Life at the Ranch

by Malone, Misty

  Life at the Ranch

  By

  Misty Malone

  ©2015 by Blushing Books® and Misty Malone

  All rights reserved.

  No part of the book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

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  Malone, Misty

  Life at the Ranch

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-68259-145-1

  Cover Art by ABCD Graphics & Design

  This book is intended for adults only. Spanking and other sexual activities represented in this book are fantasies only, intended for adults. Nothing in this book should be interpreted as Blushing Books' or the author's advocating any non-consensual spanking activity or the spanking of minors.

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  Table of Contents:

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  About the Author

  Ebook Offer

  Blushing Books Newsletter

  Blushing Books

  Chapter 1

  Bo Hamilton took the steps two at a time as he made his way to the large front porch and knocked on the door. He looked around while he waited. The ranch certainly was impressive. The home was impressive, and the entire spread was well maintained. He understood it was a large ranch. He'd grown up on his family's ranch, which was nice, but not as big or intimidating as this one. He reminded himself that ranch work was ranch work no matter where it was or how large the ranch was, and he was certainly qualified to be a ranch hand. Truth be told, he felt he was qualified to be more than a ranch hand, but he was willing to start as a hand.

  The front door rattled, which brought his wandering mind back to the present, and he watched as the door opened. A man much younger than he expected to see appeared. “Can I help you?”

  “I'm looking for Mr. Wyatt Granger,” Bo replied.

  “I'm Wyatt. And you are?”

  “Bo Hamilton. My neighbor, Clyde Dawson, said you might be looking for a ranch hand.”

  “Bo, come in.” Wyatt opened the door and reached his hand out. Bo shook it as he stepped inside. “I've been hoping you'd stop by. Come on into my office.”

  He led the way into a nicely furnished office and motioned to the two wingback chairs in front of his massive mahogany desk. Once both men were seated, Wyatt asked, “Would you like some coffee, iced tea, lemonade?”

  “I just stopped for some iced tea before I got here, but thank you anyway.”

  “Tell me about yourself, Bo. Clyde told me you've recently graduated from college. According to him you stepped in and ran his place for close to a year when he got hurt. That tells me a lot about you in itself, but I'd like to hear more.”

  “I just finished school, where I concentrated on animal husbandry, and some new, rather innovative ways of improving the soil through managed intensive grazing. I planned on trying to hire on as a ranch hand somewhere when Clyde got hurt. I went over to do what I could to help him, and when he asked if I'd run it for him until he was able to again, I agreed. It was good experience for me. He was there, and we talked a lot.” Bo chuckled. “He pretty much talked me through it. Now I'm back to where I was when he got hurt; out looking for a job again.”

  “He said you grew up on the place next to his.”

  “That's right.”

  “But you didn't want to go back there to work after school?”

  “No, sir. That's my dad's ranch, and my older brother is the foreman. The two of them do well together. I worked there from the time I was barely big enough, right up through the summers while I was in college. But that ranch does well with one owner and one foreman. I love my dad and my brother, and I'd like to keep it that way.”

  Wyatt smiled at the grin on Bo's face. “I hear you, and I respect that.”

  Bo became more serious. “I would like some day to be a foreman, and eventually be able to buy a ranch of my own. Six years of college has taught me a couple things, though. It's not always good to jump in with both feet. The water might be over your head. Sometimes it's better to wade into deep water gradually.”

  Wyatt nodded his head. “I've got a few questions, if you don't mind?”

  “Not at all.”

  “You said six years of college?”

  “Yes, sir. After four years of taking the classes I was interested in, relating to ranching and the animals, I got my bachelor's. Dad strongly suggested I take s
ome business classes so I could make sense of the legal and financial papers I'd run across if I do have a ranch to run some day. It seemed like good advice, so I got a master's in business administration. Those classes weren't nearly as fun, but I have to admit, Dad knew what he was talking about. I would have had no idea how to make heads or tails of the financial reports, or how to even start long-term planning, which I now know is pretty essential.”

