Page 35 of Hung Up
“Yep, MSU, she’s getting a degree in creative writing. We’ve all always loved to read and write since we were little girls.”
“I get that. Writing songs is one of my favorite things. It forces me to face my emotions and not hide from them.”
That strikes me right in the chest and I feel a slight twinge. Clearly, his comment is aimed at me. I nod and turn up the radio, not wanting to get into it with him. I take three deepbreaths in and four breaths out. A breathing technique that will supposedly reset my nervous system, according to Dr. Morgan on Instagram. I know I probably shouldn’t take medical advice from doctors on the internet but I’m desperate to calm my frayed nerves.
I’m praying Huck isn't in court with the Kenzingtons today. Early mornings aren't really his thing, so I don’t think he’ll show. Unless his parents drag him out of bed and force him to go.
We park in the parking garage for the courthouse. It’s amusing seeing our pickups all backed into these tiny spots and not any other trucks in sight. They sure don’t consider country folks when they spray the parking spots in these garages. do they?
I spot Sable’s strawberry-blonde hair pop out of her GT Mustang and Mama is getting out of the passenger seat. Sable springs into action, running for me and jumping into my arms. She’s always been the more affectionate one out of all three of us girls. She looks like she just stepped out of a magazine, wearing a two-piece blazer set and short kitten heels. Her outfit blows mine out of the water. I’m wearing a plain black dress that has little silver buttons through the middle and flats. I threw my hair up in a claw clip, thinking maybe it would make me look a little more sophisticated for court.
“Oh my God. Is that Denton Reed?” she whispers in my ear.
I nod and give her a raised eyebrow to play it cool.
She shoots out her hand. “Howdy, I’m Sable, the funnest Saxxon sister out of the bunch. It’s nice to meet you.”
He tips his hat and shakes her hand. “It’s nice to meet you too, Miss Sable. I’ve only heard good things.”
He turns to Mom. “Ma’am, I’m Denton. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
She shakes his hand and my mom actually blushes. I swear I’ve never seen her blush in my entire life. My mom is five feeteight inches with dirty blonde hair the same color as Sutton’s. She’s a tall drink of water. Even as she ages, she continues to grow more beautiful than ever. Today she has on dress slacks, a satin button-up shirt, and heels that make her even taller.
The rest of the family is unloading out of Dad’s pickup now, and Dad comes around the back and stops dead in his tracks when he sees Mom. She turns to him, and they give each other a big hug, and dad kisses her on the cheek. Even though they’re not together anymore, I know they still have love for each other. Trotter runs up to Denton and jumps up and down with his arms in the air, wanting him to pick him up.
“Hey, traitor!” I say playfully.
Denton lifts him into his arms. Seeing him hold my nephew makes me weak at the knees. I wonder if he wants kids. He sure is good with them.
Sable and Sutton are walking with their arms locked, and Denton, who’s still holding Trotter, and I stroll behind. Being with all my family like this makes me feel whole and fills me in a way that I didn't know was missing.
“You’ve got an amazing family, Sorrel,” Denton tells me, giving me a genuine smile.
“I sure do.”
I look at each one of them, and my chest aches from how much I love them all. I know how important the ranch is to all of them and it would break us to lose it.
Dad stops in front of us and turns around, taking his cowboy hat off. “Well, guys, I just want you all to know that no matter what happens in the courtroom today, I love each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart—except you, Denton—no offense, but I just don’t know you that well.”
We all laugh, and I shake my head. “Anyways, this ranch has been in my family for eight generations. The Saxxons arefighters and that’s exactly what we're gonna do today. Those Kenzingtons are gonna learn they fucked with the wrong family.”
On that note, we’re all fired up. We go into the building, my heart hammering in my chest.
16
DENTON
We were in court for nearly six hours. After three of those hours, we discovered the Kenzingtons have been buying up small parcels of land around bigger ranches for years. They would purchase senior water rights and file a “corrected survey.” After that, they were able to manipulate easements and access to the river beds.
Somehow in the mumbo jumbo fucked-up world of laws and ownership they could claim the rights to that property. It’s what’s called a boundary dispute. And the Kenzingtons are so slimy they just hope the owner of the ranch doesn't notice. Eventually, no water equals no ranch.
Over time they set up a claim to the land and take possession of it. That’s exactly what they did to the Lazy C Ranch. It took a couple of years but eventually they got away with it.
Now they thought they could do the same thing with the Saxxon Ranch.
Luckily Sorrel is on top of her shit and caught them right away. It turns out she was onto them months ago. God, she was mind-blowing in there. She radiated confidence and had done her research. She had every piece of paper the judge—who wasclearly in on it with the Kenzingtons—asked for. Surveys, title records, and public findings. The judge tried to refuse some of the evidence—I think Mr. Saxxon had some dirt on him—after he went up and had some private words with the judge, he straightened out real quick. Gotta love small towns.
I could tell the Kenzingtons’ betrayal hurt Sorrel more than she let on. She confided in me that Mrs. Kenzington started to feel like a second mom to her when they were together. She said Huck and his dad were the conniving ones and that she actually felt sorry for his mom. I could absolutely believe that.
