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He guffawed. “That’s rich coming from you. Plus, I can’t think of anything more grown up than having the well-being of other living creatures resting on your shoulders. There’s no days off, no down time, you know that. This new job, you get to kick off at what? Five o’clock every day?”
I sighed. This conversation was depressing me and that was the opposite of why I’d brought up my new job. I was trying to be excited about it. “I know. And I know I’m gonna miss being out with the animals and the rhythms of the ranch.”
He frowned, not used to me backing down. “You couldn’t find any other ranch work?”
I scoffed. “What am I gonna do, go try to be a hand somewhere? I’m used to running the joint. You know the pay’s shit and where are they even gonna put me? In a bunkhouse? I don’t think so.” I shook my head. “I gotta go forward, and this is where it’s taking me. I met the regional manager of this start up, FarmGro, when I interviewed. Rick’s a great guy. He thinks I’ll be a good fit.”
“I bet he does,” Jeremiah said under his breath.
I smacked him on the arm. “Not like that. Jesus.”
He shrugged. “So what exactly are you gonna do for this Rick guy?”
“Nothing. I don’t even work for him. I’ll be a Precision Technology Specialist.”
“A what now?”
“I’ll do a bunch of things. Install software for growers, train them how to use it, and provide tech support. Then we’ll collect all the data and maps and analyze everything. I’ll do it all, start to finish, even traveling out to the farms to talk to them about what we’ve discovered about their yield cycles.”
I was getting excited again talking about it. I’d actually be able to put my ag degree to use. Not at all in the way I thought I would by running my own ranch—but still in a really practical way that would help farmers get better usage out of their land, water, and resources. Rick had an amazing vision with his startup. He was basically trying to save the planet—in his small way, anyway. It was inspiring, and I was excited to be a part of it. Well, I was trying to be excited.
“So, what? You’ll live in Austin and just drive out to farms in the hill country?”
I bit my lip as I shuffled the cards. “Well, I’ll do my training in Dripping Springs shadowing with a Tech Specialist there, but if everything goes well, then I’ll be moving to Fort Worth at the end of the year.” Shit, why did I just tell him that? I looked up. “Don’t tell Charlie, though. I haven’t told her yet, what with the wedding and everything she’s got on her plate right now.”
Jeremiah’s face was blank.
“At least you’ll finally be rid of me, right?” I tried to joke.
“Don’t you think your best friend deserves the truth? Especially since she sent the wedding gig your way. I thought the whole reason was so you could put down money for a house around here.”
“I’m still gonna use the money for a down payment on a house. Just… not around here.”
Jeremiah blew out a breath. “That’s cold.”
I blinked, cut by his judgement. “That’s not fair. She’s got her whole life ahead of her here. And I’ve got—” I threw my hands up in the air. “Nothing! Just memories. Not a future. Charlie would want the best for me. Sorry if that’s too much for your pea brain to comprehend.” I crossed my arms over my chest, the cards forgotten on the bench between us.
“Oh, my pea brain gets it well enough. I understand loyalty and family.”
“Yeah, well,” I cut my eyes toward his judgmental face, “all my family’s dead.”
He wasn’t moved. “It’s not just the people you’re born to. Charlie’s your family.”
“It’s not like I’m cutting her off. Why do you always have to be such an asshole? I’ll come visit her every chance I get. People change and move apart. Just because you suffocate your brother and don’t know how to let him have a life of his own doesn’t mean that’s how everybody does it.”
I glared out my window, head turned away from him. If it wasn’t pouring cats and dogs outside, I would’ve shoved out of the truck. Anything to get away from this asshole and his judgmental, asinine—
I waved a hand to fan myself. God, it was getting stuffy in here. I turned back toward Jeremiah, but only so I could reach across him and turn the key to the ignition.
“What are you doing?” he asked, sounding aggravated.
I glared at him. “Turning on the truck, duh. It’s a thousand degrees in here and humid as hell. I need the A/C.”
He put his hand on mine to stop me. “We don’t have that much gas. You’ll just have to suffer in silence, Princess.”
To which I leaned over even further to look at his gas gauge. It was teetering at a little under a fourth of a tank. “Oh, that’s rich,” I said, withdrawing my hand. “So what was all that bullshit about never letting your tank get near a fourth because of the sediment, huh?”
He glared at me, his jaw tense. “If I hadn’t been driving your ass around town all day long, I would’ve stopped to fill up.”
