Just Gettin' Started: BWWM Interracial Cowboy/Western Romance (Westbury Ranch Book 1) Read Free Page B

guy who has good animals. He believes in quality and I think if you start off with his stock, you’ll build a fierce reputation, but we’ll have to go meet him, and you’ll have to inspect the animals before we finalize the purchase.”
    “Great. The sooner the better.”
    “First, we need to build a pen for them and a barn.”
    “I’ve actually got a plan chalked out for that, and workers are coming in next week to start work on the barn.”
    “We can make the pen ourselves. All we need is a good, sturdy fence that will stand and I’m quite good at that.”
    “Great.” She gazed around. “We should head back now. It’s time to get the horses out, because pretty soon, we’ll have the first person coming in for lessons.”
    Graeme’s eyes were drawn to the lone rider who was making his way to the fence. His horse was beautiful, all white and strong. The wide brimmed hat that covered most of the man’s face didn’t give Graeme much of a chance to see more, but from his carriage on the horse and the way the man’s shoulders bunched under his shirt, he could tell this was a man of importance. “Who’s that?”
    Cullen glanced over. Did he imagine it or did an expression of distaste cross her face? “That’s a fellow rancher. Max Hayes. He owns the ranch next to ours.”
    “So, he’s our competition?”
    “Not really. Max runs a dude ranch, and he’s doing quite well.”
    Graeme winced. That’s what he’d come here to avoid. He didn’t want to shepherd people from one end of a trail to another. Instead, he wanted to raise castle, to handle animals, and to get his hands dirty doing all those things he loved. From the look of the man, Graeme could tell that he hadn’t done a hard day’s work in a long time, if at all. “Should we go over and say hi?”
    Cullen’s gaze didn’t quite meet his. “Why don’t you stay here, and I’ll go and talk to him.”
    She rode off before he had a chance to reply. When she reached Hayes, Cullen didn’t bother to get off her horse. Instead, she remained seated.
    By the way her body angled away from his, and the manner in which she talked, Graeme could tell that they had a history. He was a keen observer of human behavior, and he could tell that these two people had gone through some shit together.
    Was this guy her ex-boyfriend?
    Personally, he couldn’t see why she would’ve chosen him. Hayes looked like a peacock in his white breeches and the brown vest but then, there was no accounting for taste. After a while, Cullen rode back and he didn’t gave her any indication that he’d spent the last few minutes admiring her and hating the man.
    “Let’s go.”
    He felt tempted to ask what Hayes wanted, but Graeme was sure she wouldn’t tell him anything. This was one smart cookie, and he wouldn’t get any information she chose to withhold, but of course, he had his ways. Graeme put the matter out of his mind. At least, for now. “Should we fix up a schedule of our duties?” he asked as they trotted back. “I want to know what I’ll be doing.”
    “Sure. We can sit and talk about it, then draw up a schedule for both of us. Since you’ll be foreman, you’ll also have the additional duty of dividing up the work among the men and making sure they complete their chores. I must say, though, that most of the guys are hardworking.”
    “That’s because you quickly boot out the ones who don’t pull their weight.” When she looked at him, he shrugged. “Not my words. One of your ranch hands told me and he said it in the nicest way possible. Said you drove the men hard, but you were fair and kind, and that was all he cared about.”
    “That’s a nice compliment.”
    “Yeah, it is. And of course, other than your many qualities, what keeps the men here are your mother’s cakes which are said to be delicious pieces of heaven.”
    She laughed and he enjoyed the way she leaned forward. The shirt she wore stretched tight across her chest and he was given a