Page 10 of Baker (Bastian Brothers #1)

“Well, I guess I’m just feeling torn. On this hand, I would like to tell Cash to go fiddle himself because why should I do a damn thing he asks when he left me and my mother to struggle.

” We all hummed in agreement, save for Ford, who was sipping coffee and watching us warily.

“But then I do wish to get my boy away from the dirt and grime and crime. I think he’d do well here on the ranch.

I’ve checked into the local schools, and while they seem to be less than what I’d like to see in terms of educational rankings, I feel that Dahn is intelligent enough to be able to help boost those low test scores. ”

“I always maintained that there was no better life for a child than one that includes farming and ranching,” Granny said as she deposited a platter of pancakes onto the center of the table. “Dig in, there’s eggs coming right up.”

We all forked some flapjacks onto our plates, then passed around the butter dish and syrup dispenser.

“There’s a school on the Cherokee reservation as well.

Ollie went there for his high school years.

I’m not sure if non-Indigenous students can attend or not, but from what I read, it ranks well above the public schools in lots of areas.

I know they have a great baseball and debate team.

You could talk to Ollie about it as his father is somehow connected with the Bureau of Indian Education in some capacity,” Granny offered as the sizzle of eggs hitting a hot skillet filled the room.

“Thank you, I’ll certainly look into it,” Dodge replied while I cut my pancakes into bites just small enough to fit into my mouth.

All this talk about schools was putting the horse way in front of the cart, if you asked me.

“I’m really hoping we can make this work.

I have a rather substantial amount of cash to invest in Bastian Acres to help return it to its former glory.

My partner bought out my half of the practice for a little over five million so I’m willing to help out with whatever needs to be done. ”

“I also have some money to invest. About a hundred thousand from selling the sports bar,” Linc added.

“I was thinking more on those line shacks. I really think we should renovate them into little cabins with all the amenities, then rent them out to people from big cities, like us, who would fall over themselves to spend a week petting cows and riding horses on the open ranges.”

“There are no cows,” I reminded them between bites.

“Well, no, not now, but we could buy more,” Linc stated as he coated his flapjacks with syrup.

As much as I wanted to pooh-pooh the suggestions, and I sorely did, it was damn hard to turn down that kind of investment cash.

There was a lot I could do around here with a big influx of money.

First thing was adding some cattle back on the pastures.

Granny was humming merrily as she flipped eggs.

I turned my attention to the New York City duo. “And what are you bringing to the table?”

Ford and Bella exchanged looks. Bella spoke for them. She still looked movie star fabulous. I’d not even combed my hair yet.

“Well, we don’t come with bags filled with money, but we do have marketable skills and are willing to learn.

” As kind as Bella seemed to be, I was having real difficulty envisioning her riding out to check on beefers that dropped calves in the snow or shoveling horse shit.

Ford maybe, but Bella seemed too refined for farm work.

“I would like to propose something for you to think about.” I nodded for her to continue.

“Well, when we arrived, I took note of a charming little place on the left of the drive, just the other side of the horse barn.”

“That’s the old springhouse,” I informed them. “Back in the day, my great-great-granny would store perishable things like milk, butter, eggs, and meat. Before they had refrigerators.”

“Oh, that’s really interesting. Is there water still flowing into it?” Bella enquired.

“Some. We split a line from the spring and had half the flow piped into the horse barn in the fifties. Why are you asking about that old springhouse? It’s about to fall down.”

“Well, I was thinking. If we put some money into it, just a little, mind you, as I only have my savings from my previous employer and may need to borrow some from somewhere, we could fix it up, and I could use it as a dress shop. I’m very good with a sewing machine and fabric is cheap.

Ford is handy with a hammer. He worked for his stepfather for several years.

” We glanced at Ford and got a short nod.

“I’d be willing to pay anyone back, with interest, until the loans were paid off. ”

Granny arrived with a platter of over-easy eggs and a sparkle in her eye.

“I think I can help you out, darling,” Granny said as she handed Linc the eggs, then sat down next to Bella.

I could see the wheels turning in her head.

“I have an old Singer in the junk room, tons of fabric, and even a dress dummy. There was a time that I made all my own clothes, and most of Baker’s, before my eyesight got bad.

You’re more than welcome to use that to create your big city fashions.

I also have some pin money that I would like to invest in Bella Dee’s Boutique. ”

“Granny…” I sighed, but she had that stubborn set to her jaw, so I just forked an egg off the dish and slapped it down beside my pancakes.

Bella hugged Granny tightly. Thick as thieves they were, and they’d just met yesterday. This did not bode well at all.

“I adore you. Thank you, Mrs. Bastian,” Bella whispered and dabbed her eyes with the corner of a paper napkin. “So, yes, that is my proposal.” She looked around the table and got smiles of encouragement from everyone, save me. I was chewing an egg as everyone stared openly.

“While I appreciate your dream of a dress shop, way out here seems a little removed from where the ladies of Bastian Grange shop,” I commented as gently as I could.

“Bull dangles. Mary Pauline has that basket shop over near Kingsley Road and there ain’t nothing out there but jack rabbits and an old poultry farm, and she does quite good.

I’m sure once the ladies in town hear about a fancy seamstress from Manhattan opening up a shop, they’ll flock out here like blackbirds in the spring,” Granny announced to the room.

“Okay, well, sure. A dress shop in the old springhouse. Flatlanders in the line cabins. Are there any other citified ideas that everyone wants to bring forth?”

Bella gave Ford a pointed look.

