“We should head back,” I say to Wade. “There’s still a lot to do.”
He nods, his gaze lingering on Dad for a moment before he turns to me. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
As we load up the truck, I glance back at the barn where my dad has already disappeared. I shake my head and start driving back to Wade’s property.
I don’t know how he does it, but my dad has a really annoying talent for making me feel really small.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Wade
As soon as we pull into the driveway, I can tell something’s wrong. Sutton’s jaw is tight, her hands gripping the steering wheel like it’s the only thing keeping her from falling apart. Caleb jumps out of the truck before it even comes to a full stop, shouting something about checking on the horses, and takes off toward the barn. I glance at Sutton, but she doesn’t move. Her eyes are fixed on the house, but it’s like she’s not really seeing it.
I step out and walk around to her side, opening the door. She glances up at me, shocked to see me standing there.
“You okay?”
She shakes her head but doesn’t say anything. I offer her my hand, and after a moment, she takes it.
We walk to the guest house in silence. She’s not the type to spill her guts right away; she’ll tell me when she’s ready. I just have to be patient.
I thought patience was my superpower, but now I seem to be struggling.
Inside, she kicks off her boots and heads straight for the kitchen. I follow, leaning against the doorframe as she pulls a glass from the cabinet and fills it with water. She’s moving on autopilot, her usual grace replaced with a stiffness that doesn’t suit her.
It’s like she doesn’t realize that I’m here.
“Sutton,” I say gently. “What happened?”
She sets the glass down on the counter and turns to face me. Her eyes are red like she’s been holding back tears, but her voice is steady when she speaks. “I asked my dad about the second mortgage.”
I nod, waiting for her to continue.
“At first, he acted like he didn’t know what I was talking about,” she says. “Like he could just brush it off, and I’d drop it. But I didn’t. I kept pushing, and finally, he admitted it. But then he told me it was none of my business.”
Her voice cracks on the last word, and she looks away, blinking rapidly. I cross the room in two strides and pull her into my arms. She stiffens at first, her hands pressing against my chest as if to push me away, but I don’t let go. I just hold her, resting my chin on the top of her head.
“What can I do?”
She lets out a shaky breath, and I feel her body start to relax. Her arms slip around my waist, and she leans into me, her forehead pressing against my chest. For a long moment, neither of us says anything. The only sound is the faint ticking of the clock on the wall.
“I don’t know. Is this just my life? I have a bastard of a father who disowns me and then makes me the bad person because I listened? What a fucking psychopath.”
Tears roll down her cheeks as she purges all the thoughts in her head. “Like, he did this,” she continues. “He told me I wasn’t welcome. He blamed me for my own mother’s death, and then…to say that I think I’m better than him? To call me a spoiled brat? Jesus…I can’t even wrap my head around how my mother stayed married to that jackass.”
“I wish I had something poetic to tell you, some magic wand that I could wave and make it all go away, but…I don’t. He is a bastard, and he doesn’t deserve such an amazing, smart, caring daughter. No one would have blamed you had you told him to fuck off when he asked for your help. I’m glad that you didn’t say that, by the way.”
I want to fix this for her, but I know that I can’t. I wouldn’t know where to start. What I can do is be here for her and support her every step of the way, and that’s what I’m going to make certain that I do.
She pulls back just enough to look up at me, her eyes searching mine. “I just… I don’t know what to do, Wade. I feel like everything’s falling apart, and I can’t fix it.”
I brush a strand of hair out of her face and tuck it behind her ear. “You don’t always have to fix everything. And now, you especially don’t have to do any of it alone. You and I can figure it all out together. I’m not letting you do any of this by yourself. Your dad got himself into this mess. Maybe he needs to face the consequences.”
“But he screwed me in the process. Maybe me going to Montana made it seem like I wanted nothing to do with the ranch, but that’s not the case. I always just assumed that I’d come back here and run the ranch one day, and…he’s stolen that from me because he’s a selfish bastard. He disowned his own daughter, and this…this feels like it was more of a dig-the-knife-into-my-back-deeper kind of move.”
“It’s a dick move, for sure. And you’re right, he did screw you. I’m sorry.”
She nods and exhales. “I’m going to talk to the bank tomorrow. See what the options are. Maybe there’s something I can do to save the ranch.”
