I go to the bathroom, and on the way back, I have the thought that I need to get that pregnancy test out of The Knotted Barn’s bathroom cabinet.
“You can’t do that,” Scarlett snaps from the conference room.
The door’s cracked open, so I can hear her, and when I hear the edge of panic in her voice, I stop to peek inside. Beau’s leaned back in a chair, hands raised while Scarlett stands across from him, clearly furious.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “He wants out. He’s willing to pay.”
“Pay? You think that fixes this? This ranch was counting on him. On this.” Her usually calm voice is breaking.
Beau sighs. “We’ll make it good. I promise.”
“And where will you even go?” There’s a desperation I’ve never heard from Scarlett before.
“I’m talking to another ranch. The one that was our second choice,” Beau says.
“Who?” she asks. I’m surprised fire isn’t flowing out of her mouth.
“Wild Bull Ranch. I’m not a big fan of the guy we were dealing with, but?—”
“You committed to us. We closed our ranch for you. This has been in the works. You cannot do this to us. I’m calling our lawyer.” Scarlett drops into a chair, her fingers pressing against her temples.
“Hey, I tried to change his mind, but he’s the boss. You don’t want to involve lawyers and pay those bills. No one wins in cases like this. We can pay for the expense of closing the ranch, make it worth it to you.”
Her arms fall to the table. “Listen, we’re having our worst year ever. Tourism is down because of the economy. Walker Matthews from Wild Bull Ranch is draining us dry by constantly competing with our businesses. This was our chance to put our ranch on the map. We need this.”
I close my eyes.
Beau grunts, and the back of the chair pops up. They’re about to square off over this.
The knot in my throat sinks to my stomach from Scarlett’s confession. We’re down this year, and she was banking on this video. Not only will Zander be paying for his time here, but afterward we’ll be able to advertise the fact that the video was filmed here. Maybe even increase our event pricing as a result.
I can’t imagine not having this ranch. I’ve seen the downfall of other ranches over the years. One bad year turns to two then three, and soon enough there’s a For Sale sign up on the fence post. That can’t happen to my family. Too many of us are counting on this, which leaves only one way to fix it.
Zander always gets his way, so there’s only one way to make him stay.
Chapter Seven
Zander
My suitcase is already packed.
DeSoto’s been hovering outside my door as though I’m still on tour, guarding a hotel hallway instead of a family ranch in the middle of nowhere. I told him to knock it off. The only people trying to breach security out here might be the set of little girls I saw running around earlier.
I scroll through my phone to keep my head busy. Not that I’m hot on reading blatant lies written about me. Beau and the team did a good job spinning my absence as a post-tour break, but you can’t hide a caravan of trucks and an army of new faces in a small town. Everyone will know where I am soon enough.
My phone pings with a text from Zara.
What is there to do out in Nebraska?
My thumbs hover my screen when a knock lands on the door.
“Beau, you get it handled or what?” I mutter, tossing my phone onto the bed and yanking open the door.
It’s not Beau.
“Romy?”
Her eyes are steady, and her chin is lifted. She tilts her head toward the room. “Mind if I come in?”
