Chapter 1
Delaney
The twenty-minute drive from Havenridge to Stoneridge feels longer when I’m replaying every infuriating thing Daniel Sutton said yesterday. Which I am. Because apparently, I’m a glutton for punishment.
Your system isn’t a system, it’s organized chaos.
Organized chaos. Like he’s one to talk. The man color-codes his color codes. He’s got a backup plan for his backup plan’s backup plan. And somehow, I’m the problem.
But I’m also the solution. Three weeks into this job, and I’ve already saved him six thousand dollars in vendor consolidation. Found a feed discrepancy that’s been bleeding money for months. Reorganized the filing system so that someone other than Daniel can actually find things.
He hates that I’m good at this. I can see it in the way his jaw ticks when I’m right.
I kind of love that I’m good at this.
I grip the steering wheel and watch the sun crawl over the eastern pastures, painting everything gold and rose like Montana’s putting on a show just for me.
The familiar ache settles behind my sternum as I leave Havenridge land. Kitty, my sister, is there. Happy. Married to Tom. Living the life she deserves.
I chose to stay. Could have left after Tom picked Kitty. Packed my bags and driven until Montana was a speck in my rearview mirror. But besides leaving my sister, where would I go? I’m not giving it up because Daniel Sutton makes me want to scream.
Amongst other things.
But mostly scream.
The dust on my windshield obscures my vision as I scale the winding road, and I make a mental note to wash the truck this weekend. Add it to the list that never ends. But it keeps my body moving and stops my brain from thinking too hard.
Gravel crunches under my tires as I turn onto Stoneridge’s main drive. I steel myself for another day in the company of Daniel Sutton, the drill sergeant with the whiskey voice and broad shoulders. The man is infuriating with his impossible need to control every little thing that goes on at this ranch.
He was even stupid enough to try it on me.
Not happening, cowboy.
The morning goes sideways before I even get my coffee.
I’m barely through the office door when my phone buzzes.
Dr. Blake. The vet.
“Delaney, I’m so sorry, but my daughter woke up with a fever and?—”
“Strep?” I’m already pulling up the schedule on my laptop, one-handed.
“How did you?—”
“It’s going around. Don’t worry about it. Can you do two o’clock instead?”
Relief floods his voice. “That would be perfect. You’re a lifesaver.”
I’m already rearranging the day in my head. Vet pushed to afternoon means the morning crew can focus on the fence repair in the north pasture. Which means I need to redirect Ethan and his team, who are currently?—
My phone buzzes again. Elk Ridge Feed & Supply.
“Ms. Phillips, we’ve got a truck heading your way, but there’s been a mix-up with the order. We can either deliver half today and half Thursday, or push the whole thing to?—”
“Deliver half today. I’ll adjust the rotation schedule.” I’m scribbling notes on the pad I keep in my back pocket; the one Daniel mocked last week for being “analog in a digital age.” The same Daniel who still uses a paper calendar on his wall because he doesn’t trust cloud storage.
Hypocrite.