“Actually, I was thinking that maybe it would be less costly to invest in goats,” Ford piped up for the first time.

My jaw fell open. I snapped it shut with an audible click.

“I did some reading on the bus out here and lots of ranchers are switching from cattle to goats. They’re less expensive for starters, are easier to handle, and they graze on a wider variety of vegetation than cows do.

Also, you get meat and milk from goats just like beef. ”

“Goats.” I poked at my second egg with the tines of my fork, opening it up so that the yolk could flow over my pancakes.

“Right. Well, I think all of those are interesting suggestions. And I appreciate your input, but this ranch has been a cattle ranch for six generations, and we’ve managed just fine without goats, city slickers in trendy cabins, or dress boutiques. No offense, Bella.”

“To be honest, from what I’m hearing, you’re not doing all that well.

” My gaze flew from my rapidly cooling breakfast to Dodge.

Seemed the ginger pedodontist had some fire in him.

“Not to be blunt, but this ranch is one season away from being put up for back taxes.” My sight flew to my grandmother.

She merely shrugged as she rolled up a pancake with an egg inside it, then carried it to her mouth, yolk dripping as she did.

“They have a right to know. Cash left them quarter shares,” Granny said, then took a fierce bite of egg and pancake.

Those new dentures sure did work well. I was still paying the dentist off in tiny dribbles.

He was accommodating about it. As they say, you can’t get blood from a stone.

“I know you got a heap of pride…you get that from your father.” My eyes rolled so hard it was a wonder I didn’t sprain the stalks holding them in my head.

“This is a good chance for this family to reconcile, come together, and keep this ranch alive. Lord knows Cash never did right by any of you boys. Maybe you four can do right by each other.”

She dabbed at her chin with a napkin as her sight bored into me.

The others sat in various stages of silent apprehension as I tried to sort through it all in my head.

“I’m sorry if I stepped on your toes, either here or in general, but I would really like a chance.

Just a chance. One chance to change our lives for the better.

How about we do a year probationary period?

I used to do that with my dental assistants.

” Dodge glanced at the others and got hearty nods from them.

Then he turned his sight back to me. “Give us a year to see if we can jibe. If things work out, great, we’ll carry on as we’d been doing, and yay to us.

If not, you can repay us for the investments in the ranch, and we’ll be on our merry ways. ”

“Sounds good to me,” Linc said before swiping one more egg. The man could eat. If they stayed, we’d have to give the chickens pep talks to up their production.

Wait. If. If. When did a firm hell no become a damn if?

When they started waving dollar amounts in my face.

Oh. Well, still…

Two younger siblings looked at the youngest. Ford nodded. “Yeah, okay, we can do a year, right, Bella?”

Bella seemed a little disappointed but covered it quickly. “That sounds wonderful. A year. Yes, a year here making dresses sounds just amazing.”

Granny took Bella’s hand and gave it a squeeze. Then she leveled her sight on me. “Well, Baker, what do you say? That seems like a fair deal all around.”

I sat back to assess them all. Personally, I was happiest when it was just me and my horse.

I’d always been like my mother in that regard.

Withdrawn, prone to solo jobs, which was why ranching suited me.

Most times, it was just me and the cattle.

Beefers didn’t say much or ask where you were going or how come you drink so damn much.

I had not been a social drunk. That old George Thorogood song about drinking alone could have been written about me.

“You all plan on staying here while during this year of probation?” I asked and got nods around the table. Great. Just great.

“?Course they are! We’re not going to make your brothers and their family take rooms at the Bastian Grange Motel.

This house was built for lots of cowboys and kids!

” Granny told me. And when I say told, I do mean told.

Oh sure, I could argue and spit and kick rocks, but in the end, she was the matriarch.

And while the ranch was now legally mine—well, a quarter of it was—Granny ruled the roost, especially when it came to household shit.

And this here was big household shit. “Maybe you all should draw up some sort of agreement, just between yourselves, about this here probation period. Guess you could even get it read over by Milton if you wanted, but I think a paper signed by all four of you is legal enough.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Dodge said and got agreements from Ford and Linc.

“I’m happy to sign a rental agreement for the springhouse boutique. Oh!” Bella said as her eyes went round. “That is a darling name, don’t you all think?”

Chatter filled the kitchen. I folded my arms over my chest and listened to the noise. Then, because Granny was already discussing dress patterns with Bella while Linc and Ford talked goats—goats for the love of God—Dodge gave me a questioning look.

It all seemed to be a lot. Did I want four strangers in the only home I had ever known?

Nope. All my solitary instincts were on high alert.

Nothing would have made me happier than waving goodbye to all of them.

Well, maybe not Bella. She was nice and seemed kind in a way that you rarely saw anymore.

But the others? Yep, later, dudes. But—and this was a huge but—they had money to invest. And this ranch was cash poor.

Hell, it was poor in almost every way a property could be poor.

Did they all have silly ideas about boutiques, goats, and hot tubs in line cabins?

Yes. Yes, they did. Yet, and here came another but, could those ideas bring back Bastian Acres Ranch?

Maybe? I didn’t know. Was I willing to chance it and them for a year?

What did I actually have to lose other than fried eggs, my bed, and all that coveted alone time?

With a sigh, I nodded, just once, and took the last egg before Lincoln could pounce on it like a hungry weasel.

“None of you are taking my bedroom,” I announced and shoved the whole egg into my mouth to emphasize my point. They might be taking over my ranch and my house, but they were not taking the last fried egg or my damn bed.

A man had to have some limits.