“So none of you should be shocked then that the man I’m talking about is Beau McLeod. Beau has been here day in and day out, supporting me through the trials of this partnership in so many ways it’d take me all day to get through the list. And then he turned around and supported my family when my mom passed two weeks ago. He’s been an unwavering pillar of support when he had no reason to be, for people he had no allegiance to.”
I swallowed back the knot in my throat and forced the doubt away. “Recently, Beau and I discovered paperwork drafted and signed for the merger of Golden Bridle and Circle M between our grandfathers in the seventies. Yes.Thatmerger.”
People gasped and others stared in stunned shock with their jaws dropped. People turned to stare at Beau, and he just gave them a knowing grin as if to say,Yes, it’s true.
When the commotion died, I continued, “After a lot of reflection, Beau and I have decided to honor their wishes and merge the two ranches under the name of Golden Circle Ranch.”
There was a flurry of questions, people asking both our families if they knew about it. It was understandably a difficult idea to grasp, considering our families had been at each other’s throats for the last fifty years, so I knew the town would react like this. I just hoped they could get on board because we were doing it with or without their approval.
What I hadn’t prepared for was Sterling Hollis to shove his way through the crowd like a bulldozer, fists clenched at his sides. He looked so out of place in his stark, cream-colored suit that matched his mustache and a turquoise bolo tie. He screamed money and privilege, the kind that wasn’t welcome in Wild Creek.
“You don’t have the authority to do this!” he yelled, silencing the crowd. “You haven’t cleared this through the town council. There are zoning policies, property line ordinances. There is an approval process you have to go through, young lady.”
“The contract that Beau and I signed last night and got filed this morning by my sister—who is an acquisitions lawyer—says otherwise.”
His face went red, forehead vein bulging. “You can’t just announce something like this like it’s a goddamn weekend barn dance!”
I leaned closer to the microphone to make sure he heard me. “Well, I just did, so…” I raised my brows at him in a silent challenge. Colt laughed, and when Sterling shot him a glare, he covered it up with the shittiest fake cough I’d ever heard.
Sterling turned around, facing the town. “This is reckless! She just wants to restructure the town council and is manipulating you with her sob story. Don’t fall for it!” With us now owning such a large piece of land, we landed ourselves on the town council and in a position to oppose him in meetings.
Beau strode through the crowd with lethal confidence, stopping in front of Sterling. He crossed his arms over his chest, staring down his nose. “You done yet, Hollis? Or do I need to haul your ass off our land?”
“You and your little girlfriend are trying to ruin this town,” Sterling snarled, jabbing a finger in Beau’s chest. I wrenched my jaw, protective rage roaring through me. Sterling might’ve been old, but that didn’t mean shit to me if he laid a hand on my man again.
“We aren’t ruining it. We’re protecting it.” Beau leaned in. “From you and your greedy family who want to buy up every company in this town to control everyone.”
I couldn’t see his face, but given the smug grin on Beau’s, Sterling was furious. He looked around for support, and got none, only disapproving glares. “This ain’t over.”
“Not expectin’ it to be,” Beau replied, eyes sparking with defiance. Pride swelled in my chest until I was practically bursting at the seams with it. I wanted to kiss the hell out of him.
Sterling shot me a glare over his shoulder. “You’ll be hearing from me, missy.”
“Looking forward to it.”
And with that, Sterling stormed off through the crowd, muttering to himself and saying God knew what. Someone started a slow clap that quickly became a roar of applause, making me smile.
Beau helped me off the platform, grinning ear to ear. “So proud of you,” he murmured just loud enough for me to hear.
I gripped his shirt collar in my hands and hauled his lips to mine, earning a few whistles and whoops that made us laugh into the kiss. I knew a storm was coming, but with Beau, our families, and our town by my side, I could face anything.
I looked up into the eyes of the man I loved, wondering how someone I hated just two months ago was now a vital piece of me; I guess love was funny like that, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Because for the first time in years, I didn’t feel like I was in this alone. I had help, support, someone who cared just as much as I did.
I didn’t know what the future held for us, but I didn’t dread it anymore like I used to.
Beau grabbed a pair of bolt cutters, offering one handle to me so we could cut down the fence between our properties together. And when it came tumbling down, he looked over at me with his beautiful smile and love in his eyes, and said, “Now let’s build somethin’ they can’t tear apart.”
Epilogue
SAVANNAH
One week later…
Being back home for longer than a weekend in the last eleven years felt a lot like deja vu. I looked around at the places I had spent my childhood, at the people I grew up with, and I felt that same disconnect, that veil of unfamiliarity that only came with deja vu.
I knew the reason for the feeling was that I didn’t belong in Wild Creek anymore, but when your mother is dying, you kind of have to push your own feelings aside and be there.
My world now consisted of skyscrapers, custom-made suits, heels torturing my feet, and billable hours. I ran on five hours of sleep, coffee, and words like share purchase agreement, material adverse effect, and escrow. I did Pilates, got my face derma-planed once a month, and drank espresso martinis.