  Wyatt nodded his head again. “I couldn't agree more.” He looked at Bo carefully for a few moments. “Let me be honest with you here. Clyde said you took over his ranch and ran it impeccably. He was very impressed.”

  Bo blushed a little. “Clyde is a good rancher and a very nice man. I take that as a compliment.”

  “What did you think of running his ranch; how do you feel it went?”

  Bo was surprised by the question, but answered honestly. “I think it went well. Like I said, Clyde was there, and I talked things over with him first to be sure he was on board with everything, and listened to what he had to say about it. After we discussed things we agreed on how we wanted to proceed, and I followed through.”

  “Like I said, I want to be honest with you. I definitely have a job for you here at The Winding Waters.”

  “Thank you.”

  “But the job I'd like to hire you for isn't as a ranch hand. I need a foreman.” Wyatt watched as Bo swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “I've talked to Clyde about it, and he thinks you can do it. After talking to you, I agree. You look stunned, and I understand that. What do you think?”

  “I am stunned. I have some questions, some reservations.”

  “Ask anything you want. What are your reservations? Maybe we can clear them up first.”

  “Why? I mean, I wasn't aware you were looking for a foreman. If you do need one, why are you not promoting one of the hands?”

  “I know that's the normal protocol, but to be honest, I don't feel any of the hands right now are qualified. Let me explain my situation. You may not be interested after hearing this, but I owe it to you to be upfront and honest before you agree to take it on.”

  “That sounds ominous.”

  “Maybe it is in a way. I inherited this ranch from my grandfather less than a year ago, and to be honest with you, I don't know nearly as much about ranching as you do. Unfortunately, I thought I did. I thought I knew enough to get by. It didn't take long for my foreman, Wade, and the ranch hands to see through my charade. Four of the hands quit within the first few months. Wade replaced them, but word was out by then and experienced hands were staying clear. He had to hire all greenhorns. He questioned my decisions many times, but I played the part of a young know-it-all, and we always did it my way. Last week he gave me his notice.”

  Bo was quiet, listening carefully to what Wyatt was saying.

  “His notice was the wakeup call I needed. I realize now that I've been running this ranch into the ground, and quickly. I took a few days off and left Wade in charge while I went home to do some thinking and talk to my dad.”

  “Did talking to your dad help you feel better?”

  “Dads can be pretty smart. Talking to him helped a great deal. I wouldn't say it made me feel better, but it made me see things for what they are. I'm not a rancher. I used to love going to visit my grandfather in the summers, and I'd stay with them for a month or so. I loved the ranch. But that doesn't mean I know anything about running one. Dad pointed that out to me. He asked me if I wanted to keep the ranch, and make a go of it. That was easy. I want that very badly. All he said after that was, 'Then I think you can figure out what you need to do.' He walked away and left me there, wondering. I spent the next couple days thinking, and he's right. Now I know what I need to do.”

  “And that is?”

  “Find someone that knows ranching, hire him as my foreman, and listen to him. Let him run it, and hopefully he'll let me learn from him. After talking to Clyde, and you today, I think that someone I need to hire is you.”

  Bo shook his head. “I don't know about that, Mr. Granger.”

  “Wyatt, please.”

  “Thank you. I don't know about that, Wyatt. I know a lot about ranching, but not about running one. My only experience as a foreman was that short span, not quite a year, for Clyde. Maybe what you need, if you don't mind my suggesting it—”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Maybe you need to find an experienced foreman that can come in here and take over.”

  “I've thought of that, and I even interviewed two of them the last couple days. I planned on hiring one of them, and hiring you as another hand to replace one of the last two that left and haven't been replaced yet. But after I interviewed them I didn't feel good about either of them. I think you're the man I want as my foreman.”

  “Why?”

  “Both of them were obviously qualified. They came highly recommended. But as I talked to them I didn't feel comfortable. They would have taken over my ranch and left me in the dust, wondering what was happening. To be honest, I'm not sure my ego could handle that. I want someone that knows what they're doing, but will talk to me about it, and at least let me feel like I have some part in it. But it's more than that, Bo. Both of these men were older, experienced men, and they were of the old school. They've done things one way their whole life and that's the way they wanted to continue. I'm very interested in the new things you learned in school. I'd like to talk about them, see if we can try some of them.”

