by K. C. Crowne
Now I knew why. He was an arsonist and was responsible for a lot of pain and misery. He was the reason we had to rebuild the ranch in the first place. Yet, more than that, it was because he'd temporarily stolen Jacklyn away. Not that she was mine, but her attention had been directed toward him. Even when she'd worked, I would catch her stealing glances at him as he rode in the fields. On her breaks, she'd run over to him and they'd laugh together over some private joke. I’d hated it even before I knew what he was up to. I didn't understand my reaction until now, and I realized I'd hated it because I’d been jealous.
I had no right to be jealous.
I walked out of the stable and stared back toward the house. Eli's car was still here. He wasn't going to let it go. Coming down the road was a truck and trailer though – the trailer with my horses. They'd been kept at a ranch inland for the last few months, and God, I’d missed them. Jacklyn had missed them too. She joined me, standing beside me in solidarity as we watched the first trailer of our horses coming home. I glanced over at her and she was smiling all the way to her eyes. I'd never seen her as happy as when she was with the animals.
Things were going to get back to normal soon enough, I hoped. I just needed to deal with Eli and the stupid offer to buy the place. Some developer was offering some ridiculously large chunk of change for it, saying he wanted to turn the place into a luxury resort or some stupid shit like that. I didn't know the details, and I didn't care. I'd had offers before and had turned them down every single time. Dad turned them down too. Being this close to San Diego with a large plot of land meant offers came and went every single day, but there was no amount of money that would get me to let go of this place. Ever. No matter how much pressure my brothers brought to bear on me, I wasn't going to hand it over to some developer.
When the truck parked, Jacklyn took off running toward, it and I quickly followed behind. Not exactly jogging, but not walking either. I wanted to get to them every bit as much as she did. She got there first though, and was already working to open the trailer with help from Mike Powell, the owner of the ranch that had helped us out. The Powell's were family friends of ours, happy to help out – for a price, of course.
“Whoa there,” Mike said, sidling up beside her and unlocking the trailer door. “Let me help you, pretty lady.”
He was chuckling to himself as he checked out Jacklyn's cleavage. Mike was closer to my dad's age. Jacklyn scowled at him and stepped back. I didn't need to say anything, the look of disgust on her face had made it clear. She didn't appreciate the stare or the pet name. I could have told him that.
Mike's smile fell when he caught me glaring at him, but Jacklyn looked relieved to see my expression.
“We're just excited to get them back home,” I said. “Especially Casper. Jacklyn can't wait to start working with him again.”
“He's a bit wild, that one,” Mike said. “Getting big too.”
“If anyone can train him, Jacklyn can do it,” I said, pulling open the heavy trailer doors.
Jacklyn beamed proudly. I'd meant what I said, too. For someone so young, she had a way with horses. Not many people could train them the way she did. It was almost like she could understand them or was able to communicate with them in ways others couldn't. Certainly nobody I'd ever worked with before.
Honestly, it kind of left me in awe of her. All these years of living around and working with these beautiful creatures, and I still struggled to get them to listen to me. But, put Jacklyn on the job, and she'd have them in line in no time.
One-by-one, we walked the horses from the trailer to the stable. Silver and Casper were toward the back of the trailer, the last ones to come off. I took Silver's reins in my hand and led her down the ramp. She was a gorgeous, silvery grey mare. One of the best horses we had and was easily the friendliest. Silver was one of Jacklyn's favorites as well.
Her eyes lit up and she rushed over to the big, gentle mare, stroking the silky, grey mane. Silver recognized her right away, resting her head against her hand as Jacklyn rubbed her nose.
“I'll have some carrots to feed you soon, sweet girl,” Jacklyn whispered.
“Want to grab Casper?” I asked, smiling as I said it.
I knew that Jacklyn would jump at the chance to grab the newest of our clan – the foal she'd helped deliver herself a few months back. Jacklyn's grin stretched from ear-to-ear as she nodded. She gave Silver a few more scratches before hopping into the horse trailer to grab the young stallion.
