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May the best man win, I said. It hurts, just a little, that we both know I’d never be considered in that.
CHAPTER 5
Nora
It’s time to fix the freaking fences.
After riding the rest of the back fields yesterday, I came to the conclusion that fences come first. I told my dad when I got back, and he agreed, acknowledging that he hadn’t been able to get out to that particular stretch of fence in a while. I told him about the stallion, and that I likely knew who sired the girls’ foals.
My dad looked sad. I could tell he was worried that we’d have to tell the Wild Spur, but I told him that it didn’t matter. It’s not like they need one more foal.
I caught him up on everything else I saw yesterday, but I didn’t tell him about meeting the guys from the Wild Spur. One, I didn’t want to worry him. He kind of seems to have a chip on his shoulder about them, anyway, so I didn’t want to rile him up. Two, I’m just… not quite sure what to do about the interaction that I had with them.
It was… unsettling.
I was still thinking about the three cowboys when my alarm went off at three-thirty this morning. I wanted to make sure that I had plenty of time to get the equipment ready. We’ll need to bring the tractor out today and the post-hole thing that I really hate operating. I got up, washed my face, and decided to go tend to the horses so that by the time my dad woke up, we could be ready to go. The odds that the stallion will be out there before sunrise are slim, and I’d rather be in and out before I have a chance to see him, or his owners, again.
When I come back, my dad is still sleeping, which is unusual.
“Dad?” I say, knocking on his door. “You in there?”
I hear murmuring and swearing. “Be out in a second, Nora.”
Dad sounds… groggy. Huh.
I head back downstairs, letting every single step squeak along my way, since the time for creeping around quietly has passed. I put coffee in the machine, wishing desperately for a latte instead of just black coffee, when I notice some mail out on the kitchen table.
I walk over to it, curious. There’s some junk, as always. A card from one of the women in town who I suspect has had the hots for my dad for a while now. It’s unopened, which makes me sigh. Ellen is a nice woman, and my mom has been dead for twenty-one years. Dad does neither of us any favors by pretending that my mom died more recently than that. I wish he would move on, honestly.
Underneath that, though, are two thick envelopes. I pull them up. One is from the bank, and one is from the hospital. Both make my heart sink.
I open the bank one first. My eyes scan the text, the pit in my stomach growing bigger. I still can’t believe what I’m reading when the stairs squeak, signaling my dad’s arrival.
“I smell coffee,” he starts, but freezes when he sees what’s in my hands.
I wave it at him. “Were you going to tell me about this?”
“Nora…”
“Your loan application was rejected, Dad,” I say, unable to keep the anger out of my voice. “You can’t offer the property you want help with as collateral if you want a loan.”
“Look, I just thought that I would see?—”
“Dad, you have to tell me everything!” I shout.
My dad looks over at me, a frown on his face. “Don’t take that tone with me, Nora Foster.”
“Oh, now you’re going to act like an adult?”
“Nora,” he warns.
I start pacing, my anger fizzing at my skin. “No, Dad! The ranch isn’t just struggling. It’s drowning. The books look miserable. Why didn’t you set us up as a corporation? Now we’re held personally liable for all the mistakes, and with the amount we owe, we’re not going to be able to make our mortgage this month. And this? You tried to get a loan? That’s ridiculous. You can’t take out a loan like that on a personal asset?—”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” my dad yells.
I pause, looking over at him.
He takes a deep breath. “Look, your mom was the smart one, Nora. I’ve been running this place for twenty years based on the plan she made. But she’s not here to tell me what to do now, and I don’t know what needs to happen given all the challenges we’ve had in the past year. I don’t know what kind of words you’re using, asset this and collateral that. I just know how to run the ranch, Nora. That’s why I needed your help. I don’t know what to do.”
