Page 1 of Roots of Redemption (Hicks Creek #4)

Sutton

“ W hy do you sound like you’re dying?” my best friend, Destiny, asks.

“Because I’m running to the mailbox in my cowboy boots.”

“First off, in your boots? Are you crazy? Second, is someone chasing you? You hate running.”

“I don’t hate it, I just don’t see the point in it. Besides, I have to get to the mailbox before Mama or Daddy.”

“Well, stop running so I can tell you the biggest news ever,” she practically squeals. “Wade Callahan is single again.”

“He’s always single again because he never stays with a girl longer than a week. Besides, I don’t care. I hate him, so it’s moot.”

“I really thought Kara Flein was going to stick, though.”

I knew she wouldn’t stick, because she needs way more attention than a ranching man can give her. I roll my eyes before I stop for a second to catch my breath.

It’s so hot. Why is it so hot?

The late afternoon sun beats down on my shoulders as I jog down the gravel driveway, kicking up little clouds of dust with each step.

It’s hotter than usual for May, and sweat is causing my T-shirt to stick to my back, but I don’t care.

The mailbox stands at the end of the long drive, its red flag lowered, a sign that the mail has already been delivered.

My heart thuds in anticipation as I reach for the handle, hoping—praying—that today is the day.

“Switch me to video!” she exclaims. “I want to see if you got into vet school in Montana!”

“I missed my interview for them. A&M is a better school anyway, and they only required an essay. Besides, this isn’t vet school, Destiny. This is the acceptance to undergrad.”

“I thought you wanted to go to vet school.”

“That’s the goal. I have to do four years at A&M to get my bachelor’s degree in animal sciences. Then, I can apply to the veterinarian program.”

“The girl who hates school is going for eight years?” she teases. “Are you okay?”

“It’s always been my dream to be a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. I hated grade school and high school because they don’t teach us anything useful.”

“True. Are you at the mailbox yet?”

The creak of the mailbox door and Destiny’s words are almost drowned out by the rumble of an engine.

I glance up just as an old, familiar pickup truck pulls up alongside me.

My stomach tightens, and I’m immediately aware of how messy my ponytail is and how the heat has probably turned my face red.

I’m dressed in a Hicks Creek volleyball tank top and an old pair of workout shorts with holes in them like I don’t own better clothes.

I’ve been out on my mare, Dolly, all day.

I know that I’m a mess and probably smell.

As Mama always tells me, “Would it hurt to look like you have a nice home somewhere?”

Please don’t be Wade. Please don’t be Wade.

I hear a low whistle and don’t even have to look up to know that my worst nightmare is happening right now. Wade Callahan leans out the driver’s side window, and his crooked grin is as infuriating as ever.

He’s probably been out working on the ranch all day, and he looks like he stepped out of an ad for when that beat-up old truck of his was in its prime.

He’s so insanely hot that it should be illegal.

“Oh my God, is that Wade?” Destiny gasps in my ear.

“Hey, Bishop,” he calls out, holding up a large envelope.

I despise that he refers to me by my last name. He knows it irritates me to no end.

I’m the only child of a rancher who wanted a son. I’ve always been more of a tomboy. Sometimes, I wonder if Wade even realizes I’m a girl.

Not that he’d notice me. I’m definitely not the type of girl he normally goes for. But that doesn’t matter anyway. If my daddy saw me talking to Wade right now, he’d tan my hide. Wade Callahan may be hotter than hell and smooth as silk, but he’s also public enemy number one in the Bishop household.

“Callahan,” I grumble, narrowing my eyes at him. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

My eyes keep darting back to the house. If Daddy heard the truck stop out front, there’s no doubt he’d be watching to ensure Wade isn’t trying to attack us or something equally ridiculous.

I don’t want to feel the wrath of my father if he thinks I’m giving the enemy secrets or something.

“Looks like congratulations are in order.”

“What?”

“What’s happening?” Destiny asks. “Is that Wade Callahan? OMGeeeeee!!!”

He hops out of the truck, boots crunching on the gravel, and saunters over to me. Wade has always moved like he owns the ground he walks on, and it’s no different now. He holds out the envelope, showing where he opened it without checking the address.

“Sorry about that,” he says, not sounding sorry at all. “Didn’t realize it wasn’t mine until I saw the acceptance letter inside.”

My breath catches.

Texas A&M.

I snatch the envelope from his hand, glaring at him even as my fingers tremble. “You opened my mail?”

