Page 49

“You act like they’re disposable.”
“They are.”
I gripped the steering wheel a little tighter.
Fiona sighed dramatically. “Duke, I am trying to get this deal done. That is what you brought me here for. I don’t have time to play nice with a bunch of cowboys who don’t even want you here.”
She wasn’t done. I knew her well enough to know that, so I waited for her to spew whatever it was that was making her behave like a moron.
“Oh, I see,” she continued. “This isn’t aboutthem. This is abouther.”
Here it comes!
“She’s a farm girl, Duke, one with a chip on her shoulder. Why do you care what I say to her?”
My fingers flexed against the leather-wrapped wheel.
Because Elena took care of the ranch we’re about to gut, worked for a man who resented her, and stayed on land that wasn’t even hers because she’d promised hermother. Because I can talk all the shit I want to her—but no one else is allowed to do that.
“Because Elena knows this business, and you don’t. Show some damn respect.”
That shut Fiona up.
“You need to get your head out of your ass, and if youevertalk to those people as you just did, I’m going to fuckin’ fire your ass from this project.”
She gasped. “What?”
“Are you unclear about one thing I just said?”
She licked her lips. “Duke, you can’t talk to me like this.”
“Sure can. You work for me.”
“I’m your girlfriend,” she cried out.
“Not in a work meeting, you’re not. You make enemies out of people I need on my side to sell one of the biggest ranches in Colorado; Iwillhave to take matters into my own hands. Your behavior is fuckin’ deplorable, so get your act together. This is non-negotiable.”
Also, I’m not sure I want to sell Nash’s precious, pristine land, Hunt’s prized cattle, and Elena’s horses…fuck!
The road stretched ahead of us, winding through land that wasn’t just property—it was history—miles of fields, hills, and open sky.
She shifted, glancing at me. “I’ll be careful from now on.”
“Good.”
“I just…I just want to move this quickly. I know you want to be done with it. I know this is your way out of…the past.”
My way out? Yeah, that’s what I’d thought, too. And yet, right now, I was driving toward a deal I was no longer sure I wanted.
When we pulled up to Kaz Chase’s mansion, Fiona reached for my hand. “Can we make up now?” she asked softly.
It was an apology wrapped in silk—pretty but empty.
I glanced at her, feeling a wave of unease. Fiona was more like my mother than I’d ever wanted to admit. This was Mama’s way, too—lose her temper, cut deep, and then expect a neat little reconciliation as if none of it had ever happened.
“Of course,” I lied, my tone tight.
The truth was, I didn’t want to make up. I wanted her out of my life. And that realization unsettled me ‘cause this wasn’t the first time I’d seen Fiona treat people like dirt. But it was the first time it didn’t sit right with me. And I knew why. Elena, Hunt, Amos, Nokoni, the ranch hands, the cowboys…they belonged to the land. I was the interloper.