“I saw you, Cole.” His voice was steady, matter-of-fact. “Standing at the bathroom door.”
The blood drained from my face. I opened my mouth to deny it, to make some excuse, but nothing came out. I was a terrible liar and we both knew it.
“I... I was just gonna tell you to hurry up,” I finally sputtered. “The hot water tank?—”
“Save it,” Jesse cut me off. “I know what I saw.”
I pushed back from the desk, ready to bolt, but Jesse reached across and grabbed my wrist. His touch sent electricity shooting up my arm.
“You don’t have to run every time things get uncomfortable,” he said, his grip firm but not painful. “We’re adults. We can talk about this.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I insisted, trying to pull away.
Jesse held tight. “Really? Because you’ve been avoiding me since it happened. You can barely look me in the eye. And honestly, it’s making this whole situation impossible. I’m trying to help you save this ranch and you’re acting like I’m a rabid dog about to bite you.”
I finally met his gaze, those hazel eyes seeing right through me. My throat went dry. “What do you want me to say, Jesse? That I’m sorry? Fine. I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want an apology,” he said, finally releasing my wrist. “I just want to know what’s going on with you. Because this isn’t just about you catching me in the shower.”
He was right, and that terrified me more than anything. This was about years of feelings I’d tried to bury. Feelings I wasn’t supposed to have for my stepbrother.
“We need to focus on the ranch,” I said, desperately trying to redirect the conversation. “That’s why we’re here.”
Jesse sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Fine. Have it your way. But this isn’t going away, Cole. You’re gonna have to let me in eventually.”
I lifted my gaze to his, my voice low. “I don’t letanybodyin.”
“Yeah,” Jesse nodded, clearly unperturbed. “Everyone’s noticed.”
I just sat there, gritting my teeth. Goddamn he knew how to get under my skin. He always had.
“Anyway, we’ll need a little bit of an initial investment,” Jesse continued, sliding a spreadsheet toward me. “But look at these projections. If we convert even twenty percent of our output to direct sales, we’d see returns within six months.”
I studied the numbers, impressed despite my irritation. The ranch had been barely breaking even for years, and here Jesse was, showing me a path to actual profit.
“It seems like a lot of work.”
“It will be,” Jesse nodded. “But worth it.”
“I don’t know…”
“How many cattle do you have out in the pasture that are full weight ready to be processed right now?”
“Maybe… two hundred?”
“And you’re going to what? Feed and house them all winter because the processing plant wouldn’t take them all this year?”
I narrowed my eyes, already seeing where he was going. “Yeah. What other choice do we have?”
“You could get them processed locally,” Jesse said, the excitement in his voice almost infectious. “Right now. Store the meat in a big freezer here and I could have the website set up in a week with advertising going out to the whole country. We could be getting deposits in the ranch bank account by the end of the month.” He leaned forward over the desk. “And between you and me, the bank account needs it. Like real fuckin’ bad.”
My heart pounded in my chest. Jesse had a way of making things sound so damn simple. And he wasn’t wrong about the financial situation. We were in trouble, had been for a while, but I’d been too proud to admit it.
“Yeah, we’re hurtin’,” I admitted reluctantly. “But I don’t know anything about websites or online marketing. That’s your world, not mine.”
“That’s why we’re supposed to bepartners, Cole.” Jesse tapped his finger on the spreadsheet. “You know ranching, I know business. Together we might actually save this place instead of watching it slowly die.”
I couldn’t argue with his logic, even if sitting this close to him made my skin feel too tight. The ranch was bleeding money, and if Jesse had a way to stop it, I’d be a fool not to listen.
