Page 49 of Wild Rivals

“Fine.” I shuffle the papers on my desk and move my pen from one side to the other, more to distract myself than anything. Emotion clogs my throat as an image of my mom flits through my mind. “I wanted—” I clear my throat when the words crack. Burying the hurt, frustration, and grief, I continue, “I wanted to set up a new offering. The plan was that we’d take guests out and show them the real Montana for a night or two. As much as I love the glamor that comes with our cabins, or the luxury camping, that’s not what Coldwater or even Montana is about.” I pause, looking out of the window as I’m transported back in time. “When we were kids, our mom would take Deacon, Rhett, Sawyer, and me out to the furthest pasture, and we’d spend the night under the stars, building fires from scratch and listening to the sounds of nature surrounding us.”

Wyatt doesn’t say anything when I pause, so I continue, “With nothing but a rifle for protection, we’d play pretend like we’d just discovered the wonders of Montana under a star-studded night sky. It was the most fun we’d have all summer, and I figured why not bring that experience to others. When our mom passed away, we stopped doing it, and as the business grew, the land was used for grazing cattle instead. I truly believe sleeping out under the stars without today’s modern comforts at your fingertips is something everybody should experience at least once in their life. When the Evergreen land came up, it felt like fate because of its flat plains and the creek running right through it.”

I lift a shoulder, my body deflating at the reminder of everything I had planned. Even now, two weeks later, it feels like I’ve let Daddy down and the memory of my mom. Like I failed them.

Wyatt’s voice is soft and layered with a hint of something I can’t quite name when he says, “Will you give me a tour?”

“Of my ranch?” I ask, confusion filling my features.

Wyatt nods. “I want to see what you’re doing because it dawned on me that I don’t know much of anything you do around here. Besides from the bus loads of tourists that wind up in town.”

I size him up for a second, uncertainty giving me pause. Does he have an ulterior motive? Should I send him packing? If I give him the tour, it’s like showing him another part of me and I’m not sure I’m ready for that.

Wyatt watches me, his face neutral as he waits for me to decide. I should tell him to get out of here.

Instead, I stand, gathering up my phone and set of master keys. “Sure. We can head out on foot to the cabins, and I’ll ask Evan to saddle up some horses. Let me tell Mona where I’m going and grab a radio first.”

With that, I leave the room in search of Mona. I don’t know what Wyatt’s doing here, and I don’t know why I said yes. Am I making a mistake by showing him around? Why did he want to know my plans for the lot of land that he now owns? Or at least will do soon. I doubt I’ll get the answers today, but I’ll keep my guard up until I get a proper read on him.

30

WYATT

My horse follows Maddie’s as she leads the way through a meadow. We walked around the ranch buildings before saddling up and riding out to see the acres they own and what they do with each parcel. Hartlands is so different from Heartlands. There’s a different energy to the place, like hers was made for relaxing while ours was made for hard work and grit. And for the first time in forever, I’m starting to think that that might not be a bad thing.

As the hours have passed, I’m more certain that what I did was really fucking shitty. That land wasn’t just business to her. It meant something, and I took it away. I should have asked her instead of deciding I hated her enough to take it. I’ll have to carry that guilt with me every time I see her, which in a small town like Coldwater is damn often.

Maddie glances over her shoulder at me. She’s been doing it every so often as she’s shown me around, like she doesn’t really trust my motives. I can’t blame her; I’d be the same way if the guy who’d been ragging me and my ranch for years showed up and asked for a tour out of the blue.

“Is this where your mom used to bring you?” I ask as we approach a field with cattle grazing in it. Mountains tower in the distance. It’s peaceful out here, with just the familiar chirp of grasshoppers mixing with the occasional low of cows.

With her Stetson sat low over her eyes, I can’t quite get a read on her, and I wonder if she’s going to answer as the silence continues to build. Back in her office, I could see how much the mention of her mom affected her, but I’m not asking to upset her. I just want to know what makes Maddie Hart tick.

She relaxes her body, and her horse slows down until she’s riding beside me. “Yeah, I don’t get out here as much as I would like, though.”

“You’re too busy running an empire it seems,” I reply, a hint of admiration in my tone.

Maddie lifts a shoulder. “Someone has to do it, and I don’t really see any of my brothers volunteering to help a loved-up couple plan their perfect day.”

“What about your dad?” I ask.

She tilts her face toward me, a wry smile on her lips. “He’s stepping back. Besides, he won’t be around forever. It’s not like he’s getting any younger.”

I turn my attention to a cow and her calf up ahead as they move away from the herd for a greener patch of grass. “It would be good if they did stick around forever though, right?”

Maddie’s fingers tighten on her reins when I face her. “Yeah, it would,” she murmurs before adding, “Do you miss your dad?”

I twist my mouth to the side. “All the time.” I pause. “Even now, as old as I am, I still wish I could walk into his office and ask him some dumb-as-shit question because he’d always have the answer.”

“I can’t begin to imagine a world without my dad in it,” Maddie replies, her tone so soft I might have made it up. She drops her gaze to the horn of her saddle, hiding her face from me.

There’s a pang in my chest, not from my loss but for the one that Maddie will inevitably face one day. An inherent need to offer her comfort rushes through me, and I flex the fingers on the hand not holding my reins to keep from reaching for her.

“After so many years, it feels harder to remember what the world was like with my dad in it, but luckily for me, I have my brothers, Mom, and Gracie, so there’s no chance of us ever truly forgetting him. He’ll live on in our memories and the ranch.”

We sit in comfortable silence, moving around the edge of the pasture on horseback before I say, “If your brothers aren’t helping out, why not do something else?”

A nostalgic smirk pulls at the corners of Maddie’s mouth when she replies, “Hosting weddings was something my mom started. Daddy added more corporate events and retreats and now hosting is what our ranch is known for. We found our footing in the events side of things, so if you want to take your company on a ranching experience, you come to us. Or, if you want the perfect wedding with backdrops of Montana in every picture, we’ve got you covered.”