EPILOGUE
One year later…
“A family reunion?” Jared Walker dropped into the chair in his office and stared up at the ceiling, cell phone to his ear. “Are you fucking serious?”
For the past half hour, Jared had been humoring his cousin Travis, listening to the spiel as to why it was time the Walker family had a reunion. The last thing Jared had time—much less patience—for these days was some big-ass family get-together. At thirty-six years old and divorced, it was enough for him to deal with the day-to-day of Walker Demolition, along with being a single dad to a three-year-old little boy.
“Very,” Travis confirmed, his tone gruff. “And I want it to take place next month.”
Next month? The guy was getting laid too damn much these days, because now he’d lost his fucking mind and become far too optimistic. Maybe there was something to be said about the whole bisexual thing. “I think we need to be a little realistic here,” Jared added.
“How long do you think it’ll take to prepare?” Travis questioned, sounding genuinely curious.
Jared had no clue. He wasn’t a goddamn party planner. “Do you even know where we’re gonna have this thing?”
“Yep.” The certainty in Travis’s voice gave Jared a small measure of assurance. At least his cousin had looked that far into it.
When he realized Travis wasn’t going to share the details, Jared sighed. “Where, Travis?”
“Dead Heat Ranch.”
“I don’t even know what that is,” Jared admitted.
“It’s owned by some of Cheyenne’s family,” Travis told him, referring to Travis’s brother Brendon’s woman. “Beyond that, I ain’t got shit. I need you to call them, set it up.”
“Me?” Jared sat up straight. “What makes you think I’ve got time to deal with this? Do you know how much business Walker Demo has at the moment?”
Travis chuckled.
Okay, so maybe he did. Jared knew that Travis probably had a finger on the pulse of every damn thing that went on with Walker Demo, not to mention the resort. And probably even the entire town of Coyote Ridge, Texas, to boot.
Unfortunately, they weren’t as busy as Jared would’ve liked. For months on end, they’d been going ninety to nothing, and all of a sudden things had slowed drastically.
“Fine. We’re not that damn busy, but still. Why me?”
“’Cause you’re closer to everyone.”
It was Jared’s turn to laugh. “That’s horseshit and you know it.”
“But it sounded good, didn’t it? Look, Gage just walked in, and I’ve gotta take care of some shit. You got this?”
Another frustrated sigh escaped him, but Jared found himself nodding. “Fine.”
“Thanks. Call Cheyenne or Brendon, get the information. Let me know if you need anything.”
Jared didn’t bother responding. He hung up the phone and dropped his cell phone on his desk, then put his head in his hands and tugged at his hair. On top of everything, he needed a damn haircut.
He sighed.
Honestly, this was the last damn thing he needed right now, but it would help to keep his mind occupied, so that was something to look forward to. When business slowed, that was when his mind started wandering, and that was never a good thing.
Ever.
Jared sat up straight and took a deep breath. Fine. He’d do it. And if Travis wanted this shindig to take place next month, Jared needed to get started now. Reaching for his phone, he had just palmed it when it vibrated. He glanced at the screen and saw that it was Cheyenne Montgomery, the very person he was about to call.
He stabbed the screen to answer, then put the phone to his ear. “Lemme guess, Travis called you?” How that was even possible with only a minute or so passing since Jared had hung up with him, he didn’t know. Then again, this was Travis Walker. The guy was quite possibly not human.
Cheyenne’s husky chuckle made him smile. “Of course he did.”
“And to think, he told me to call you.”
“You know Travis, always makin’ sure things go the way he wants them to.”
Exactly. Which was the very reason Travis should be handling this shit. “I don’t know why he’s trusting me with this,” Jared told Cheyenne. “I get the feelin’ he’s gonna handle most of it on his own, anyway.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Cheyenne said. “Rumor is, now that he’s got two rug rats at home, he’s havin’ a hard time keepin’ his head on straight already.”
That didn’t surprise Jared one bit. Travis Walker wasn’t the easiest guy to get along with, and frazzled seemed to be the constant state he was in. Although he had toned down somewhat in recent years, which was a relief to everyone.
“I’ve got the number for you. Got a pen?”
Jared grabbed a pen. “Yeah.”
He scribbled the number on his desk calendar as Cheyenne rattled it off. “You’re gonna want to talk to Hope Lambert.”
“Got it.”
“She might have one of her sisters handle the details, but she’s the best one to talk to first. They’ll walk you through everything you need to know.”
“I’ll call her now.”
“I’d offer to help, but I’m gonna be on the road for the next month.”
Shit. That reminded him that he needed to try to coordinate schedules. A month wasn’t nearly enough time to put this together and expect anyone to show up. Maybe he’d push it out a little.
“I’m sure I can handle it,” Jared told her. “But if you could send me your tour dates, that’d help.”
“I’ll get them texted to you ASAP.”
“Is this place close?” he asked. “This Dead Heat Ranch?”
“Not far. ’Bout half an hour from here, I’d say. In Embers Ridge. You know the place?”
“Yeah,” he lied. He didn’t know the place, but he figured a map would tell him. “You know why Travis picked it?” Jared hadn’t wrapped his head around that part yet.
“You’ll see when you call them.”
Jared did not like the sound of that. “Should I be worried?”
“Nope. Just make sure you’re clear on how many days you want.”
“Days?” He flopped back into his chair and closed his eyes. “I thought this was a family reunion. An afternoon barbecue or some shit.”
Another giggle sounded from Cheyenne. “I wish it were that simple. This is a dude ranch, Jared. My guess is Travis is lookin’ for a solid week.”
Dude ranch? Week?
The fuck?
He sighed again, this time in resignation. He wasn’t going to get out of this, so he might as well step right in the shit and get moving.
“All right, I’m gonna call this Hope Lambert and see what she says. I’ll let you know.”
“Have fun!”
Right. Fun.
Because that was exactly what this wasn’t going to be.