He was still a bit wild, but Jacklyn managed to rein him in just fine. The two of them walked side-by-side, Casper's tail swishing as he checked out the new surroundings. He was nervous, it was obvious in his body language, but Jacklyn managed to keep him calm. Silver and I were also nearby, just in case.
We walked the final two horses into the stable, all the way to the end. Jacklyn had prepared the stalls for them, and there was fresh food and water waiting; plenty of hay, and everything they'd need to be comfortable. We had one field cleared out and ready for them. A few others still had debris, but we were getting there.
Once all the horses were tucked away safely, Jacklyn made the rounds. I stood back, watching her. She was in her element and it was a beautiful thing to behold. It was a sight I'd never get tired of. I loved being out there in the stables too, it always felt like home to me. Jacklyn was a kindred spirit in that regard and was probably the only one on my side in this whole clusterfuck. I'd thought Sawyer would be, but Eli and the allure of all that money had obviously gotten to him
“What do you think about selling the place?” I asked her.
She looked shocked then quickly managed to compose herself. She didn't say anything for a long while, and I thought maybe she wouldn't answer me. I started to repeat my question when she answered.
“It's not really any of my business,” she said softly.
“Why isn't it?” I asked. “The ranch is as much your home as it is mine.”
She patted Casper on the nose, rubbing it gently. “But I'm not a Bucknell, I'm just an employee. Much like Alec or Sam –”
“Alec and Sam don't live here, though,” I said. “You do. You're part of the family, Jacklyn.”
“I doubt your brothers would agree.”
“Screw them,” I said. “I'm not asking them. I'm asking you. What do you think I should do?”
She hesitated, and her gaze fell to the stable floor as she bit her lip. I could tell she was thinking long and hard about what she was about to say next, and I appreciated it. It was a big deal to me and I saw that it was a big deal to her too.
When she opened her mouth, there were no surprises there. I guess I just needed the reassurance.
“I think you should fight for the ranch, Milo. It's an amazing place. There's so many memories here. For you, your brothers, for me,” she said. “And let's face it, the community needs it. How many other horse ranches are this close to San Diego and can provide the service and experience you do here? It's magical, and it would be a shame to turn this land into a shopping mall or whatever the buyers want to do with it.”
I chuckled and ran a hand over my stubbly chin.
“I'm sorry, Milo – I should just stay out of it,” she stammered.
“I asked for your thoughts and I appreciate it, Jacklyn,” I said. “And I happen to agree with everything you've said.”
“I know,” she said quietly. “I know it's your brothers who don't see it your way.”
“And they never will, sadly,” I muttered.
Hell, maybe Sawyer would come around, but Eli never would. It would be a cold day in hell before Eli agreed to keep the ranch going. Jacklyn was right – there were a lot of memories here. Not all of them good, especially for Eli. Yet, if he could pull his head out of his ass for five minutes, he might remember that they also weren’t all bad either.
At least there was no way he could sell the place out from under me without my signature, and I'd hold out. I'd let them sell the ranch over my dead body. Not
hing in the world would convince me to sign those papers.
Nothing.
3
Elias
“We have to get him to sign, Sawyer. There has to be something you can say to convince him that this is the best option. The only option.”
“Listen, bro, I've tried everything,” Sawyer said with a shrug as he grabbed a beer from the fridge and popped it open. “You know Milo is stubborn as hell. He's not going to do it, we might as well just get used to it.”
“No, we're not going to let our inheritance go down the drain like that,” I said, slamming my fists on the counter. “Milo shouldn't be the only one who gets to decide dad's estate.”
“Yeah well, that's what dad decided, so we're pretty much shit outta luck,” Sawyer said, taking a long chug from the beer before sitting down at the kitchen table. “Only Milo can sell the place.”
“This offer is fucking ridiculous, man,” I said. “We'd be set for a long time.”
