Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 95436 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95436 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
… retiring… ranch up for sale… like to give you the first opportunity…
It didn’t matter how good a deal he was offering her. There wasn’t a single thing she could do to get her family’s ranch back.
Once something was gone, it was gone. Lily thought she’d dealt with her sorrow, her longing for that place, but she felt bruised all over again.
It took every ounce of physical strength she had to maintain her composure. She tacked her lower lip to her teeth, nailed her jaw shut. She forced her shoulders steady, working to keep them from rising up around her neck, to keep her back from curling. No one alive—at least, no one in this room—had ever seen her break. Finally, when everyone had lost interest or turned away out of respect, she made her way back to the bar.
Nicole had already ordered her friend a fresh beer and pushed it over as Lily settled onto the stool beside her.
“Told you,” Nic said.
“You did.”
“What’re you going to do about it?” she asked.
“I’m going to do a whole lot of nothing,” Lily said, and brought the glass to her lips.
Chapter Two
New York City
May, Present Day
THE DOWNSIDE TO leaving for JFK at 8:15 a.m.: in the past twenty minutes, the tangle of morning rush-hour traffic had not once moved faster than ten miles an hour. Potential upside: Leo was free to answer the litany of questions his boss could ask literally anyone else still at the office… but wouldn’t.
When his phone chimed with the tenth text in five minutes, Leo closed his eyes, groaning.
“Just put it on silent,” Bradley said, rolling the cab window down as far as it would go, then quickly rolling it back up against the plume of truck exhaust that barreled inside.
Leo typed out a quick reply. “It’s fine.”
The phone immediately chimed again.
“Leo, this happens every year.”
Typing, Leo said, “It’s just how Alton gets when I’m going to be out of the office.”
“Exactly my point. He acts like there’s no one else in the tristate area who can use a calculator.”
This time, the phone rang in Leo’s hand.
Bradley gave him a warning look. “Leave it.”
Shrugging helplessly, Leo gestured to Alton’s name on the screen. “They’re making decisions about the VP role next week and I’m on vacation. I can’t not answer.”
“Leave it.”
Leo brought the phone to his ear. “Hello?”
Bradley groaned and leaned forward to tell the cabdriver—who absolutely did not care—“He never lets his boss go to voicemail.”
“I do,” Leo whisper-hissed before returning to Alton on the other end of the call and telling him, “The code for the Daxton-Amazon algorithm is in the C drive under the folder named ‘Daxton-Amazon.’ ”
Bradley turned and gaped at him, but Leo waved this off, continuing the call. “That’s right. You can forward it directly to Alyssa or save it to the cloud—”
Bradley yanked the phone from Leo’s hand and bent, pressing his mouth close and faking static. “Can’t”—crackle—“hear”—crackle—“tunnel”—crackle. He hit End and slid the phone into his own coat pocket with a smirk.
Leo stared blankly at him. “Dude, seriously?”
“My year, my trip, my rules. Rule number one: no phones.”
Leo reached for it anyway, explaining, “He was calling to find out where the—”
Bradley slapped his hand away. “If your boss can’t find an algorithm named Daxton-Amazon in a folder also named Daxton-Amazon, I really have no idea how he ended up in a corner office.”
Leo turned to stare out the window, unable to argue. It was time to stop worrying about work anyway, and start wondering where Bradley was taking them. This annual trip with his two best friends from college was his only time away, and as their lives had gotten busier, the status quo had transitioned from It’s my year to do the planning to Absolutely no details will be shared until we arrive at our destination. Knowing they were flying into Salt Lake City told Leo nothing, and whenever it was Bradley’s turn, the other two men were justifiably wary. Bradley prioritized telling a good story down the road over personal comfort and common sense every time.
His phone rang again, and Bradley pulled it out, grinning when he saw who was calling. “It’s your other boss.” He turned the screen around, showing Leo.
Cora.
Bradley swiped to answer. “Leo’s phone, Uncle Bradley speaking.”
Leaning in again, Leo tried to take it from him.
But Bradley put his entire hand on Leo’s face and pushed him away. “How are you, darlin’?”
Leo could hear nothing but the tinny hint of his sister’s voice through the line. Resigned, he deflated into the seat. Cora adored Bradley. Even if Leo managed to grab the phone, she’d just tell him to hand it back again.
“Congratulations on graduating, Cor. That’s incredible.” Bradley nodded, smiling at whatever she’d said. “Is that right?” He turned and looked at Leo. “And Paris tomorrow? No, your brother absolutely did not tell me that he was sending you and a friend to Paris for your graduation gift.”