Page 24 of The Wrong Ride Home (Wildflower Canyon #1)

duke

I hadn’t meant to eavesdrop.

I’d been walking toward the kitchen to get some water when I heard Elena.

“ No. I…want to leave.”

I stood still, closed my eyes, and snapped them right open when Itzel said, “I think it must be very hard to watch the man you love with another woman.”

Her words settled heavily in my chest. Elena loved me. No surprise there, or was it? I’d orchestrated that little scene with Fiona to get a reaction, to make her feel something—because I knew she loved me. And I knew that because I still loved her.

I stood and listened, excitedly gleaning all I could about the grown-up Elena, the one who didn’t give me the time of day.

“Who takes care of you, mija ?”

Even back then, Elena was the giver. She took care of everyone around her, but I never saw anyone take care of her—except me. And when I wasn’t there, had anyone else stepped up? Hunt? Maverick Fucking Kincaid?

I already knew the answer. She wouldn’t have let them, not after a point.

Elena was careful about who she let in, and once, I’d been the one to slip past all her defenses. When I turned on her, I could only imagine how much higher and stronger she’d built those walls.

I heard them say goodnight, and that’s when I stepped into the kitchen.

Elena and Itzel both looked up, and I saw the moment Elena’s expression shut down. It was like watching a fortress lock itself down—gates slamming, guards on high alert, alarms blaring: intruder.

“Can I get you anything, Duke?” Itzel asked politely.

I shook my head and walked to the fridge. “Just wanted some water.” I watched as Elena reached the back door, and I couldn’t stand not talking more with her about what I’d overheard. “Elena, can you step into my office for a minute?

“Now?”

“Is that a problem?” I filled my glass with water from the fridge filter.

She didn’t answer right away, just stared at me for a beat, then finally, to my relief, said, “No problem.”

I followed Elena to my office. I liked watching her walk. That ass I’d cupped so many times was still nice and big but not as juicy as it used to be. It looked firmer. Came from sitting on a saddle for half the day.

I ran a hand down my face in embarrassment that I was ogling Elena.

“Sit,” I instructed, pointing to the client chair in Nash’s office. I went around the desk and sat where I realized, all of a sudden, she used to. This used to be her domain, from where she saved the ranch time and again. I’d seen the evidence.

She sat comfortably in almost a slouch, like Hunt did, like Nash did, like a freaking cowboy, relaxed in her skin. She held her hat in her hands as it rested on her lap.

She waited for me to speak. This Elena didn’t talk much. The girl I knew wouldn’t shut up. I used to love that about her. Chirpy and fun, always ready to share a story that made me laugh.

Where did all your stories go, baby?

“I want to talk to you about Fiona.”

Her head bobbed in acknowledgment.

“She—” I forced the words out—“shouldn’t have spoken to you the way she did. Or to anyone else at the paddock this morning.”

Elena’s expression remained neutral.

I hesitated, then did something I hadn’t done in years. I tried to apologize.

“I am sorry for her behavior. She is?—"

But she cut me off with a look. A look that said she wasn’t interested in apologies. I felt the frustration tighten my chest. She wouldn’t even let me try.

Elena breathed out, slow and measured. “You shouldn’t apologize for someone else’s actions. Fiona is a grown-ass woman. She made her choices. If she feels remorse, I’m happy to hear her out. If not, we move forward.”

“Just like that?”

“Yeah.” She then leaned forward, her elbows resting on her thighs. She swiveled her hat. “But I do need a favor.”

This time, I bobbed my head in acknowledgment and waited.

“Ally…Allison, she works here.”

“The blonde kid?”

“Yeah. Fiona needs to be kinder to the staff. Allison is healing from some bad shit, and making her cry because she didn’t replace a towel in the bathroom is unnecessary.

