by Natalie Dean
“I know it makes you angry that you can’t be in charge forever, and that we’re proving to be our own people. Feels like sand running out of your hands, right?” He took one last step towards his father, bringing them face-to-face. He felt like he’d always known what had brought on his dad’s sourness, his meanness, his nit-picking, but it was the first time he’d ever admitted it to himself. Because speaking it meant that he couldn’t pretend his dad was a good guy anymore. And if his father wasn’t a good man, then neither were any of them as long as they let him dictate their life.
“But here’s the thing, Dad. You’re going to keep getting older, and soon you’ll have to rely on us. Do you really want to turn all of us into your enemy? Because, even though I’m sure you’d like to deny it, you’re still human. And humans get old. We die. You can’t run things forever.”
His father was practically shaking with rage by the time Sterling finished, but the younger twin wasn’t scared. “I will write you out of the will. You ungrateful little brat.”
“Do it. I’m sure Mom will be real thrilled that you’ve cut off two of her sons in as many years. And if Samuel is doing just fine without you, I think I’ll be just fine too.”
“That gold digger of yours will leave you and then you’ll be the fool. When you come crawling back to me, I won’t let you back in.”
“Oh, Dad,” Sterling let his tone soften, stepping around his father. “Elizabeth isn’t mine to lose. But maybe, if I play my cards right, she could be.”
Sterling didn’t break his stride, traveling into the main house and heading for the kitchen. He heard his father sputtering after him, spitting curses that the good Lord wouldn’t approve of, but Sterling ignored him.
Yes, he owed his father a certain kind of respect, but in order for that to happen, his father had to treat them with respect as well. He didn’t get to insult Frenchie or Teddy or Elizabeth. He didn’t get to assume things about their character just because they weren’t born into money.
Because—although he would never admit it—their father had been born into wealth the same way Sterling and his brothers had been. And so had his father’s father. And his father’s father’s father. The Miller line had been wealthy for so many generations that no one could remember a time where money had ever been a worry for them. Without that kind of backing, McLintoc Miller wouldn’t be who he was.
Grabbing the picnic basket he’d set in their second fridge in the pantry room, he headed out to his truck. Although he was too far from his father to actually catch any words, he swore he still heard the man in his head, all red-faced and spitting nails. Sterling was glad that he had stood up to the man, but he still felt affected. His heart was pounding, his palms were sweaty, and he was stuck somewhere between upset, angry and hurt. Standing up to his father had drawn a line in the sand, and he didn’t entirely know what the consequences would be of establishing that boundary.
But there were to be consequences, that much he was sure of.
It didn’t take long for him to arrive at the pens, catching Elizabeth just as she exited from the interior doors of the barn. He took a deep breath, trying to shove his swirling emotions down so they could enjoy the picnic he’d planned, but then he was caught up in those eyes of hers and it was clear that she instantly saw through him.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, her brows furrowing together.
“I… it’s nothing. You don’t need to know.” Truth was that Sterling couldn’t bring himself to repeat what his father had said. If only because it would confirm everything that she had confessed she suspected of his family.
And also, because he was embarrassed. He couldn’t control what his father said, but he still felt ashamed about it.
But her hand was gentle on his shoulder. “I can tell it’s not nothing. You don’t have to tell me if it’s private, but you also don’t have to not tell me. I’m a good listener.”
He was tempted, because of course he was. He’d long since learned that he had a difficult time saying no to anything the woman asked, even if it did make his cheeks color with embarrassment.
Yet before he could speak, his phone was ringing shrilly. Elizabeth’s eyebrows raised, and he held up a finger to hold the conversation. Just like when they had first met, his phone only rang in emergencies.
“It’s Silas,” he said once he checked his phone screen, quickly sliding his finger to accept the call. “What’s—”
“Get the vet and bring her to the middle of our racing trail!” his brother blurted out, cutting off his greeting.
“Wait, what?”
“My horse is hurt, get her here, okay?”
