Dutch
terling had called a meeting and I had gone above and beyond to make sure every member of the Dark Rider pack
was here. I didn’t even know what the meeting was about. Maybe the fact that some of the ranches were having
more financial difficulties than others.
I didn’t think the pack in general was worried about money, but it was our way into the community legitimately.
Most of the town was human, and while there were many shifters who lived here in Winter Fall, if the ranches
went downhill, what would be our cover? It was important that the financial stability of the ranches was fixed and
quickly. It was just something that needed to happen.
Sterling took everything with the same calm he always had. There were many reasons to be jealous of the alpha of
the Dark Riders, but my jealousy always was at the ease at which Sterling saw the world. He didn’t get flustered or
upset like most people. Sure, he had his moments, but in general he just looked at everything as a problem that
needed to be solved and he would solve it.
While he appeared cocky, and he was to a point, it was more just self- assurance that he was going to figure things
out somehow. That cockiness and assurance had been proven time and time again. Whether there really was
something to him picking up hereditary traits that made him a good alpha or not, Sterling was made for the job.
Snow entered the room a few minutes later, and Sterling looked at her about the same way I did. I’d gotten to
know her really well over the past
three years, and I’d fallen for her, though it didn’t seem like us being together was possible. That did not make me
happy.
She came and stood next to me. Snow had told me more than once that she felt safe with me. That made me we
want to ke ep her safe even more. I couldn’t help the way I felt about her. Ever since she had come to stay at the
ranch, I had been interested in her. She k ept to herself and didn’t flirt with anyone. It made her out of reach, which
for some unknown reason made me want her more. Why did we always want what we couldn’t have? And why did
I constantly think I couldn’t have what I wanted?
“Alright, guys, settle down! We have a lot to talk about and I know you have other things you would rather be
doing. I feel the same way. But these ranches need to be taken care of. The first thing we need to do is shore up the
loss in profits we are experiencing through most of the ranches. We need to tighten the belts. All of the managers
need to go over every single dollar that is spent and find a way to do it for less.”
There was consent among the crowd, reminding everyone that they were not alone with the current financial
problems.
“So, what are we going to do?” I scanned the crowd to see who spoke, and saw it was Rodney, a man who was
constantly questioning everything.
While I took offense to it personally, Sterling just acc epted the question.
He had a way of making people feel like they were being heard.
He r eplied to Rodney directly. “What I think we’re going to do, Rodney, is we are going to start offering riding
lessons.”
That was met with groans all around.
I actually thought it was a good idea. Doing some numbers in my head, I saw how it could really make a difference
when it came to revenue. I should have known he would do it again. Sterling was going to fix everything.
Not everybody took it well, though. The immediate outcry was people saying that they couldn’t add to the
workload they already had. It was true that many ranches were short staffed, and part of the reason the revenue
was down because they could not get enough horses. To make the ranches worthwhile, especially when so many
property taxes had to be paid and the overhead was high, horses needed to be in the stalls, making us money.
If we could add another revenue stream, it might just take us out of the dark we’d been in the last year or two. It
was a damn good plan the more I thought about it, and I couldn’t believe the people around me couldn’t see what it
would do to the big picture.
Sterling took it like a champ, like he always did. I didn’t know how he could act so calm in the situation he was in
now. People were yelling about how it was going to destroy their ranch if they had to take time out to do
something like giving riding lessons. They weren’t looking ahead to how much money it could bring in, and that
was half of the problem. I started to get in volved and get some people to shut their mouths. They’d apparently
forgotten they were talking to our alpha, and I was ready to give them a reminder. Sterling st epped in before I
could do anything, though.
“Stand down, Dutch. I understand that people are just worried about their livelihoods. I’m worried too. That’s why
we have to do this. We can’t ke ep going same way we have before. We need to move forward, and this is the way
forward. Cow prices are shit, still, and the breeding isn’t going well. The horses brought in a bit of revenue, but it’s
not enough. We need more. We need this, unless someone has another idea that will help us.”
No one offered any solutions, they never did.
“Who is going to do these riding lessons? Do you expect us to take time from doing our real work to drag pussified
city folk around? None of us want them trampling around in our ranch!”