I stood at the counter, staring out at the burned-out fields behind the property. So much damage, and there was so little left of the place, it was hard to fathom why Milo kept holding on. Was it to punish me? Probably. He always could hold a grudge.
“Yeah, I know. We could retire pretty comfortably, but what can ya do?” Sawyer asked.
“We can get Milo to fucking sign the papers, that's what we can do,” I said.
“Yeah good luck with that,” Sawyer muttered.
My younger brother might be willing to give up, but I wasn't. The offer had a deadline, and we were coming up on it – fast. I needed to get the papers signed and sealed and back to the potential buyers pronto or else we'd be shit out of luck. It wasn't often that million dollar offers fell from the sky; especially after all the damage the place had incurred in the fire. Not that the developers cared. They'd flip the place around and would turn it into something fabulous.
The sun was sitting high over the skeletal remains of the trees. There used to be a pond back there, before the droughts dried everything up. I remembered years ago, when we were kids, my brothers and I would go fishing out in that pond. There was another pond now – a manmade one for the horses. The old one was just a shallow dip into the ground now with a dry creek running toward it.
The ranch used to be such a beautiful place. A refuge from the city. It was somewhere you could escape from the hustle and bustle of nearby San Diego and get away from it all. Now, it had become my prison. Everything my family owned was tied up into this property, and I wanted my fair share of it.
Had dad left the place to all of us, like he should have, we could force the sale of it and split the proceeds. Of no surprise to anyone though, he'd only left it to Milo. Milo was the sole decision maker, while Sawyer and I were left with trinkets and bad memories of our father and little else.
Sawyer still occasionally lived and worked there. I'd left long ago.
“I'm going to ask for an extension on the offer,” I said.
“Sure, go for it,” Sawyer said. “But you're only delaying the inevitable, you know.”
I pulled my phone from my back pocket and called anyway. A woman answered the phone.
“C&C Development, this is Bianca Carmichael speaking.”
“Hi, Ms. Carmichael, this is Eli Bucknell.”
“Oh, yes, we've been expecting your call,” she said. “Have you decided to accept our offer, Mr. Bucknell?”
“Well, here's the thing – we need a little extra time,” I said.
“I see,” Bianca said. “Is there are a problem with the offer?”
“No, not at all,” I said. “Just family trouble, that's all. Still need to talk it over with my brother.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line and at first, I thought I might have lost our connection. Cell service was pretty shitty out at the ranch.
Then she sighed. “Alright, Eli,” she said, her voice taking an impatient turn, “We can grant you an extension, but please do not waste our time. If the offer isn't going to be accepted –”
“I'll get everything taken care of, Ms. Carmichael. I swear to you.”
“Good,” she said. “I'd really hate for you to miss out on this opportunity.”
“Me too, trust me,” I said. “I just need a little more time to sort through some of the details.”
“Fine. I can give you forty-eight hours longer,” she said, her tone crisp and curt. “Will that be enough?”
Not really, I thought to myself. I'd need a lifetime to convince Milo to sell, but if that's what I had to work with, I'd make it happen. I'd do my best at least.
“Thank you, Ms. Carmichael,” I said.
She didn't even bother to say goodbye. The line just went dead. The woman was as cold as ice. I stared at the phone in my hand for a long moment, feeling like I was up against an impossible task.
“Go well?” Sawyer said.
“About as well as could be expected, I guess,” I said. “We have two days to get Milo to change his mind.”
“Good luck with that, bro,” Sawyer said.
“You're going to help me, Sawyer,” I said. “You need the money as much as I do.”
“At least I have a place to live if I need it,” he muttered, sounding like a petulant child.
“For how long do you think that'll last exactly? Do you really think Milo can keep this place up and running? The bills are going to pile up, insurance only covers so much,” I said. “Dad didn't have the best insurance on this place after all. We all know that. The money is going to dry up and when it does, this place isn't going to be worth what we're being offered right now because the developers will know they've got us over a barrel.”