“Of course. She’s right in front of me. You said in the middle?”
“Yeah.”
Elizabeth must have had impeccable hearing because she held her hand out for the phone. And just like before, Sterling handed it to her.
“Tell me what’s going on,” she said with authority as they both jogged to his truck.
Sterling tuned them out, concentrating on driving as quickly as he could.
It wasn’t easy to get to the middle of their racing trail. That was the whole reason it was where it was, set apart from the rest of the estate and the regularly traveled paths.
When they finally did arrive, he had to slow down. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally run over his brother or his horse. That would most certainly be the opposite outcome that they wanted.
“There!” Elizabeth said, pointing ahead and just to the right to the track he and his twin had beaten into the ground.
Sure enough, Silas was kneeling off to the side, his pretty mount next to him, breathing harshly.
Sterling skidded to a stop, and Elizabeth practically vaulted out of the passenger’s side. He threw the truck into park and followed her, his heart squeezing in his chest.
Although he would never admit it, Sterling had become fairly attached to his own mount, and Silas was much closer with his horse. He couldn’t imagine what was going through his twin’s mind.
Except he could. That connection they shared burned hot and bright in his mind, making his stomach twist tightly.
“She got her hoof in a gopher hole,” Silas said, panic layering his voice. “She’s really hurt her leg.”
“It’s alright. Let me feel it out. Is she a kicker?”
“Not generally, but she’s in pain. I’m… I’m worried it’s broken. Or irreparably damaged. That’s what happens to a horse, right? When they’re hurt?”
Elizabeth reached over and squeezed his twin’s hand, surprising Sterling. She wasn’t the most tactile of people. “Don’t worry. Even if there’s damage, there’s no reason she can’t live a full and healthy life.”
“Really? Okay. That’s good. That’s really good.”
“Now, if you don’t mind giving me some space, let me calm her down and tell her it’s gonna be alright?”
“You can do that?”
“I can certainly try.”
She knelt in the same spot Silas had just been, her hands gently sliding through the horse’s carefully kept mane. Sterling gave the whole scene a wide berth, circling around until he was next to his twin. Offering his hand, he pulled him up into a hug.
“It’s okay,” he said with as much certainty as he could muster. “She’s gonna take care of her. I promise.”
Silas nodded, his mouth a thin line, but he didn’t pull out of the hug. Sterling couldn’t remember the last time that they had embraced. High school, maybe? When had so much distance come between them?
“Hey there, beautiful. I hear you’ve had a pretty crappy morning,” Elizabeth murmured, voice low and soothing, like a blanket. Her hands continued to move along the horse, scratching all those spaces that horses tended to like to be petted. “I’m going to need to look at your leg, okay? I might even make it go owie, but I promise I’m just trying to make you better. Okay?”
The horse waffled and if Sterling didn’t know better, he would think that t
he creature understood her.
Elizabeth continued, “That’s my girl. You’re so brave, you know that? Such a brave girl.”
Slowly, slowly, Elizabeth moved her hands down the horse’s body, scratching her spine, rubbing her flanks. Bit by bit she moved, until she was parallel to the front leg that was already swollen.
“Hey, Silas, I want you to come stand right behind me so she knows you approve of this. Sterling, can you hold and pet her head?”
The twins separated and went to do as she said. Sterling didn’t know why it wasn’t better for Silas to hold the horse’s head, but he knew better than to question Elizabeth’s instructions. She was the one with the degree, after all.
So that was how he found the ride’s head in his lap, petting and comforting her as best he knew how. He certainly was no Elizabeth, but he figured he was better than nothing.
The horse, for her hard breathing and panting, was surprisingly calm. She whinnied once when Elizabeth put pressure on where she was hurt but didn’t try to kick. Didn’t chomp. Her gaze mostly stayed on the two in front of her, but every now and then her big, beautiful eyes would flick up to the human who was petting her mane.
