Alex
I walked out of the room. “I’m leaving,” I said to the nurse, not stopping to hear what she was about to say. I couldn’t stay there another minute. I was on the verge of tears. I didn’t want to turn into a blubbery mess with an audience.
I got back in my truck and drove. I felt numb. When I got within five minutes of town, I called Sadie, hoping she was off work.
“Hey,” I said when she answered. “You free? I could really use a drink.”
“Alex, it’s one o’clock in the afternoon. Since when do you day-drink?”
“I need a drink. You don’t have to drink.”
“I’ll meet you at Bob’s,” she said, naming the one bar in town. Bob’s also served as a diner and all-around hangout for the over twenty-one crowd, but it wasn’t all that surprising to see a toddler in the bar with a mom or dad on occasion.
I drove to the bar, parking in the paved lot that had more potholes than solid blacktop. When I walked inside, I immediately spotted sleek black hair. It was easy to find her anywhere. She liked flash and bling. She was wearing a black shirt with bright red and pink flowers that appeared to have been bedazzled. It was gaudy in my opinion, but that was how she dressed.
I flopped down in the chair, putting up my hand to order myself a shot of something strong. “Thanks,” I said, running a hand through my hair.
“What’s going on?”
“Oliver Whittle died,” I told her.
Her eyes widened. “Oh god. Please tell me you didn’t kill him.”
I rolled my eyes. “No, I didn’t kill him. I liked him. He had pancreatic cancer. Apparently, he told no one. He didn’t want anyone to know. Yesterday, I couldn’t find him, went to the house, and found him in bed. I took him to the hospital, and well, long story short, he died.”
“Wow. That is horrible. That poor man. He was such a good guy.”
“Tequila,” I said when the waitress showed up at the table.
“Alexandria Hammel,” the waitress scolded. “Your mama would roll over in her grave if she knew you were drinking tequila in the middle of the day.”
“Gretta, my mama didn’t give a shit when she was alive. I doubt she cares now. Please. I have had a really shitty twenty-four hours. I want to crawl in a bottle, just for a little while. I won’t stay for long.”
She scowled at me. “Fine.”
“Make it two,” I shouted as she walked away.
She ignored me. I turned my attention back to Sadie, who had her makeup perfectly applied. She looked like a cover girl with her long, enhanced lashes and perfect smoky eyes.
“Are you okay?” Her dark brown eyes were soft and full of love for me.
I nodded. “I don’t know why it is bumming me out so bad. He wasn’t my family.”
“But you cared about him. You stayed with him?”
I took my first shot of tequila. “Yes.”
“That was very sweet of you.”
I shrugged. “I couldn’t leave the guy. He had no one. No one. I don’t want to be alone when it comes time to die.”
“I’ll be there for you,” she offered.
“That’s sweet, but I mean, kids, grandkids, a spouse. He had no one.”
“That is very sad,” she agreed.
I took the second shot, one eye closing as the liquid burned down my throat. I coughed before wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. “He says he has someone coming to take over the farm. I don’t know who it is, but he made me promise to keep it up and running. I wonder if he bequeathed the farm to someone.”
“Like who?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. But I’m not leaving that farm in the hands of just anyone. Oliver hired the last guy. I don’t think I can trust his judgment.”
“Are you going to stay on the farm forever?”
“No, but I’m not going to let it fall apart while his estate is being settled. I need to ask his lawyer what the long-term plan is.”
“What do you mean?”
I shrugged. “He told me he made arrangements to keep me on. I need to know what that means. I hate to say it, but I feel like I was promising something I could never possibly give him. I know what the books look like for the farm, and while it’s doing okay, how long? How long will it be okay?”
“Drink your drink. I’ll drive you home. You need to sleep.”
“I’m fine. I need to get back to the farm. Deke has probably burned the place down.”
“Then that would solve the problem,” she said easily.
“What?”
“You were worried about how long the farm would keep running. If it’s burned, then you don’t need to worry about that anymore.”
“Sadie! That’s horrible!”
She shrugged. “It’s true.”
