Dirty-Talking Cowboy (Kinky Spurs 1)

She finally looked up, gave a sad smile. “I’m sure you’re right about that.”

The despair on his mother’s face gutted him, and that was when he knew why his father had kept quiet. This. Her disappointment would have crushed his father. Like, it would crush Shep if he failed to give the life he wanted to give to his woman.

Jenny took a moment longer, then, as usual, she pulled herself together. “What exactly are we looking at here?”

“We need to find a way to breathe new life back into the company. Which would mean trying to find new customers since I doubt going after old customers will do us any good.”

Jenny pondered. “I take it that would also mean you boys would have to help.”

Shep nodded. “We won’t have the money to hire on new sales people to make that happen.”

His mother eyes turned desolate, also revealing the second reason his father never said anything. To take away his son’s dreams so that he could keep his was not something his father would do. “Is that our only option?” she asked.

Shep inhaled, preparing himself for this blow to her. “Before Dad passed, he was in talks with Clint Harrison.”

Jenny’s brows rose. “What kind of talks?”

“To sell him land.”

All the color drained from his mother’s face, and she barely whispered, “What would happen to the business then?”

“The business would close.” His stomach twisted.

“Oh.” Her voice became low, head dropped, and she sniffed quietly, attempting to hide the tears welling in her eyes.

She stayed that way for a few minutes, likely reconciling this all in her mind. He did the only thing he could do—hold her hand until she found her footing again.

When she finally looked at him, renewed strength appeared in her soft, warm eyes. “I raised you boys here. This is my house. Our house.” She paused, her voice blistering. “But if you think it’s in our best interest, then I’ll move.”

“The house was never part of the deal,” Shep explained gently. “Clint wants the land surrounding his farm for his cattle. We would still keep a good chunk of property that surrounds all our houses and the land my company is on.”

Jenny gave a soft nod, withdrawing her hand from Shep’s. “What does Colin think of all this?”

“He’ll stay on if we give him a reason to stay.” Shep paused, letting that sink in before he added, “This isn’t an easy fix, but I’m doing my best to look for an option so we don’t have to sell.”

“That’s all I can ask.” She patted the top of Shep’s hand. “You’ll keep me informed on how things are playing out?”

“Of course.”

“Good.” She rose, moved back to the stove, and grabbed the wooden spoon. “Now, onto other important matters, tell me about this Emma.”

Shep stretched his back, lacing his hands behind his head, not minding the subject change. “Which traitor told you?”

“That doesn’t matter.” Nash. His mother always protected him. She turned to Shep and waved the spoon at him again. “What matters is that I haven’t met her yet.”

“You haven’t met her because I just met her.” He rose, moving to her at the stove. “If things become serious, you’ll meet her.”

Jenny regarded him then scooped up some soup, offering it to him. “Why are you lying to me?”

He blew on the soup before devouring it. “It’s good.” She stared at him intently, so he sighed and added, “I’m not lying to you. I don’t even know if she’s staying here in River Rock. She’s a city girl, who may very well move back to New York City. So right now, there’s nothing more to say than that.”

Jenny stirred the soup. “Ah, I see, so you’re waiting for the bomb to drop to see if she’ll leave before you actually tell her that you want her to stay.”

“Mother,” Shep warned.

As always, she wasn’t deterred and pushed back harder. “I’m just saying that it’s been a long time since you and Sara broke things off. It’s time for you to get settled, start a family of your own.”

“Mother,” he warned . . . again.