Twins For The Rancher. Trish Milburn

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      Evidently getting the message that he wasn’t going to make any more progress today—professionally or otherwise—Tim gave a nod of his own and headed for the exit. Halfway there, he turned and took a few steps backward as he scanned what would become the dining room.

      “Can’t wait to see what you do with the place.”

      After he left, she was hit with just how much work she faced before decisions such as which food vendors to use made any sense. And none of that work was going to move to the “completed” column if she didn’t get to it. She rolled up her sleeves and took another step toward her dream.

      * * *

      IT WAS TIME for Adam Hartley to stop stewing over the potential customer he’d lost and forge ahead. His family had been understanding of the time and funds he’d put in to the branded-beef operation so far, but each day he wondered when that understanding would disappear. Everything his siblings did in addition to their regular ranch duties added to the Rocking Horse Ranch’s bottom line. Sure, Sloane’s camps for underprivileged kids cost money, but those funds were now coming from the product endorsements her new husband, Jason, had signed after winning the national title in steer wrestling the previous winter.

      Adam kept reminding himself that big rewards required big risks. He just hoped his risks ended in the types of rewards he envisioned.

      At the sound of the front door opening, followed by fast-approaching footsteps, he looked up from the list of possible customers throughout the Hill Country and into Austin.

      “I have great news,” Angel said as she darn near slid into the dining room like Tom Cruise in Risky Business.

      “You sold some photos?” His sister was slowly gaining recognition for her beautiful photos of ranch and rodeo life.

      “No, great news for you.”

      He leaned back in his chair. “I could use some of that.”

      “I just heard from Justine Ware that the Brazos Baker is opening a restaurant here in town.”

      “Who?”

      “The Brazos Baker, Lauren Shayne.” At what must be a confused look on his face, she continued, “She has a cooking show on TV. Mom watches it all the time. She has a magazine, too. Some cookbooks. And now she’s planning to open a barbecue restaurant in what used to be Otto’s.”

      No, anywhere but there.

      Part of him was excited to have such a high-profile prospective customer, but he’d had his eye on that building for a while. His imagination had seen it as a mercantile filled with Rocking Horse Ranch–branded products—prime steaks from their herd, Ben’s hand-tooled saddles and leatherwork, Angel’s photographs, his mom’s chocolate cake. He’d seen it all so clearly—except for the money to make it possible. The branded-beef operation was supposed to fund those big ideas, but he needed time for it to grow. Time he evidently no longer had.

      He had to stop investing so much time and energy in the cart before he could even afford the horse. But maybe, despite the disappointment, this opportunity would help him take a leap forward toward the eventual goal. A goal that would now have to reside somewhere else, though at the moment he couldn’t imagine where.

      Still, the prospect of supplying not only a restaurant of that size, but also one operated by someone famous felt like Christmas presents for the next decade dropped into his lap.

      Angel motioned for him to stand. “You need to go shower and put on clean clothes.”

      “Um, why?”

      “Because when I came through town just now, I saw vehicles at the restaurant. She’s probably there right now, just waiting to hear all about awesome locally grown beef.”

      A shot of adrenaline raced through him. When he started to gather the papers strewn across the table, Angel waved him away.

      “I’ll take care of this. Go on.” As he headed toward the bathroom, Angel called out, “Oh, and tell her Mom loves her show. Maybe that will win you brownie points.”

      Adam raced through his shower and getting dressed. Before hurtling out the door, however, he decided he should learn a little bit more about this famous cook before showing up to meet her unprepared. He couldn’t blow his only shot to make a positive first impression. He opened his laptop, which Angel had deposited in his room, and did a search for the Brazos Baker.

      A quick web search brought up her page. He wasn’t prepared for the beautiful, smiling face that greeted him. With that long, straight blond hair and those pretty blue eyes, she looked one part model and one part girl-next-door. He wasn’t a viewer of cooking shows, but he had to admit the deep-dish apple pie in her hands made his mouth water.

      He forced himself to navigate away from her photo and read about how she got her start—learning from her grandmother, entering 4-H baking competitions, publishing her first cookbook when she was only twenty. Lauren Shayne appeared to be a lot more than just a pretty face.

      Nowhere on her site was there any mention of plans for a restaurant, but perhaps that was under wraps. Well, it would be until the Blue Falls gossips got hold of the news, which they probably had ten seconds before she’d even rolled into town. The fact his sister had already found out and blown in like a storm to tell him was proof enough of that.

      Not wanting to delay contacting her any longer, he shut down his computer and headed out the door. As he drove toward town, he couldn’t keep his imagination from wondering what it would mean to have his family’s beef used by a celebrity. Would she mention it on her national television program? The possibilities began to supplant some of the disappointment over her choice of building.

      His mind skipped ahead to Rocking Horse Ranch beef appearing on the menus of fancy hotels and the catered events of the increasing number of actors and musicians calling the Austin area home. A flash of brown on the side of the road intruded on his daydream a moment before a deer jumped in front of his truck.

      He hit the brakes and tensed less than a breath before the unavoidable thunk and jolt as he hit the deer dead-center. His heart was still racing when the hiss of steam rose from his radiator. There were times when Adam thought his family’s motto should be One Step Forward, Two Steps Back. Why did that deer decide today was the day he couldn’t handle the pressures of life anymore and taken a flying leap in front of a pickup truck? A truck Adam had bought used and finally managed to pay off exactly one week ago, just in time for its tenth birthday. And as a bonus, it appeared his air bags were not operational.

      After turning on his hazard flashers, he stepped out onto the pavement to verify the deer that had gotten knocked into the ditch was indeed dead. One look was all the confirmation he needed. Same with the front grille of his truck. With a sigh, he pulled out his phone and dialed Greg Bozeman and his always-busy tow truck.

      Half an hour later, instead of introducing himself to Lauren Shayne and singing the praises of his family’s locally raised beef, he was at Greg’s garage, waiting for the man to tell him how much the tow and repairs were going to cost him.

      He considered buying a bag of chips from the wire rack to calm his growling stomach, but he figured that was a buck he should save.

      Greg stepped through the doorway between the repair bays and the small office of the garage, which had been in his family for as long СКАЧАТЬ