Magic Ball: the Billionaire in Ranch

31 The Grateful Benefactor

“Benefactor, huh?”

Noah and Brice sat at the porch in front of the farmhouse. Thomas decided to stay for the night since the house had enough room and space to stay for everyone. Noah made sure of that because he thought one way or another, the boys would end up gathering in the Stream Ranch when they’ve figured out each other’s schedule.

Brice had been the first one to visit and spend some time in the Stream Ranch ever since Noah had begun running it two years ago.

A lot has changed, and it’s not just in terms of building and the animals he’d been taking care of.  

The smoke coming out from their cigarette formed a white line in the air. Leaning their arms on the railings, both of them stared quietly at the view in front of them: the vast greenery of the Stream Ranch and the cloudless, dark sky enveloped in stars shining like diamonds.

“How do you plan on doing that?” he asked Brice without sparing him a look.

Brice took a sip from his cigarette and had it placed between his lips. The stick moved as he talked. "Ranches aren't only for livestock and poultry, you know?" he tapped his stick on the ashtray, "You can also somewhat make use of it for tourism."

“Tourism? Like what, for vacation?” That got Noah’s attention.

Come to think of it, the first ranch he’d gone to can be considered to belong in the tourism industry of the West.

They'd rent out the whole place to leisurely spend time with the animals and bond with his close friends. So, in a way, the place had profited with their entertainment.

“Are you saying I make this place available for tourists?” he said as he slowly turned his head toward Brice’s.

“I’m suggesting it.”

“That’s a tricky thing.”

Brice nodded, “It is. That’s why I’m here as your benefactor. This place has a lot of potential. It’s spacious, has a lot of animals, and the fact that they’re intelligent enough they get along pretty well with people,” he pointed out in detail.

Noah raised his eyebrows, “Coming from you, it sounds like you’re trying to make this entire place into some kind of a farm zoo.” He tapped his cigarette; the ash being blown by the wind. Brice slid the ashtray near him. He completely forgot about it.

“I think I’m not up for that.” It was risky, and that meant exposing his Magic Ball honed animals to a crowd he barely knows of.

Brice made a face that said he’s both disgusted at the idea Noah thought of in his head, “That’s not the point. You’ve got it all wrong,” his hand gesturing in the air like he’s orchestrating something Noah couldn’t understand.

He opened his mouth and took the cigarette in his fingers. Then, he began talking again. “It’s more like letting the tourists experience the rancher’s life. They get to feed cattle and mow the hay. They get to plant the herbage for the animals, go and harvest something to eat, and many more—”

Noah blew smoke out of his mouth and nose, “That’s—”

“—it’s a possibility,” Brice emphasized as he cut him off, “and you’d want to think about it.”

Upgrading his ranch into a tourism site?

The idea’s appealing, but then again, there’s really a lot of serious stuff that needs deliberation, and a lot of things that needs consideration, especially if the exposure of the Magic Ball is at the front line.

First off, there’s tons of money he’d have to spend again. He’d improve the facilities, probably add more lodgings for the guests, add plenty of new animals every now and then. Of course, he’d have to train them first inside the Magic Ball so that he can make sure they’d adapt well with the other animals.

There’s too much to think about when it involves the animals and the special herbage he grew. 

“It’s risky,” he blurted out as he balled his fists.

Brice glanced at it, the confusing coursing his features. “What is?”

He placed the cigarette in his mouth, inhaling a few times, “That’s why I’m offering myself as your benefactor. If money’s involved, I’d be willing to help, just like two years ago.”

Right—two years ago he hadn’t known about a lot of things—heck, he hadn’t known about the impossible: that there’s magic lurking between rocks submerged in a stream in the mountains.

“I don’t know, Brice.” He wasn’t sure what to do.

He’d been okay with making a living through the livestock and poultry that they have been supplying markets and food chains from time to time.

“There’s two types of things you could do with ranch,” Brice began. Noah felt the chill running down his spine as his friend sounded so severe than he had when they last saw each other.

A serious Brice wasn’t one he can’t handle. Noah’s beginning to think that he liked the funny and careless Brice more than this version he had been talking to right now.

“I consulted about experts in the said field, and they told me that there’s two types of ranch: economic ranching and tourist ranching.”

“And?” Noah urged him to continue.

Angelo knocked on the door, a smile plastered on her angelic face.

“I brought you men some wine,” she said, two glasses of wine in her hand.

Brice’s face lit when she placed the drink on the coffee table behind them. Angela snaked her hands on her husband’s waist.

“Whatever are you two talking about?”

Noah had his half-smile on, “Something about Brice being serious for the first time,”

“What?” exclaimed Brice, “I’ve been serious ever since. What are you talking about?” he feigned innocence.

“Yeah?” Angela’s eyebrows lit up as she leaned into his collar bone. Brice planted a kiss on her temples.

“Should I head to bed now?” she asked, her voice low that Noah almost didn’t catch what she was saying.

“Oh. Are you that sleepy?” Brice asked as he closed the space between their cheeks. “Your cheeks are warm.” He commented as Angela smiled goofily.

