Stealing Hearts (Wild at Heart #1)(4)
“I agree.”
“And if he moves out, that’s even better because then you could have the cabin.” Beau’s been living in a camper on our property, but he works his ass off on the ranch and at the firehouse. He deserves a place of his own. “I’ve never known Frank to be an asshole like this.” Which leaves one other suspect. “What about the McAllisters?”
Beau’s quiet a stretch. “Cash has a bone to pick with you, so I’d say he’s a good bet.”
That asshole. I grind my teeth as I think about the last time we got into it.
Once Beau and I finish inspecting the rest of the fence, we head back to the house. He lifts his chin. “Look on the bright side. At least we caught all of the cattle.”
“This time. We were lucky.”
After I wash up, I grab a loaf of bread and sandwich fixings, throw that on the table, and sit just as our younger brother Jace waltzes through the front door.
“Nice of you to join us,” I grunt.
He flips the chair backwards and joins us. “Sorry I’m late. The traffic from Austin was a bitch.”
“How’d your show go last night?” I ask as I toss him the bread. My brother’s the lead singer for a band. Even though I need his help on the ranch, part of me hopes he’ll hit it big and be able to contribute more financially. Plus, he’s really fucking talented.
I remember what it was like to think I could do something other than herd cattle and shovel horse shit all day. If my brother can make a living doing something else, more power to him.
Jace slaps some ham on his bread. “Great. I slept with three groupies last night.” I roll my eyes, and Jace chuckles. “Kidding. I only slept with two. But some A&R guys asked for our demo.”
“Good luck. Hope something comes out of it.” I don’t mention how much gas his van guzzles when he drives it all over the state for those gigs.
Beau looks at his phone. “What time is that meeting?”
“Two o’clock. Can you still come?”
“Yeah, I don’t need to get down to the fire station until six.”
Jace downs half the sandwich and talks around his food. “What meeting?”
I scrub my face. “The one where I set aside my pride and beg Harlan Calhoun for a loan.”
He stops chewing. “Are things that bad? I thought with Beau moonlighting as a firefighter, we were doing okay.”
Leaning over, I grab the damn letter from the bank. “Between Dad’s nursing home bill, that second mortgage no one knew about, and my alimony payments, I’m drowning. Shady Pines was gonna sue my ass if I didn’t pay the rest of Dad’s nursing home balance.” It pains me to admit I can’t even buy my boys clothes this summer. Hopefully Amber will use the money I give her for the kids and not her nails. “Dad’s life insurance should’ve covered everything, but he canceled it.” I unfold the paper I stared at half the night. “We have thirty days before the bank forecloses.”
“Shit. Are you serious? You said things were bad, but you always come through.” Jace reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a few hundred bucks. “It’s all I have, but it’s yours.”
“Thanks, bro, but I need more than that. Keep your money. You earned it.”
He slouches in his chair. “Guess this means no ranch rodeos this fall.”
“Sorry. Can’t afford it.” Sure, we might be able to win, but ranch rodeos are more about bragging rights than payouts like the regular rodeo. And I can’t justify the expense of entering.
“Damn. I was really looking forward to kicking the McAllisters’ asses again.”
That’s always a highlight. “Maybe next year.”
“What about Zey? Is he coming home now? Can he pitch in again?”
Meaning, is our brother Isaiah returning now that Dad has passed? “I talked to him last week. He’s in some hellhole in Ecuador doing God knows what. Probably teaching people how to BASE-jump off cliffs into a kiddie pool. But he’s in the middle of some ‘personal crisis’ he was too cagey to explain and says he needs a little time to work through some red tape. Maybe he’ll be back before Christmas. Except we need the money now.”
I can’t be pissed at Isaiah. He’s pitched in financially more times than I care to remember. Considering our father disowned him, I’m just grateful he didn’t disappear altogether.
Jace makes another sandwich. “Too bad Mav has one more year of college. If he could get drafted, we’d be set.”
Our youngest brother Maverick is a hell of a football player. He’ll be a senior at Lone Star State this fall. “I don’t wanna take his money either, but yeah, a little liquidity wouldn’t hurt. We could pay him back.”
“Why didn’t he go for the draft this year? I mean, the Broncos just won a national championship.”
“He needs his degree.” I take a swig of root beer that reminds me of my best friend Danny, and the thought of him only makes me feel worse. I don’t let myself think about his little sister, who I haven’t seen in years. I’m failing in all the ways that matter, and Paige is just a reflection of that. “No one is guaranteed shit in the NFL. At least with a degree, Mav will have options if the pros don’t work out for him.”