“How does that work?”
“Ruby.”
The dog met Justin’s glance. He clicked and gave her a treat.
“That’s great.”
Justin nodded.
So, obviously this
whole connecting-with-kids thing wasn’t easy. Shane’s respect for Brandee’s dedication grew. He shifted forward in the chair, propped his forearms on his thighs and mashed his palms together.
“She made me do dishes,” he murmured. “Can you believe that?”
“Who did?”
“Brandee. She’s always making me do stuff I don’t want to.”
“That sucks.” Justin cast a sidelong glance his way. “Why do you do it?”
“Because she’s pretty and I really like her. I’m not sure she likes me, though. Sometimes I feel like no matter what I do, it’s not good enough, ya know?”
“Yeah.” More silence, and then, “It’s like that with my dad. He makes me play football, but I hate it.”
“My dad was the same way.” After all these years, Shane couldn’t believe he still resented his father, but the emotion churned in him. And really, it was all about not being good enough in Landon Delgado’s eyes. “He expected me to follow in his footsteps and take over the family ranch, but I hated it.” And in a community dominated by ranching, it felt like treason to criticize your bread and butter.
“What did you want to do instead?” Justin was showing more interest than he had a few seconds ago.
“I dunno. Anything but ranching.” Shane thought back to when he’d been Justin’s age. There wasn’t much he’d been interested in besides hooking up with the prettiest girls in school and hanging out with his friends. He could see where his dad might’ve found that frustrating.
“So what do you do now?”
“Still have the ranch. And I develop properties. Heritage Estates is mine. And right now I’m working on a luxury hotel outside town called The Bellamy.”
Justin’s eyes had dimmed when Shane admitted he still had the ranch. “So you did what your father wanted you to do after all.”
“The ranch has been in my family for almost a hundred years,” Shane explained, deciding he better make his point awfully fast or he’d lose Justin altogether. “It wasn’t as if I could walk away or sell it after my dad died. But I found a way to make it work so that I can do what I want and also respect my father’s wishes.”
“It isn’t that easy for me.”
“What do you want to do instead of playing football?” Shane asked, even though he already knew the answer.”
“Play guitar and write music.”
“Sounds pretty cool. How long have you been into that?”
“My dad gave me the guitar for my birthday a couple years ago.”
“If your dad didn’t want you to play the guitar, why did he buy you one?”
“He’d rather I play football,” Justin said, his tone defensive and stubborn.
“Do you know why?”
“Because he did in high school and he got a scholarship to go to college.” Justin gave a big sigh. “But I’m not that good. No college is going to want to put me on their team.”
“Maybe your dad is worried about paying for your college?”