Page 25

It really was the most extreme small-town life. Pyrite Falls was tiny, and Four Corners was a small town unto itself.

It had been really different, going down to California for school. Even in the Central Valley, which wasn’t exactly a budding metropolis, it had been a big change.

But Quinn had kept focused. Her head hadn’t been turned by any of the fancy things in the city. She was back to herself then. She knew who she was and what she wanted.

She’d wanted a degree to help her add another shield. More protection. Something to help her feel good enough, because she hadn’t known what else might do that.

She hadn’t gone down there to date, though she had often felt a little bit left out when the people around her went and had fun. But she had gotten there on scholarship, and she was determined to do the best she could.

She got her agribusiness degree, and she was ready now. It didn’t matter that she hadn’t done the social-life thing in college; it wasn’t what she had done college for.

She was exceptionally good at keeping focused on a goal.

That sort of energy was adjacent to rage, after all.

It just required that you bit down on something hard, and refused to let go.

They rolled into Mapleton, and she looked around, trying to see if there were any new businesses on Main Street. It had been a little while since she had come into town, and tourist season was a great time of year to go.

People often came to stay in the vacation rentals. There was a resort off in the mountains, and it attracted quite a lot of people.

It wasn’t the same kind of tourist town as somewhere more picturesque like Copper Ridge, but it had its share of people who enjoyed coming and visiting.

There was a new clothing boutique, and she knew that, without even asking, Fia would stop them there.

Her sisters did have an affinity for dresses.

But the first thing they did was stop at a store that had office supplies, and she got not only a laminator, but also a very large binder with flowers on the outside of it.

She made sure that Fia and Rory voted yes on every purchase, and technically, it was all still right within the bonds of their family business, because they would’ve been a majority and outvoted Alaina even if she would’ve said no. But Alaina would not have said no.

Anyway, it didn’t matter.

They stopped then and got a couple of new dresses, and then went to one of the local coffeehouses, where they got iced, flavored espresso drinks.

“Now, this was a good day,” said Fia.

“How soon do you think we’ll be able to get the farm store opened?” asked Rory.

“It squarely depends on Levi. If we have to figure out how to get the road dug in all the way from the main drag, it’s going to be costly and create a huge delay. I mean, obviously we can open and put out signs and hope that people want to drive eight miles down a dirt road, but that’s going to be a bit of an uphill battle.” Fia took another sip of her drink. “And it’s a battle that will probably cost us so much, the store will fail before it ever begins.”

“You’ve done a good job,” said Rory. “Whatever happens, Fia. You’ve done a great job.”

Fia would never say it, but Quinn believed it to be true. The Sullivans had had it hard. They were also resilient. They were the only family on the ranch made up entirely of women.

The McClouds were all boys, the Kings and the Garretts mixed. The Sullivans had had to be creative once their dad had left. There weren’t a plethora of sons to lift hay bales and do manual labor. They’d always had to lease out their fields and hire foremen. They had to focus on their own strengths and hone them. They produced a massive amount of hazelnuts, vegetables, fruits. They baked, they made preserves.

Their dad’s abandonment and their mother’s subsequent dissolving had forced the girls to band together. When Quinn had managed to get her anger under control, she’d begun really homing in on ways to make the ranch more profitable. With Rory’s head for management, Fia’s coolheaded leadership, Alaina’s tenacity and Quinn’s hyperfocus on all things agribusiness related, they’d built themselves a profitable spread.

They made money not only on the ranch land, but also on their other skills.

It had never been Alaina’s passion, but it was the rest of theirs. And it was one reason that Quinn had felt inspired to go to college. What Fia had done was figure out how to work smarter, and harder along with it, and she had turned Sullivan’s Point into a huge success. But it had taken creativity and hard work. It had taken her forging new ground. Their father had done beef, just like the Garretts, just like the Kings. Fia was the one who had decided to take a risk and get into fruits and vegetables. Nuts. She was the one who had decided to lease the land. In Quinn’s opinion, Fia was the most creative businessperson in the entire collective, and Quinn looked up to her mightily for it. Not just that, the amount of emotional support that Fia had given to the rest of them over the years. It wasn’t easy being the oldest in a dysfunctional family. Everyone else at Four Corners proved that. Sawyer, Gus, Denver... They were all a mess.

But Fia had done it.

“Thank you,” said Fia. “But we’ll see. If this all goes to hell, you may be cursing me rather than thanking me.”

“The others will have our back,” said Rory.