Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32454 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 130(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32454 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 130(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
The ranch had been earning its keep for as long as he could remember. The Marino name and brand was one that rivaled most in the state. The legacy that had been handed to him was one he intended to hand to his son or daughter.
Just thinking about the children he and Peyton were going to have reminded him of this morning, spilling his seed inside her. Today, he got to see it dripping from her pussy, and it was a pretty sight to see. He just couldn’t resist teasing her, drawing it across her ass, knowing he was going to claim her ass soon enough.
She climbed back into the truck, and her cheeks were lovely and flushed.
“You loving it?”
“Yeah, I am. I had no idea you had so much land.”
“Ranching has been in my family for many generations. My father always told me the ranch had to come first.” Well, the protection of the town came first, and the ranch was a part of that.
“It’s like a huge piece of history is attached to your land,” she said.
“Yeah, it is.”
“Do you like ranching?”
“Yeah. There is nothing quite like being in the open country, you know, smelling that air. Of course, the cow shit smell is disgusting, and there are parts of it that suck. Sick cows, poachers, that kind of thing. We don’t get many poachers anymore.”
Anyone who did attempt to steal from him ended up dead. He hadn’t dealt with a poacher in a few years.
They rode along the fence. Usually, he did this on his horse, but with how cold it was and the fact Peyton couldn’t ride, he wasn’t going to make her nervous. Partway down the west side of the fence, he saw a break in one of them.
“Shit,” he said.
Pulling his truck to a stop, he parked the car. “Do you want to help?”
“Yeah.”
He loved her excitement.
Climbing out, he got the wire and his tools, and with Peyton’s help, he changed the wire that had snapped and made sure to remove it so none of the cows would get tangled up in it. He’d done that once when he was a boy—left the wire, and one of the calves got caught up in it. His dad made him sit with that cow for two weeks until it had fully healed. He learned his lesson and never left shit lying around again.
Once the fence was fixed, he tossed everything into the back of the truck and climbed inside. Peyton did the same. After checking all the fences, then responding to a call from one of his men, he checked on one of the cows that didn’t look so good. Before they drove back to the ranch, they called the vet, and he got one of his employees to take the cow to a holding shed where they could care for the cow properly.
Arriving back on the ranch, he saw that several of his men were climbing into their cars and heading out.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
He checked his watch and saw it was a little after five. “They’re heading to the diner.”
“Why?”
“Since my mom died, we stopped feeding them on the ranch.”
“You have?”
“Yeah. Didn’t have a cook willing to make so much food in one go. William comes out when he can, but he also makes them go to the diner.”
Peyton frowned. “Do you want me to cook for you?”
“You’re busy at the bakery. That is not going to work, you coming to the ranch.”
“What if I did it in advance?”
“No,” he said. He went to her and cupped her face. “You’re not doing double the work.” And with that, he kissed her lips.
“But it just seems wrong, and they deserve a good meal.”
“They’ll get one. William takes care of them, and I pay for it.” He shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”
He did miss his mother being in the kitchen. The downside to living on the ranch that was handed down generations was the memories. They hurt.
“Do you miss your parents?” Peyton asked.
He stopped and turned to look at her. It was like she had read his mind. “Yeah, I do.”
She nodded. “I miss mine too, and I think it’s scary that sometimes I wish I could yell at them for keeping the trouble they were in to themselves.”
“You think it would have made it easier knowing what they were going through?” he asked.
“No, it wouldn’t have made it easier, but I might have been able to help. They were not bad parents at all. I know Lily-May doesn’t show that.”
“It’s not always the parents’ fault for how kids turn out.”
He saw her smile.
“I think they would have been so disappointed in me for making that deal with you.” She sighed. “But you know what?”
“What?”
“I don’t care. I know deep down that I should care but it was always something with her. She wouldn’t just leave the business alone. I might have actually been in a better place than I am now if it weren’t for her. I might have been able to hire someone myself. I’m running on that thin line. Each day it is make or break.” She sighed.