Page 6 of More Than This Land

“I won’t lie and say it’s fine. I didn’t care for the ambush. But it wasn’t your fault, so I’ll do my best not to hold it against you.”

“I should have thought to confirm the arrangement directly with you before accepting. I’m sorry for my part in surprising you.” She almost reached for his hand. It’s something she would have done with almost anyone else, but it felt too intimate with Luke.

The thought staggered her brain into a fizzy mess of curious questions. Why did it feel that way with Luke?

“You didn’t know.”

“I should have asked.”

They studied each other across the table for a moment, and Claire saw the same intensity from yesterday. Luke Calloway was wound tight, controlled down to the angle of his shoulders and the set of his hands. A man who’d built his entire identity around competence and didn’t know how to exist without it.

Jo reappeared with the coffee pot and a knowing smile. “Morning, Luke. Your usual?”

“Thanks, Miss Jo.”

“And for you, honey?”

Claire glanced at the menu. “What do you recommend?”

“The blueberry pancakes will change your life, but the biscuits and gravy will ruin you for anywhere else.” Jo’s eyes sparkled. “Depends on what kind of morning you’re having.”

“Biscuits and gravy, then.”

“Good choice.” Jo refilled Luke’s mug and disappeared.

Luke wrapped both hands around his coffee cup and held it at the edge of the table. “So. Your findings.”

Claire pulled up the first spreadsheet. “Your operational efficiency is genuinely impressive. The cost reduction measures you’ve implemented over the past eighteen months have clearly improved profit margins. Quarter over quarter, year over year, every metric shows growth.”

She watched him absorb that, his shoulders relaxing a fraction.

“However.” Claire turned the laptop fully toward him. “I’m seeing some concerning patterns in how you’ve achieved that growth.”

Luke’s expression shuttered. “Concerning how?”

“You’ve eliminated nearly every line item that doesn’t show immediate return on investment.” She waited for that to settle, prepared for a potential explosion of anger.

She’d faced that on more than one occasion, and even though Luke didn’t appear to be the kind of man to let his temper rule him, she gave him time to adjust.

“Because they weren’t sustainable business practices.” Luke’s voice stayed level but something defensive crept into his tone. “Running a ranch on charity doesn’t keep the operation solvent.”

“Of course not.” Claire pulled up the next sheet, a comparison chart showing vendor relationships over five years. “But I’m wondering about the secondary effects of those cuts. I mentioned some of the potential fallout yesterday with a loss of community relationships.”

His hands tightened until his knuckles went white. Tense lines framed his mouth, and he turned away from her, staring out the window.

Ah. She’d found a sore spot. If he hadn’t already noticed those things, she’d illuminated the problem yesterday and forced him to see the light.

“The ranch is more profitable than it’s been in a decade.”

“So you said yesterday, and I agree. Your financials are excellent.”

He released his coffee cup and propped his elbows on the table, then crossed his forearms on the red laminate. “You’re suggesting I’ve damaged our reputation by making smart business decisions?” Luke stared at her, his jaw working. “You sound like my father.”

“Your father is a smart man.” She wouldn’t bring up the 4H sponsorships again, but they stayed in the back of her mind. If she couldn’t get Luke to bring them back, she’d approach one of the other ranches. The town needed those sponsorships.

“My father nearly lost this ranch for being too generous with people who took advantage.” Luke’s voice dropped low enough that only Claire could hear, but the intensity ratcheted up. “I have a business degree from Montana State. I’ve studied operational management, strategic planning, and financial forecasting. I didn’t implement these changes on a whim. I implemented them because they work.”

“They do work.” Claire wouldn’t argue with success. “Your numbers prove it. But Luke, I’ve reviewed your five-year strategic plan—it was in the files your father gave me—and it’s brilliant. Truly. You could take that plan to any agricultural investment firm and they’d be impressed.”