“I’m not going to let him down,” I said with determination. “I will hire and train the right manager for that farm myself.”
“You’re a good woman, Alex. I’m glad he had you. You made an old man’s life a little better when it counted.”
I smiled. “I hope so. Damn, I’m so going to miss him. He was a little cantankerous, but I really liked how straightforward he was. I always knew where I stood with him. He didn’t sugarcoat anything. I wished I would have met him sooner.”
“Death is cruel. Life isn’t always fair. You know the rest. Now, come on. Load up and I’ll bring your truck by in a bit.”
I let out a long sigh. “Thank you. We need to stop at the liquor store. I can’t get properly drunk with Gretta giving me the stink eye.”
She laughed. “I can’t let you get drunk by yourself.”
“Sure, you can. I’m a big girl.”
“Let me see if I can get someone to take my clients for the rest of the day.”
I shook my head. “Sadie, no. It’s okay. I kind of want to be alone. I appreciate you being here for me.”
“Anytime. That’s what friends are for.”
DamionI sat at my desk, reviewing a new piece from one of my seasoned journalists when my assistant buzzed the intercom. “Mr. Whittle?”“Yes?”“There’s someone here to see you. He says he’s a lawyer.”I didn’t think I was being sued, but one never knew in the current climate. We weren’t in the business of celebrity news, which protected us from some suits but not all. I adjusted my tie, wanting to present a professional appearance.“I’ll be right out.”I got to my feet and opened the office door. The lawyer was nothing like the other lawyers I dealt with. The guy was wearing jeans, cowboy boots, a cowboy hat, and a bolo tie. He looked to be in his late sixties. I didn’t have to ask where he was from.“I’m Damion Whittle,” I said, extending my hand.“Good to meet you, Damion. I’m Harvey Larson. I’m your grandfather’s attorney.”I nodded, gesturing for him to go inside. “Hold my calls,” I said, not looking forward to the conversation I knew to be coming.Harvey had taken a seat already
DamionHe slowly nodded. “You heard me. Like I said, your grandpa, he was one smart son of a bitch. I tried to do what he did and lost money. He just had a knack for knowing what was a good bet and what wasn’t.”“Wow,” I breathed. “I never knew. He never mentioned investing. You knew him. There was nothing about him that said he knew the first thing about investing.”“He liked to keep his cards close to the vest.”“Shit,” I said, my mind still trying to process everything. “He left it to me?” Harvey waved the stack of papers. “It’s all right here.”I shook my head. “I don’t know what to say. Do I thank you? I feel like a shithead. I didn’t go to the man’s funeral. I don’t feel worthy.”“Honestly, I don’t think he expected you to go to the funeral. He planned it all to keep you from having to relive that experience.”I gulped down the lump in my throat. When Ann had died, I had been a wreck. My grandfather had flown out to be with me. I didn’t even remember the first few days after he
AlexI took a bite of my crispy bacon before sipping the black coffee. I had been starving when I walked into the only restaurant in town. People in town were used to me eating a lot. I burned a lot of calories doing what I did, and for now, I didn’t have to worry too much about putting on a ton of weight. I wasn’t exactly a bodybuilder, but I was stronger than most women.Correction, stronger than most normal women. Women that ranched and farmed were tough. I was proud to be what I considered one of the elite class of females across the country that could rein in a scared horse, load a bale of hay, and then cook up a hot meal for the menfolk. What I really loved was working my ass off on a farm and then sitting down to enjoy a meal someone else prepared. Like my breakfast. Any meal prepared by someone else always tasted a little better in my opinion.“Did you get those new boots you were looking at?” Sadie asked casually.I stuffed a buttery piece of pancake in my mouth, shaking my h
