Read Online Between Hope & the Highway by Charissa Stastny - Free Book Online

lit up.
    “Hey, Big Ben. You look like hell.”
    He laughed as Mom swatted me. “Did Lizzie already leave?” he asked.
    “You just missed her.” Mom set a loaded plate in front of Dad and started piling another with pancakes for my brother.
    “Shucks. I wanted to catch her before she headed out.” He pursed his lips. “Guess I shouldn’t have dressed.”
    Pancake lodged in my throat. Ever since I arrived home, I’d felt a tangible difference, but hadn’t been able to put my finger on it. Now the truth hit me. I usually occupied the center of Benny’s and Addie’s universe, but my orbit had been shifted by that meddling girl. The camel had pushed me out of the tent.
    “It wouldn’t have mattered. I swear she shoveled coal to keep a train going the way she inhaled breakfast.”
    Dad hissed and shook his head at my words. That’s how he showed displeasure. I should know. I’d been the cause of that reaction all my life.
    Benny grabbed five sausages. “I don’t think I can go to the movie. My leg hurts super bad.”
    Mom frowned. “Heaven help us. Your sister isn’t going to be happy about that.”
    “Maybe Liz could just take her.”
    Mom did one of her “Hmmms”’ that meant probably not .
    After we finished breakfast, I headed to Dad’s office. Entering through his open door, I dropped a blue file folder onto his desk. As he raised his head, I stared down at him, taking advantage of my height.
    “Here are my plans for getting a higher margin back on the cattle. I’ve also outlined a proposal for venturing into horse racing in the next few years.” I didn’t bother with a greeting. The less said between us, the better.
    Dad expression barely concealed his loathing. “What makes you think I need to change anything? The ranch had a gross margin return of thirty-three percent last year with all land owned. Our profit was the highest it’s been in a decade.”
    “But you didn’t figure in opportunity costs,” I argued. “If you charged opportunity interest on the value of the cattle, that adds more direct costs and cuts your return on the beginning inventory by maybe ten percent. Then there’s opportunity rental—”
    “Son, I don’t have time to discuss made-up economic scenarios. You’re not in class anymore. There’s real work to be done.”
    “But you’re under-utilizing your—”
    “You’re not the only Law who graduated from college. I have my degree from Stanford too, you know.”
    “But you’re stuck in the past. At least look this over.” I touched the thick folder of papers I’d invested countless hours of research in over the last few months. “These could put the Bar-M-Law Ranch on the map.”
    “Son, you have big dreams but no experience to back them up. Put in a full day of work before you perform slick number tricks on a spreadsheet.”
    I clenched my jaw.
    “You haven’t spent more than a couple weeks here since you left four years ago. Maybe we’ll talk after you’ve broken a sweat. Right now you’re just a liability on the books with all I’ve dished out for your education.”
    “You forced me to go to Stanford.” His expression warned I was treading on thin ice, but it frustrated me that he wouldn’t even take a peek at my work. “My plans would more than pay back my debt. Just my scenario for improving cattle reproductive performance would set you ahead financially by the end of this year. We could increase calving and weaning rates while lowering production costs and—”
    “Book smarts won’t save this ranch. Hard work and commitment will—and has. You haven’t dirtied your hands since high school. If I turned you loose, you’d supplement the cattle and run this operation into the ground before winter ended.”
    I scowled.
    “They don’t teach you everything in business school. There are practical lessons you only learn from years of hard work and comparing notes with other producers and regional ag groups. Maybe in a few years we’ll