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“This stopped being my home the moment I found out you had an affair with a man in it. You cheated on Austin, and you cheated with a married man here on business. I was the result of lies on both sides. I want no part of this false life anymore.” I spat and she flinched.
Beau stepped between us, anger in his eyes.
“Careful, Anya. You can’t take back the things you say.” He said and I laughed.
“Fuck off, Beau. You don’t get to talk to me like I am your friend. You did nothing but make the last few years of my life here, hell. You constantly put me down, told me I wasn’t good enough and that I wasn’t built for this place. Now you have what you want. Me gone. Why don’t you buy the ranch if you are so concerned?” I got into his space as he glared down at me.
“Maybe we should all cool down and talk about this later. We did just drive for eight hours.” Damien said and I watched Beau’s jaw tick as his eyes swung to him.
“I’ll be in the office if you need me, Grace.” He said before walking away.
“Your room is made up for you, I’ll just take you…” Mama started, and I waved her off.
“I know where it is. Damien. I’ll show you where.” I turned, catching the tears that fell down Mama’s cheek before she looked away.
If they were expecting sweet little Anya who wanted to return to this place with doe eyes and an open heart, they were wrong.
The woman I was now killed that innocent girl and the cold-hearted bitch who rose from those ashes had no interest in staying any longer than necessary.
Five
Beau
Islammedmyfiston the desk, eyeing the scotch that sat on the side table. It was too early to drink. Damien. He might not recognize me, but I sure as fuck recognized him.
He was present during one of the last meetings we had to set up the new distribution systems.
That meant he was aware of who Anya was and had somehow weaseled his way into her life. Or maybe she already knew.
That didn’t make sense. The woman who stood in that kitchen wasn’t Anya. I don’t know who she was, but it wasn’t the girl I had known before.
She looked sick and I had a sneaking suspicion that Damien was responsible for that. Or at least in part.
I don’t know why she left but I sure as hell knew the story behind the words she threw at Grace. Probably more than Anya did.
If only she knew the truth about me. I desperately wanted her when I was a kid, but Austin forbade it. I asked him if I could date his daughter and he said no.
I will never forget that feeling, the soul-crushing sensation of being told that I wasn’t good enough for her because I had chosen to work with him.
I didn’t understand it then as a kid, but I did as a man. Grace had been forced into our world because of his choices and if I chose to be with Anya, she would have had the same fate.
I glanced at the pile of paperwork, bills mostly, that had gone untouched for the past two weeks. The ranch was bleeding money.
The drought these past few years has made it difficult and the stock market even more unpredictable.
Then our other employers increased the percentages on what we had to pay them for their protection, making things tight at the best of times.
We weren’t the only ones stuck in this pig shit. The two neighboring ranches had been roped into our little scheme, now locked in just like we were.
When Sergei had come strolling into town all those years ago making an offer that the ranchers couldn’t refuse, no one quite knew it would be for life instead of a one-off deal to get them out of the trenches.
Austin had handed the reins to me a year before Anya left. His health meant he knew his days were numbered and he wanted to make sure Grace and the other employees were looked after.
Anya was supposed to be the safe bet. No one predicted she would leave and decided that her home was no longer her priority.
I grabbed my phone, scrolled through the contacts, and dialed.
“Yes?” The voice said on the third ring.