Alex“I’ll give it until the end of the week. If no one shows up, I’ll call the lawyer and let him know I need a body there or he needs to give me the power to hire a body.”“Good plan. I need to scoot. I’ve got an eleven o’clock.”“See ya later,” I said, not getting up. I had already been to the farm, taken care of morning chores, and was going to enjoy a lazy, late breakfast.With the initial shock of Oliver’s death easing, I was able to focus on what came next. I had a couple of calls from potential clients. The easy thing to do would be to walk away, take a new job, and put Oliver and his farm behind me. It was how I lived my life. I didn’t get attached to people or places. I kept everyone at arm’s length.I checked the time. I wanted to be rebellious and ignore the farm. I couldn’t. I didn’t know what I believed about the afterlife, but I wasn’t interested in pissing off any ghosts. I had made a promise and I intended to keep that promise.I left the diner and drove out to the fa
DamionI knew my grandfather had someone minding the farm, but no one had said anything about that someone being a beautiful young woman. I had seen the truck pull up and watched through the dining room window where I had just sat down to enjoy a sandwich with Oliver. When I saw the truck, I assumed it was the hand Harvey told me about. Then she got out of the truck and I was less sure about my assumption. He had told me someone named Alex was running things. That didn’t look like an Alex to me.I waited and watched as she disappeared into the barn. I wondered if she worked for Alex. Before I ventured out to introduce myself, I got Oliver situated in the bedroom that used to be mine growing up. I walked outside, inhaling the fresh air with the scent of freshly tilled dirt lingering. It was strange how a scent could stir up memories. I took a few more deep breaths, closing my eyes and letting myself be transported to another time.When I opened my eyes again, I found her staring at me.
DamionI winced, hating to piss the woman off any more than she already was. “I can’t.”“You can’t?” she asked, one light brow raising and a hand going to her hip. “What do you mean you can’t? You can’t, or you won’t?”“I need to get back inside.”She looked up at the sky, the sun shining bright, and then back at me. “The sun won’t hurt you. Slap on some sunscreen and you’ll be fine.”“Later,” I said, not appreciating her condescending tone. I had tried to be nice, but she was being rude. “I’ve got a lot to take care of inside the house so I have somewhere to sleep tonight.”She rolled her eyes. “Why are you even here? You and I both know this isn’t the life for you. You aren’t the kind of guy that likes to get his hands dirty. An editor that sits in an office and probably has an assistant that waits on him hand and foot isn’t going to make it out here. Maybe you were raised on the farm, but that doesn’t mean you can keep up with the lifestyle now. You’ve gotten soft.”I leaned forwar
AlexI felt giddy. The sun was barely sending up its shots of pretty oranges and yellows into the morning sky when I drove down the long gravel driveway. I was going to make it my mission in life to make Damion’s life a living hell.I wanted him to hate the farm and pack up and leave. I didn’t like him. He was arrogant and obnoxious. He was the kind of man who thought he could snap his fingers and anyone and everyone would jump to do his bidding.I couldn’t wait to show him I wasn’t one of those people. He could fire me if he wanted. That would free me from my obligation to Oliver. If his grandson ran me off the property, there was little I could do about it. Damion would sell the farm, take the money, and run back to New York. It would be sad to see it go to someone else, but I had to believe the person that bought the farm would keep it going.Oliver had said he wanted the farm functional. He hadn’t specified he wanted it to be in his grandson’s hands when it functioned. Hell, he ha
Alex“It’s not that early,” I argued. “Roosters were up hours ago.”“It’s seven, Alex. Seven. That’s early.”“I need coffee,” I told her.She turned around, glowering at me as she reached for a mug. “Do you know they sell coffee at the gas station and the diner, and hell, I know you have your own coffee maker.”“I like your coffee,” I said with a grin.“What happened? You did something. I know that look.”“Me?” I asked innocently. “I did nothing.”Five minutes later, we were sitting on her couch, both of us with a cup of coffee cradled in our hands. “I assume you’ve already been out to Oliver’s farm?”I nodded. “Damion’s farm.”“Who’s Damion?”“Damion is Oliver’s grandson. He’s back.”“Back from where?” she asked with confusion.“New York City. That’s where he’s been living. He’s back because he inherited the farm. That’s who Oliver gave it to. That’s who Oliver was trying to tell me was coming to take over it.”She rubbed her eyes. “It’s too early. I’m so confused.”“Damion is going