I rub the bridge of my nose. “Calista and Toby just stole a job I worked my ass off for.”
She goes silent, followed by a slow inhale. “Oh,” she whispers. “Cole… I’m so sorry.”
Her sympathy threatens to crack something inside me, and I bite down hard on that emotion. “It’s fine,” I lie. “I’ll figure something out.”
“It’s not fine,” she grits out firmly. “But you’ll figure it out—you always do. And you are going to land our bid. You know this ranch better than anyone—the land, history, and heartbeat of the place. Hell, I think you know my family better than they know themselves.”
That pulls a sound out of me I wasn’t expecting—a low, rough exhale that borders on a laugh. “I don’t know about that.”
“Well, I do. You’ve been here since we were kids. You’ve helped with every major renovation on the property, hauled lumber with Zane, fixed broken fences with Jace, taught Beck how to replace load-bearing beams—“
“I did not teach Beck anything.”
She snorts softly. “Fine, you supervised while he tried not to fall off the ladder.”
I rub a hand over my face, a reluctant smile tugging at the corner of my mouth.
“You’re not allowed to give up,” she demands quietly. “Not after everything. Not after what you showed me on that blueprint.”
I swallow hard.
“That’s the best work I’ve ever seen from you,” she adds softly. “Don’t let them take this from you, too.”
Her words land deep, solid, and unshakeable. I let myself breathe for the first time since Calista and Toby walked in. “Ella…” I start.
“Yes?”
“Thank you. For all of it. For helping me with the designs, talking me through this. For… checking in.”
She’s quiet for a beat. Then—
“You’re welcome,” she whispers, her voice warm velvet.
“And good luck, Cole,” she adds. “I know you hate hearing that, but you’re going to do well. Really well.”
I nod even though she can’t see it. “I’ll do my best.”
“I know you will,” she says gently. “I’ll see you in two days for the bidding.”
“See you then.”
She hangs up before I can say anything else. I set the phone down, staring at the blank wall for a long moment, then I turn back to the blueprint. Everything looks clearer, sharper, like the lines finally make sense.
I start working again, pencil moving fast, steady, hungry. I’m driven now. I am going to win this bid, not because of spite or revenge, but because I have every reason to fight—my daughter, my father’s legacy, and because Ella Morgan believes I can.
And for the first time in a long time… I believe it too.
9
ELLA
Bidding day feels like the rodeo, and not the fun kind. It doesn’t have the cheering crowds, glittery barrel horses, or the sunlit haze of my childhood. No. Today feels like the kind of rodeo where the bull is already pissed off, the chute gate is jammed, and someone forgot to tell the rider he’s about to get launched into chaos.
I’m the rider. Cole’s the bull. And the chaos? The entire Morgan family, four construction companies, the mayor’s daughter-turned-sister-in-law running logistics, with my father sitting in the front row like the judge of the goddamn universe.
I straighten my skirt and take a steadying breath.
“Ella!” Quinn calls from across the barn-turned-conference hall, waving a color-coded clipboard that could probably double as a murder weapon. “Do you have Cole’s printouts?”