"You can choose whatever room you prefer," Noah offered to have Wynn and Nancy tour her around the entire farmhouse.

“I mean, I had each room regularly cleaned, after all.”

Raising an eyebrow, Brice said, “You have? Since when have you been a clean freak?”

A low chuckle escaped Noah’s lips, “Ever since you always left a mess in my room when you and the guys hangout over at my place. I’ve had an epiphany since to never let you enter my home ever again,” he glanced at Angela, “and that’s why I had this house made specifically for when they’d want to hangout.”

"Now you're house's off limits?" Brice couldn't believe he'd gone out of his way to building them a place they could spend time at when they’ve figured each other’s vacant schedules.

“Man, I liked your porch back there.”

Noah briefly remembered what happened when Brice got drunk during one of their visits. All he can recall was how Nick knocked incessantly on the door, each bang pounding on Noah’s head. And when he finally turned his knob, a smug Nick greeted him, Brice’s arm snaked on his neck.

Those were the good times when he was still starting with the business, and when things weren’t as risky and crucial as it is now.

“Sounds like you had fun,” Angela commented, making herself comfortable on the chair by lifting her foot on the armrest.

Both their heads turned at her action. “Angela dear, are you seriously going to sleep there?”

“Oh! Would you like a blanket?” Nancy called from behind the door. “I should probably get her one, right, Mr. Martin?”

Noah didn’t turn his head to look at her. Instead, he raised his hand in approval.

“Since when are you even called Mr. Martin?”

The smoke he blew lingered around him, “That’s my last name, if I remember correctly.”

Noah didn’t catch the way Brice’s eyes rolled. “So, about what we’re talking about earlier…”

“The one that has to do with my ranch becoming open to tourists, or the part where you’re about to explain two types of ranches I could profit from besides selling poultry and livestock?”

The door creaked, and Nancy handed the blanket toward a cozy Angela who had used his husband’s lap as her personal pillow.

“That, I assume, is where we’ve left off.” Noah said as he bid Nancy good night.

The girl smiled at him and said, “I’ll be using one of your rooms,”

“You’re always welcome.” His voice was distant, yet his employee didn’t mind it. Nancy knew when to not get into his nerves when she senses that he’s thinking something thoroughly.

When the door closed, Brice tore his gaze back to Noah’s broad back.

“Economic Ranching is what you’re currently doing right now.”

“I prefer it this way.”

“I know. And I can still be your benefactor,” Brice’s hand stroked Angela’s forehead, the young wife’s eyes slowly fluttering close at the gentleness of her husband's touch. His thumb glided up and down on her cheeks. She inhaled at the peace he had brought on her.

“I heard from Thomas that resellers in the market you supply from are really digging your meat.”

“They said it tastes good.” Noah walked toward the coffee table. He grabbed the wine glass and began pouring the red liquid, filling the glass to its brim.

He reached it toward his lips. “What can you say about the meat?”

“Are you kidding me? It tastes superb—” he thought for a second. “It’s like I’m eating chocolate that melts quickly in the mouth. I’ve never tasted anything that tasted on par with Wagyu beef.”

Noah nodded. “I’ll take not of that. Your reviews are a great help.”

“Always here to help you whenever it’s within my reach.”

A smile played on Noah’s red lips as he took a swig from his wine, “How’s your business going on?”

Brice pulled the blanket over Angela’s feet as she drifted further into a deep sleep. “It’s going so well, and I’d like to thank you for that. We’ve recently collaborated with several online shops that wanted their own sites. I’m also currently developing this payroll system for issuing salaries.”

That meant that Brice had been jumping for the past year or so. Noah understood for the fact that it will take several talented and efficient people to make a system work, to the point that companies would even make an effort to buy the rights toward the said system so that they can use it exclusively only for their processes.

“Good, good,” Noah reached him the glass he was holding. Brice clanked it.

Thunk!

Their glasses clashed, the sound hovering above their silence.

“It’s all thanks to that two million dollar you’ve given me that up until now, I still couldn’t understand why.”

Shrugging his broad shoulders, Noah turned toward him and leaned his back on the railings. “I told you, you’ve been with me from the start.”

“And?” Brice challenged as he drank a gulp from his wine glass.

“I’m returning the favor as much as I can,” the gentle smile he had on his face made Brice sigh in defeat.

“I understand. You’ve been this passionate ever since the start.”

From what Noah remembers, he hated the world that he was in. Activities that needed routines. The depiction of an overworked employee that had nothing to do but repeat the same process over and over again—that’s what happened to him.

“I’ll hold onto economic ranching in the meantime. I still don’t know a lot about tourism ranching, and I’m not confident enough to run one.”

“Yes. And that’s what I’ve heard from you earlier.” Brice made sure Angela’s quiet as she had when they slept together. He turned her head in a more comfortable angle so that she wouldn’t complain of a stiff neck the next day.

Noah couldn’t see himself having someone to care for the way Brice cherished his wife.