My hands started to shake. The threat of tears was starting to overwhelm me.
“I’m…ah…” I paused when my voice cracked. I had to clear my throat twice before I could speak again. “I’m heading out today. ”
“Alright…well, I guess I’ll see ya when you get there. I’m sorry, but I need to go, I have another call coming through. ”
“Oh, okay…sure, yeah. I’ll talk to ya later. ”
I hung up the phone with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Why did I get the feeling that I probably just lost the best thing that’s happened to me since the death of my parent’s?
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
JEFF
I couldn’t believe it’s was Tuesday morning, and Mr. Reynolds was heading out now to look at the place. I had no idea where Ari was. She’d been pissed ever since I’d jumped on her about the whole restraining-order shit.
As I headed out onto the porch, I saw a white F 250 pull up.
Motherfucker. He was early, and I had no idea where the hell Ari was. I stepped down off the porch and walked over to his truck. The guy that got out was young.
“Mr. Reynolds, it’s a real pleasure to meet your sir. ”
“How’s it going, Jeff? Please, call me Scott. ” We shook hands and gave each a good once-over. This bastard couldn’t have been more than five or six years older than me.
“I can tell by your expression that you’re wondering who the hell the young guy is standing in front of you,” He said with a laugh.
I smiled back at him. “As a matter of fact I am. ”
“I’m Scott Reynolds, Jr. My father is good friends with Garrett. I’m actually taking over my father’s ranch, so he thought it would best if I came and met with you, to check out your place. ”
“Sounds great. So, you probably know Gunner? Were you at the wedding?”
He started to laugh. “Yeah, I know Gunner really well. We used to be buds when we were growing up. I couldn’t wait for the summers when I knew he was coming to visit. He’s a good guy. I was at the wedding, but I left right after the ceremony. One of my mares foaled, so I had to leave early. It was a beautiful ceremony. Your sister is breathtakingly beautiful. ”
“Um, thanks. She’s pretty special, that’s for sure. Anyway, do you want to head down to the barn, check out the stables, and all?”
“I’d loved to. How many broodmares do you have so far?”
“Right now, I have four. Two of them are on the Mathews’ place. ”
“Are any of them pregnant?”
“One. ”
As we made our way over to my truck, I realized that this guy really knew his shit about horses. He was asking me every goddamn thing under the sun.
“I used to come to this ranch when I was little. I had a friend we called Smitty. He used to come and visit his grandparents here. You’ve really done an amazing job of getting it fixed up,” Scott said.
“Thank you. I appreciate that. We’ve been putting a lot of blood and sweat into it, that’s for sure. ”
“What made you decide on breeding horses?” Scott asked.
I parked my truck as we pulled up to the barn. I turned and just smiled at him.
“My fiancé. She has a passion for horses. She’s really is the one who wants to train them for roping and barrel racing. ”
“Has she ever done either of those?” he asked with a smirk.