“No,” she says.
Kory lifts his eyes.
I settle a glare on her.
This.
This isexactlywhat I’ve been hoping to avoid. “It’s what Tony wanted,” I reiterate.
While I never wanted Wit’s End for myself—not really, considering I know how much upkeep goes into the place—I’ve still spent the better part of the past year angry that Tony left it to her. The ranch should’ve gone to the town or the school. It’s what he always said he planned to do with it.
Tony was a good dude. Funny. Unorthodox. Never judged and always opened his home and land to anyone or anything that needed it. He’d host annual barbecues. Let me bring kids out, like Kory said. He’d let youth groups have campouts under the stars.
And now that she’s been here approximately twenty-four hours and already needed saving from Earl and help burying Gingersnap, she’s confirming my fears that she’s closing the place up and won’t let the community use the land like Tony always did.
I hate change.
Hate it worse when it’s bad.
And taking Wit’s End from the Hell’s Bells community?
This is bad.
“Youcan’t.” She lunges for her drink like it’s vodka that can wash this conversation away. “I’m not insured to have kids working on the ranch. I’m barely insured enough to havea renteron the property. What if someone gets hurt? What if they sue me? What if what happened to the cow happens to one of the kids? Oh my God. No.No.”
And here we go. “Calm down—” I start, but I choke before I finish that last letter in the word.
Maisey Spencer, Avenging Ice Queen, levitates in her seat and turns a glare on me that could make even the most seasoned asshole shit his pants. “Do.Not.Tell. Me. To. Calm. Down.”
“Yeah, probably don’t tellanywoman to calm down,” Kory says out of the side of his mouth. “Even I know that one.”
“No one’s going to get hurt—” I start.
Maisey’s not having it. “You can’t know that.”
“And if they do, we’ll patch them up, and everything will be fine.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Pretty sure I know how to do first aid.”
“And how much other land is there that you can take your kids to?Miles and milesworth. I’m not having that liability at Wit’s End. It needs to stop.Now.”
I lean back and cross my arms. “This is what Tonywanted. For the community to use his ranch. Hell, he always told us he’d leave it to the town. If he’d known how little time he had left,youwouldn’t be here.”
Her chest is heaving. Her eyes are on fire. “But we are, aren’t we?”
Everyone in the entire tavern has gone silent and is staring at us, and she seems to finally realize it.
She abruptly stands up. “I’m so sorry, gentlemen. You’ve been lovely to welcome Junie and me, but she’s clearly having a rough night, and I suddenly have a headache. Let me buy your dinner. Hopefully we can do this again soon. We’re excited to meet neighbors and make new friends. Today’s just been a long day.”
Kory’s silent as she gathers her things, including her journal, which—fuck me.
I know that journal.
It’s the kind elementary school parents order for friends and family, featuring their kids’ artwork.
That’s June’s artwork. With her name on it in what looks like kindergartener writing.
