Page 89 of Plentywood
“Yeah. There’re dozens of employees,” he stated.
“Employees that could lose their jobs if my father sells,” I pointed out. “Employees I bet your father might actually care for. Employees the ranch needs if it doesn’t sell easily. What do you think those employees will do if they find out they might lose those jobs?”
“They’d go to neighboring ranches,” he said.
I grinned at Hunt. “Exactly. Let’s go meet your father,” I said.
Hunter eyed me cautiously. “What are you up to?” he muttered. “And when did you become this superman of caring about Plentywood and its people?”
“Since I found out I can impact this town’s survival,” I said. “That’s when. And, I like it here,” I added. “And… I love you. Are those enough reasons?”
Hunter froze in his seat, his eyes filling. “You love me?” he asked.
“Yes, I do,” I said. “Is that going to be okay?”
Hunter reached across the seat and dragged me toward him. He held the sides of my face and kissed me tenderly, pulling away, and then quickly kissing me again. After three or four times, he sat back in his seat, his emotions getting the better of him.
“I never thought I’d ever hear those words again,” he whispered, swiping at his eyes as he tried to remain the tough, stoic man he wanted to present.
Hunter composed himself and then a thought seemed to enter his mind as his face grew more serious. “But what about… what if you decide to…?”
I reached for his hand and squeezed it tightly. “But what if I don’t? What if I stayed in Plentywood?”
“You would do that? I mean, do you think you evencoulddo that?”
“Seems like to be with you, I might need to stay here,” I said. “I have a town that needs me and I have a man that I need. Now put thisrigin gear and let’s go check out my ranch.”
Hunter continued looking back and forth between the highway and the man beside him. Me. Maybe he wasn’t sure he’d heard me correctly, or he worried I’d change my mind. Like the country road, I was unsure what laid at the end of it, but for the first time in my life, I saw a path worth taking.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE: HUNTER
The farmhouse I’d spent more than half my life in was just ahead on the right side of the highway. An archway above the driveway denoted the entry to the ranch with the words ‘TRIPLE H RANCH’ visible from this distance.
“That’s a ranch?” Ben asked. “Looks like a house on the side of the road.”
“The ranch is the land on both sides of the road and as far as you can see in all directions,” I said. “For miles inalldirections,” I emphasized.
He scanned the horizon in all directions as he tried to fathom the scope of land mass. Rolling hills meandered in all directions, and as far as to the Canadian border to our north.
“Your ranch shares a border with Canada,” I said. “Chew on that for a bit.”
A whooshing exhale exited Ben’s mouth as he pondered that statement. “Yikes,” was his analysis of the fact.
Ben and I remained inside the Tahoe when we pulled in front of the older farmhouse on the ranch and parked. After thirty seconds or so, my dad came out of the front door and onto the expansive porch that wrapped three sides of the house. Dad held a shotgun in his arms.
He hadn’t changed much. His gait appeared slower. He bent over a bit more than usual. The blond hair we’d shared for most of my life was gray on his head now, but he was still a large man. Very much built like me. Ranching had taken its toll on his body, but there was no denying he still had a large presence.
“Jesus!” I muttered, patting Ben’s hand. “Sit tight, Ben. Do not get out of the truck.”
“Don’t go out there,” Ben whispered.
“Stay in your seat until I come around the truck for you, baby,” I instructed.
I stepped from the Tahoe and held up a hand toward my dad. “Put the shotgun down, Dad,” I hollered across the graveled drive. “I’m the fucking Sheriff,” I added for clarity.
My dad jutted his shotgun toward the Tahoe. “And who the fuck is that?”
Without waiting for me to come around to get him, Ben stepped out of the rig and waved. “Ben Hawthorne, sir,” he greeted.
