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COLE

“What did Amber want?” Levi asked, as he swayed back and forth in a hammock on the front porch of Dad’s main office. “What was her emergency?”

“She just wanted me to meet her wedding planner.” I scoffed. “I don’t know why she keeps trying to rope me in on all the wedding stuff. It’s not like I need to sign off on anything. Dad already gave her access to her wedding account.”

“You know, it’s wild to me that you’re somehow Amber’s favorite brother.” Levi smirked as he sat up in the hammock. “No offense, but you’re not exactly an open book. I don’t even know why she glommed onto you in the first place.”

“Maybe because I’ve always been honest with her?—”

“Or because you remind her of Dad.” Levi laughed. “That’s probably it, isn’t it? Same reason you’re Dad’s favorite.”

“Why does everybody keep saying that today?” I murmured, finally stepping onto the porch with Levi. “Is Dad still meeting us here or what?”

Levi gave me a playful look, the same way he’d done over a million times by now. Levi had always been that way, like he was either about to play a prank on all of us or tell the best joke we’d ever heard. I didn’t know where he’d gotten that side of him from, since our dad was more severe than anything else. Still, I’d been grateful for it, his ability to break the tension of a difficult moment unmatched to this day.

“What would you even do? If Dad went nuts and just gave Amber the whole thing instead?”

“Amber has no interest in running the farm.”

“Oh, I’d help her. We’d have to cut you out though. Can’t have too many cooks in the kitchen. Or too many farmhands on the farm.”

“In that case, I’d just wait on standby.”

“For what?”

“For you two to file for bankruptcy.” I grinned. “Because you’d have no clue what you were doing.”

“Hey! I’m telling Amber you said that!” Levi laughed.

“Great, then maybe you can be on meet-the-wedding-planner duty.” I sighed. “All right. Time to face whatever music Dad is playing today.”

My dad walked into the office about twenty minutes later, with our cousin, Shane, by his side. Shane wasn’t fond of speaking too much, and he quietly took a seat beside me as my father headed to the front of the room. Levi offered him a playful wink and Shane returned the gesture with a small smile.

“Sorry about running late,” my dad started. “I needed to get Shane from the other end of the ranch. I figured he should be here for this too.”

“Here for what, exactly?” Levi chimed in. “Is this about you making Cole the next CEO? Because that could’ve just been an email?—”

“Power isn’t given. It’s taken. It’s earned.” My dad held up a hand, cutting Levi off. “If I was interested in handing over my hard-earned empire to the child who just happened to be born first , I wouldn’t have wasted my time preparing each of you for this.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I’m giving each of you an opportunity,” he continued. “There’s a potential land acquisition deal on the table, and whoever closes it first… they’ll get it all.”

“Are you saying that any of us could be the next CEO?” Shane asked, his voice low.

“Yes.” My dad nodded. “But it won’t be easy. It’s the McMillan property, the ones that neighbor us to the left. That land has been in their family for generations, thousands of acres of it. They’re about as likely to sell their land as we are. But… there’s still a small chance.”

“What’s the catch here?” Levi pressed. “You can’t really be saying that all we have to do is get the McMillans to sign on the dotted line and you’ll let us run Stratton Ranch?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying, son,” he replied, but his gaze shifted towards me. “I only want the best and brightest in charge of this company. Which means I’m going to need you to prove that you have what it takes… or else the ranch will go to the most capable among you.”

A few moments later and Dad was gone again, after explaining more of the minute details of the potential deal. I’d barely listened to the rest of his talk, already familiar with the details of the McMillan Ranch, including its potential sale. I’d used that time to bury my frustrations even deeper, my father’s disbelief in me eating away at me from the inside out.

Now, he was turning his disbelief in me into a goddamn game ?

What outcome was he hoping for? Did he really not want me to be CEO that badly?

“Plot twist!” Levi clapped me on the back, bringing my attention back to the office. “Can you believe this shit? I think Dad might be losing it.”

“Nope. He’s just testing me. Again. For the millionth time.”

“I think it’s fair.” Shane shrugged. “It’s not like Levi and I ever really got a chance to compete with you before. Not seriously, at least.”

“I just don’t understand where his head is at. Not that I ever fucking do.”

“ What ? Joseph Stratton playing mind games ?” Levi pretended to be shocked. “Who could’ve seen this coming?”

“How much do you already know about the potential sale? What’s your strategy?” Shane casually asked. “I know you won’t give me exact details. I just want to know how far ahead you are.”

I got up from my seat, already heading towards the door. “Just a few steps ahead. That’s all.”

“Being a few steps ahead is enough to win a whole race, though!” Levi called out behind me.

“Then, I guess you better catch up.”

There he was again.

The wedding planner.

He was in my direct line of sight, walking up and down part of the property line. He was flanked by a few women who I recognized as being part of Amber’s wedding planning committee, each of them looking harried and stressed out. But if Dylan was stressed out, he was doing a damn good job of hiding it, confidence exuding from his every move.

The city boy.