Fiona can keep on saying what she wants to me or Itzel or Hunt or even Amos…

though maybe not Amos, he’s about this close”—she put her thumb and forefinger together—“to quitting on you. Hunt and I can take it. Itzel…she’s a rock. ”

“She seems competent.” She was more than that. I liked her very much. She had a no-nonsense but caring demeanor. Thanks to her cooking, I’d eaten better than I had in years, and regardless of Fiona making a fuss about being sick and tired of ranch food, I had no problem with it.

“Then that’s settled.” Elena straightened. “Is there anything else?”

The way she said it made me stiffen. Was she dismissing me?

She was about to stand up when I waved a hand. “We’re not done talking. ”

She looked taken aback, and she wasn’t the only one. She was leaving me. Always fucking leaving, and it was driving me up the wall. She loved me. She fucking loved me, and…I didn’t know what the hell to do about it.

I should never have come to Wildflower Canyon. Coming here was a mistake.

If I’d only stayed away…if I had only been able to.

The air here was like a truth serum, stripping me down to what I really was, what I really wanted.

I’d come back thinking I could settle Nash’s affairs, sell the ranch, and walk away clean.

Thought I could bury the past, my feelings for him and Elena, alongside him.

But I didn’t want to anymore. I didn’t want Elena to sell the horses, especially Whiskey Rush, whom she loved.

I didn’t want Hunt to pack up and leave.

I didn’t want the people who gave their lives to this land to lose it.

And, maybe worst of all, I didn’t want to lose it either.

I had thought this was business, but Wilder Ranch was more than that.

It was history, legacy—blood and sweat worked into every inch of soil.

It was mornings that were thick with the scent of coffee and saddle leather, the low murmur of voices before dawn, and the sound of cattle calling out in the distance.

It was the rhythm of hooves against packed dirt, the creak of old barn wood, and the warmth of a well-worn saddle.

It was evenings in the bunkhouse, poker games played over whiskey, stories traded between men who spoke less with words and more with the land.

This place had shaped me, even when I’d tried my best to turn my back on it. Even when I’d convinced myself I didn’t belong.

I wondered if everything I’d been doing—the deal with Piper, the plans to sell—had all been theatre. A way to prove I didn’t care because I cared too damn much.

Before I could contemplate that epiphany further, Fiona came into the office. She was in black silk pajama shorts and a tank top. “Duke, come to bed.”

She then pretended to notice Elena. “Oh…isn’t it a bit late for a meeting?”

“I asked her to stop by,” I clarified.

Fiona approached me and, because I knew she was staking a claim, she sat on my lap, as if telling Elena to leave .

I wanted to push Fiona away, but then I heard Itzel’s words again: “… hard to watch the man you love with another woman .”

“Elena, please tell Fiona the issues you just brought up about her behavior?—”

“My what?” Fiona cried out and scoffed. “Who the fuck is the employee, and who is the employer here?”

Elena’s lips slightly curved as if she were saying, “Well, doll, why don’t you tell me?”

“Can you let me finish before you fly off the handle, sweetheart?” I said it nicely, and Fiona wrapped herself around me.

“Elena, you mentioned some concerns. I think it’s best you address them directly with Fiona.”

It was grossly unfair, but the words were out before I could weigh them. Was I testing Elena? Or myself? Or Fiona? Or was I just bumbling around because I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing?

Elena narrowed her eyes. “I don’t think you want me to do that, Duke.”

Fiona turned to Elena, her voice sharp. “Well, I do.”

Elena raised a brow at me, but if she was surprised, she didn’t show it. “Alright. This morning, you yelled at Allison, who’s the kid who cleans your room by the way, for not changing your towels?—”

“That stupid cunt went complaining about how she can’t handle her job?”

“ That exactly is the problem,” Elena pointed out.

I felt Fiona go stiff on my lap as Elena continued. “Last night you called Ben a lazy asshole because he said he couldn’t saddle horses for you this morning. He had a dentist appointment and had to be in town.”

Compared to Fiona’s bubbling fury, Elena’s cold calm was even more discernible.

“Fiona, this is a working ranch and not a resort. We’re not here to take care of your needs; we’re here for the ranch.

Ally takes care of the house and helps Itzel and Miss Patsy cook for the ranch hands and the cowboys.

” Elena then stopped talking and smiled softly.

“I have several other examples of how you’ve been treating the people who work at the ranch, and it’s unacceptable. ”

Fiona’s jaw tightened. “How dare you?—”

“And for your clarification, Wilder Ranch is my employer. You are a friend of Duke Wilder, who officially hasn’t taken over the ranch and won’t until the will is read tomorrow. And even then, you are not our employer. If you were, I can guarantee every man and woman who works here would walk out.”

I wasn’t supposed to enjoy my girlfriend being ripped a new one, but I was because Elena was beautiful in how well she spoke compared to Fiona’s sputtering.

Also, I was sick and tired of Fiona behaving the way she was.

I’d always known that she only respected those with more power than her—here the dynamics weren’t as clear, and she actually thought she had more power than Elena and Hunt. She didn’t. They ran this place.

“Duke, I hope you can take things from here.” Elena rose. “I don’t feel comfortable talking to your girlfriend about this matter.” Then, she tipped her hat to Fiona, set it on her head, turned, and walked out the door without a single word.

“That fucking bitch, how dare she?—"

“Shut up, Fiona,” I ordered flatly.

She whirled on me, eyes wide. “Excuse me?”

I didn’t waver. I set her down and stood up. “First things first, what the fuck are you doing coming and sitting on my lap while I’m having a meeting?”

“Meeting?” Fiona wobbled until she found her feet. “You are my boyfriend and?—"

“I need to know that you understand what she just said to you. Do you?”

Fiona shook her head, still trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

“The ranch hands, the staff in the house, Itzel, none of them work for you .” I looked her in the eye. “I expect you to treat people with respect… all the people . If you can’t do that, you can go back up and pack up. I’ll take over the Wilder Ranch project, and you can work from Dallas.”

“You’re kicking me out over this?”

I felt the exhaustion of the last few days settle deep in my bones. “If you aren’t going to treat people with respect, I can’t use you for much.”

For a second, she didn’t say anything. Then, her expression twisted. “I knew it,” she hissed.

I frowned. “Knew what?”

Her laugh was bitter, sharp. “That something’s going on between you and that…farm girl, isn’t there?” She took a step closer, her voice raised. “Admit it, Duke. You feel something for her because I can see it, and it’s fucking killing me.”

“Don’t yell,” I warned, my voice flat.

How the hell had I gone from being attracted to this woman just days ago to feeling nothing but irritation—and a healthy dose of disgust?

Fiona swallowed hard. “I’m sorry. I just—” She sighed. “I lost my temper.”

I studied her for a long moment, then said, “This is your last chance.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that I need you to learn to work with the people at the ranch, people who know more about this land than you and I do. I need you to build bridges, not burn them. I need you to stop behaving like a fucking cliché who treats people who work for her like dirt.”

Fiona looked confused. “This is how I’ve always been. I’m not the one who has suddenly changed since coming to Wildflower Canyon, Duke; that’s you .”

I made a mental note to talk to the people who worked with Fiona at Ironwood Development Group—my company—to see what they thought of her.

This wasn’t a one-off. Fiona reported to me, and my relationship with her had been a good one, but then we started dating, and now the person I saw wasn’t someone I could even date casually.

Was that the Wildflower Canyon air inside me talking?

“Maybe so, but it doesn’t change what I need from you.”

“And us?” she asked.

I shrugged. “This is business, Fi. You know how I work.”

She did, but like she’d said, I’d changed; this fucking ranch had changed me the minute I stepped onto it.

Fiona put a hand on my chest. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“Like I said, this is business; it’s not personal,” I prevaricated.

Fiona didn’t look relieved. Because she knew as I did that we were already over.