Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 34931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 175(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 175(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
“Suits and cool offices have made you weak,” Colt McCain said, nudging Gage with his elbow. Standing at six-foot-four, Colt had the same broad chest and narrowed waist as Gage. The two could have been brothers instead of cousins and often had.
“I’ll get used to it. Besides, your ass is just as sweaty.” Gage nudges his cousin on the shoulder.
Gage Gibson happened to be one of the best prosecutors in Texas, if he said so himself, which he often did, even if just to get a rise out of his friends. He’d gotten more criminal convictions than most because he dug deeper, but in the last two years it had become too draining. Weeks of trial for these judges to give leaner sentences. What was the point? He’d thought many times over. He’d been one of the chief prosecutors out of Austin, but politics had begun to shake his faith in the law, so he made the break after clearing out his last caseload.
He traded in his expensive, tailored suit for a pair of jeans, flannel button-down, and a set of spurs. Gage worked his whole twenties busting his ass to land the lead DA position only to lose his passion for it. Still in his prime at thirty-one, he wanted to feel the Texas sun on his face and working up a sweat like his father and his grandfather before him.
“But I handle the heat like a real cowboy.”
Gage winked at Colt, raising his paddle for the next lot of six heifers. Every single cowboy and their hands operated the same way; they pulled out their bandanas from their back pockets and wiped the sweat before tucking it back in. Colt just enjoyed busting his cousin’s chops for leaving ranching in the first place.
“Screw you. I’m ready to get the hell out of here. I’ve got enough cattle to start.” The auction had over four hundred cattle for sale, and he’d nabbed a fifth of the lots. Thankfully, he’d brought Colt with him, or he’d probably have lost some auctions or overspent.
“Not enough to turn a profit this year.” Colt, despite being two years younger than his cousin, owned his own ranch two towns over that saw profits from his first year and on.
“I’m not looking for a profit this year. I’m looking to get back to when my family had one of the largest cattle ranches in Texas.” With a stout inheritance from his grandparents and wise investments he’d made over the past ten years, he didn’t need to work again. But like many Texans, hard work and pure grit were ingrained in each country child from the moment they could walk.
He still owned the acreage from when his daddy tended cattle, but he sold off all the livestock after his father died. The work was too much for him to handle along with his education and practice.
After a night of binge drinking in Austin, Gage’s father wrecked his truck into the lone tree in a twenty mile stretch of road. He’d gone and done something awful before that and couldn’t live with the consequences. Apparently, he’d been seeing a woman who broke his heart when he found out she had someone on the side, so he killed the cheating woman. Ironically, he’d been cheating on his wife with the mistress.
Gage’s mother struggled with the deception and betrayal for years, but his infidelity hadn’t been the only problem. For years, their family name rested in the dirt. Gage had worked hard to wipe the shame away. Once he made a name for himself as one of the most honorable prosecutors around, he felt it was time for him to return to his roots and fix that tarnished Gibson brand.
Sensing the tension rolling through Gage’s large frame, he leaned in and whispered, “Remember, bud. Don’t let your past haunt you. Make smart choices. I say you need eight more yearlings.”
Pissed at the situation his father created, Gage switched his whole life around to become something more, but his heart finally returned home. Listening to his cousin and reminding himself that sons weren’t always like their fathers, he took a deep breath and collected himself.
He’d promised himself that he’d never become a wife-beating, cheating bastard like his daddy. It should be easy because Gage had never been a womanizer, and he wouldn’t start even if he ever got married.
Some things in your youth just brand you for life. The scars of his father’s deceit never left Gage, and he promised to always be the best man he could be. Now he had to finish what he started and get the cattle he needed to make Gibson Cattle Ranch a success.
“Winning bid, number 302.”
Gage looked at Colt’s number, shaking his head. Both men dominated the auction. “Looks like you won another lot.”