Lucas: We’re… figuring it out. I’m not selling all of it. Just part of the ranch
Dalton: Look at you. Compromise. Growth. I’m emotional.
Lucas: Don’t start
Dalton: I’m serious. That’s the right move
Lucas: The charity still gets funding. The ranch stays. Jesse stays
Dalton: And you don’t come back to the city
Lucas: Yeah
Dalton: Knew it
Lucas: You’re an asshole
Dalton: Correct. Also—trying my hardest to get out there to visit
Lucas: You said you couldn’t take PTO
Dalton: I said not now. I’m working on it. People owe me favors
Lucas: That sounds illegal
Dalton: It’s networking
Lucas: Uh-huh
Dalton: Also, quick question
Lucas: ?
Dalton: Don’t suppose you have any spare cowboys that want to relocate to the city now my best friend has abandoned me?
Lucas: Absolutely not
Dalton: Rude.
Lucas: Goodbye, Dalton
Dalton: Love you too
It wasanticlimactic when my six months were up,
We drove into town in silence and parked outside Buckler and Grant, the law offices tucked on the side of the courthouse and opposite the diner. Jesse didn’t say anything as we went inside. Neither did I. We held hands, hugged before we went inside, and there was nothing but love, hope, and future plans between us.
There was no showdown needed, no last-minute plea, no dramatic pause where someone changed their mind.
Just paperwork.
We sat across from a polished desk while Joseph slid forms toward me and explained things I already knew. As a lawyer, he was polished yet kind. Sign here. Initial there. This page confirmed the will. That one confirmed the timeline. Another confirmed that, yes, I had fulfilled the requirement exactly as stated.
Six months. Done.
My pen scratched across the paper, my name lookingstrange and final at the bottom of each page. With every signature, something loosened inside me.
“Congratulations,” the lawyer said, smiling like this was something to celebrate. “You’re officially the majority owner of Snow Creek Ranch. Seventy-five percent.”
