Page 16 of Run to Me
Gavin’s smirk is back, amused and knowing. Ace whispers something, his mouth barely moving, and then Gavin shrugs in the way of someone who finds everything going just as planned.
“I want our land,” I say, but it comes out like a question. Maybe because I’m questioning everything, because my doubt islouder than my need. It plays out on the numbers, the counter a merciless metronome marking the seconds of my indecision. They tick away, carrying my chance with them.
Bids ring out like ricochets. Ace sits back, and I think maybe he’s letting go, letting me make my own mistakes, waiting for the punchline. That look of patience is almost enough to break my own. I close my eyes, then open them again, seeing the room’s focus, Ace’s focus, pin me down. There’s nothing for it. I dig deep, past caution, past pride, to the place where risk lives alongside hope. A place that looks a lot like faith.
Three fifty, my hand scrawls, bold and black. The table goes still as I commit it, as my pen hits the paper and everything is back in motion, too fast again, but not beyond my reach. At least not yet. I press harder than I should. The ink bleeds through.
The room ripples with surprise, recalibrating around this new development. Whispers dart through the crowd. Olivia Grant’s a contender after all. Or maybe she’s reckless. Maybe she’s about to blow her chance on a losing hand.
The auctioneer acknowledges the bid with a sharp nod. “Three fifty. Three five-oh. Do I hear three sixty?”
Ace leans over to Gavin, says something I can’t hear. I’m half expecting him to raise a paddle and crush me with one easy gesture. Four sixty. Four seventy. Whatever it takes to see how much I’m really willing to spend. But he does nothing, nothing at all. That’s its own kind of torture.
I stare down the counter, wait for it to move.
Wait.
Wait.
Wait.
The numbers hover. Hesitant. Unsure. Is that everyone? Are we through? Are we done?
Three five-oh, the auctioneer calls again, his voice turning the room inside out, shaping the frantic noise to a thin and precious quiet.
“All in? Fair warning,” he says.
I hold my breath.
“Three fifty.”
The whole place seems to breathe in with me.
“Last chance.”
And out again.
ACE
I’m still here, pretending I’ve got a fighting chance. I set my jaw, press the bid button one last time, then make sure she sees me drop my paddle, watch as it spins on the table before standing up.
Everyone in this room, squeezed into their best boots and flannel for the event, knows the real contest is between the Bougie Cowgirl and me. My chest is tight with what I thought was ambition, but it’s something else now. I watch Olivia, fierce and composed in her designer boots, her tailored blazer, her devastating perfection, and realize I’m losing more than an auction.
I look at Olivia, really look at her, seeing the hopeful determination etched in the lines of her face, the fierce passion that makes her who she is. The realization dawns that winning the Ranch might win me years of pride, but it will come at the expense of losing something—someone—irreplaceable.
There was a time I convinced myself I didn’t need her. Told myself we were rivals, adversaries, competitors in land, business, life. Told myself I’d bid on that ranch, put in a show of stubborn resistance, watch her surprise when she won. Told myself I’d walk away. That was before the late nights at thediner, and her easy laugh over steaming cups of coffee. Each memory feels like a fresh brand, and I can’t tell what burns more—wanting her or wanting her to want me. It is love—pure, unbidden, and undeniable—that spurs me into action. “I’m out.”
The room stills, a collective intake of breath marking the moment. Olivia’s eyes widen, a myriad of emotions flickering within them—confusion, disbelief, and the dawning realization of what his surrender meant.
“Wh-What?”
“The Ranch… it should be yours.”
Shock paints Olivia’s face, her lips part in stunned silence. She searches my eyes, looking for the competitive glint that has always driven me.
“Are you serious?”
“More than I’ve ever been about anything.”
