Page 27 of The Earl’s Wrangler (Cowboy Nobility #3)

“I know that,” Randall told him. “I guess I wish I had your charm, your way with people. They respond to you.” What a huge change between the uncommunicative, almost grouchy man he had first met.

Sawyer was certainly a bit of a mystery, but that was good.

Randall was pretty sure Sawyer was never going to be boring.

Randall paid their bill when the server returned, and he thanked her before heading out. They mounted their horses and continued down the lane to the first house, where the plumber’s van was already parked out front.

“Your Lordship,” Steven Bishop said as he hurried out of the house with a huge grin. “I thank you for the help, but I wasn’t expecting you.” He was all flustered.

Randall climbed down from Caesar, and Sawyer dismounted as well, taking the reins for him. “I wanted to make sure that everything was being fixed and that you were being looked after.”

“I am, thank you. The plumber is still working. He says some of the pipes need to be replaced, and he’s doing that now.”

Mrs. Bishop hurried out. “I’d offer you and your friend some tea, but I don’t have any water.” She seemed nervous.

“It’s all right. You let me know when the plumber is done and if the problem is fixed.

That’s the most important thing.” He shook hands with both of them and then climbed back on his horse.

He smiled and waved before continuing through the village.

He greeted most people he knew with a nod and another smile.

If he stopped to speak with everyone, the electrician would have come and gone before he got there.

In fact, he was putting his tools back in his van as they arrived.

Randall dismounted and strode up to the electrician. “Is everything okay?” he asked. “Were you able to fix the problem?”

“Partially. The wiring in there is really old. They have fuse boxes rather than a more modern wiring system. I was able to find the short, and that’s been resolved, but the real answer to the problem is to switch out the fuse box with a modern breaker box.

That would make their entire electrical system more stable.

” He narrowed his gaze. “Are you the landlord?”

“My lord,” Charles Granger said as he hurried out. “Thank you for helping us. We were afraid to plug anything in in the kitchen.”

“It’s no more than you deserve. As I said in the pub, things need to change, and we need to make sure that our village in in good repair.

I’m just glad I could help.” Randall tilted his head toward the electrician.

He then nodded to both of them and wished Charles a good day before thanking both of them and heading out.

“That made you feel good,” Sawyer said. “Helping them, making sure their homes are in good shape and safe.”

“Yes. I also know that the floodgates are going to open.” Charles and Steven were certain to share over a beer at the pub that Randall had taken care of their issues, and the others who had hesitated to come forward definitely would now.

“But you’ll know what their issues are and then you can fix them. If there hasn’t been a lot of maintenance, you’re going to have quite a few issues that have been neglected, and who knows what kind of structural issues.”

“I know. The ones I had today were easy. What am I going to do when someone comes to me with something that means the cottage is too unsafe to live in?” His mind was already racing ahead to issues that hadn’t even come up yet.

“My father drank away a lot of what should have been put back into the village.” They continued through town and out the other side, letting the horses plod along. “How am I going to afford all of this?”

“What you do is you need to assess all of the things that are reported, and the most critical or life-threatening are the ones that get fixed first,” Sawyer said.

“And I was thinking that maybe you can enlist the villagers to help. Come up with your list, analyze it, and maybe sponsor a village work day or something. Like a barn-raising back home, where folks help each other out.”

Randall nodded. He wasn’t sure that would work, but he knew he didn’t know very much about building trades and managing a village.

His father had never told him much about what was expected of him.

He suspected his father had done such a bad job with the property that he didn’t want Randall looking over his shoulder.

If it would bring in money, his father was all for it, but when it came to the responsibilities that he had to others, he really didn’t care.

And Randall could see that was wrong and that he and his family had stayed away and out of people’s lives for way too long. “We’ll have to see what people say.”

“True,” Sawyer told him. “But keep in mind that what they say probably isn’t the whole truth.

I’m not saying they’re lying, but they could be reporting a symptom rather than the root of the problem.

Like today. They said that they had a short and were afraid to use their kitchen outlets, but the real cause of the problem is that their electrical system is old, worn out, and needs to be replaced.

That’s going to cost quite a bit more than just a visit from the electrician you had today. ”

“I see. I don’t know anything about this sort of thing.”

“I do.” Sawyer smiled. “I can fix just about anything. I used to help out Mrs. J all the time at the ranch. I can’t rewire a house, but I know when things are wrong and enough to start to pinpoint the source of the problem.

When people report things, we can review them together.

” Sawyer pulled to a stop. “Now, which way do we go? It seems like we’re just wandering, and that’s fine, but I have no idea where we are. ”

“This road winds around and ends up on the north side of the estate, so if we keep going this way, we’ll be fine.”

“Cool.” Sawyer seemed content to ride along.

A few cars came up on them from behind, but they slowed and often waved as they passed.

This was the country, after all, and drivers were used to encountering horses from time to time.

At the large oak tree, a local landmark, he made a right turn, and they started following a cross-country trail that Randall had taken many times before.

