"You're asking me to sell my brother's life," Mae says quietly.
"I'm asking you to save it," Cole replies. "Before the bank decides to do it for you."
Silence stretches.
I feel like I'm standing in the middle of something fragile. Something already cracking.
A folder slides out from under his arm and onto the desk. Neat. Organized. Official.
"I always come prepared."
Mae doesn't touch it.
For a long moment, no one speaks.
Then she exhales slowly and straightens. "Thank you for your time, Cole. I'll review the terms with my lawyer and be in touch."
My stomach drops.
She's not saying no.
There's no commitment in her voice. But there isn't dismissal either.
Cole stands, smooth and unhurried. "That's all I ask."
He gives me a small, unreadable smile as he takes his hat. "Good seeing you again, Hazel."
I can't bring myself to answer.
He leaves the room with the same quiet confidence he brought into it.
The door clicks shut.
For a second, I can't move. Can't breathe.
Mae is actually considering it.
The realization hits like a physical blow.
I spin toward my aunt.
"You can't possibly be considering this." My voice cracks. "Aunt Mae. Daddy would roll over in his grave. So would Grandpa. Selling controlling stakes to the Maddoxes? How can you even think about that?"
Mae draws a slow breath, the kind that comes from deep in her chest.
"Haze," she says gently, "I know this is hard. But I'm not getting any younger." She rests her hands on the desk, fingers splayed. "And as you've noticed, I can't maintain this land the way it needs anymore. I was never the trainer. That was your daddy. He was the one who could bring a horse along, who could turn nothing into something worth betting on."
Her voice doesn't break, but something fragile lives underneath it.
"We don't make enough with cattle alone to sustain this operation. Not anymore. We've already cut down to a skeleton crew. You see the roofs that need patching, the fences we can't afford to replace, the equipment that keeps breaking. I just…" She exhales. "I don't see a way out."
I shake my head, panic rising fast and sharp.
"I have a plan," I say. "We train the colt. Get Addie to ride him at the Fall Classic. It won't solve everything overnight, but if we place well, we can use that momentum to start calling former clients. A good showing gives us credibility again."
Mae's expression doesn't change.
"I know it's not immediate money," I continue, faster now. "But Cole's offer won't close tomorrow either. Deals like that take weeks, maybe months. This buys us time. And if it works—if we can show the boarding program is viable again—you have leverage to say no."
