Page 24 of Want You Back (Second Chance Ranch #1)
Chapter 24
Maverick
“Oh my God, I feel like I just stepped back fifty years.” Adler stepped out of his tiny teal hybrid car, gazing around the ranch. I’d barely beaten him to the ranch, having come directly from a meeting with the trust folks. Mid-August meant being busier than I had been since leaving LA—managing Faith, keeping up with Hannah, stealing more time with Colt, helping Grayson where I could, and preparing for Adler’s visit. For his part, Adler had apparently prepared by going thrifting. He wore close-fitting jeans and a plaid shirt, which he’d tied rather than tucked in, giving him the look of a backup dancer in a lumberjack-themed video. His curly red hair was even more flyaway than usual in the dry heat, adding to his air of bemusement and wonder. “An old Ford with a hound dog in the back is about to drive up any second and Saturday Night Fever is playing this weekend at the drive-in.”
Heat gathered in my lower stomach at the mention of a drive-in, but now wasn’t the moment to revisit that memory. Instead, I greeted Adler with a hug.
“You didn’t time travel.” I gestured around us. “And this isn’t a Hollywood set. It’s just an average ranch, not even one of the biggest in Colorado.”
“I still want a tour.” Adler had to be approaching thirty, but he had the energy and enthusiasm of an eighteen-year-old on an energy drink bender. “Show me everything.”
“I’ll come.” Hannah wandered out of the main house. I introduced her to Adler. I’d used Adler for multiple projects partly because he was excellent with people of all ages—guests, staff members, people he needed to manage, VIPs, and more. He’d never met a stranger, and he easily charmed Hannah.
As we walked toward the oldest of the barns, I noticed how much better Adler looked than the last time I’d seen him when he’d been fresh out of rehab. His hair was shinier, copper color catching the sun, and his pale skin was rosier and less pasty. He moved more easily too, less labored. I made a mental note to compliment him where Faith could hear. Maybe vanity could motivate Faith toward sobriety if nothing else. First, she needed to admit she had a problem, though, and we weren’t remotely there yet. I’d followed some of the links Adler kept sending me, and I understood on a logical level that I couldn’t change or fix Faith, but the urge to try remained strong.
After a peek inside the old barn with all the equipment, we continued toward the horse barn. It was a nice clear day, not too hot, so many of the horses were out in the attached paddock, enjoying the sun.
“Those are real horses!” Adler sounded absolutely awestruck.
“Wait till you see the cows.” Exiting the horse barn, Grayson ambled up, limp and frown more pronounced today. He’d been at the trust meeting with me, and we shared a frustration over how hard it was to get simple answers about the ranch’s finances.
“This is our foreman, Grayson.” I made introductions while Adler made heart eyes in Grayson’s very straight, very oblivious direction. “Grayson, this is my friend from California, Adler.”
“I could have guessed on Hollywood.” Voice dry, Grayson gave a once-over to Adler’s outfit.
“I’m not Hollywood. More like Culver City,” Adler said brightly, speech much too fast. Adler anywhere near silver-fox top energy was hilarious, not that I’d ever once thought of Grayson in those terms. Adler, however, was clearly smitten, bouncing on his feet. “I’m rambling. Can I pet one of the horses?”
“Here, I’ll show you the one I usually ride.” Hannah led Adler toward the side of the paddock. “Magnolia is friendly and likes treats.”
“Well. He’s enthusiastic,” Grayson drawled as they departed.
“Adler brings a lot of energy to the table.” I was loyal, but Grayson’s expression stayed skeptical, not easily convinced.
“The table we need to worry about more is with the trust.” Grayson’s frown deepened. I’d been rushing to make it back to the ranch and Adler’s arrival, so we hadn’t had time for a proper debriefing. “We need a better plan for the next trust meeting.”
“Cash flow is an issue with every business I’ve ever worked with. I didn’t like the trust’s suggestion to cut labor.” That spoke to lazy management practices. In the hospitality industry, I preferred to focus on the product itself along with marketing.
“Good. Me either.” Grayson nodded, expression turning more hopeful. “I don’t want to let what few good hands we have left go. That’s not the answer.”
“Selling cattle at a loss may not be the solution either.” Applying my prior skill set to the ranch was a dicey proposition, but the problem solver in me couldn’t resist. I watched as Adler and Hannah pet Magnolia. Hannah loved it here so much, and her love inspired me to want to do more than merely wait out the year. I wasn’t going to run her legacy into the ground. “Can I see expense records from the last few years? Do you have them, or is there an accountant?”
“The accountant is older than the lawyer, but I’ve got access to the records.” Grayson sighed heavily, probably a mix of extra work and lack of faith that I could find an answer. “I’ll forward what I’ve got when I finally make it to my laptop.”
“Modern cowboy,” I teased.
“Eh.” He pursed his lips, not laughing. “I’d rather just cowboy, but the business is part of it.”
“Well, I appreciate your help.”
“What I’m here for.” Grayson turned to head toward one of the other barns. “Good luck with your friend. Don’t let him pet a bull.”
