Best Friend's Ex Box Set

I chuckled, “That’s for sure. But now that I think of it, working my ass off never stopped me from finding trouble.”

Joe laughed out loud, “Never stopped me either, boss. Never stopped me either.”

Still chuckling, he walked down to his end of the bar to check on a few customers with empty glasses. I had just poured a few for customers on my end when I recognized a burly figure approaching the bar.

“Michael,” I said, nodding at him as he took a seat at one of the bar stools. “What can I get you tonight?”

“Whiskey. I’m in the mood for some good whiskey.”

I slid a glass full of the amber liquid across the bar top. I had only talked to Michael a handful of times since he had moved here after buying a ranch next to ours. The last time we had spoken was over mending the fence between the property lines after his cows had wandered onto the back part of the ranch.

Age and weather had left their mark on him already, like many of the ranchers around Green Point. I was no different either, with calloused hands and weather-beaten skin.

Michael picked up the glass with an appreciative nod.

“A great place you have here, and a good way to provide jobs for a few folks from what I’ve seen.”

“Happy to help keep Green Point on the map in whatever way I can.”

“The ranch must help keep Green Point employed as well. Everything going okay over there?”

“We were doing fine the last time I checked the books. Were you appointed to ask if Smith Ranch was going out of business since my parents passed away?”

The Staffer ranch in the next town over had offered their sympathies when word spread about the truck accident. Jim Staffer had even paid our ranch a personal visit with flowers and a pan of lasagna from his wife. There was no doubt in my mind that, despite their kindness, they were eager to take over the contracts my ranch still held.

And the Staffer ranch still held doubts in my abilities, it seemed, including Michael who worked with them for a year to learn the ropes of running a ranch alone.

“They were shocked and saddened about your parents,” Michael said. His gaze met mine then. “All of us were. An accident out of the blue like that makes you think about your own mortality, you know? I think we were all just a little surprised about your business move.”

I shrugged my shoulders. When it came to opening the Iron Stallion, I’d never explained it to anyone besides Tiffany. I didn’t want word to get out that my parents’ ranch was more of a burden and headache for me at times. It was a ball and chain in a way, too. It seemed like I couldn’t go anywhere without being called to the ranch for some sort of problem.

“I always had other interests besides just ranching. Like you, I suppose. Ranching wasn’t your first path either, right? You were a lawyer before coming here.”

“Yeah, a damn good one, unfortunately. I had A-list clients from big-time corporations that constantly needed me to get them out of some stupid trouble. You know how much more peaceful it is out here than in a big city courtroom representing some dumbass with more money than brains?”

Green Point was definitely peaceful compared to the hustle and bustle of New York where I had spent the past five years. Dad had never agreed with my choice to live in the city to study business. “You have all the experience right here,” he had said. “What is so alluring about all those buildings around you? It’s a God-forsaken prison there.”

“I gave up the city just like you did,” Michael continued on, sipping at his whiskey again with a sigh, but my face must have betrayed me. “No? You didn’t come back willingly to the ranch?”

A stark coldness washed over me when I thought of Tiffany’s frantic phone call from the hospital in Portland a few months ago. I had boarded that plane from New York with the naive belief that everything would be settled, and I’d be back in the city after a few days. My parents were buried in the hard ground within two days, and the ranches were left for Tiffany and me to maintain.

Green Point was the only one that needed our supervision. The other two had been supervised from afar already, and had trusted ranch hands in place, plus they didn’t have competition breathing down their neck the way Green Point did.

“The sudden death of my parents was not something I had anticipated.”

“I’m sorry, Colt,” Michael held up his hands. “That was insensitive of me. I know that we are only neighbors, but I did care about your parents. They were really good people and were kind to me and offered help, even knowing of my association with the enemy, so to speak. They were good folks, and I don’t want to see that beautiful ranch of yours go to waste with your head occupied over here.”

“That’s why Tiffany is in charge of the daily operations.”

“She spends a lot of time over at Cheyenne’s ranch, too,” Michael said. He took a long sip of whiskey again. “I guess I can’t call it a ranch… The horse sanctuary.”

I turned away to hide the reaction I felt deep in my stomach when Michael mentioned Cheyenne. She and her horse sanctuary were also new to Green Point, and she had already caused a stir among the men in town.

Including myself. The woman was downright beautiful in my eyes. Her tall and slender body always looked so nice in those skin-tight jeans she wore tucked into her boots. I liked the soft flannel shirts she wore and thought a lot about the buttons. Her hair was dark, like midnight in the middle of the forest, and I was always tempted to run my fingers down the long braid she kept it in.

Tiffany promised to try and get a good word in for me, but Cheyenne was already notorious for turning down every single man who asked her out. The only advantage I had was Tiffany, but Cheyenne had kept her distance. The few times she had come into the Iron Stallion had been a little awkward, with Tiffany filling in with chatter as she always did whenever there were gaps in the conversation or someone was otherwise uncomfortable.

“She just doesn’t want a bunch of drama,” Tiffany had told me. “A bunch of guys posturing around would be a distraction, and she is working on her dream, just like you.”