“My brother’s emailed you a dozen times,” I said quickly. “There hasn’t even been a response on an assessment. We’re willing—he’swilling to pay double for the assessment.”
“You’re on the waitlist.” Rae’s voice was firm. “I have thousands of emails to sift through. I’m sure as a business owner you understand.”
No, actually, my business email was an echoey cavern. Its emptiness would persist if I couldn’t determine why people had accidents whenever I left them alone on my property for more than a few minutes. I couldn’t market “world’s most dangerous horse ranch.”
“There’re too many pranks and scams for my team to verify overnight,” Rae explained. “We’ll get to you.”
“I understand how overwhelming this all can be for youand your team. My team’s stretched thin, too,” I confessed, trying to level with her. “I’ve set aside an enormous chunk of my savings to secure the down payment on this ranch. This dream. This…everything. Despite how it’s falling apart at the seams, I love it.
“But I can’t survive on pure love. Can’t eat it. So, I have to be realistic: there’s something strange happening. My brother, who is my business partner, spent hundreds to get this ticket for me. All of this money on this extended access pass so I’d talk to people who made a living off strange. If you can figure this out…tell us it’s nothing, then, maybe we can move on. Because if I…” I swallowed, my throat tightening as I tried to force out the next words. “If I’m not able to open the ranch by the start of next year, then I won’t be able to recover. And this ranch is the one thing that…”
Tethered me to this plane of existence. But she didn’t need to know that. I didn’t want to say it out loud because then I’d have to face the reality that I was clinging to something out of my control. After signing the ranch’s deed, I promised myself those days were gone. I commanded my fate.
Rae lifted her shoulders and parted her mouth as if she were going to sigh. But no sound of sympathy came from her lips. Even her eyes remained hard as she said, “Look, I’m sorry. I can’t help you right now. I have other people waiting for their turn. They’ve paid for their ticket, too. Invested their time in waiting, too. I wish you all the luck with your business. I mean that.”
Her lookalike clapped once with the smile of someone unbothered and unfazed. “Great, now that that’s settled, Jonah? Nico?”
“I’m going, I’m going.” I held up my hand before the guys could touch me.
“Sorry,” Nice Guy said, offering me an earnest smile. “Hope you enjoyed meeting her. Sorry about the time constraint.”
Tattoo Guy scoffed at me, muttering something about “entitlement.” He shook his head before turning his attention back to Rae.
My nails dug into the book’s dust jacket. Most of the people in the line watched me walk away, whispering behind their hands and rolling their eyes. I sniffed, trying to ignore the stinging in my eyes all the way to the parking lot.
It took some time to find my keys as I dug through my bag, blinking through blurriness. As soon as I was inside, I banged my hand on my steering wheel and then cursed at the spark of pain that rolled across my skin. As if sensing my loss, Wilson’s name popped up on my phone. I let it ring for a few more seconds before clearing my throat and picking up.
“How’d it go?” His voice was high, full of hope. “Esther said you’d probably be finished by now and in a slightly better mood to pester.”
“It was okay.” I covered the phone’s mic for a second to sigh. “You know, she was an incredible speaker. Very stylish, too. I see why you’re so in love with her.”
“She said no.”
I winced and pinched the bridge of my nose. “It wasn’t so much a ‘no’ and more of a ‘not right now.’”
“What did she say exactly?”
“Look, I did everything I could besides get on my knees and beg. You know I’m not the best at convincing.”
“And you know I’m not comfortable with long car rides yet,” he said. “So, you were supposed to handle this—” Wilson stopped short. There was a crash, bang, and curse on his end. I waited as his voice went far away for a second.
“Everything okay?” I asked when I heard something brush against the mic.
“I don’t think it’s safe here.” Wilson’s voice was low, as if he didn’t want someone to overhear.
My heart skipped a beat. “What’s happening?”
“It’s just…this shit’s getting weirder, and I need you to trust me. I need you to understand for a second that you don’t know everything and that woman knows how to fix this.”
“She sells posters of herself, Wil. The woman doesn’t seem like she’d be able to help much with whatever sleep-deprived nightmare we all?—”
“If it was just a nightmare, why are we all having the same one? And why is it on tape?”
I scratched my cheek, my gaze falling on the beaten-up camcorder that’d weighed my bag down all day. “I haven’t had the chance to…work it all out. But I will. I’ll find us a solution that won’t cost us thousands of dollars.”
“It’s my money,” Wilson said firmly.
“Not all of it,” I said in a quiet voice, because guilt was a nasty silencer, its barrel consistently pointed at my head.
