Life After Wife (Three Magic Words Trilogy, #3)(44)

“I’ll miss you so much,” she said.

“And I reckon I’ll miss the ranch, but it’s time for me to step down. Like I said, Elijah is doing a fine job and, with you to partner with, the two of you are going to make this place into something really big. Maud and Jesse would be proud.” He picked up his hat from the back of his chair, crammed it down on his head, and left as if he were going out to check on the cattle.

Sophie brushed a tear from her cheek and sat back down at the table. “What’s with the paper?” she asked.

Hayden combed his dark hair with his fingers and looked over at Elijah.

“It’s like this,” Elijah started. “First of all, before I show you the map, let me explain about Hayden and Tanner.”

“Hayden isn’t going to teach next year, and Tanner’s job disappeared when the cotton farmer sold out,” she said.

“That’s right.” Elijah nodded seriously. “So they are both available to work for us.”

“But we have Frankie, Kendall, and Randy all ready in the bunkhouse,” she said.

“Yes, we do and there’s room for three more out there. The two ranches south of us took a severe hit with the fire. The one right next to us was an abandoned house, and the people who own it were leasing it to the folks south of them. Those people suffered the biggest damage. They got their cattle out just fine, but their house and barn didn’t survive. So they called me the morning of the sale to see if we’d be interested in buying since we have connecting land. The folks between us whose land they were leasing are looking to sell also. Our ranch is this section of land.” He pointed to the map. “The next section is right here. That would be the Garretts’ place. You said you had enough to buy me out, and I have enough to buy you out. What if you bought one of these sections, and I bought the other one. We’d triple the size of the ranch that way. We could run more cattle, get into the hay production in a bigger way, and make a lot more money.”

She looked at the map on the table and remembered what Gus had whispered to her moments before. Could she really take a step that big? Did she trust Elijah enough to pool her money with his? What would she lose if she decided she could not work with the man after all?

She stared at the chart. “How much money are we talking about?”

Elijah pointed at the property due south of them. “These folks want seven fifty an acre if we’ll take it all. This one wants eight an acre. A square mile or six hundred forty acres in each deal.

Sophie did the math in her head. “Just under a million for both sections.”

“Closing costs and lawyer fees would make it pretty close to the whole mil,” Elijah said. “I’ll put in half if you will. Then we can share the cost of more equipment to get the place up and running by spring time.”

It felt right, but that was a lot of money.

“Can I think about it?”

“The sellers are putting it on the market in a week if we don’t give them an answer,” Elijah told her.

“We wanted to buy into the proposition, but Elijah said that two bosses were enough,” Hayden said.

“Most of the time it’s one too many.” Sophie tried to smile, but those big dollar signs kept dancing around in her head in bright neon colors.

“Hungry?” Elijah asked.

“Starving,” Sophie answered.

“Think maybe a western omelet and half a dozen strips of bacon might help you think about it harder?” he asked.

She nodded. “Would we keep the brand the same?”

I tried to buy that land for years, and if you don’t do this, I’m going to sit on the side of your bed every night and pester the living daylights out of you, Aunt Maud’s voice was suddenly inside her head. It’s a wonderful plan, and you’ve got money just molding away in that savings account. If you don’t like it in a year, then sell out to Elijah. And by the way, I loved the party last night. I knew that if you two were pitched into a sinking ship, you’d figure out how to paddle it to shore. Now buy the land! It’s a precious commodity. Ain’t no more bein’ made on the earth, so buy what you can, when you can.

“You can make that decision. I got no problem with the Double Bar M brand.” Elijah pushed his chair back and headed to the stove. All the makings for omelets were still lined up, so he broke three eggs into a bowl, popped two pieces of bread into the toaster, and, without wasting a single motion, had an omelet prepared and toast buttered in record time.

“Thank you, and OK, let’s do it,” Sophie said when he set the plate in front of her.

“That all the time you need?” Elijah was amazed.

She nodded. “It feels right.”

She didn’t tell him that the money she received from her husband’s insurance policy had never been touched, or that her half of the venture would only use up a small portion of what was in the bank.

Hayden and Tanner slapped hands in a high five and then grabbed Sophie in a sandwich hug. Sophie giggled and wiggled free.

“Mercy.” She gasped. “I didn’t see that coming.”

Hayden grinned. “OK, then we move into the bunkhouse today. If we’re out by eleven, we won’t have to pay another motel day, and we’ll be ready for work tomorrow morning.”

Sophie nodded as she stuffed a forkful of eggs, flavored with peppers, cheese, and bacon, into her mouth. It seemed a lifetime ago since she’d put on her black suit to wear to Aunt Maud’s funeral. How could so much happen in a month’s time? The future loomed before her and it didn’t look so scary. She’d made a major decision without shaking in her boots, and she could almost hear Aunt Maud giggling behind her.