“My ranch.” Sterling got this smile on his face that kind of made me go cold inside. He took a lot of backtalk,
more than most alphas, I would imagine, but even Sterling had his limits. He was going to get his way and there
was nothing that could be done about it. It was his and our way forward.
“You’ll need to hire someone to give the lessons if you don’t have somebody at the ranch already. I will give you
two weeks, and then I will be advertising for all of the ranches. Just because I called this meeting and wanted some
opinions and feedback, does not mean I’m going to change my mind. This is the way forward. This is my family’s
legacy that I need to continue, and I won’t see it fall. Everyone will get on board or find something else to do. And
I promise it will not be as good.” He said everything with a smile, but, like always, there was a little bit of darkness
in his eyes. I could only imagine what his mind could come up with. Sterling was pretty creative in that way.
It was going to be mighty hard to convince people that the only way forward was to do something different. People
liked to stick to what was familiar.
Sterling dismissed the meeting and came to talk to me. “Do you think they’re going to follow?”
“Yeah, they’re going to follow. I’ve told you before that most of your people will follow you to the ends of the
earth, Sterling. You’re a good leader and they know it.”
“You said most. Do I have to worry about that?”
I shrugged. “Can you ever really be sure about anything?”
“Don’t play with me, Dutch, I want to know the truth. Do you think they will follow?”
I nodded.
“Do you think it’s a good idea?”
“Yeah, it’s a good idea. You might just save us all yet.”
He grinned, and that was why I would always follow him. At the end of the day, he just wanted things to be better
for his people, and there was something so innocent about that. If I got past all of his moodiness, at the end of the
day, he was a good man who wanted to do for his people. A lot of people couldn’t see that, but I’d known Sterling
long enough to know the truth.
“I wish you would tell everyone else that,” Sterling said.
“If I thought they would actually listen, I would. People are fickle and will just think that I am speaking for you.”
“You’re always right, Dutch,” Sterling said before being called away to take care of some urgent business.
“Do you really think that it is a good idea?” Snow asked, startling me into remembering that she was standing right
next to me. She’d been so quiet, and Snow was never quiet.
I agreed and she wanted to know “Why?” It wasn’t just an offhanded question, Snow really wanted to know and
understand.
“We need revenue that we can’t bring in with just horses and cattle.”
“Even after selling Diamond, the ranch is still short?” Snow looked horrified. “I didn’t know the ranch was in that
much trouble. It looks like there is enough business. Is there something else going on?”
I didn’t answer, and she must have taken it to mean I didn’t trust her.
That wasn’t the case at all. A lot of the revenue from the ranch went to the pack, and there had been some issues
lately. She wasn’t part of the Night Riders, but I trusted her. I’d worked with Snow long enough to know that she
was not someone we needed to worry about. Actually, I was going to need Snow now more than ever.
“Do you think you could teach me about riding?”
She looked at me funny, like she wasn’t sure if I was joking or not.
“You know how to ride; I’ve seen you ride many times. What do you need to learn?”
“I don’t know how to teach someone else how to ride.” The ranch really didn’t have enough money to hire
somebody, especially after Sterling hired Onyx out of the blue and was giving him a really decent salary. I was
hoping Snow would take some of that patience she had with the other hands and the animals and use it to teach me
how to be that way. I couldn’t lose her expertise with the animals, so I was going to have to be the one to give the
lessons. She was too valuable as a trainer on Pullers Ranch.
“Why are you so worried about it?”
“I’m not, I just want to do a good job.”
She shook her head. “You know you’re not a very good liar, right?”
I thought I was okay at it, but with her, I didn’t want to lie because I didn’t want to disappoint her. She was
capable, beautiful, and she never backed down from a challenge. It made me want to be a better man.
“It just needs to workout. Our pack needs this, and I need you to help me. Can I count on you?”
Snow agreed, and I was ready to put all of my faith in her. I had already put my love in her delicate hands. I
wished things were different, and she wasn’t so vulnerable. Her memory loss made it hard to move forward. I
didn’t want to take advantage of her, so I had to wait.