Page 37 of A Cowboy Holiday
And I’d have Tanner.
Not forever, but I’d take November and December. Damn right I would.
CHAPTER 10
TANNER
Partner meetings didn’t happen very often—once per quarter on average. I liked to think Oak Ridge Ranch ran smoothly because we didn’t waste time with bureaucratic BS.
It didn’t make sense for me to get in Santiago’s dish about the winery or ask Mills a thousand questions about future bookings for luxury vacation packages. And even though Waylen was in charge of the business aspects of the dairy farm, he didn’t really know about the daily goings-on with the herd. Jax was the one who interfaced with all the departments, and he reported anything of particular note to me.
But we could never seem to escape a mid-November powwow, or what we all referred to as the end-of-year roundup.
The main points of the hour-long discussion: The grape harvest had gone well and with any luck, our 2029 Pinot could be something special. On the vacation getaway front, we were booked solid all through next year. Mills wondered about adding a full-time horse trainer dedicated to our guests.
“We have a full calendar and horseback riding every day. Cliff is part-time, and it’s not enough,” Mills reported. “If I hire from out of the area, it would be nice if I could sweeten the deal andoffer a new hire one of the cottages. Number eleven has been vacant for a while, and?—”
“It’s taken,” I said. “I invited the new vet to live on the ranch.”
I was treated to an insta five-way stare.
Jax brushed cookie crumbs from his shirt as he straightened. “Just like that?”
“He’ll be here less than two months, but we need him. We had an emergency two nights ago, and Lou didn’t respond until well after Axel had arrived. The old guy is so focused on retirement, it’s almost humorous. That is, until I need his advice on a pregnant cow suffering from toxemia.”
Hudson pulled a face. “We’re gonna a need a new vet soon. Would Axel consider staying?”
“I don’t think so. He’s got a job lined up in Texas.”
“Huh. Too bad,” Jax commented. “Axel’s a good guy, a reliable vet, and if he just moved into number eleven, we have one less house to worry about decorating in December. Hell, yeah!”
Mills groaned. “Who thought the Annual Christmas Light Show was a good idea?”
“You did.” I bit into one of Gem’s raspberry biscuits and licked my fingers.
“Your exact words were, ‘Not everyone wants to travel to Christmas Town for holiday cheer. Our guests at the lodge will love it.’ Sound familiar?” Santiago asked.
Mills balled up a napkin and beaned Santiago in the forehead.
Hudson snickered at their antics. “It’s been super popular. We have to embrace it. It’s one night of local tourism, and it’s great for the community.”
Waylen tapped his fingers on the table. “What are we doing? Arts and crafts, light snacks, and…what else?”
“That’s it,” I replied. “We can open Nellie’s area. Kids love her.”
“Don’t you think we need a Santa?” Jax piped in.
No one answered.
“There are no good Santa options in Santa Ynez,” I reported. “And we don’t want Christmas Town’s Santa.”
We all emphatically agreed, threw out a few names, jokingly suggested we should rotate duties amongst the six of us, and ultimately decided it was okay to go Santa-less.
“See if you can talk Axel into doing it.” Hudson stood and adjusted his Stetson. “Tell him it’s in the terms of his lease.”
He was kidding, but a Santa cowboy hybrid was kind of…sexy.
“You know, that’s not a bad idea.”