“Well,” Mrs. Sabastian continued, “it seems Nicholas isn’t too pleased that his son hasn’t found himself a wife and started a family of his own yet.”
Hearing this, Kara’s stomach dropped. “And?” she said, not liking the sound of her own low tone.
Mrs. Sabastian leaned closer to her. “And Wilbert let it slip that he’d convinced his brother Nicholas the second to push his boy into marriage by writing it into his will that if the boy wasn’t married before the end of the year after his death, the ranch would default to Wilbert and his son, Willy.” Mrs. Sabastian smirked. “Like those two would ever deserve what Nicholas and Nicky have worked hard all their lives for.” She made a tsking sound as she shook her head.
Kara swallowed and glanced out the windows. “Does Nick know about this?”
“I would think not,” Mrs. Sabastian said. “I’m not even sure Nicholas really did change his will. Not for sure. You know how Wilbert and Willy can be.”
Willy, or Wil as he demanded to be called, had been the star player in both football and baseball. At one point, he’d asked her out on a date, and she would have said yes if Liz hadn’t warned her about a rumor going around that he and his buddies had a bet on who could have sex with her first.
That year, she hadn’t dated anyone. Even though he and his friends continued to ask her out.
After that, she’d started seeing through Willy’s facade. He was a jerk to anyone weaker or smarter than he was. He was rude to the point of crudeness towards women. Most importantly, he was such a jerk to Nick that it infuriated her.
Was this what Nick was upset about? Was he worried that all his dreams would disappear just because he wasn’t married? Was that why he was so interested in her place? She stiffened at that thought. Then she froze in place when she thought about why he was being so much nicer to her lately. Did he think she was the answer to his problems?
ChapterSix
“Be careful,” Nick said for the second time as he helped his father into the house. Lenny and Squiggy tried to scoot in before them. He snapped his fingers, and both dogs sat down and waited for their turn.
“I can only be so careful,” his father said, and then he coughed several times.
Nick helped him sit in his favorite recliner. His dad was hooked up to an oxygen machine, so Nick set it beside the chair. The dogs settled at his father’s feet, as if understanding they were needed there.
“Do you want some water?” he asked, only to be waved away.
“I’m fine, just hand me the remote,” his father answered. “Then you can go out and do your chores.”
Nick didn’t want to leave his dad there alone, but it had been two days and he really needed to check in with his foreman, Daryl Conrad. The man had been working on the Howe ranch since before Nick was born.
Nick and his father trusted Daryl with every detail of running the massive place.
“Call me if—” Nick started, only to have his father wave him away again.
“Don’t forget to check in on the Montgomery place,” his father called after him as he walked out.
Nick wanted to tell his dad that there was no way he’d forget to go see Kara, but he figured his father already knew that. Was his dad serious about selling the ranch to Wilbert?
How the hell was he supposed to find a wife by Christmas? For the next two hours, he toiled over that question. Every time he thought about it, he came to the same conclusion. Kara.
By the time he rode his horse Bolt towards her ranch, the snow was falling, and he was pretty sure his first step should be to ask her out on a date. Which meant he had to grow a pair of balls on his ride over there.
He was halfway across her field when he noticed her riding towards him from her side field. He pulled Bolt to a halt and waited for her to stop next to him.
“How’s your dad?” she asked him, a little breathless. She wore a wool beanie, and her hair was in a thick braid that lay over her shoulder. She had on a heavy coat, gloves, leather chaps over jeans, and riding boots. Her cheeks were pink, showing signs that she’d been riding for some time in the cold.
“At home, resting,” he answered. “Out for a ride?”
She nodded. “Care to join us?”
They pulled the horses to fall in step with one another and headed off towards the far field.
“How have things been over here the last few days?” he asked.
“Fine,” she answered quickly. “No issues. How are things at your place?”
He shrugged. “Had a busted pipe in the well house. Daryl and the guys fixed it up. Got a few new goats.”