Page 55 of Kaden & Keegan
Curtis glanced back over his shoulder. “Your great-granddaughter?”
“Yep. Last time they were down for a visit, she got excited about the prospect of me movin’ up there to be with them.”
So she was speeding up the process. It would be good for Tuck to be around love like that.
After filling two glasses with ice, Curtis poured the tea, joined Tuck at the table.
“Now I know your boys ain’t got no interest in this ol’ ranch, Walker. So who you got in mind?”
Right to the point. That was the way Tuck had always been. Didn’t appear time or age had dulled his sharp edges one bit.
“My nephews,” he said easily, taking a sip of the tea. A bit sweeter than he expected.
“Tells me nothin’.” Tuck grinned, revealing the absence of a couple of teeth. “You got a boatload of ’em.”
“Kaden and Keegan. Gerald and Sue Ellen’s twins. They’ve been workin’ at the demo company for a while now.”
“And they wanna be ranchers?”
“Always have.”
For as long as he could remember, Keegan had been talking about running a ranch of his own one day. And as much as he hated to lose them on his own spread, he knew this would be the perfect opportunity for them. Plus, it would help cement them back in Coyote Ridge, where he hoped the rest of the family would soon move back to. Curtis had been working on Gerald for a time now, trying to convince his older brother that he was missed. Now that Gerald’s kids were working their way back around, he got the feeling the old fart would be here before too long.
“I’m gonna bring them by tomorrow,” Curtis told Tuck. “After church. Let them do the hagglin’ with you.”
“Ain’t no hagglin’ necessary, Walker. It’s theirs if they want it. Can’t ever repay you for what you did for me and mine back in the day. Only right that I return the favor.”
Curtis grinned. “I’m not lookin’ for a favor, nor do I want repayment. You tell ’em the price, deal with them on it.”
Tuck nodded, his gaze swinging to the back door, which was also open. “I’m gonna miss this ol’ place, Walker. But it’s time. I need to be around my kids and my grandkids. For as long as I’ve got left.” He turned back to Curtis. “But it ain’t what it used to be. Needs some work.”
“They’ve got strong backs,” Curtis assured him.
“They married?”
“Nope. One day, though.”
Tuck grinned. “They young’n’s?”
“Old enough to know better. Fine boys, though. You’ll like ’em.”
Tuck nodded. “I just want it to be in good hands.”
“It will be. That I can promise.”
Curtis could’ve easily bought the place himself, found a way to work the land or rent it to a rancher to run cattle. He’d considered it, too, while he’d been waiting for Keegan to bring it up. According to Sawyer, the boy hadn’t known it was going up for sale, which explained why Curtis hadn’t heard anything from him until this morning.
Now that he had, he knew it was exactly where Kaden and Keegan needed to be. This was where they would settle down, find what they’d spent a lifetime looking for.
It was nothing less than what every man deserved.
*
Bristol realized as soon as she arrived at the park for the auction that she should’ve told Bianca she couldn’t make it. No matter how hard she tried not to notice the fact that Kaden and Keegan were surrounded by beautiful, intelligent women, she couldn’t stop herself from daring a peek in their direction. Every so often she would catch Kaden looking her way, but never Keegan.
Well, not until a moment ago, and the anger she saw in his eyes was not something she recognized on him. Keegan Walker was the one who smiled and laughed, joked and teased. Rarely was he ever serious, to the point she had wondered if he was even capable of it. After their encounter the other night, she knew there was something dark lurking behind those smooth grins and that jovial laugh. And it appeared their falling-out wasn’t doing anything to improve his attitude.
She’d spent last night and most of today doing her best to put the encounter out of her mind, reminding herself time and again that they were now out of her system and she would not be returning for seconds. Not even if Keegan apologized for being rude and she got over the fact the entire town would look down their noses at her.
