Page 136 of The Guy Who Stole My Ranch

“Whoa.” I imagined him holding up a hand. “Easy, it’s just a question.”

“So was mine.” I’d strayed off the path and was now hiking through plush grass.

Todd sighed. “Brooke, did you tell Dad about your plans?”

I hadn’t told Randy much, but he’d apparently shared enough of it with Todd for him to put the pieces together. Small towns could be annoying. “Why do you think I have plans?”

“Because you asked for a huge loan.”

I thought of William and said, “Maybe I want to start something new. For myself.”

“And maybe you want the ranch.”

I rolled my eyes, and when I got to a rock wall, I leaned against it. Cold began seeping through my dress, and I huddled in on myself. “Why do you care?”

“Because, if you want it, you should have it. Dad wouldn’t have offered to sell it if he’d known.”

These were the words that would have been music to my ears several weeks before, but now I wasn’t sure what I wanted.

Besides William.

“You need to tell Dad,” Todd said.

I’d tried, but he didn’t want to listen.

Maybe he wanted to be free of it. To not have a tie to it anymore. Maybe the memories of him and my mom there were too painful to live with for the rest of his life. The man had been latched to the land since he’d been born. Didn’t the guy deserve a break?

He wouldn’t have to be around if I took over, but he’d probably feel obligated to check in on me, and he’d remain tied to the place.

What I had with William was still in its infancy, and I wasn’t sure what I wanted, but now I was open to something besides the ranch. William had a beautiful horse barn here where I could hang out whenever he was busy. I could learn about racing. Would it be so bad?

“Brooke?” Todd asked.

He’d been talking. “Sorry, what?”

“I said I just told William about this.”

All of the good thoughts about my dad being free and being here with William that had been fluttering around in my mind fell to the ground, and red-hot anger burned them to a crisp. “You did what?” My words sliced through the air.

“I told William that the sale might be off because you wanted the ranch.”

“Why did you call him before you talked to me?”

Todd paused for a moment. “Because he’s the one that was supposed to push the sale through soon. I figured he was the logical place to start.”

“Or was it because you thought you knew what I needed better than I did?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Todd’s anger flared, and his voice got louder. He’d always hated it when I called him out.

I spoke through my teeth. “Todd, if I’d wanted Dad to know about this, I would have told him. If I’d wanted you to know about it, I would have told you.” My breath threatened to catch in my throat, but I managed to finish. “If I’d wanted William to know about it, I would have told him.”

Todd adopted his most irritating tone of voice. “Would you though?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I demanded in the same tone he’d used.

“You’re not exactly the best example of transparency. You’ve been mad at me since you were eight, and you’ve never told me why.”

He didn’t know why? He was a bigger idiot than I’d thought.

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