Warren has always been callous and cold, but I never expected him to be this cruel.
“It’s not up for discussion, Sadie. If you’re not here, the rumors should die down quickly. Hopefully, while you’re away, you’ll learn the value of hard work. This is supposed to benefit both of us. My mind is made up.”
A single tear slips down my cheek and I leave the study without another word.
I can’t believe this is really happening.
This night, thislife—it all feels like some twisted nightmare I can’t escape. My last summer is being stolen. I can’t let him do this to me. I won’t.
I yank my suitcase from the back of my closet and start packing, having no real intentions of getting on that plane, but just in case. Tonight, I realized I don’t know my father at all. I don’t know how far he is truly willing to go to get what he wants. To protect his vile clients.
The truth weighs heavy in my chest. I am spending my last summer on afuckingranch. The dam finally breaks and I have no control over my tears as they stream hot down my cheeks.
Will I be able to see Tori and Mia again before we all leave? What will happen with Kolson?
I take a deep breath and try to get a hold of myself. Maybe I’m overreacting. Maybe spending my entire summer on a secluded ranch will actually be great. It has to be great.
Because if it’s not, I don’t know how much more I can take.
CHAPTER TWO
SADIE
Despitemyattemptstostop this “solution” from happening, at four a.m., I was physically forced into the car and dropped off at the airport.
After a two-and-a-half-hour plane ride, I walk out of baggage claim, rolling my suitcase behind me, to find an old, rusted pickup truck parked beside the curb.
A man around my father’s age leans against the side, looking like he walked off the set of a Clint Eastwood western. Faded denim jeans with dirt stains on the knees. A thick brown beard,speckled with gray hairs. Tan skin, aged and wrinkled from too much time in the sun.
Despite the ruggedness, he’s quite handsome. Mia would be all over him—she’s always had a thing for older guys.
“Sadie?” he calls out, his voice deep and smoky.
“In the flesh,” I sigh, pressing my lips into a flat line, hoping it passes for a smile. The cut on my lip stings, a little reminder of why I’m here.
His expression softens as he steps forward, eyes scanning over my face before he takes my suitcase. “I’m Heath. Nice to finally put a face to the name. I’ve heard a lot about you over the years.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
Even with a gun to his temple, Warren wouldn’t be able to say a single nice thing about me.
Heath hauls my suitcase into the bed of the truck like it weighs nothing, then opens the passenger-side door for me. I climb in without a word. I know I should make an effort to be nicer. To say it’s nice to meet him too and thank him for letting me stay for the summer, but I can’t bring myself to.
The leather seat is cracked and scratchy beneath my thighs, and the smell of hay and something slightly sooty lingers in the cab. He climbs into the driver’s seat beside me, buckles his seatbelt, and turns the key.
“Alrighty,” he says, a little too cheerfully. “Let’s roll.”
The engine sputters to life, and we pull out of the pick up line. I stare out the window, watching as the small downtown blurs into an endless highway.
“So,” he says, glancing over at me. “How was the flight?”
“Fine.”
“First time in the mountains?”
“No.”
He nods slowly, eventually giving up and letting the silence take over again.Finally.
