Page 9 of Swept for Forever
People used to say I’d end up like my father.The Tiger of L.A. Ruthless in court, worse at home. He never handed out tokens. He never believed in luck, only leverage.
But this coin wasn’t about luck.
I kept it to remember exactly who I didn’t want to become.
And here I was, pulling the most un-tiger move possible, ditching courtrooms for cowboy country.
I tucked the coin inside my pocket, then called my buddy Noah Lucas.
“Big Dom! Been a while.”
“Hey, buddy.”
I hadn’t caught up with him as often as I liked since he moved from Salt Lake City. I’d always been based in California, but a high-profile merger case had brought me to Utah. That’s where we first crossed paths. Back then, he was still in the city, and I was drowning in legal briefs. Neither of us had expected to keep in touch, but life had a way of surprising you.
First, I’d ended up in his neck of the woods again to help clear his girlfriend’s name from a tangled criminal saga. Then they got married, had a baby, and now he’d traded city life forwide-open pastures, joining his brother to run their family’s ranch. He was a full-fledged cowboy, horses and all.
“Hey, how’s fatherhood treating you?” I asked.
“It’s wonderful, Dom. It is. And Maya is a natural.”
I wouldn’t have pegged her for the motherly type, especially with her brush-with-the-law past. But that’s the thing about finding your person. It changes the story you thought you were writing.
“Catching any sleep these days?” I asked, the go-to question for anyone with a newborn.
He let out a short laugh. “A rancher never has enough sleep from the day we take our first steps. So, yeah, I’m surviving. Just have to be a little more attentive now since we’re dealing with a human baby, not a calf.” A pause. “Although don’t tell Maya I said that because, apparently,thatdidn’t come out right.”
I chuckled. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
“So, where’ve you been? I’ve heard nothing but crickets from your end.”
“Just needed some quiet. Been mapping out my life. Big existential ‘what’s next?’ phase.”
“Huh! Biological clock finally chiming in?” he deadpanned.
“Please. I wear a smartwatch. It never ticks.”
“Sure, but it does tell you when you’ve been sitting too long without making a move.”
I glanced at my watch. Since when did Noah Lucas start outsmarting me?
“Fair,” I said. “Let’s just say the map’s got a new destination. Buffaloberry Hill.”
Silence.
Then a drawn-out, incredulous, “You’re moving here?”
“You better believe it.”
Noah let out a laugh. “You do realize this is a ranching town, not a golf retreat?”
“I’m aware.”
“You own a single pair of boots yet?”
“Two,” I said proudly. “And a hat.”
“Oh hell,” he muttered. “You actually bought a hat?”
