Page 59 of Down, Boy

My phone is in my hand before I realize I'm pulling it out.

The re-enlistment forms are sitting in my email. Now I have until Thursday, eight a.m., thanks to Top calling in a favor. Sign and ship out. Don't sign and go home to Texas.

Either way, I leave Pine Valley.

Either way, I leave her.

Unless.

I scroll through my contacts until I find Jake's number. He answers on the third ring.

"Dean? What's up?"

"I need to ask you something." I lean back in the booth, staring at the ceiling tiles. "Iron Creek. The expansion. The new contracts."

"Yeah?" He sounds cautious. "You change your mind about coming home?"

"Maybe. I don't know yet." I scrub a hand over my face. "I need to know if there's room for two people to build something. Not just me slotting into what you've got. Actually building."

Silence on the other end.

"Jake?"

"You're serious," he says finally. "About the vet."

"Her name's Callie. And yeah. I'm serious."

"What happened? You sound like you already screwed this up."

"I kind of presented it as a done deal. Told her about Texas and the opportunity and how perfect it would be. Didn't really ask what she wanted."

Jake makes a sound that might be a laugh or a groan. "Dean."

"I know."

"Serious enough to redesign half our expansion plans?"

"If that's what it takes."

More silence. Then Jake laughs—surprised and genuine. "You really are gone for her."

"Completely."

"All right." I hear paper rustling, keyboard clicking. "Tell me what she needs. What kind of practice, what resources, what setup. And I'll tell you if we can make it work."

"I can't tell you what she needs," I say. "I'd have to ask her. That's kind of the whole problem."

"Then ask her."

I slump back in the booth. "She's not speaking to me."

"So?" Jake's voice sharpens with the particular brand of younger-brother impatience I've been hearing my whole life. "Make her speak to you. Apologize. Grovel. Do whatever it takes. And this time, actually ask her what she wants instead of presenting her with your plan."

"When did you get so smart about relationships?"

"I'm not. I just know you're an idiot when you assume things." He pauses. "But Dean? If you're doing this—if you're really asking her to build something with you—make sure you mean it. Don't offer her a partnership and then expect her to follow your lead. You know? Actual partnership, where you both get a say."

"I know."