He plays with the ends of his mustache like he does when he’s trying to decide the best way to fix a broken fence. I fold my arms and wait him out.
His loud exhale stirs the gray hairs of his mustache, and he eyes me like I’m about to explode. It doesn’t feel so far off, to be honest.
“I wanted Sawyer and the horses to keep you busy while I tried to sort through what to do.”
Oh, she kept me busy alright.
“I was here tohelpyou. I could have helped you sort through things.”
His overgrown eyebrows raise toward his hairline. “Oh? Is that why you came down here? Because from what I gathered, you were here to get me to agree to sell the ranch.”
I scoff. “Instead, you roped me in to staying here for eight weeks.”
“I’m not sorry for it, Wes. It’s the first bit of life I’ve seen in ya since I can remember. I wanted to spend some quality time together before I...” his voice catches and he swallows hard, unable to finish.
I nod, chewing the inside of my cheek because I have no idea what to say to him. He pours us both a cup of coffee and gestures to the table.
“How about we sit down, and you can tell me what’s really bothering you?”
I settle into the chair across from Pops and stir some cream into my coffee as I try to name this big feeling in my gut and figure out why it’s making me lash out at everyone.
Pops lets me wrestle with myself for as long as I need. I always loved that about him. He never needs to fill the silence with banal chatter, and he always gives me the chance to say what I need to say.
“Sawyer.”
Pops whistles through his teeth before he takes a bite. “Well, that woman there could cause you all kinds of grief. What, in particular, is the problem?”
“She... I... I think I accidentally fell in love with her,” I answer. “It wasn’t part of my plan.”
He chuckles and swipes some coffee off his mustache. “It isn’t somethin’ you plan for, son. Love is a wild, untamed thing. You can’t control it any more than you can control those wildflowers overtaking the ditches. It takes you by surprise, but then it grows and spreads and it gives you a dopey smile on your face ‘cause it’s damn beautiful.”
His words pierce my already mangled heart, and I speak the thought that has fear and uncertainty twisting through my innards. “Maybe she doesn’t feel the same way.”
“Why would you think she feels any differently than you do?”
I narrow my eyes at him. “She was spending time withmeforyou.”
“I beg your pardon?” I give him a blank stare, and he leans forward. “I asked her to get you acquainted with a horse or two. I did not ask her to keep you over there all hours of the night, chasin’ horses and whatever other profane things you two get up to together.”
I snort, but he keeps going.
“Every other time she was with you, it was because she wanted to be, so don’t go ruinin’ a good thing because you got your little panties in a twist over me askin’ her for a favor. I have never seen that girl as happy as she is when she’s with you.”
I swallow past the burn in my throat. “How am I supposed to believe that?”
“You set aside your damn pride, and you listen to her when she tells you.”
My heart thumps angrily in my chest as I recall how I walked out on Sawyer. My stomach turns.
"I’m sure you and Sawyer have plenty you need to talk about, but there's something I need to tell you first." Pops’ voice is steady, drawing my full attention.
He exhales, slow and measured. “Now, my health isn't what it used to be, and I can’t give this place the time it needs anymore. I’ve come to terms with that.” He pauses, giving me time to brace for what’s coming next. “So, I’ve decided—on my own, mind you—that I’m selling the ranch.”
My leg stops shaking under the table. My body goes still.
“I’ve talked to your mother, and she’s putting together paperwork for the sale.”
He’s really going to sell the ranch.The reason that brought me here for the past seven weeks—to persuade Pops to sell the ranch—is finally becoming a reality.
