Alpha of the Ranch

The Deal

The morning air was crisp as Victoria pulled down a bale of hay and tossed it to the side. She threw three more around her, trying to space them out as much as possible. She was always impressed with a few of the guys and their ability to hunk the giant squares so far away from themselves. She wasn’t scrawny by any means; working on the ranch gave her strong, muscled arms and legs as well as a fit body overall. She ate well, so she wasn’t model thin but it all worked for her. Her momma would say she “had all the right curves in all the right places”.

She walked over and cut the cord as the cows moved in to munch. Looking over the pasture she could see Max and Chris letting out the chickens for the day, while Neil and Joe rode the buggy over to the pigs with their feed in back. She suspected Andrew, the last ranch hand, was letting out the steer to join the rest of the herd.

Looking at the sun rising in the east, Victoria took in a deep breath, enjoying the smell of the morning. She couldn’t imagine herself anywhere else but here, working hard. She just wished she still had someone beside her to enjoy it with. She wasn’t lonely, not really, but some moments were just better when shared with another person.

One of the cows came by, nudging her with her head. She laughed and gave her a rub before getting back into her cart. There was still plenty to do this morning.

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By 8, all the animals had been fed. By 10, eggs and milk had been collected for the day and the pigs were moved. By 11, eggs, milk, and some of the meat orders had been packaged and a new order list for the week was created, including orders they’d gotten over night and that morning. At 11:50, Joe reminded her she had a meeting in ten minutes sending her into a flurry of swears that had the guys doubled over in laughter, as she went running back towards the house in an attempt to rid herself of the animal smell.

Unfortunately it was no use. As her boot hit the bottom step towards the backdoor, a car was pulling into the gravel driveway. She grunted out another swear and simply accepted fate. This was who Mr. Oliver Hemming was going to be working with, one way or the other so no sense in dolling up. Plus, he was clearly punctual and if she took time to go shower and change she’d be late. Instead, Victoria wiped her hands on her denim overalls, fluffed up her curls wrapped inside her twisted bandana and let out a deep breath.

Victoria made her way around the house, as the car came to a stop a few feet away from her. It was a sleek car that looked a little out of place on the ranch. It was matte blue and shiny clean, like it hadn’t seen a speck of dirt a day in its existence. As Victoria watched, the front doors opened and two impressive men stepped out.

They were both well-dressed, in button down shirts that fit very nicely and black slacks. The one who got out of the driver seat had on a dark blue button down, and his beautiful aquamarine eyes were squinted as he took in his surroundings. He was tall, but so was everyone Victoria encountered since her staggering 5”2’ usually put her below most peoples chins. He turned his head towards her, pushing his blond hair back a bit, and gave a small smile that definitely made him look more approachable. Victoria gave a smile back before turning to take in the other man.

She was startled to see he was openly staring at her. His jade green eyes were a little wide as he watched her back, shamelessly taking her in without any sense of reservations. His tawny skin had hints of pink at his cheeks, like he was flustered from just standing there. His white button down was tucked into his slacks and he looked well put together; every strand of his butterscotch hair was in perfect place. He seemed just as physically toned as the other man, but leaner and he was just a hair taller than his companion. Victoria was momentarily thrown off as his tongue peaked out and slowly rolled over his bottom lip. She felt herself heat and was immediately thankful that her dark and rich skin tone did not lend itself to blushing.

Clearing her throat, she broke what she realized was probably a very awkward moment. The first man was giving the second an odd look that was a mix of surprise and amusement. She moved towards them, putting on a smile and focusing on the first man who seemed more congenial. “Hey there. I’m Victoria, or Vicky, and this is Borealis Ranch.” She opened her arms wide to indicate the land around them before dropping them back down. “I’m so glad you could make it. I’m hopeful we have what you need, but even if we don’t, at least you’ll get to enjoy some good outdoors right? And it is such a beautiful day.”

There was a pause as the first man seemed to be waiting for the other; he cleared his throat and gave his partner a stern look, but it did nothing. With an eye roll, he looked back at Victoria. “Thank you so much for having us, especially on such short notice. I’m Lucas and my tongue tied friend over there is Oliver. I believe you two spoke on the phone.” He gestured with his head to Oliver who had seemed to have collected himself and even looked a little red-faced. “I know that you said you don’t have what we need right now, but I’m sure we could work something out. We love to work with local, small businesses and supporting your ranch would fit right in." He gave her a big grin.

Victoria felt excitement skitter across her skin. They did well with the market and working locally, but this seemed like it could lead to something big. Possibly the ranch could enter into a contract with them, supporting their business, and providing everything they needed. Speaking of…

“What exactly is your business?” Victoria asked curiously as she motioned the men toward the cattle pasture.

She glanced back when they didn’t respond and saw that both men looked a little dazed, with furrowed brows and slight frowns. She made a face before turning back around and trudging forward.

“We are entrepreneurs. We actually own a business in this town and the next one over.”

“Oh?” Victoria quibed, coming to stop at the fence for the closest pasture. She looked out over the space and took in the part of the herd that was near them, lazily grazing and meandering in the afternoon sun.

Lucas cleared his throat. “Yeah. Have you heard of Horizon Ventures? Or...umm...Alpha Real Estate?” He faltered at the end and Victoria turned to him, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah. Horizon Ventures only in passing, but Alpha Real Estate owns a lot of the houses in and around town. Are you saying those are your businesses?” Victoria looked at him skeptically. There was no way Lucas could be older than 30 so she was very curious how he owned two businesses.

“Actually they are mine.” came a voice from behind her. “They are both family businesses I was given.”

Victoria felt her heart race a little in her chest. The other man, Oliver, had been so quiet she forgot he was still there.

“Well that must be nice. Gifted a whole business.” Victoria turned back to the pasture, leaning on the fence. The idea was ludacris to her, but she would keep her comments to herself. She pointed off to the left a little. “That guy right there would be your steer. He’s the oldest of the two males we have up for harvest soon and the bulkier.”

Victoria thought it was important that people knew where their meat came from, and looking them in the eye was a part of that.

The men were looking at each other and seemed to be having some sort of silent conversation. Victoria wasn’t sure what to do or say since they weren’t talking to her, but just silently around her. Finally Lucas spoke up. “We’ll take it. Think we could add on some other things to the list? We have a big group coming.”

Victoria raised an eyebrow. “More than a steer can feed? Must be a pretty large group.”

“It will be a celebration. It’s a special time of year for our family.” Oliver inputted. He seemed like a very quiet man, as if he chose his every word carefully. Victoria could appreciate that. “We’d love to work with you to supply it.”

Victoria gave a huge smile. She stood up and turned to Oliver, extending her hand. He seemed to hesitate, but slowly reached out and seized her fingers. It was a warm grasp and the feeling seemed to spread throughout her. Victoria frowned down at their hold with mild confusion. When she looked up at Oliver, he had closed his eyes and was taking a deep breath. It was Lucas who broke the awkwardness this time by clearing his throat. When Oliver opened his eyes they were a darker, forest green. Victoria let go of his hand but gave a single clap of excitement. “I love it! It’s a deal!”