“Like I said, it was an accident.” He crosses his arms, leaning casually against the mailbox. “Figured you’d want to know, though. Looks like you’re in. Kind of want to stick around and see how your grumpy old dad handles it.”

Ignoring him, I rip the envelope open the rest of the way, my eyes scanning the first few lines of the letter inside.

*Dear Miss Sutton Bishop, we are pleased to inform you…*

Not only did I get accepted to my dream college, but they’re also offering me a scholarship and financial aid that will take care of everything.

A rush of emotion floods me—relief, excitement, disbelief—but it’s quickly tempered by the sinking realization that I’ve just crossed a line my father won’t forgive. He doesn’t know I applied. He’d never approve of me leaving the ranch, let alone for a school so far away.

“Well?” Wade’s voice pulls me back to the present. “Aren’t you gonna say something?”

I fold the letter carefully and tuck it back into the envelope. I shake my head, stiffly turning on my heel to head back to the house.

That’s the most he’s talked to me in three or four years. I ain’t got nothing to say to him now.

Our fathers were best friends, and so were our mothers. Wade’s family owns the ranch next door. Four years ago, our fathers had a big falling out that came to physical blows, and the Bishops and the Callahans became the Hatfields and the McCoys of Hicks Creek.

Wade may be older than me, but we were pretty close growing up.

The hardest part of our family feud is that Wade turned his back on me and acted as though we’d never even met before.

He was always the one person in the world who understood the ranch life and the way it held me back from a normal childhood.

I think I hear him mutter something under his breath, but I don’t stop to ask what it is.

If I do, I’ll scream at him and tell him he’s a worthless human who broke my heart.

None of that matters, though. This acceptance letter is my ticket to show everyone in this town that I’m more than Frank Bishop’s daughter.

This letter is getting me into the college and setting me up for success. Eight years from now, I’ll be able to stand up and make my daddy finally see me, finally be proud of me because my degree will help him and the rest of the ranches in town.

My heart is pounding so hard, and my mind is already racing ahead to the fight that’s waiting for me inside. You see, I know that Daddy is going to be livid, but in the end, he’ll realize this is what’s best for the ranch, especially when he learns that there’s no cost to him.

“Sutton!” I hear Destiny yell on the other end of the phone.

“Shit, sorry, Dez. I got into Texas A&M, full ride. I need to go. If you don’t hear from me in a few hours, please send the police to look for my body.”

I hang up the phone and take the last few steps into the house. I feel like someone should call out, “Dead man walking!” I swallow hard.

There will be a lot of screaming. Mama will calm Daddy down.

He’ll tell me not to mess up and make sure that my oil is changed, my tires rotated, and my car cleaned up before we leave for school.

You know, because that’s how he tells you he loves you and is proud of you.

Mama will show him how this is an amazing accomplishment and how it’s a big deal and a testament to my work ethic and brains that I got a full ride to such an amazing school.

The screen door slams behind me as I step into the kitchen, where my parents are sitting at the table. My father looks up first, his sharp blue eyes narrowing when he sees the envelope in my hand.

“Did I hear that Callahan boy’s truck outside?” he hisses.

“Yeah, he got some of our mail by mistake.”

“By mistake. I bet he took it, trying to get a hold of our water checks.” His eyes flit to the envelope in my hand. “What’s that?” he asks, already suspicious.

I swallow hard and set the envelope on the table. “It’s from Texas A&M. I got in.”

The silence that follows isn’t a surprise, although I hoped it would be way different than this reception. My mother’s eyes widen, her hand flying to her mouth. My father, on the other hand, leans back in his chair, his expression darkening like a brewing storm.

“I told you that college wasn’t in the cards for you. I need your help here.”

“I knew you wouldn’t approve. But this is what I want, Dad. I want to study veterinary medicine. I want to—”

“What you want doesn’t matter,” he snaps, cutting me off. “You have responsibilities here. The ranch needs you.”

“You don’t need me,” I shoot back. “You just don’t want me to leave Hicks Creek because you think it’ll make you look bad.”

“That’s enough,” he growls, standing up so quickly that his chair scrapes against the floor. “You’re not going, Sutton. I forbid it.”

“Frank,” my mother says softly, placing a hand on his arm. “Let’s talk about this calmly.”

“There’s nothing to talk about, Caroline,” he growls, shrugging her off. “We can’t afford it. She’s not going, and that’s final.”

Tears sting my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall.