Page 28 of The Wrong Ride Home (Wildflower Canyon #1)

duke

I almost followed Elena when she took the envelope Mac handed to her and left. But I knew I shouldn’t. She was going to follow Nash’s wish and read it alone.

“She gonna be okay?” I asked Hunt as we walked Mac to his truck.

“She’s always okay,” Mac replied before Hunt could say anything.

“Is she?” I asked, mostly because I was getting seriously pissed that everyone seemed to know Elena better than me— and felt they needed to protect her from me .

“Yeah, Duke.” Hunt stopped in front of Mac’s truck. “She’s not the girl you remember. This Elena is tough as nails.”

So, why did she break down by the river because she saw me with Fiona?

I knew the answer to that because no one could hurt her the way I could—and the reverse was just as true.

No one could hurt me the way she could. No one could get to me the way she did.

I felt like I was fighting a losing battle, and soon, I’d be exactly where I was afraid to be, at her feet, panting like a dog, begging for scraps.

Ten years ago, if I’d gone back and apologized for being an asshole, she’d have forgiven me—but this tough-as-nails Elena, as Hunt put it, would knee me in the nuts if I even hinted at how much I still wanted her.

“Now, I know the ranch is yours, but Piper Novak? Really, Duke?” Mac shook his head, disgust plain as day as he tossed his leather satchel through the open truck window, landing it on the passenger seat with a thud. “Hell, son, you’d be better off tryin’ to saddle a tornado.”

“She’s putting some investors together to buy the ranch.”

The words felt rancid on my tongue, especially now that I’d heard Nash’s plea to keep my legacy for my children and theirs.

He could’ve given it to Hunt, to Elena, to anyone who would’ve saved it—he could’ve split it up so I didn’t have full control, but he didn’t.

It was all mine, and he’d done it knowing how I felt, knowing that I’d sell his heritage piece by piece and turn it into the nightmare that would make him roll in his grave.

I didn’t know who the bigger fool was here, Nash for believing that he could change my mind with a letter, or me who was thinking about changing my mind because of that damn letter.

“She’s workin’ with Kaz,” Mac grunted. It wasn’t a question.

“Yeah. ”

“Watch out for him.”

“What am I watchin’ out for?”

Mac got into his truck and looked out his window at me. “He’s up to somethin’, and I don’t know what. He’s workin’ with the worst of the lot, and yet , he also helped save Bree’s ranch….”

Bree Keaton had recently inherited a ranch that belonged to her uncle, who passed.

Considering the inheritance taxes and other shit that came your way with an inheritance, a small ranch like hers should have been buried in debt.

But it wasn’t. Because, as the grapevine had informed me, Kaz Chase had stepped in.

Mac ran a hand over his jaw, frowning. “Inheritance taxes alone should’ve gutted Bree. That place wasn’t big enough to sustain itself, not with what she owed. But somehow, she got exemptions, loopholes, reductions—things that don’t just happen unless someone knows how to work the system.”

Kaz had influence and connections. He played every angle. He wanted Bree's ranch saved, so he found a way.

“But then,” Mac continued, eyes sharp, “he turns around and plays nice with people like Piper Novak? With politicians who’d sell their own grandmothers if there was money in it?”

“Kaz always got a plan,” Hunt muttered.

“Yeah, he does,” Mac agreed. “Question is, whose side is he really on?”

In ranch country, when motives were murky, trust didn’t come easy—no matter how much good you did.

I stared past him, past the dust-covered road stretching into the horizon. Kaz Chase was a mystery. He grew up in Wildflower Canyon but then moved away for many years. Now, he was back, flush with money, and people weren’t exactly clear how he’d made it.

“You think since he’s from Wildflower Canyon he’s one of us? He ain’t!” Mac warned. He turned to Hunt with a nod. “Pleasure. Tell Elena to call me—I got a job lined up for her in Georgia. Caldwell?—”

“She won’t work for him . You know that, Mac,” Hunt cut him off. I looked at my friend, who merely shrugged. “Lyle Caldwell doesn’t take care of his horses,” he explained.

“That’s why he needs her,” Mac snapped as he started his car, essentially saying that the conversation was over ‘cause his truck made enough sound to wake up the dead.

When I was preparing to return to Wildflower Canyon, I had wanted Elena gone.

Now, I couldn’t imagine this place without her.

I had become that boy again—the one addicted to her face, her scent…

her . I had known this would happen. Had braced for it.

I had expected to regret it, to hate myself for falling under her spell again.

But I didn’t.

Time and distance had stripped away the illusions I’d once held.

I had spent years making Elena the villain in my mother’s story—her and Maria both.

But the truth was clearer now. It wasn’t them who had destroyed my family; it was Nash.

He had made the choices and had lived by them while we had all paid the price .

Now, he was dead.

There was no point in the anger I used to feel for him. He was gone. It was like a broadcasting signal had dropped off.

I’d never have to ignore his calls and messages again.

I’d never have to call Hunt to ask how Nash was doing.

I’d never have to feel guilty for still caring about him when I knew it would crush my mother.

I’d never have to feel guilty for not showing up when he was dying.

I’d wanted to, but Mama had all but had a nervous breakdown. She made me promise I wouldn’t see him. She was scared that he’d turn me against her, like that could happen. So, I’d not shown the old man grace. I’d saved it for the living—the fragile mother who I was a parent to.

“Elena has paperwork ready for you to sign to sell the horses to Rich Halstead,” Hunt told me as we walked back to the ranch house. “And…look, I don’t want to bang on the old drum again, but you gotta ask your woman to treat Elena with some respect.”

I nodded. He wasn’t wrong. “I have.”

“So, why did she come down this morning to the stables and try to rip Elena a new one for not turning in her homework on time?”

I quirked an eyebrow. This I hadn’t heard about. No surprise there. Fiona wouldn’t tell me because she was on thin ice with me and Elena…she’d take it to her fucking grave .

“Talked to Elena like she’s stupid. Said she didn’t have an education, and maybe that’s why she put together a sloppy report.”

I felt rage surge through me. I’d seen the report about the horses. There was nothing sloppy about it at all. In fact, it was professional.

“Elena needs to know how to handle people like Fi,” I retorted. “I can’t run interference for her.” This was also true if unfair.

Hunt shot me a disgusted look. “Well, hell, nice chattin’ with ya. If you ever manage to pull your head outta your ass and find your balls, swing by the bunkhouse.”

“Hunt—”

“It’s all good, bossman. Elena can handle your Fi .

She’s just not gonna because she thinks it’s beneath her,” Hunt scoffed.

“Your woman thinks she’s fancy or some shit ‘cause she has a degree from a big-time place and is a lawyer—but Elena, she’s real class.

You know what she said when I told her to pop your Fi when she mouthed off again? ”

I climbed up the stairs to the porch and turned back, waiting for Hunt to finish.

“She said, if you gonna roll in shit with a pig, the swine likes it, and you’re just covered in shit.”

I couldn’t stop my lips from twitching into a small smile. “I’m assuming that Fi is the swine in this equation?”

Hunt just waved with his hat, put it back on his head, and left me staring after him.

Fiona was in the office, pounding on the keys of her laptop when I got there. She stopped when she saw me. “What the hell is going on with you? And how dare you talk to me?—”

“Did you insult Elena this morning, telling her she doesn’t have an education?”

Fiona stood up, cocked her hip, and put a hand on it. “Did little Miss Cowgirl come complaining to you?”

“No, Hunt did.”

“Well, you can tell Hunt to mind his own business,” she shot.

“We talked about how you were going to make it work with the?—”

“Help?” She arched an eyebrow. “You want me to make it work with people who shovel shit for a living? Are you out of your mind, Duke? I know you’re grieving your father, and I’m giving you a lot of leeway because of that. But?—”

“Did you or did you not insult Elena?” I rested a hip against the desk, my eyes on Fiona.

“Duke—"

Her phone rang, and she picked it up. Her tone went from bitch to business in seconds. “Fiona Turner here.” She paused. “Kaz, thank you so much for calling….” Pause. “Well, we can….” Pause. “Okay, but maybe you and I can….” Pause. She held the phone to me. “He wants to talk to you.”

Her demeanor told me that Kaz hadn’t wanted to talk to Fiona. She was managing to piss off even the people who she usually managed to make nice with—the wealthy and powerful .

I walked around the desk and sat on my father’s chair.

“ Speaker ,” Fiona mouthed.

I sighed. She still worked for me, so it made sense that she wanted to know what was happening with Piper Novak. “Kaz, how are you?”

“Get me off speaker,” was his response.

“I’ll ring you back,” I told him and ended the call.

I handed Fiona’s phone to her. “You heard him.” I pulled out my earbuds and instructed Siri to call Kaz. After the first ring, he answered.

“I don’t want to talk to your girlfriend.”

“My lawyer,” I corrected him.

“Behaves like your girlfriend. She and Piper can make it work, but if she tries to shove her tits in my face one more time, I’m going to tell her that the boob job isn’t working on me.”

I made a hand motion, asking Fiona to leave the office. She huffed, picked up her laptop, and walked out. What worked in the world outside of Wildflower Canyon wasn’t working here for her or me. It was time to cut her loose, both professionally and personally.

“She been shoving her tits at you?” I asked.

“Don’t pretend you don’t see it. She flirts. It’s her MO,” Kaz retorted.

I’d seen it, and it never bothered me.

But you see Hunt even talk to Elena, and you’re ready to bust his face. Duke, man, you need to think about what the fuck you’re doin’ with your life.

The tits are au naturel , I wanted to tell him, but that would make me an even worse jerk, so I simply asked, “What’s this call about?”

“I hear legally, the ranch is yours now.”

“Gossip travels fast in these parts.”

“No shit,” Kaz chuckled.

“I read Piper’s email,” I informed him.

“The one where she told you the airport is gonna be a game changer?”

“Yeah.”

“She’s not just talking about a strip of pavement and a few hangars.” Kaz was all business now. “Think of what comes with it—hotels, restaurants…how do you think it will work in a place like this?”

“You tell me, Kaz, you’ve lived here longer than I have.”

Kaz laughed, unbothered. “Come on, Duke. You know exactly what she means.”

“That Wilder Ranch is sitting on a goldmine, and I’m holding the deed?”

“Yeah. And if you play this right, you walk away with a legacy that pays dividends instead of sentiment.”

I rose and stood by the large window, looking out at Ben working Copperhead in the paddock. Hands walked in and out of the barn where we stored the feed and equipment. Roy was outside the stable on his phone.

My eyes looked for her . Was she okay? Had she read the letter? Was she crying by the river again?

“I got money, Kaz.”

“Not money like this,” Kaz retorted. “Piper already has interested parties. Investors who want in before this opportunity gets too big.”

Too big for what? Who?

I let out a slow breath, running a hand through my hair. “Amos is still running the numbers.”

“Not Elena?”

“Elena manages the horses,” I snapped.

“She manages Wilder Ranch, or at least she used to. Who’s doing it now? Managing on its own, or have you taken over?”

On its own was the truth, which meant she was still running the place, making sure tasks were given out, working before the sun came up and long after it went down. She wasn’t in the ranch house anymore, wasn’t sitting at Nash’s desk, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t pulling the strings.

The horses were her main focus, but she still kept the rest of it moving—checking on the cattle schedules, making sure supplies were ordered, and answering questions the hands didn’t trust anyone else to answer.

The ranch hands went to her or Hunt.

Amos went to her first— she sent him to me.

Itzel went to her.

Anyone else left? Yeah, me when I had questions. I went to Hunt first out of sheer stubbornness, who sent me to her.

I exhaled sharply, rubbing the back of my neck. “What’s it you wanted to talk about, Kaz?”

“Rodeo next week—see you there? ”

“I’ll be there. You think your Briony suit can handle the dust?” I mocked.

“Pot calling kettle!” he jibed.

“Right.”

“Gotta embrace the cowboy aesthetic if I’m helping to sell your ranch, don’t I?” Kaz laughed. “I may buy a horse or two…maybe…gonna try and poach Elena.”

I growled but didn’t say anything. She had to make a living, and if she couldn’t make it here, she’d have to make it somewhere. Kaz would be better than fuckin’ Maverick Kincaid.

“She’s with me until the sale is completed,” I warned him.

Kaz laughed. “I’ve got a VIP tent at the rodeo. You should come. Bring Fiona.”

“You sure about me bringing Fiona?”

“Piper will be there, so yeah, pretty sure.”

“Okay.” I let out a long sigh. I didn’t want to meet Piper or Kaz any longer and talk about selling this land, my father’s soul.

The indecision inside me had been moving in one direction since I got here, and I knew deep down that there wasn’t going to be a sale, and I needed to be clear about that before the herd and horses were gone.

“Long day?” Kaz asked.

“Yeah.”

“Buy you a drink?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t bring Fiona,” he warned.

I laughed despite the tightness inside me. “Wasn’t going to.”