Join ESI or the sheriff’s department.
Both were great, but one held a little more appeal to him. Of course, he’d discussed them with Sadie, who’d readily offered her support no matter what choice he made.
He just needed to make one.
“So, what’s the plan with the ranch?” he asked, wanting to focus on his brother for now. “You’ve been pretty quiet about it.”
Cas looked out over the yard, where guests mingled, children giggled, running around the trees, their dad leaning into Cece, smiling at something she said. “Not sure yet. I do know I want to rebuild the barn and get the horses back in it.”
The morning after the fire, Kade Dalton and Mac’s cousin, Connor McCall, whom Dale and Cas had worked for in their teens, had shown up with a large crew of workers and truckloads of material. By nightfall, a small building with two stalls, a tack room, a loft, and feed storage area was finished as a temporary space for Triton and Orion.
Those two men had always been generous as hell, but this went above and beyond, and Dale’s father had been speechless when he’d seen it.
“I don’t intend to raise cattle. That’s not for me. Might make more sense to sell it, start fresh somewhere else. But the other part…” He shrugged. “It’s home, you know? Feels wrong to just let it go.”
Dale nodded. “The ranch needs someone who cares about it. Could be a good project.”
“Maybe,” Cas said, still sounding uncertain. “For now, I’m just going to enjoy being home. One day at a time.”
He lifted his beer in acknowledgment before sipping. “Speaking of which, how’s it feel to be back for good?”
His brother shrugged again, his expression serious. “Honestly? Strange. Leaving the Navy wasn’t part of my plan, but after how they handled Dad’s emergency…” He trailed off, his jaw tightening.
“Yeah, I tried to reach you through several channels,” he said, exhaling as the remembered frustration flickered to life. “But don’t feel bad. You did what you had to do, Cas. And I think a part of you wanted out anyway. Guilt’s been eating at you for years.”
Cas’s gaze snapped to his and narrowed. “You mean Ricardo?”
“Yeah,” Dale replied, having suspected there was more to the story. “You couldn’t have known he’d grow up to cause trouble.”
His brother blew out a breath and shoved a hand through his hair. “He was just a kid, Dale. I saw him hiding, and I hesitated.”
Before Cas could elaborate Mac, Cooper, and Gabe strolled over, drinks in hand, while Carter took over grilling duties.
The sheriff clapped a hand on Dale’s shoulder, grinning. “You two going to stand here brooding all day, or are you going to join the party? It’s not just for your dad’s return home, it’s for the two of you, as well.”
“Yeah.” Cooper smirked. “Last time I checked, this was a welcome home bash, not a philosophy session.”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Don’t worry, we’re not turning into a couple of theorizers over here.”
“Could’ve fooled me.” Mac raised an eyebrow, glancing between Dale and Cas. “You both looked like you were about to solve the world’s problems.”
Cas lifted a shoulder. “Just talking about life after the Navy. You know, the usual stuff.”
“Which translates to ‘What the hell do I do now?’” Cooper quipped, earning a round of laughter from the group.
Mac and Gabe exchanged looks before regarding him and Caspian closely. “The two of us would be lucky to have either one or both of you working with us,” Mac stated.
“Absolutely.” Gabe sipped his iced tea. “It’s a big decision. No one gets that more than me. I came here to work for Mac and somehow ended up as sheriff. Just got to go with your gut.”
Dale nodded along with his brother. That was his plan.
“My gut’s saved my ass on plenty of occasions,” Cas said.
He and their two buddies agreed, which opened up a discussion of a few of those occasions, and it hit home to Dale just how lucky they all were to still be alive.
Yeah, his gut had never steered him wrong.
Especially where Sadie was concerned. Sure, it had taken him more than a decade to listen, but he was listening now. He was also watching the beautiful woman leave her friends to walk in his direction, a big, thousand-watt smile lighting her face as she caught his gaze on her way over.
