Page 66 of The Last Dance You Saved
“I called Uncle Adam, and he came over. He was still living at the Hurly house then, but he was here in just a few minutes.”
“Who found Spence?” I asked quietly.
“Teddy. He’s one of our part-time ranch hands. It was only five in the morning, but he was coming to help with baby bull castration.” Fallon shuddered, and I wasn’t sure if it was at the ugly job or if it was the way Spence had been found. “He’d been dead for hours they said.” Fallon’s voice cracked.
“I’m really, truly sorry you lost him.” I knew the words were useless, but I still offered them as they were all I had to give her.
She bit her lip, as if holding back tears, and continued downstairs, heading for the kitchen. I hurried to keep up with her.
“I get why Dad wants to sell,” she said. “It’s all falling apart. It was falling apart before Spence died. They kept having to lower the size of the herd because they couldn’t afford the staff to work them, but that meant we had even less profits. They were trying to shore it up with the other revenue, but it wasn’t enough. We had a whole field of alfalfa destroyed last year, which meant we didn’t have any to sell when we had to keep what was left for our animals. It just was one thing after another.”
“Fallon.” I pulled her to a stop with a gentle hand. “My family went through a really rough time too. We almost lost everything. I heard the discussions my parents had, but they never let me take that burden on as a kid. You shouldn’t have it weighing on your shoulders either.”
She looked back at me, and her expression was so grown-up, so knowledgeable, that it was scary. “It’s my ranch, Sadie. I’m the last Harrington here. Dad is just the executor of the trust because he gave up his rights to it before I was born. I may be just a kid, but it’smine. Spence left it to me.” Her voice was fierce with pride, and determination sparked in those eyes so like her dad’s. “I should have a say in what happens to it and how we dig ourselves out of this hole.”
I swallowed hard, wanting to shield her, and realized that was the last thing she wanted. She’d already faced some of the worst things alone and handled it with more strength than a lot of grown-ups would have. “You’re right. You should have a say. Have you told your dad how you feel?”
“He keeps trying to box me into little-kid mode.” Her frustration was clear.
“I don’t think it’s because he doesn’t believe you can handle it. I think he wants you to hang on to every last moment of your childhood because once you become an adult and accept all your adult responsibilities, it never lets go. You have seventy, eighty, or even more years to be an adult, but you only have a handful to be young and free.” It was why Ryder hadn’t wanted me to take on the bar when Uncle Phil died. He’d wanted me to go off and play college girl for a few more years, to goof off and party and just live in the moment, but everything had changed once I’d almost died. I couldn’t go back to being the freewheeling Sadie who threw darts and hooked up with boys.
Fallon’s life had taken the same kind of hit when Spencer had died.
The teen tilted her head, considering what I’d said, but she never got a chance to respond as the back door slammed open, and Lauren hustled out of the mudroom with a handful of reusable grocery bags. “Oh good, you’re done upstairs. I ran to the store to get something to feed Rafe’s guests. Can you help grab the rest from the truck?” Lauren asked Fallon.
The teen simply nodded, hurrying out the back.
I followed with my heart wrung to pieces for her. The belief that this land was hers, that it was her legacy, had her working to the bone when all Rafe wanted was to free her from its weight. And unless they could find a compromise soon, it was going to leave a nasty scar on both of them.
? ? ?
It was late, the house was quiet, and my body was exhausted, but I couldn’t sleep. The talk Rafe and I needed to have and the promises we’d made had me pacing the room and watching the clock while my stomach fluttered.
When Fallon and I had taken dinner down to him and his team in the cabin, he’d told me not to wait up. He’d said he’d be caught up helping to install cameras and then digging into the ranch’s accounts, and he’d see me in the morning.
But I couldn’t settle. Not with so much still needing to be said. So, I propped my bedroom door open, hoping I’d be able to hear if and when he returned to the main house.
When my phone vibrated in my hand, it nearly had me jumping out of my skin. Seeing it was the bartender at McFlannigan’s had a new worry rushing through.
“Hi, Ted. What’s up?”
“Fire marshal fined us.”
“Damn it,” I swore as frustration and guilt hit me. “What happened?”
“Patti and I didn’t realize we were over capacity. We knew we were busy. Grady and his band had a whole crew show up from UTK for Throwback Thursday, but I wasn’t keeping count.”
“Where was Bart?” Our part-time bouncer kept a counter going on our busiest nights.
“Called in sick. I thought we could handle it.”
It wasn’t his fault. He’d told me all along he didn’t want to manage the bar. It was my job to find a fill-in for Bart or, at a minimum, keep track of our numbers. It was a harsh reminder I had responsibilities waiting for me. A real life that I’d been ignoring while I was playing detective, pretending to be Sadie-the-dart-champion again, and falling for a man who it would be impossible to build a life with. My stomach twisted.
“I’ll be home on Sunday. I’ll try to convince him to rip up the fine.”
We spent another couple of minutes with him giving me an update before hanging up.
I paced some more, frustration brewing. I’d put aside my plans and my ideas for my community while here, letting these people sink into the void that had been slowly growing inside me. The roots they’d placed in my heart were all but set, vines twining around me in a way that would be painful to remove. But the truth was, none of these people were mine. I couldn’t keep them. Worrying about them wasn’t my place, just as their relationships weren’t mine to fix.
