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“Landon doesn’t know how to say a regular compliment,” I say, rolling my eyes at him. “But yes. He’s complimenting you.”
“Manners would be helpful,” she mutters at him.
“Most definitely, they would,” I agree.
There’s an awkward silence for a moment, and Nora looks at the table. “Well, listen, I’m not sure what you wanted to accomplish with this…”
Fuck. Landon isn’t going to tell her. “Landon really didn’t sabotage your auger. I promise he’s not that good with equipment.”
“Hey now, I’m plenty good at fixing shit.”
I give him a look. “Don’t lie to the lady.”
“I’m good at it!”
“He’s not. Not enough to make it explode. Was it running hard to begin with?”
Nora hesitates.
I nod. “Yeah. Well. Things like that can happen without upkeep, especially on small motors like that.”
“My dad did plenty of upkeep,” she snarls.
I shrug. “Okay. Well. All the same. I’d like for you to consider the fact that you might need a little bit of help.”
“From you?”
I sigh. Might as well get to it. I reach for a USB that has the lease document on it, pulling it out of my pocket. “Listen. The Wild Spur is doing a brisk business. We’re on track to add nearly seven hundred new horses by the end of the year, and that’s a rough estimate. We need more space.”
“I heard you have been trying to buy things out from my dad,” Nora spits.
“I’ll admit, it seemed like a good option. I know it was a rough year, just from hearing the gossip in town.”
“We aren’t selling,” she says stiffly.
“Good. That’s good. But would you be open to a lease?”
Nora blinks. It’s time.
“The Wild Spur leases land from some folks a little closer to Bozeman. This is our standard lease agreement that we offer,” I say, pushing it toward her. “It’s not the best, and I’d be open to amending it or mixing it up?—”
“So, this was your agenda.” She stands up, and the chair clatters behind her. “You—” She points at Landon, “came to sabotage my shit to scare me. And you—” She points at me, “you had this all lined up. You knew I’d come here?—”
“Nora. You’re a smart person. Don’t be ridiculous,” I say, my voice low. “We didn’t do anything to break that stupid auger. To be able to figure that out in the amount of time Landon was out there is just not possible.”
“Yeah. Whatever. My dad was right,” she seethes. “You’re just a bunch of assholes.”
With that, she storms out of the kitchen. Her boots clomp on the floor as she walks to the door, then I hear the screen door snap close with a loud bang.
Landon and I stare at the kitchen entry.
“So that went well,” he smirks, turning back to me.
“Fuck you,” I mutter, grabbing the USB drive back.
“Real smooth there, Lex.”
The nickname, which normally doesn’t bother me that much, burns at me. “You think you can do better?”
