Free One Night with the Boss by Teresa Southwick Page A

again.
    Fortunately, the waitress picked that moment to stop at the end of the booth. She was in her late twenties with blond hair and blue eyes, dressed in worn jeans and a snap-front shirt. An apron with pockets was tied around her trim waist and she pulled an order pad from it. Her name tag read Ronnie.
    “So, have you made up your minds or do you need more time?” she asked.
    “Burger,” Cab said. “The works.”
    “Me, too.”
    “Coming right up.” She scooped their menus from the end of the table. “Do you need another beer?”
    They both declined and she disappeared.
    “So, Cab, what can I do for you? You said you wanted to ask my advice about computers.”
    His friend nodded as he cracked another shell and popped the nut in his mouth. “I’m looking to replace the one I’ve got. It’s old and limping along. If you asked me about running a ranch, I could bend your ear for hours, but computers are a mystery to me. Before making a move, I wanted some expert input. Figured it’s in your wheelhouse, what with running a technology company.”
    Brady had done pretty well in the field. Designing software had earned him the capital to start his own company and he’d never looked back. “Tell me what your needs are.”
    “I keep ranch records on it. Not just financial. I’ve got spreadsheets on the horses and cattle, too.”
    “What else?”
    “I want to do a new website. Professional. For the summer camp. A virtual tour of the facilities and everything we have to offer. I’m thinking about expanding.”
    “The camp is really important to you.” It wasn’t a question.
    Cab nodded. “As my son gets older, I can see the benefits of experiencing the outdoors. Can’t imagine raising him anywhere else. But a lot of kids don’t get that except once a year.”
    “I can set up a system for you,” Brady said. “And I’ll hook you up with a guy who’s a website designer. Really gifted, creatively and technologically.”
    “Is he here in town?”
    Brady shook his head. “He works remotely. Manages that division of O’Keefe Technology. We met in college. His name is Ian Bradshaw.”
    “That would be great. I was hoping you’d have a name. Wasn’t looking forward to researching that.”
    “Now that I think about it,” Brady said, “he’s coming to Blackwater Lake for the annual employee weekend. I’ll have him come in a few days early and send him your way.”
    “Great.” His friend took a sip of beer. “A new web design would help me get the word out without too much of a time investment for me.”
    “So, you’re busy.”
    “Between ranching and raising my son?” Cabot laughed. “There aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done that needs doing.”
    “How old is Tyler now?”
    “Eight.” The man smiled and all the world-weariness slipped away. There was a mixture of love and tenderness in his voice. Clearly he was a proud father.
    Brady remembered what his sister had said when he played with his niece. That he would be a good father and it was a shame he wasn’t moving in that direction.
    He’d thought about it a lot, and watching Maggie with her daughter had released a feeling of yearning that he’d never experienced before. It was different. Strange. Impossible.
    “You’re a single dad, Cabot. How is that working out for you?”
    “Being a father is the hardest and most rewarding job I’ve ever done.” He toyed with his bottle of beer and tenderness gave way to tension on his face. “You know he was only a couple weeks old when his mother walked out.”
    “That must have been hard.”
    “There are no words to describe how hard.” Now anger swirled in his eyes. “I’d never even changed a diaper before. Yeah, I raised animals on the ranch, but that’s a whole lot different from being responsible for a baby. You don’t have to get up to feed a cow or horse every two or three hours. And there are no sleepless nights walking the floor with a fussy and teething