Page 15 of Knot His Beast
“As long as the fee is still fair, I don’t have a problem with that,” Dad admits. “What else?”
I walk him through the other things the website would highlight, services we can offer, and how it’ll benefit us.
“A website will do all of that?” Dad asks mistrustingly.
“It will. We used to be a household name in the area when I was younger, but for various reasons, that’s changed,” I explain. “The digital world has helped businesses come together, but it’s also buried others.”
“I thought this was about our issues with our neighbors, but this is all really solid stuff,” Dad says.
Yeah, because I decided at the last minute not to discuss any of that with him. I love the man, but he is not cutthroat. He wants to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.
While I appreciate that, some people are simply driven by selfish and evil fuel. I’ll protect my family my way.
“What else is going on in your mind?” he asks, eyes narrowing.
“I want to pitch my services to ranches we are on good terms with,” I say, taking a deep breath. “I’ll discount my fee to build their websites, offer to run and update them, in an effort to push down visibility to the Runway Ranchers. Word of mouth will always remain a way to build a business.”
“This is true,” Dad says, moving to the coffee machine to pour us both coffee. “What else?”
“Why does there have to be more?” I ask, raising my brow at him.
“I’m your father, and while I can be faulted for being too kind, I am not an idiot,” he growls. “You’re up to something.”
“Up to what? World domination?” I ask with a snort, leaning my large frame back in my chair. “Honestly, I think you’ve been binge watching too many shows.”
“The twins have me watching this psychological thriller show,” Dad grunts.
My lips twitch because Margie and Hazel are graduating college this year, yet they have him wrapped around their finger. They both love murder mysteries along with thrillers, and they’ll record their favorites to watch with our dad before he heads to bed.
It’s adorable, though slightly disturbing that they get so excited about it.
“I should have guessed. There’s nothing unhinged about my business plan,” I tell him, grinning as he makes a foul sound.
“The four of you are all unhinged in some way, even the little one,” Dad says, sipping his coffee as he pushes mine across the table.
“At least my plan isn’t against the law,” I tease him.
“Not that I know of anyway. Alright, you said this thing wasn’t live yet. Do your Frankenstein thing and bring it to life then,” Dad says.
God, I fucking love him. A few key strokes push the website visible to the world, and I open an email with some of our closest friends to send it to them with a proposal.
Ready or not, I’m coming for you, mother duckers. Quack, quack.
We just won’t tell my dad about it.
Eight months later
“Did you hear that the Trumaines might lose their ranch to the bank?” Dad asks.
He’s making dinner for us while Margie and Hazel pick Laura up from chorus camp. Laura sings like an angel, and Dad told her the world should be able to hear it for as long as it brings her joy.
No matter how busy he is, my dad is still making sure his kids are happy. I have a feeling my mother is grinning from ear to ear with pride. My father has never wanted to look in the direction of another woman or man, saying he already had the love of his life for sixteen years, he doesn’t want anyone else.
“I did hear that,” I admit to my father.
It’s not just the Trumaines either. There are four other families who are in danger of losing their ranches as well. Apparently, there have been rumors swirling through the community that these families are giving their cattle hormones to increase their weight gain. The issue with this is that while itspeeds up the time it takes for their animals to grow, it also isn’t safe when it comes to selling them for their meat.
Sacrificing the livestock’s health is a huge faux pas in the industry, and if they’re willing to do this, the rumors are flying about what else they’re doing.
