“Because you wouldn’t let me get a word in edgewise. Just because you’re older doesn’t mean you know everything.”
“I asked what you thought about it. In the living room that night after we got the pension check.”
“Yes, you did. And I told you I didn’t see myself at the ranch long term.”
“I thought you meant in, like, ten years or something. Why didn’t you speak up sooner?”
Emerson rolled her eyes. “Because you would’ve just steamrolled right over me like you always do.”
“I don’t do that.”
“You’re doing it right now!”
“That’s not fair. The expansion is already well underway. It’s too late to stop it. It’s gonna bring in more money, you’ll see. Once you receive half the profits, you won’t be complaining anymore.”
Emerson speared her with a flinty look. “I have to go.” She headed for the stairs.
“Emerson, don’t leave like this.”
She turned with a huff. “We’re fine, Charlotte. I’m gonna pack a bag and head to April’s. I’m sure you’ll figure it out. You always do.”
Charlotte gritted her teeth. “Could you at least clean out the water tank before you go? I have to be at work at four.”
“Sorry, no can do. I just stopped by to grab my things.” She rushed from the room and up the creaky stairs.
Charlotte grabbed Emerson’s empty glass and set it in thedishwasher. She couldn’t believe her sister was just leaving at a moment’s notice. But then, she didn’t bear the burden of the ranch and its horses. Not that it was a burden. Charlotte loved it more than anything.
It went all the way back to the stories her grandmother had told her about the ranch’s origins. The sacrifices her grandparents had made, eking out a living during the ranch’s early days, how her grandfather had used his inheritance to start a breeding farm. They loved the ranch life so much, they hung on until it started making real money. Charlotte’s young, adventurous heart relished the tales.
But by the time her mom took over, the economy had slackened and the breeding business struggled. She made the difficult decision to switch to boarding instead and worked a full-time job at the bank to maintain it. Her efforts had kept the ranch alive, but it was no longer self-sustaining.
Perhaps her mom had felt the ranch slipping away when she’d extracted that promise from Charlotte two weeks before she passed.
Mom was in the makeshift office in the stable doing the bills when Charlotte popped in.
“I have to run over to the feedstore. Do we need anything besides glucosamine?”
“I don’t think so.” Mom didn’t look up from her work. Her brows knitted and lines creased her forehead.
Charlotte set down the shovel and entered the room. “Something wrong?”
Mom leaned back in the chair, her gaze skating over the bills scattered on the desktop. She released a sigh. “I made a mistake.”
“What do you mean?”
She shook her head. “I never should’ve switched to boarding horses. The breeding business was good—it was just going through a bad spell because of the economy. If I’d waited it out . . .”
“You can’t know what might’ve happened. The business could’ve gone under entirely.”
“I’m worried about its future.”
“We’ll be okay, Mom.”
“We need to make some changes, but that costs money we don’t have. I’m getting older, and I don’t want to leave you girls in this situation—if I don’t run it into the ground altogether. Your grandparents worked so hard to build this ranch.”
Charlotte put her hand over her mom’s. “We won’t let that happen, Mom. Let’s give it some thought.”
“I’ve been doing that for months. I’m at my wit’s end.”
