Page 17 of Pitch for You

As I watched him run, the gravity of my situation hit like a freight train. I couldn't afford to back down now – not with Roger lurking in the shadows, waiting to pounce on any sign of weakness. My refusal to sell had set off a chain reaction, and if I didn't act quickly, I would lose everything held dear.

My hand trembled as I picked up the phone, the weight of my decision resting heavily on my shoulders. One call could change everything, but I had no choice. Roger forced my hand, and now it was time to play mine.

With a deep breath, I dialed the number, heart pounding in her chest. As I waited for an answer, I glanced out the window, watching Max play in the yard, his laughter echoing through the air.

“Hello?”

“I need your help.”

As I spoke those words, there was no turning back. The battle lines had been drawn, and only one side could emerge victorious. Whatever the outcome, one thing was certain – this conflict was far from over.

10

Brett

My phone started ringing as I stepped out of the shower. I wrapped a towel around my waist and walked into the bedroom, reaching for the device and glancing at the caller ID.

Sofia.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” came Sofia's voice. “I need to talk to you about something.”

My heart skipped. “What is it? Is everything okay?”

“It's about the Ranch. Roger Adams showed up here today, trying to get me to sell to him.”

My stomach dropped as I absorbed her words. Roger Adams, the ruthless businessman who had been trying to buy up all the land in Lawson Ridge, including the Ranch. Sofia’s mom had turned him down numerous times before she passed, and now he must think that Sofia would give a different answer. She would never sell it, no matter how much money was offered.

“What did you tell him?”

“That it wasn't for sale, but he was persistent. Kept saying how the money he’s offering could give me a great way to start over with Max.”

I clenched my jaw, knowing that Roger Adams wouldn't give up easily. If he was bringing up her painful history, then that meant he had done some research on her which could be dangerous.

“Listen, Roger will do anything to get his hands on the ranch. He is going to keep coming around. Your mom used to complain about him to us. We had to run him off the property once.”

Sofia was smart and she loved the ranch, but Roger Adams had a way of playing to people’s wants and needs. He bought up the Kelce Ranch after six years of trying to get them to sell to him by paying almost double what it was worth. Grandpa Kelce was very sick and his hospital bills were piling up and once they started rolling in, the family couldn’t hold out anymore.

“I don’t know what to do. Max is finally happy here and now I’ve got this guy breathing down my neck… just when I thought things were getting better.”

“Don’t let him get under your skin. That’s what he wants.” Her frustration was coming through the phone. I put it on speaker and maneuvered a t-shirt on. The towel dropped as I slipped on some boxers, jeans and then my socks and shoes. “Listen, I'm coming over. We need to talk about this face-to-face.”

“You don't have to do that.”

I wasn’t going to give her the option. Right now, she didn’t need to be alone. She was scared. “I want to. Besides, it'll be nice to see Max.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. “Thanks, Brett. I really appreciate it.”

As I hung up and grabbed my keys, my mind raced. Sofia and I had a complicated history, but the Ranch had always been a constant. It was where we'd grown up together, where we'd fallen in love, and where we'd eventually fallen apart. Now, withRoger Adams sniffing around, it felt like our shared past was under threat.

The drive to the Ranch was familiar, every bend in the road etched into my memory. As I pulled up the long driveway, I saw Sofia standing on the porch, arms crossed, watching me approach. Max was playing in the yard.

I stepped out of the truck, and Max's face lit up. “Brett!” he yelled, running towards me.

I scooped him up, tousling his hair. “Hey, buddy!”

Sofia walked down the steps, a small smile on her face despite the worry in her eyes. “Thanks for coming.”

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