Page 88 of Wylder Ranch
“Story MacIntosh?”
“One and the same.”
He peers at the open door. “Does he know?”
“He does. And according to Haven, he went to the tree stall and yelled at her.”
A low whistle passes through Lando’s lips. Hamish’s ears prick, but he quickly loses interest. “How does Haven know?”
“She was at the tree stand when Hendricks popped by.”
“Has he ever told you what happened between them?”
I shake my head. “Nope. You?”
“No.”
We stare at each other, through the silence, both trying to come up with theories as to why Hendricks and a girl he used to spend almost as much time with as Miles haven’t spoken in six years. It’s one thing he’s never talked about. It’s rarely mentioned, and truthfully I’d forgotten all about it until the other week, but now I’m wondering if we’ll finally get to the bottom of what happened.
“Al, you’ve got eight minutes. . .”
I sit up a little straighter. “Shit, right. Okay. I need advice. And I need to talk about Everly.”
Lando’s dark brows knit together. “I’ll try.”
“I have Arthur working up a new offer for Wylder Ranch?—”
“I thought Haven didn’t want to sell it.”
I hold my hand up to stop his interruption because I only have eight minutes. “She doesn’t. She wants to keep it for Everly.” I raise my brows, and Lando nods in agreement, because if anyone’s going to understand the importance of generational inheritance, it’s us. Everlyshould have that ranch. “However, I also want to give Haven a secure future, and I know she won’t take money directly from me, so. . . I’ve come up with a plan to offer the asking price, and if she accepts, the ranch will be put into a trust for Everly, and they can stay living there. And there’s a clause against development.”
“That’s generous of you, Al.”
I know he means it as a compliment but I don’t think it’s particularly generous. I’m doing what I can to provide for my daughter’s future. It’s nothing less than what he would do. His firstborn will inherit the dukedom and Burlington, just like he did.
“And Haven. What about her?”
I lean forward, elbows resting on my knees. My mind flits and, like it always does whenever I think of her, a surge of emotion builds in my chest. Most days, I walk about in awe of her, what she’s overcome, how much she went through by herself, and what an incredible mother she is.
“You know, over this year, there were so many times when I wondered if I’d imagined our connection. Even when she arrived, I thought ‘what if it was just sex between us?’” I drop my head, run my hands through my hair, and try to unjumble my thoughts. “But it’s not. . . it’s. . . when did you know you’d fallen in love with Holiday?” I glance up to find my brother looking at me intently. “Howdid you know, Lan?”
He doesn’t even take a beat before he replies, “When I couldn’t stand the idea of her leaving.”
“Yeah.” I pause. Take stock. Think about what I’m going to ask. Burlington is my home, it’s all I’ve ever known, it’s where I’m closest to my dad, and it’s somewhere I never thought I’d leave. But becoming a father myselfhas put things into perspective, and I know my dad would have moved heaven and earth to do what he thought was right for me. “I want to open a North American division of Burlington Estates, and I’d head up international operations from there. We’ve been talking about it for ages. This is the perfect opportunity.”
“In Colorado?”
“There’s a lot of land,” I reason.
“Have you talked to Haven about it?”
“Not yet. I needed to figure out logistics first. But I will this week.”
Hendricks’s voice echoes down the corridor, telling Lando to hurry up. But Lando doesn’t look like he’s in the mood to hurry. He’s staring at me, contemplating, scratching his fingers through his beard.
“Have a look into it,” he says eventually and stands to leave as we hear Hendricks’s heavy footsteps get closer. “Run the numbers again.”
“Thanks, Lan.” Getting up myself, I pull him into a big hug. “Enjoy the movie stars.”
