“When?”
“Um, see…that’s the thing.” He sits in the chair across from me.
“Nicky,” I bark. “Get on with it.”