  Bo was starting to nod his head as he listened to Wyatt. “I'm very eager to institute some of the new things I've learned, but we would basically be two rookies trying to figure this out together.”

  Wyatt had a big grin on his face. “I know, and I'm all for it. What's more important, though, is I think Grandpa would be for it, as well. He was always open to trying new things. He used to tell me, ‘Go ahead and try it. You'll never know if it'll work if you don't.’ I want to take his advice.”

  Bo took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Wyatt, I appreciate the offer, but I don't know. I don't know how large this ranch is even, but it looks very impressive. You'd be taking a big gamble on me. I'm not sure if I feel comfortable with that.”

  “I admit, it is a gamble, but it's a gamble I want to take. I just didn't have a good feeling about either of the experienced foremen. I do with you. I want to try some of the new techniques, and I think you're the man for this job. We may stumble along the first year or two, but I think we can figure it out, and three years from now we'll be an unstoppable team.”

  Bo studied Wyatt, and thought about his proposal. “Well, you've definitely given me something to think about.”

  “Good. If you're not ready to accept my offer yet, why don't you take some time to think about it? You've got a job here. I'm hoping you'll take the position of foreman, but the least I want you on board as a hand. Can I count on you for that much?”

  Bo couldn't stop the smile spreading across his face. “You've got my curiosity piqued now. Yes, I think I'd enjoy working here. Why don't you give me a day to consider the foreman's job? May I ask you a few questions before I go and give it some thought?”

  “Absolutely. Ask anything you want.”

  “I've got some questions about the ranch; how big it is, what you're doing here now, what you want to do in the future, how many men are working here, and I guess I need to know what our roles would be as ranch owner and ranch foreman.”

  “All good questions. Let me answer the last one first. As far as our roles, I've learned my lesson. I don't know enough about ranching to try and run any part of it. I plan on leaving the decisions up to you. I'll admit I like the idea of us talking about our plans so I know what's going on and can give you my opinions as to the direction I'd like to see it going in, but I'm serious about leaving the decisions up to you. You know ranching; I don't.”

  “I know ranching, yes, but I have very little experience as a foreman. That's what worries me.”

  “I think we'll be okay. Wade agreed to s
tay on a month so I can find a replacement and he can train him. There's three and a half weeks of that month left yet. That'll give you time with him, and I think you'll pick up on most of what he's doing and how. As for the rest, if you make a mistake here and there, I think we can work through them. Now, let me answer your other questions.”

  Bo listened carefully for the next hour while he and Wyatt talked about the ranch in its current state, along with Wyatt's vision for the future. He asked a few questions, which Wyatt answered completely. The more they talked, the more comfortable Bo felt with Wyatt. By the time he left, he'd pretty much decided to give it a try, but felt he needed to give it some additional thought to be sure he wasn't overlooking anything.

  Wyatt invited him for lunch the next day, which would allow him to meet Wade and ask any additional questions he might have. Bo accepted, telling him he'd try to have an answer for him then.

  He went back to the motel he'd booked for the night and got some paper and a pen. It always helped him to write things down, good and bad, about decisions. Once it was in black and white, it always seemed easier for him to see which made more sense.

  After doing that, he went to get some supper. Later that evening he went over his notes one more time, and called Clyde and talked to him. After that he called his dad and had a long talk with him. When he went to bed that evening he felt good about the decision he'd made. He fell asleep smiling, wondering what it was going to be like being the foreman of a large ranch.

  The next day, Bo had lunch with Wyatt and Wade. He was rather surprised when Wyatt urged Wade to answer any questions Bo had, and to answer them honestly. As they were nearing the end of lunch Wyatt stood. “I have a phone call I need to make, and I'm going to the office in the barn to make it. I want you two to have some privacy to talk. When I get back we'll have our dessert, and I'll ask if you've reached a decision.” He left before either man could say a word.