“I won’t.” I was still laughing at that image when Hannah and Adler walked back over.
“The horse ate from my hand.” Adler beamed, a wide grin slicing his freckled face. “This place is so cool.”
“Wait till you ride a horse,” Hannah offered. “That’s way cooler than petting them.”
“You think I could?” Adler’s eyes went serving-platter round.
“Maybe later.” I wasn’t about to call Grayson back to figure out a horse for Adler, not with Grayson already convinced Adler was a liability. I might be the owner, but I continued to defer to Grayson and Kat when it came to things like lending out expensive stock. “Let’s continue the tour so we have time to get ready for the fair.”
“A real fair? Like with games and food?” Adler asked, making the annual Disappointment County Fair sound like the coolest outing ever.
“A real fair.” I nodded, catching a bit of Adler’s enthusiasm. I’d been counting down to the fair all week because it likely meant a chance to see Colt. “There’s also a rodeo with it for the next two nights.”
“My friend is gonna barrel race!” Hannah bounced around even more than Adler. “She’s gonna win.”
“The important thing is that Willow has fun,” I reminded Hannah. Whenever he watched Willow train, Colt made it clear that fun was the priority. He didn’t want Willow getting too hard on herself and losing her enjoyment of the sport.
“And wins.” Hannah, however, knew her friend’s competitiveness well. Even in training here at the ranch, Willow rode like a million-dollar purse was on the line. And Hannah was nothing if not loyal. “She wants to win for her mom.”
“Yeah.” I didn’t like thinking of Betsey much. If she were alive, I wouldn’t have this second chance with Colt, but if they had never married, Colt wouldn’t have Willow, who truly was his whole world. “Colt’s proud of Willow too.”
“Colt? As in the Colt?” Adler crowed. Crap. He’d clearly been more sober than I’d thought the night I’d poured my heart out about my crappy history with love after my divorce.
I shot him a stern look. “As in, the father of Hannah’s best friend.”
“Uncle Maverick has a crush,” Hannah shared, and I groaned.
“I do not.” Ever since the drive-in date, Hannah kept teasing me about Colt, and eventually, the wrong person was going to hear. “Please don’t say that around Willow. Or Colt.”
“You make this face when he texts.” Hannah took on the most dopey, lovesick face ever, complete with pouty lips and soft eyes. “You have a crush.”
“Let’s finish the tour,” I urged, needing a change of topic in a hurry. I led the way through the main horse barn. Luckily, we ran into Kat, who was able to answer some of Adler’s nine billion questions.
We arrived back at the ranch house with no further teasing from Adler or Hannah about Colt.
I showed Adler to his upstairs guest room and bath so he could freshen up before we left for the fair. Watching him treat the ranch as a sort of amusement park or museum was cute, a perspective I’d never had. For me, the ranch was an obligation, a responsibility, but never fun .
“I’m going to get changed into my outfit for the rodeo,” Hannah announced as I entered the kitchen, but she stopped partway to the stairs as Faith glided in from the dining room, coffee cup in hand. “Oh hi, Mom! Are you coming to the fair and rodeo?” Hannah rushed over to hug Faith, looking up at her with big eyes. “Please?”
“I’d sooner floss with barbed wire.” Faith grimaced. From behind Hannah, I shot her a warning look. As usual, she was stomping all over Hannah’s enthusiasm. However, my look must have had some effect because she softened her tone as she walked over to her purse on the counter. “But you go have fun. Here’s a card if you want to get yourself something.”
“Thanks.” No stranger to her mother’s credit card, Hannah pocketed it and dashed upstairs.
“You should come,” I said to Faith, pitching my voice upbeat rather than the lecture I ached to deliver. “It would do you good to get out.”
“I’m not ill.” Faith’s pout took on a defiant edge.
“I didn’t say you were.” My good intentions were rapidly evaporating. “I need to talk with you about my meeting with the trust. There’s a cash flow situation.”
She held up a well-manicured finger. “That can be remedied easily with a sale. Developers would love to help us out.”
“We’re not authorized to sell yet,” I reminded her, my stomach churning at the mention of developers. “Speaking of our year agreement, did you look at the school paperwork yet?”
“Can you do it?” Faith flipped her hair over one shoulder. Apparently, she’d resigned herself to Hannah doing school here, but her lack of concern had my back tightening.
I made a frustrated noise. “I’m not her parent.”
“Just show me where to sign.” Faith gave the same eye roll Hannah did when bored. “Oh, and I’ll be gone this weekend.”
“I’m happy to watch Hannah.” I offered her a pointed stare.
“ Oops. Should have asked.” Faith had all the regret of a teen who’d failed to ask before borrowing the truck. “Sorry. You’re a good uncle.”
“I’m trying.” I exhaled hard, slumping against the fridge, a world of meaning in that short sentence. “You need help, Faith.”
“I need out of Colorado.” She swept toward the stairs, hand waving me off. “Have fun at the rodeo.”
I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to have fun with ranch problems mounting and Faith falling apart, but I owed it to Adler and Hannah to try. At least there was the prospect of seeing Colt, however brief and public, to brighten my thoughts.