He didn’t belong here. His blond hair was perfectly styled, like he’d spent time this morning in the mirror arranging every individual hair on his head. Even his blue eyes seemed out of place, seeming more at home on a beach or somewhere coastal. The way he dressed wasn’t helping things, either, nothing about him said cowboy or rugged or rustic. He was a clean dresser, his jeans probably designer, his shirt loose on his frame, obviously a stylistic choice?—

Wait.

What the hell?

Why was I still thinking about him? Hell, why was I still looking at him?

I hadn’t spoken to him since he’d first arrived. I knew he was staying on the property and did my best to stay as far away as possible, hoping against hope to not be roped into anything else involving Amber’s wedding. Even so, I couldn’t shake my bone-deep annoyance at his very existence. I couldn’t wait for Amber’s wedding to be done, so Dylan Reid could finally just leave?—

“Don’t be mad! Don’t be mad!” Amber was suddenly by my side, her hands on my back. “We just need you for five minutes!”

“What are you—No!” I felt Amber pushing me towards the wedding planner, towards the property line. “Amber, what is this?!”

“Just five minutes!”

I thought about digging my heels in, but realized that whatever she wanted, it was easier to just get through it. I still had a few phone calls to make about the McMillan deal, so the sooner we got done with this, the better.

“Dylan! We have an expert here!” Amber flagged Dylan down and he walked up to meet her. The expression on Dylan’s face twisted for a moment when he spotted me, but he quickly recovered.

Ha.

He’s just as annoyed by me as I am by him.

Good.

“What do you think of a fireworks show? For the reception?” Amber asked, her face hopeful. “Dylan is saying that he’s worried about pyrotechnics with all the nature out here?—”

“That sounds fine to me.” I shrugged.

“Really? A 15-minute firework show sounds fine to you?” Dylan quirked an eyebrow. “You don’t care about it maybe starting a fire? And what happens with all the noise? Don’t you run an animal farm? Or do cows and horses just respond better to loud noises?”

“Amber, a 15-minute firework show? Really?” I stared at her in disbelief. I then turned back to Dylan, more annoyance burning through my veins. “And just who the hell do you think you are? Talking to me like?—”

“Like I know what I’m doing? Like I do this for a living? Like it’s real work ?”

Our eyes locked and I was speechless. I wanted to say something to him, maybe even do something to him, but I had no idea what. It was like I was reaching to say something in a language I just didn’t speak.

“No 15-minute fireworks show,” I said to Amber. “Come on. You know better than that.”

“But Cole?—”

“Listen to the man you hired Amber. Maybe he’s good for something, after all.” It was the last thing I said as I walked away from them, my fingers slightly twitching at my side.

Dylan was sitting right next to me at family dinner.

It took all of my strength to avoid interacting with him, still wanting to correct him about the way he’d spoken to me earlier. Instead, I tried to focus on the meal in front of me, helping myself to more salad to go along with my steak. I’d stolen a few glances at what was on Dylan’s plate, seeing if there was an opportunity to mock him for being a city boy at the table, only loading up on carb-free options.

But to my dismay, Dylan’s plate looked a lot like mine. The main difference was that he had a little less wine in his glass, as he seemed to take a sip nearly each time my sister pitched him a different wedding idea. I smiled to myself at the realization: Dylan appeared so calm on the outside but had a tornado of emotions hidden underneath his measured expression.

“So? Did your dad tell you yet?” My uncle, Virgil, was on my other side. Virgil had always been an eccentric in our family, still proudly wearing his rodeo championship belt buckle from 1983. Having a conversation with him was always an adventure, never knowing where it was going to end up. Once, he’d floated the idea that the government had microchipped all the cattle back in 1999, but when I tried to ask him what that meant for our ranch, he’d muttered something about how I was probably in on the plot, and he’d said too much already…

Even though I was ten years old when we’d had that conversation.

“Did my dad tell me what?” I asked, as I handed Virgil the butter.

“Who he’s going to pick for CEO?”

“I don’t think he’s decided yet Uncle Virgil?—”

“How do you not know? It’s plain as day.” Virgil shook his head. “I thought you were sharper than that, Cole.”

“Who do you think it’s going to be?”

“Someone completely unexpected. But someone we all saw coming,” he murmured. “Someone who’s been waiting in the wings but loves the spotlight. A mystery and no mystery at all…”

“Can you pass me the potatoes, please—” Dylan’s voice interrupted our conversation. “Sorry, I wouldn’t ask but they’re right there?—”

“Didn’t you already have a potato?” I asked.

“Are you potato policing me right now?” Dylan pressed. “Are you potato shaming me right now?”

“No, it’s just… I assumed city boys, like you, didn’t really eat a lot of carbs.”

“Why do you care what I eat and don’t eat?”

“Who said I care?—”

“Listen, Cole, we don’t have to like each other. And we don’t. But I’m just here to do a job, okay? I just want to make your sister happy, and then, we never have to talk to each other ever again. Deal?”

“Deal.” I didn’t like how the word came out of my mouth. It felt like it landed wrong.

“Great. Potatoes, please?”

I wordlessly handed Dylan the potatoes as he turned away from me and back towards Amber.

“Interesting…” Virgil muttered. “Real interesting…”

“What’s interesting?”

But Virgil didn’t answer, instead returning his focus to his plate, scooping a pad of butter directly into his mouth.