Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 121083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Kitt didn’t respond but scanned the message a couple of times until the stop light turned green. He turned up the volume on the radio and tossed the phone in the cup holder it usually rested in. One thing he knew without question, he didn’t have time for all this right now. If Sean was willing to give him time, he’d take it and pray Sean changed his mind. Kitt liked their sex too, always had, but no way was he ready for any sort of relationship. That wasn’t going to change, not for anyone.
As he wound his way through the extreme downtown traffic, Kitt forced his thoughts away from Sean to focus on monumentally more important things. Like his new colt. Or rather the prospect of his new colt. Kitt had taken out loans and invested in four registered mares. Over the next few weeks, the first of four artificially inseminated quarter horses would give birth on the farm. His father had only run cattle on the ranch, but Kitt took a chance. All four mares had been successfully impregnated and were stabled on the farm right now. If things worked out like he hoped, their newborn foals could easily sell for thousands and thousands of dollars, changing everything for him, his stepmom and two little sisters.
Kitt felt much more on solid ground mentally. No, personal relationships meant very little to him right now. He stood on the edge. He needed to stay focused and on target. One wrong move could ruin everything. The sounds of the Kidd Kraddick Morning Show filled his mind and he ignored everything as he hit Interstate 20 to make the long drive home.
Chapter 3
The newly built, single story ranch style house sat close to dead center of the fifteen hundred acres Austin had purchased a couple of months ago under the disguise of one of his obscure companies. He knew he couldn’t stay hidden forever, but the first twenty-four hours of solitude rocked. He just wasn’t of a mindset to let it go easily.
The original plan had been to throw the media off his tracks by flying north to the Cape Cod area after the Academy Awards. He’d stay a few weeks before secretly making his way back here. As it turned out, he couldn’t wait to be back home, and came straight to Texas. He arrived yesterday about noon, and as he’d driven up the property, the modernized architecture of his new home blew him away. He’d sat through plenty of conference calls and planning sessions over the last few months, but to see the structure come to life was more than he ever expected.
Nothing was ready for his arrival. The compact, yet spectacular house he had built was in the final stages of completion. The touch up work was just now being done. The house combined a beautiful blend of pine, stone and brick. The workers diligently hammered away at the oversized tin roof covering the large wraparound porches on both the front and the back of the house.
Austin instructed his driver to pick up a blow up mattress for him to sleep on until his furniture began to arrive over the next few days. He planned to have everything arrive on a slow scale so not to draw too much attention to who might be taking up residence in this small farming community.
Austin opted for a three bedroom, one-story ranch style house. The rooms were large and designed to be used, nothing like the show places he’d lived over the last ten years. The one thing he loved most about his new home was the large floor to ceiling windows. They ran the entire length of the living room along the back of the house. He could see everything for miles and miles and would never feel caged again.
The icing on his cake was the completely covered, full length back porch complete with a fireplace and a stone walkway leading down to a barely started deck and brand new swimming pool. Austin loved to swim, but rarely got the time or chance. All that would be changing now.
To the left of the back door, a few hundred feet away from the house, sat a brand new horse stable about four times the size of his house. Apparently, in today’s farming world, horses and cattle no longer mixed. The cattle barn loomed straight out in the distance, much further away. Both sported the same design as his home. The place was the most beautiful he’d ever seen. In his heart, he knew that wasn’t true, but he was so happy to be here, alone in all this quiet.
Yesterday, during his first meeting with his new ranch foreman, Austin learned that several hundred head of mixed breed cattle were currently en route to the farm. He’d also purchased five purebred appaloosas scheduled to arrive later next week. His new ranch foreman, Mike Cisneros, had a plan for the farm, and after he got past the initial shock of finding out the new ranch owner wasn’t actually a rancher from the north, he sat Austin down and explained it all to him.
Mike was young. Newly graduated from Texas A&M and ready to put his new agriculture degree to good use. To Austin, he seemed to be a kid, but he came highly recommended by the previous land owner. Mike appeared more than ready to bring his expertise to the farm. The new foreman took his job seriously and wanted the place to thrive. To Mike’s credit, he’d only been momentarily startled to see Austin.
From the beginning, Austin gave Mike carte blanche on everything. All Austin required of Mike was a productive working farm that he could jump in and work when he felt like getting his hands dirty. Well, he cared about that and the iron clad confidentiality agreement he’d made everyone in his employment sign. He’d also included the same confidentiality agreement in the contract when he bought this land. If he ran into the neighbors, the contract prohibited them from talking about who lived here.