Roughneck Cowboy by Marin Thomas

was hoping you’d consider—”
    â€œYou’re asking me if I’d take in my granddaughter?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œIn a heartbeat,” Dominick said, his voice hoarse.
    Travis hadn’t meant to offend the old man, but he was relieved his daughter wouldn’t be left in the state’s care if he kicked the bucket before she reached eighteen. “As soon as we return to Houston, I’ll have a new will drawn up.”
    â€œWhat will you do with Charlie when you’re working on the rig?”
    â€œI’m hoping to hire a live-in nanny.”
    â€œThat can be expensive.”
    â€œWe’ll manage.”
    â€œDo you like your job?” Dominick asked.
    â€œThe past few months I’ve been shadowing amotorhand and learning how to maintain the drilling rig engines, transmissions, hydraulic systems and electric generators.” Travis was good with tools and a quick study. He hoped his supervisor would follow through with his promise of a promotion to rig technician if Travis passed all the mechanical exams.
    â€œHow much money are you making?” Dominick had been in the oil business his entire life. He knew roughnecks were the low men on the totem pole. “Fifty thousand?”
    â€œForty-five.”
    â€œWould you consider a position with Cartwright Oil for triple your current salary?”
    A job that earned over a hundred thousand dollars a year?
    â€œAfter taxes,” Dominick added.
    Shit. That was a lot of money. “What kind of job?”
    â€œRig technician. I could use another man in the field to help maintain the equipment on my rigs in Oklahoma and Arkansas.”
    â€œDon’t you have several employees in that job right now?”
    â€œYou can never have enough experienced men in the field. Equipment breakdowns can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a week in lost profits.”
    Dominick’s confidence in him pleased Travis, but he doubted the workers on the rigs would accept him as easily. He’d have to work his butt off to prove he deserved the job. You’d have a chance to show your father what you’re made of .
    â€œYou’re a natural fit for the job,” Dominick said. “If you decide to take me up on the offer, I could use your help with something else.”
    â€œWhat’s that?”
    â€œYou and Sara Sanders are both single and around the same age—”
    â€œI’m not interested in—”
    â€œOf course you’re not attracted to a woman like her, but I’m sure you could gain her trust and convince her to sell the Bar T to me.”
    Sara Sanders’s face popped into Travis’s mind. He admired her stubborn determination and refusal to allow his father to intimidate her, but he doubted she could hold out forever against Dominick. It was only a matter of time before Cartwright Oil won. Still…“You want me to bully her into doing business with you?”
    â€œI never said you should threaten her.” Dominick shrugged. “She’s a single woman with few prospects. Give her some of your time and attention and before you know it, she’ll be signing on the dotted line.”
    Travis had never led a woman on before and didn’t care to begin now, but his father was handing him an opportunity to win his favor. Travis was eager to fit in with his new family and prove to his siblings that he had no ulterior motive where the Cartwright fortune was concerned. What could it hurt to become friends with Sara Sanders? If he convinced her to sell to Dominick, all the better.
    â€œWhat kind of housing is available in the area?” Travis asked.
    â€œYou’re welcome to stay on the ranch with me. There’s plenty of room in the house for the three of us now that Samantha and Wade have moved into their new home. I’m away on business several days a week, so you and Charlie would have the place to yourselves most of the time.” Dominick