Page 7 of Then You Happened
“Is that so?”
“It is.” I nod. “By the looks of what I see, he’s not managing shit. Your hired help isn’t pulling their weight. Your feed isn’t being housed properly. You have fences that seem to have been broken for some time. And I haven’t even started on the horses. For a ranch that survives by selling its foals, it doesn’t look like you have nearly enough pregnant mares out there, which is something you mentioned during our phone interview.”
Those eyes of hers narrow.
Hit a nerve now, did I?
“I didn’t realize I asked your opinion.”
“You didn’t have to. I give opinions freely.” I smile, but I do it to piss her off.
Truth hurts, doesn’t it, sweetheart?
I recall the comments that were made in town.
“That Tatum woman doesn’t fit in here.”
“She supposedly works on the ranch, but come on, what rancher h
as the beautician come out on the regular to do her hair and nails? She’s probably the gopher. Or the trophy groomer. There’s gotta be a reason why she runs all the employees off. She’s probably worried word will get out that she doesn’t know what in the hell she’s doing.”
“The sheriff’s up there weekly. There’s one complaint after another about her substandard care for the horses. No one in town dares to buy one. They don’t trust that they’re in good health.”
“She doesn’t deserve the land she owns. No wonder the Destin twins are pissed and want it back. She and her husband have done nothing but waste their opportunity with that ranch.”
“Do I need to call the sheriff to have you removed?” she asks.
“I hear you two are good friends with his regular visits up here and all.” The tendons in her neck strain as she tries to hide her temper. I’m trying to push boundaries so that I can walk away from this place with the lie set in place that I really tried to make this work but failed.
“It’s Texas, Mr. Sutton. No one will think twice if I shoot you for trespassing.” She smiles sweetly. “We like to protect what’s ours and know we won’t be questioned for doing so.”
“Ah, but you’re not from Texas, are you?” I ask, uncertain why I feel the need to keep bantering. “From what I gather, the citizens of Lone Star don’t really claim you as their own.”
I’m a prick for pointing out the obvious since I’m probably more welcome in this town than she is, but I can’t figure out how she lives here, has set up a life here, and yet, no one really seems to know her.
Maybe it’s their not knowing her that’s earned her the vitriol.
Then again, all she has to do is open her mouth and their point’s proven in the first few sentences.
“I don’t care what the people in town think of me, let alone anyone else, really.” Another tight smile. A throw of her thumb over her shoulder. “Should I go prove to you I have the shotgun locked and loaded, always on the ready . . . just in case?”
“You talk a good game, Knox, but you know damn well that, if I leave, ain’t no one else coming to help. I don’t believe the bullshit in town, but others will. No paycheck is enough to put up with your attitude. Not a one.”
“Good. Be on your way then.”
The dismissal in her tone this time sets me off. It gives me a temper to feed off, a reason to get pissed and walk away.
“Thanks for proving you’re exactly how I thought you were going to be.” I tip my hat as her eyes narrow with confusion. “Enjoy losing your ranch to the bank.”
“Go to hell. I’m not—”
“It seems to me that’s what you’re angling to do anyway.”
“Good. Go.”
“I will.”
Fury and anger and failure course through me as I turn from her and start toward the steps, as I force myself to walk away from the woman with storm clouds in her eyes and defiance in her voice.
