Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 84868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Exhaling, I nodded. “If you wouldn’t mind, Gatlin, that would be great.”
Ensley added, “And I reached out to your dad’s clients and got them all rescheduled with you. I also changed his password for his online bank account. I hope that was okay.”
I nodded as I stared at the desk. “Yes, thank you, Ensley.”
When she placed a hand on my arm, I looked at her.
“Are you okay, Colt? This is a lot of money.”
“Yeah. I’ve got a good amount of money put away. It’ll be fine.”
She looked relieved. “That’s good to know. I think you need to talk to your father. I’m sure this is weighing heavily on his mind.”
All I could do was nod once again.
This was my fault. He wouldn’t have had to hire someone if I’d been here. Another thing to add to the growing list.
Gatlin cleared his throat. “I’ll head back to the ranch and start on this.”
I glanced over. “Thank you, Gatlin. I’ll owe you for this.”
He took the list I handed back to him. “I’m not doing it for you, Colt. I’m doing it for Jacob and Lynn, and for my sister. She loves your parents.”
Feeling suddenly more tired than I had ever been, I nodded. “I know she does.”
Gatlin said his goodbyes to his sister and walked out of the office. The room suddenly felt too small. I quickly made my way out, down the aisle of the barn, and outside. I leaned over, braced my hands on my thighs and drew in a few deep breaths, trying to avoid throwing up.
I felt Ensley before she even said anything.
“Are you okay?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “This is all my fault.”
“This isn’t your fault, Colt.”
Standing, I spun around and gaped at her. “How can you say that, Ensley? If I’d been here, my father would never have hired that fucking prick! Let me tell you, if I find out that little fucker stole from my father, I’m going to tear him apart.”
She smirked. “You’re going to have to fight Gatlin for that honor. He’s already called an old college buddy. All he’d tell me about him was that this was right up his alley. I don’t know what that means, but I’m guessing he’s going to track down Ryan.”
I scrubbed both hands over my face. “Fuck! This is such a mess.”
“Do you think your mother knows?”
My hands dropped to my sides. “No. I highly doubt it. My father has never really shared the finances with her before, unless that’s changed in the last ten years. He did say he wanted to talk to me before I came out here, and he stopped talking when Mom walked into the room. I left with them both together, so he never got a chance to say anything else.”
“May I offer some advice?”
Meeting her gaze, I begged, “Please do.”
“Be with your father when you guys tell Lynn. Not that I don’t think she can handle it, she is, after all, a rancher’s wife. But I’m sure this close to their retirement, finding out everything you saved is gone, will be a bit shocking. Look at your dad.”
I let out a breath, then glanced around the area outside the barn. Everything looked exactly as it did the day I’d left. “I thought it would be painful to be back here, but it’s the opposite. Everything looks the same.”
“Your father isn’t much for change.”
A humorless laugh slipped free. “That’s for sure.”
“Is there anything I can do to help, Colt?”
I looked at her…and for the first time, noticed the circles under her eyes. “You look tired, Ensley. How late were you and Gatlin working here?”
“Until four this morning. Gatlin forced me to go home at that point. I slept for a couple of hours, then came back. I found Gatlin still here, working on the outstanding debts. It wasn’t much because your dad seems to pay people as soon as he gets an invoice. It’s just those late ones and the new invoices he’s gotten since. Hay, feed, supplies, things like that.”
“I don’t know how I can repay you both for discovering this.”
“I love your parents, and there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for them. I hate that your dad was so worried it might have caused…” Her voice trailed off.
We stood there in silence for a few moments before I cleared my throat. “I should go check Dad’s stock on everything.”
“It’s good. I checked it all.”
Of course she had. “Thank you.”
“I have to get going. I have a client I need to get to this afternoon.”
She turned to walk away, and I reached for her hand. “Ensley, wait.”
Pausing, she glanced down at our hands.
“Are you free for dinner tonight?”
Her brows drew down. “Dinner?”
“Yes. I’d still like to talk to you.”
She sighed. “Colt, what happened is in the past, and there’s really nothing to talk about. I mean, there isn’t anything you can say or do to change the fact that you left. You’re home now, and the best we can do is try to be friends.”