I look at her. Really look at her. I see the stubborn set of her jaw. I see the vulnerability in her eyes.
“And I’m not the enemy either, Saramaria,” I say. “Do you have any idea what we’re doing? We are thinking about taking out massive loans. We’re talking about going into debt, risking everything we have, just to keep Meadowlark afloat. To save it for you. How can you not see that?”
She blinks. The surprise on her face is genuine. Her mouth opens slightly.
“Loans?” she whispers. “What loans?”
“The fines,” I say. “Eighteen grand. Plus materials. We don’t have that kind of cash sitting around. We were discussing taking a second mortgage on the cabins. Selling my truck. Knox is trying to liquidate assets. We’re gutting our futures to pay for your grandfather’s mistakes.”
She stares at me. The color drains from her cheeks.
“I... I didn’t know,” she stammers. “Rhett said he would handle it. I thought... I thought the ranch had the money.”
“The ranch is broke,” I say bluntly. “Anthony burned through the liquidity years ago. There’s nothing left but the land.”
She shakes her head, bewildered. “I can foot the bill. I have assets. Stocks, bonds from the firm. I already told the guys that I can move money around and have that paid soon.”
I stare at her. The offer is so simple. So easy.
“We want to help. You should let us.”
“This is my property.”
I scoff unable to hide my frustration. “It’s our home.”
She ignores that. “I’ll handle the payments, so you can tell them that they don’t need to take any loans for the ranch.” She wipes the rain from her eyes, frustration clear in every line of her body.
“Okay,” I say slowly. “If you pay the fines, that helps. But the repairs? The labor?”
“I’ll pay for that, too,” she says firmly. “I have the money. I don’t want you guys to go into debt for me.”
I nod. It changes things. It removes the noose from our necks.
“Then what?” I ask. “You pay the bills. You fix the barns. Then what? We leave? Is that the condition?”
She hesitates. She looks away, toward the horses. “You don’t have to stay. You can find someplace else. I know you’re well liked in town, Boone. You and Rhett can get jobs. Knox already has the circuit to worry about.”
“We’re a pack, Saramaria,” I say. “Whether you want to acknowledge it or not. We stick together.”
She lets out a breath, a white cloud in the cold air. She looks up at me. Her lower lip trembles.
I stare at that lip. It’s soft, full, trembling in the cold. A sudden, violent urge hits me, and I wonder what it would be like to bite it. To taste the rain on her skin. To feel that softness give way under my teeth.
I clear my throat, the sound harsh in the quiet shelter of the tree. I take a step back, putting distance between us. I need to get a grip.
“I never wanted to leave Muddy Creek,” she blurts out.
I freeze. My back hits the rough bark of the oak.
“What?” I ask.
She wraps her arms around herself, hugging her coat tight. “All those years ago. When I drove away. Everyone thinks I left because I wanted to. Because I hated the ranch. Because I wanted the city.”
She looks up, and her eyes are swimming with tears.
“I didn’t want to go,” she whispers. “I loved it here. I loved the land. I loved...” She stops. She swallows hard. “But I didn’t have a choice.”
I go still. The rain seems to fade into the background.
