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But I follow him. Just like when we were kids, and I’d tail him, asking the same question over and over until he’d finally give me a real answer.

“Talk to me, Will. What’s going on?”

He stops at the sink, bracing his hands and hanging his head. “There was a time this place cared about community. We were building something. We were working together. I’m not willing to sit around and watch Lanceleaf become unrecognizable, which is exactly what is going to happen if we don’t do something about it now.” He scratches the dark scruff on his jaw. “The Jensons leasing their land to Zander isn’t the end of it. It’s not even the beginning. They’re friends with Tommy and Ruth, and that’s the property Zander is really after.”

“The ranch next to Ironside Ridge?”

He nods. “If the Jensons can convince Tommy and Ruth to take the same deal, Zander will be that much closer to Dean’s land—what’s beneath it.”

“Dean will never sell.”

If there’s anyone more stubborn than my brother, it’s Dean Graham. And while he might no longer live here, he went to war with his own brother over that property. He’s not going to give up Ironside Ridge for anything, especially oil.

He made that clear by selling a piece to his club.

“Zander seems to think it’s only a matter of time. All I know is he’s gunning for that land, and if this stretches north, there’s no stopping it. Oil fields will take over, and those oil companies have no interest in coexisting. There’s too much money below the dirt around here for them to care what happens up top—the survey of Dean’s land proved that. Between traffic and land contamination, things will get a lot worse.”

“So that’s why you’re helping out at Ironside Ridge? To protect the town.” My eyebrows pinch. “You make it sound like this is the start of a war.”

Will doesn’t respond to my comment. He rinses his mug and then walks over to me, gripping my shoulders.

“Be careful out there, Harloe. Shane’s a good guy—they all are—but there’s a target on that place right now. A target on all of us.”

“Clearly I’m not the only one who needs to watch my back.”

Zander’s issues with my brother might have started when Will began helping the bikers at Ironside Ridge, but it wasn’t until I left him at the altar that things got worse. All because I pissed off Zander.

Will shakes his head. “I can take care of this place. You worry about you. What happened to the bar and at the farmers market…”

He trails off like he can’t bear to finish that sentence. His fingers rake through his thick brown hair.

“I didn’t get hurt.”

“You could have been killed.” Worry wrinkles his forehead. “If I find out Zander had anything to do with that⁠—”

“You’ll what, Will?”

He swallows hard, not answering, which says everything. Shane and his crew aren’t the only ones who have no problem walking into situations they might not walk out of. I grew up surrounded by men like that.

“You deal with the ranch, and I’ll deal with Ransack.” I cross my arms over my chest. “I’m safe. You don’t need to worry about me.”

He looks a second away from arguing when the sound of a motorcycle cuts through the morning. We both glance out the window just as Shane pulls to a stop out front. The auto body shop replaced his front tire quicker than I expected.

“What’s he doing here?”

Will smirks, his gaze cutting to me. “Don’t know. He didn’t text me, so if I had to guess, he’s looking for you.”

20

SHANE

Harloe’s dark ponytail sways with her steps. The white lace frills that decorate the straps on her tank top flop around her shoulders as she walks out the front door and crosses the porch.

She’s a vision this morning in a skintight tank and blue jeans that accentuate the round curve of her hips. A sliver of skin teases me where her shirt doesn’t quite meet her pants, especially now that I know how it feels to touch her there.

Her cherry-red cowboy boots click against the wood. She has a pair for every occasion, but these are the brightest ones I’ve seen yet.

Most of her clothes are still in her apartment above Ransack, but Will brought her some of her old things from the ranch, and it included about ten pairs of boots, which she said were not nearly enough to match all her outfits.