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When she met Troy, who seemed actually to like her, paid attention to her, and treated her nicely, she fell for him right away. Once in a while she’d see the red flags, like when he got angry about little things with school and friends. But none of his anger was directed at her. Not at first. Then she had been partnered up with a friend on a school project, a friend who happened to be a guy. Troy lost it, and the kid asked to have another partner.
Hannah had been so embarrassed that she confronted him, and Troy balled up his fist. She’d thought he was going to hit her, but he stopped himself. They’d looked at each other, shocked at the moment that had almost just happened. He cried and apologized, promising he’d never hurt her. Said he didn’t know what he was thinking.
Yet now, she knew that she should have heeded that warning. The last exit before things were out of control.
She looked over at Maggie, who was leafing through a stack of photos. Should she tell the Boudreaus about Troy’s visit? Would they be mad at her for giving him money? Not following through by calling the cops? And for losing her job?
The answer was yes. A hundred percent, yes.
Chapter 3
There was an old saying that no one justwentinto ranching, you were born into it. It wasn’t something that Jake had ever expected to be doing. It had really been his best friend’s ambition, not his own. But Victor wasn’t here to live his dream, so Jake had decided to live it for him. He had no real idea what he was doing. But as he herded the cattle toward the west field, he felt a satisfaction he hadn’t felt in a long time.
His first goal was to improve the pastures. The better he could manage the forage, the faster and healthier his cattle would grow. These fields had been used to grow soy for many years, then left fallow for more years after that. He had sown them with a seed mix that would produce better nutrition than the thin grasses and weeds that currently grew there.
That Saturday morning, even though he woke before the sun rose, he popped up out of bed, full of energy. Maybe it was the fact that he’d slept through the night for the first time in months. Or that it was Saturday, so he didn’t have to go to work and deal with Ted’s nonsense. Or maybe it was just because he had finally left the farm and talked to someone besides his pet.
As he walked out of the barn, wiping the sweat from his brow, he saw Allison standing on the front porch, arms crossed against her chest. She was dressed as though she was going to a fancy night club, not the local bar.
“You forgot, didn’t you?” she huffed.
He had. “I must’ve lost track of time.”
She flung out a hand at him. “Jake, this is like, the third time you’ve blown me off for some cows.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, but he knew it only made her madder.
She rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
“Look, let me just shower, real quick.”
“I’m not the kind of girl who sits around waiting for afarmerto shower.” She stalked dramatically down the stairs. She was even more stunning when she was mad, but at this point, Jake didn’t know why she even stuck around.
“It’s a ranch, not a farm,” he mumbled.
“Whatever!” She slapped her hands against her thighs. “You’re still making me wait around for you again!”
“It’ll only take a minute.” He kissed her on the cheek, guiding her toward the door. He already knew how their fight would go. First, he’d apologize.
“I’m sorry. I’ve got a lot to do here if I want to make it work.”
She’d pout.
“I’m sick of being treated like an afterthought.”
He’d apologize again.
“I’m really sorry, come in and I’ll get you something to drink.”
She gave him the silent treatment, but just as predicted, she came into the house. She wasn’t going to stay mad. Not when all their friends were waiting at the bar for them.
When they arrived at Lumberjacks, his brother and girlfriend were already there, along with the friends who’d stuck around town after high school. Jake had it all back then, at least from the outside. First string quarterback, a state trophy, and good grades. But the truth was, he’d never really fit in with this kind of crowd. He hadn’t seemed to fit in with anyone until he joined the gang of Marine misfits. There were people who served for duty, for family, for honor, and then there were the ones who didn’t know what else to do, like him and Victor.
Heck, Jake still didn’t know what to do, which was part of why he’d stolen his friend’s dream.
They’d be sitting around the barracks, waiting for something to happen. Jake felt like they werealwayswaiting. And while they sat, Victor would talk about moving to the country and living off the land.
“Everyone goes and buys chickens,” Victor would say, holding an AR-16 as they sat watch. “But I’m buying pigs.”
