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“It wasn’t your place to make that decision.”
“Oz, you should’ve told her months ago. Delaying the inevitable just makes things harder.”
“I wanted to tell Dial in my own time—”
“Well, the cat’s out of the bag, so we can all move on.”
“That’s the thing—you upset Dial and made it more difficult than it needed to be.”
He waved my words away. “I don’t care if that girl’s feelings were hurt.”
“But I do.” Tension edged my voice as I struggled to keep it even.
“I can’t undo what’s been done.”
“You overstepped with Dial, and this entire Texas move.”
“I did what you were too pussy to do,” he snarled.
“It’s crazy the way you think you can control everything and everyone.”
“This is my company. I built it from the ground up. I don’t have to answer to anyone.”
“And I appreciate that, I do, but you act like this is a one-man show. I’m right beside you, Dad, doing the work every day.”
“What do you want, a cookie?”
My sincere attempts to bridge the gap had always been met with indifference, as if his allowing me to work on the ranch was some huge favor. He took for granted what I’d put into this. Early mornings, flying back and forth. Working late nights on movie sets and, after filming, taking the time to groom the horses for the night so they’d be fresh and ready to shoot the next day. I was negotiating rates and contracts, signing agreements, handling performance evaluations, training new hires. I was just as invested as he was.
“I want respect and deference because I’ve earned it,” I said. “I’m not the little kid tagging behind you anymore. I get to choose what my life looks like, and Texas isn’t in the cards for me.”
“You say you want responsibility and ownership, well, here it is,” he replied.
“I’ve done everything you’ve ever asked of me. You said college was a waste of time, so I didn’t go. You told me I was too young to marry Dial, and so I didn’t. But I can’t keep living for you. I have to do what’s best for me and my family.”
“Look at how your life turned out. I was right on both counts. You’re making more money than any college degree could’ve offered. And your old lady ended up in a nuthouse. So, you’re welcome.”
The urge to lunge across the table and choke him out made my muscles twitch. He liked Dial well enough until he saw her as a distraction. When I’d taken time off to take care of her when she was suffering from morning sickness, he called me a simp. If it was up to him, I’d have missed Maple’s birth. For him, nothing was more important than this ranch, and I was done fertilizing the land with my blood, sweat, and tears.
“I’m not moving to Texas full time. I’m willing to travel every other week, but no more. I hired an operations manager, Randy, to oversee the construction when I’m not there. As chief operating officer and head trainer, I made an executive decision.”
“Is Dial getting into your head and telling you to do these things?”
“This isn’t Dial—this is all me. You told me you wanted someone in Texas full time, and I made that happen.”
“If I have this Randy fella, then why do I need you?”
My shoulders jerked at his words. “I don’t know. Maybe you don’t. Maybe this father-and-son endeavor has run its course.”
“When did you become such a whiner?”
“I don’t think I’m being a bellyacher just because I want what I bring to this ranch to be valued. You just take, never giving, always expecting more. And I capitulate, kissing the ring to please you. But this unspoken arrangement isn’t working for me any longer. I love this ranch and what I do, but I’ll walk away in a heartbeat, because Maple and Dial are more important to me than all of this. And the fact that you can’t understand that says far more about you than it does me.”
My chair squeaked as I stood. I wasn’t going back and forth on this. What was done was done. Texas was behind me, and what lay ahead was ten times sweeter.
That night, Dial tried to point me to the bright side of the situation while stroking my head, which was resting in her lap. “You could be one of those Magic Mike dancers.”
“I don’t think I’m built for that.”
