I glanced up at Cole, who looked like he’d just swallowed something sour.
“And,” I continued, scanning further down, “Jesse will be expected to contribute his business expertise to modernize ranch operations and increase profitability.”
“What business expertise?” Cole scoffed.
“I’ve been working in marketing for the past ten years,” I replied, trying to keep my tone even. “I’ve helped dozens of businesses increase their revenue streams.”
“We don’t need amarketing agent,” Cole muttered, flipping through his own copy of the agreement. “The ranch has been running fine without you or your kind.”
“Has it?” I couldn’t help asking. “Because from what I’m seeing, those solar panels weren’t because you had a good idea. They were an investment because you couldn’t afford the electric bills.”
Cole’s head snapped up, his blue eyes flashing with anger. “You don’t know a damn thing about?—”
“Boys,” Evelyn warned, her voice cutting through the tension. “This is exactly why your father put these provisions in place.”
Whitaker cleared his throat. “If you’ll turn to page twelve, you’ll see the financial details of the arrangement. During this year, all ranch income will be divided equally between you, after expenses. The trust funds Jack established will remain untouched until the year is complete.”
I skimmed the financial section, my eyes widening at the current state of the ranch’s accounts. The place was barely breaking even. No wonder Cole had been making changes. He was trying to keep the place afloat. A twinge of guilt hit me as I realized how hard he must have been working all these years, not just physically but financially. From the way things looked, the only people making money on the ranch were the ranch hands.
“Is there anything else we should know before signing?” I asked, looking up at Whitaker.
“Just one thing,” he replied, adjusting his glasses. “Jack was very specific about his definition of ‘working together.’ He wanted genuine cooperation, not just two people tolerating each other while doing separate jobs. If I determine that you’re not truly working as partners, I have the authority to declare the conditions unfulfilled.”
Cole made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat. “So we have to be best buddies now?”
“Not necessarily,” Whitaker said. “But you do need to show that you’re making a good faith effort to work together. That means joint decision-making, mutual respect, and actual collaboration.” He looked up at Evelyn. “I expect weekly reports on that subject.”
I looked over at Cole, who was glaring at Evelyn as if she’d personally ruined his life. The silence stretched, thick as the oilcloth on the table where as kids we dared each other to eat rawhorseradish. Whitaker sat back and let it simmer, content to let us stew in the gravity of what came next. Cole finally looked up at me, and in his eyes I saw a thousand unfinished arguments and a fistful of threats neither of us would ever forget. If I’d had an ounce of sense left, I would’ve ripped up the contract and walked away. But I couldn’t run again. Not this time when so much was at stake.
“Okay,” I said, flopping the papers down on the table. “Where do I sign?”
Chapter 7
Jesse
I’d been back on the ranch for a month, and I wasn’t convinced the work was getting any easier. Getting up at five in the morning was some sort of insane torture. I blamed the cows for it. If they weren’t fed by six, they started to get loud. If they didn’t have food by seven, they would break down fences. They were a fucking menace.
But I couldn’t deny the feeling of peace that came with rising before the sun. The landscape was transformed in those liminal moments, the sky going on forever in a series of blues, grays, and pinks. Pine trees, mountains, and pastures were draped in rolling mist that gave the entire place an ethereal quality that I didn’t realize I missed. I’d forgotten how much I loved Nelson Ranch, how much I loved Montana… And how lonely it could all feel despite the beauty.
And those feelings are what churned in my stomach as I crested the last hill west of Hell Creek. They were made even stronger by the fact that I was surrounded by boxes, my little sedan stuffed to the gills with everything I owned. It was proof that the life I’d worked so hard to build in Seattle was officially gone.
Mr. Whitaker had been understanding when I told him I had to go back to Seattle to collect my things. He, under Cole’s intense gaze, agreed to give me five days for the trip without breaking the terms of my stepfather’s will. Cole seemed relieved to have me gone for a moment, but I had a feeling he was secretly hoping I wouldn’t come back. Part of me wasn’t sure I would come back either. After all, it was getting harder and harder to avoid the old feelings I had lingering from my teenage years about him. And those tight jeans… they made itreallyhard not to notice him. Despite all that, living with Colewasn’tgonna be easy.
Quitting my jobhadbeen easy. I wasn’t that attached to it. But breaking up with Derek had been…difficult. Mostly because I felt like an asshole. Three days after I signed the terms of the will, he stopped answering my calls and texts. A week after that he blocked me everywhere. The only correspondence I received was a letter two weeks later telling me that my belongings had been packed up and I needed to come get them before they were thrown in the garbage. Clearly, Derek was through with me. And when I arrived in Seattle to get my car and my stuff, he wasn’t even home.
I’d been hoping to say goodbye to him and to apologize to him again, but I never got the chance. With everything in my car, I left my key on the kitchen table and left the apartment and my life, locking the door behind me. It wasn’t the first time I’d left a home behind.
The worst part was… IthoughtI should miss Derek. We’d been together for two years after all. But the further I drove from Seattle, the less I missed him. By the time I arrived back in Hell Creek, I could barely remember why we’d been together for so long. The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if it hadn’t just been a convenient arrangement for both of us. Afterall, Seattle wasn’t a cheap place to live and having a roommate with benefits was pretty much ideal.
I definitely wouldn’t be getting any ofthaton the ranch.
As soon as I pulled into town, I stopped off at the gas station, the only place you could get coffeenotmade at home for forty miles. The closest franchise was clear the hell up in Missoula, and I wasn’t gonna drive an hour just for coffee. It seemed odd though. In Seattle, there was a coffee shop every ten feet. But here in Hell Creek people still ground their beans by hand.
I pushed open the door to the gas station, the little bell jingling overhead. The place hadn’t changed since I was a kid. It still had the same faded linoleum floors, same buzzing fluorescent lights, and the same rack of beef jerky by the register. The smell of stale coffee and motor oil hit me like a punch to the gut. Pure nostalgia.
“Just a cup of regular,” I told the elderly woman behind the counter as I approached. Her white hair was pulled back in a tight bun, deep lines etched into her face from decades of Montana winters. She looked vaguely familiar, probably someone who’d known me growing up.
She squinted at me through thick glasses as she poured the coffee. “You’re the other Nelson boy, aren’t you? Jack’s stepson?”