He knew each tree and glen as they passed, following the creek bed for part of the way, before crossing and continuing on until the house loomed in the distance.

“God. Every time I see this place, it takes me by surprise. It’s like a movie set.”

“Sometimes I think it’s a horror movie,” Randall quipped.

“Do you really? Most people would envy you,” Sawyer said, pulling to a stop.

Randall did the same. “To most people, living in a place like this would be a dream. That’s why so many people come to visit, you know.

They want to live that fantasy, if only for a little while.

I mean, most people don’t come to see fancy paintings, antique books, or the impressive rooms. They come to be part of it all, at least for a little while.

” Sawyer paused and gasped. “Have you ever thought about offering something different as a way to fulfill some of their fantasies?”

“Like what?”

“You Brits have tea, right? So while you’re in residence here, offer tea with the earl once a week. You limit it to, say, twenty people, and then once a week, you sit down to tea.”

Randall rolled his eyes. “And what would I have to do? Wear my official regalia?”

“No. You simply have tea with them, talk to them. Give the guests a taste of the fantasy they really long for. You’d eat with them, take a few pictures, and have a good time.

That’s all you’d need to do, and you could charge fifty bucks a person for it.

It would be once a week, and you could schedule it in advance.

You have a website for tickets and stuff, so you could add that too. ”

Randall sighed. “It’s an idea.” Truly, it was one that he hated. By and large he was an introverted person, and the thought of having tea with a bunch of strangers on a regular basis made his stomach flip.

“You don’t like it,” Sawyer said.

“If George did it, he would come shining through. I know he would. But why would anyone want to spend time with me? I may have a title, but otherwise I’m as dull as dirt.

I’m not a good conversationalist, and I hate making small talk.

” He didn’t want to think about why that was.

“I’m terrible in social situations. My parents used to have dinners and entertain before my mother died.

I would come down and make an appearance.

I was never really invited to join them—I was too young, so I never became comfortable with that sort of thing around strangers. ”

“Okay. It was just an idea,” Sawyer told him softly. “You shouldn’t do things that you don’t feel comfortable with.”

Randall nodded. “But I appreciate the idea. I really do. Celeste keeps trying to come up with ideas to make the guest experience seem special, and I want that. We used to decorate the house for Christmas and have special tours, but it took such a toll on it that we stopped that a few years ago. Besides, every house does that. We close in late October, so in a week or so, and the house isn’t open again for tours again until the spring. ” He stood, looking at his home.

“What do you feel when you look at it?” Sawyer asked.

Randall was taken aback. No one had ever asked him that before. “I don’t know. I mean, it’s my home, but there are parts of it that I feel disconnected from. The public rooms are part of the tour, so they don’t feel like they’re mine, even though they are. I think I feel most connected out here.”

Sawyer nodded. “I can see that. Yeah, it’s just a house—granted a big one—but it’s a house. The land and being outdoors, that’s something really special, and I suppose you feel the obligation to take care of it.”

Randall swallowed hard. “I feel that more and more each day. Hell, I spent years trying to run away and hide from it. I let others take care of that part of the estate, and they did a good job, but I can see that doesn’t mean I can walk away.

The people in the village suffered because of my indifference.

” He pulled out his phone and chuckled. “And I’m just beginning to see how much.

There are ten emails from people telling me about problems they are having.

One has a roof that has been leaking for weeks. ”

“Okay, then. Let’s make that the first priority. I can go over in the morning and take a look at it. I’ve fixed lots of roofs in my time, and if I can’t fix it, I should be able to explain what’s wrong and what needs to be done.”

“You don’t need to do that. Putting you to work isn’t why I brought you here.

” Randall wanted to show Sawyer a good time in the hope that he might want to come back.

The thought of him going home and Randall not seeing him again was getting harder to come to grips with.

He knew that they should have parted ways before he returned to England, but with the issues with Sawyer’s father, Randall had been able to use that as an opening for Sawyer to come here.

But the underlying problem still remained.

They would need to part, and then Randall would be heartbroken.

It wasn’t the first time, and it probably wouldn’t be the last, but he had little doubt that their parting would hurt more than any other before.

“I need things to do. And if I can help, then I will.” Sawyer leaned forward.

“Come on, Augustus, let’s show the English what we’re made of.

” He urged his horse forward, giving Augustus his full head.

Caesar didn’t take much urging and he was off right behind, flying across the field as the house drew closer.

Though Randall kept back a little ways, just so he could watch his cowboy in full action.

There were few things more stunning, and Randall wanted to remember this for as long as he could.

As he got closer to the house, he veered off toward the stables, skirting the formal gardens and no doubt giving the guests milling about after their tour a full-on display of exactly what a cowboy could do on a horse.

Randall followed in his wake, waving to the guests before taking the trail around the hedge to where he kept the horses.

“You gave them quite a show,” Randall said, dismounting and pulling Sawyer into a hard kiss.

“Talk about a show,” Sawyer growled before kissing him senseless in return.