Texas Big Man

For the second time this morning my stomach drops. “What deal?”

Trevor’s brow furrows. “He owns part of the ranch,” he explains. “Big piece of the property by the lake, equity, and a percentage of profits. I can’t go back on that now. But I’ll talk to him and make sure he’s not pissing you off. I can’t have my right-hand-man and my sister butting heads.”

I’m shocked. How come I didn’t know this? Harlan took me on a tour of the entire property and didn’t mention that he owned any of the land. Why wouldn’t he have told me? All this time I imagined Harlan was just a ranch hand, and that after these three months I may not ever see him again. But it seems my brother and Harlan will be partners for the foreseeable future, and that means I’ll be seeing more of Harlan than just these three months. And I can’t wrap my head around how I actually feel about that.

10

Harlan

Trevor is the last person I expect to see when I burst out of the door after Melena, but there he is. She’s the only one that I have eyes for, but she won’t look at me.

“Sorry Trevor,” she says. “We’ve been working on a lot of things and we missed a lot of worktime yesterday because of the storm, so let’s catch up a little later. The barn needs a new coat of pain and I want to get a good portion of it done before it gets too hot.”

She’s right, the barn does need new paint, but we’d talked about it and decided not to paint it for at least another month. But I see her heading that way with determination in her stride. What the fuck is going on?

One minute I was fucking Melena and telling her about my family and next she’s running away from me. I have no idea what I said to make her run, but I can’t just follow her while Trevor is standing right here.

I shake the man’s hand. “Didn’t expect to see you.”

His gaze is cool as he meets mine. “When I sent my sister down here, I didn’t do it so that you could upset her.”

My body goes stiff. What did she say to him?

“I know that you guys aren’t getting along, but can you please try to be nicer to her? Melena has been through a lot, and you guys only have to work together through the end of the summer and then you never have to see each other again, I promise.

Shock rolls through my system. The end of summer.

I knew. I mean of course I knew, but hearing him say it like that makes it hit home. Melena isn’t going to be here that long. It’s the feeling of loss that takes me by surprise. She fits so naturally here with me, that it somehow seemed like it would last forever.

But she doesn’t belong here. I know that she doesn’t. She’s a city girl, even if she seems like she loves the country. She has an entire life back home that I don’t know anything about. Here, at the ranch, we’re living in a little bubble. She can’t stay here forever, but I don’t want to let her go.

“I swear,” I say to Trevor, “I don’t know what’s gotten into her this morning. We’ve been getting along fine, actually. Making some good progress, too.”

His face is grim. “That’s good news, I guess.”

I swallow. “Can I ask you a question? I guess it may be too personal, so don’t feel like you need to tell me, but why is she here? You never told me why?”

The tall man sighs. “I thought it would be good for her. She went through some stuff recently, that’s her news to share, and she needed to get away. Completely. Everything about her personality had changed in the last year, and my entire family thought she needed a break. I’m not sure I should be the one to tell you what she went through. That’s her choice.

“But,” he says, “I messed up. She thought she’d be coming down here with me to do this, and I think it threw her off to find you here and not me. Our family is really close, and that’s always meant a lot to Melena. So being away from all of us is hard. And I know her main motivation for spending the summer here was me. She’d do anything for family.”

Oh, fuck. It clicks in my brain why she’s upset with me. I just told her about my family. I basically told her that I didn’t want a family and criticized the thing that means the most to her. Although that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Yes, I’m bitter that my parents didn’t want me. And yes, I think that marriage can be superfluous when you’ve found the right person. But commitment isn’t. I’ve always wanted to find that person, and more and more I’m thinking that Melena might be the one.