“ What do you want me to do, Eli? I'm pretty sure it's a lost cause,” he said, throwing his hands up in the air. “But if you have an idea, I'm all for hearing you out at least.”
“I do, actually,” I muttered, the pieces of the plan coming together in my head on the fly.
I walked out of the kitchen, through the back door and headed straight for the stable. Milo stepped out and saw me, our eyes locked and he frowned, his face darkening as I approached him. The gravel and debris on the ground crunched under my feet as I stomped over, standing tall. Milo was good at walking away – he'd mastered the art over years and years. But this time, I wasn't about to let him walk away from me. He was going to hear me out, dammit.
When I stopped before him, an electricity filled the air between us. Our eyes were locked on one another and it felt like thunderheads were rolling in with the promise of unleashing a violent storm. Finally, I broke the tense silence between us.
“What about Mom?” I asked, working hard to keep my voice from rising.
“Eli, don't you fucking dare bring her into this,” Milo spat.
I could see the anger on his face morphing, twisting, and congealing into something harder than steel at the mention of our mother. Maybe it was a cheap shot to bring her into it, but he'd left me little choice and I had to play every card in my hand.
“What about her, Milo?” I sneered, asking again.
He pointed a finger at me and lunged forward. Jacklyn grabbed Milo's arm, and even though he pulled away from her, he seemed to think better of it and stopped coming at me.
“We both know she hated this place,” I said. “She despised every moment she spent here, and Dad forced her to stay because it was his dream. Not hers. His. And he didn't give a damn about what she wanted or what would have made her happy.”
“You don't know what you're talking about, Eli,” Milo shouted. “As usual, you're just talking out your ass, tryin' to get your way. You've always been a selfish son of a bitch, but this is low, Eli. Even for you.”
“I know more than you do,” I said. “Because my head wasn't so far up Dad's ass, I could actually see what was going on around me.”
Sawyer rushed over to join us just as Milo lunged at me again. He and Jacklyn grabbed onto his arms, holding him back from me. My big brother's eyes were wi
de, red, and filled with heat. He struggled against their grip, grunting and growling, his face contorted just like our dad's used to get when he was mad. That only made my blood boil even hotter than before – and made me more determined to get this deal done.
“Bullshit. You know nothing, Eli,” Milo said. “Get the hell out of here. You don't fucking belong here. Never have.”
Sawyer spoke up softly, “Milo, he's right though –”
Milo pulled free from Sawyer and turned, glaring at him. The rage on his face over what he saw as a betrayal more than evident. He shook his head in disbelief as he backed away from him, looking at our baby brother as if he'd grown two heads – or had just plunged a particularly sharp dagger into his back. Which, in Milo's world, I guess he had.
“No, you're both wrong,” he said. “Neither of you have any goddamn idea what you're talking about.”
“We're not wrong, Milo,” I said. “And I can prove it.”
“What's it matter?” Milo said. “They're both gone. It's ancient history. It doesn't fucking matter.”
“It matters because while you're so busy honoring Dad's memory, you're shitting all over Mom's, and I've had enough,” I said.
“This has nothing to do with Mom, and you know it. For you, it's all about the money,” Milo said. “You're greedy and don't like to work for anything. You just want it handed to you, don't you? You're nothing but a selfish, greedy little bitch, Eli. Some things never change, huh?”
“You sound just like Dad right now,” I scoffed.
“Yeah? Well maybe Dad was right about you,” Milo said.
“Fuck you,” I said.
Years of hurt and rage fueled me forward and before I could stop myself, I slammed my fist into Milo's jaw. The crack of flesh meeting flesh boomed like thunder, and blood sprayed from his mouth, arcing high into the air, making Jacklyn gasp. Sawyer grabbed hold of me a second later, yanking me back hard. Milo glared at me, pure hatred in his eyes and spat, his blood and saliva coating my shirt.