Sterling hadn’t expected to see much besides his own reflection, but wow, was he wrong. There was so much in the animal’s stare, and he couldn’t help but be surprised by it. There was intelligence there, and fear. A need for assurance, a worried sort of uncertainty. It made his already hurting heart ache for her.
And it was probably in that moment that something clicked within him, and he understood Elizabeth even more than before. A strange flare of emotion rose within him, thinking that for many of their animals on the ranch, she was the only bright spot in their lives. The only person who treated them like beings instead of objects. Instead of profits.
Oh.
Sure, he respected Elizabeth’s opinions enough to want to implement them to more of their ranch, but he hadn’t really understood it. Until right then and there, with the horse’s head in his lap, looking at him like she was terrified of what could be.
Wow. His family had a whole lot to make up for.
Time slipped by as she inspected, then made some calls to the other vets they had on contract. Sterling only half-listened as she set up the details, then as she assured his brother that his mount would be okay. His eyes were locked onto the horses, wondering just how many sad, sad animals populated their property.
Eventually, however, a horse trailer came to pick up the mount, and transport was arranged to her stall. Apparently, the girl wouldn’t need a ride to the surgery center in the city, but definitely would need a long, long recovery to let it heal.
When all was said and done, Sterling drove Elizabeth back to the pens. It felt like his mind was only just catching up with everything that had happened. From his personal revelations, to how effortlessly Elizabeth handled the situation. How sure and kind she was with the very scared and injured animal. What his father had assumed about her. It was all so much, and yet one thing shone sharp and bright in his mind. One thing had certainty to it.
He waited until he was walking her to her car, knowing that she wanted to drive to the stables and tend to the horse well past the hours that she was supposed to work. But before she got in, his mouth was doing that thing where it ran off on its own again.
“Hey,” he said suddenly as she opened her car door, clearly startling her.
She jumped, holding a hand to her heart. “Goodness, if you scared me just to tell me a horse joke right now, I might run over you.”
That was his girl. Well, not his girl yet, actually. “I’m pretty sure I would deserve it.”
“You would.” She leveled him with one of her serious looks. “Were you gonna say something?”
“Yes. I was.” When he didn’t immediately speak again, she raised one of her eyebrows in that way that only she did. He knew he had seconds before he chickened out, so he decided to just go in on the runaway mouth thing full force. “You want to go steady?”
She blinked at him and then a short, dry sort of chuckle escaped her mouth. “No one calls it that anymore.”
“Well, I am. Right now.”
She gave him a long look, one of those that stared through his soul. “It’s a bit soon, to be honest.”
Oh no.
Oh no.
His heart felt like someone had shot an arrow through it, ripping it out of his body and pinning it somewhere hard and cold. But before he had to scramble an apology for even asking her, she was speaking again.
“But, if we have a couple more dates that go well, I think I’m game to try.”
It was like the whole world had been plunged into darkness only to be catapulted into daylight. “You think?”
She winked at him, actually winked, and it was such a not-Elizabeth thing that he almost wondered if he had imagined it. “Well, I wouldn’t want to jinx it.”
“Hold on,” he said.
Sterling ran to his truck, grabbed the picnic basket, and put it in her car. “You’ll get hungry. Might as well not let this go to waste.”
Elizabeth smiled, eyes wide. “Thank you.”
And then she was sliding into her car and driving off, leaving Sterling with a “couple more” dates to plan.
He was very much up to the challenge.
19
Elizabeth
“Do you think there’s an after-credits scene here?” Sterling said, his warm breath brushing against her ear. Goosebumps rose along Elizabeth’s skin, her body reacting viscerally to Sterling just like it always did.
She wanted to say that she hated it, but she didn’t. Ever since that date at the restaurant, it felt like her every sense had been ramped up to one hundred every time that Sterling came around.
And he was coming around a whole lot.
They tended to have lunch together every day that they worked, and she couldn’t believe it that he specially packed them a picnic basket every time. It was thoughtful, even if it seemed like he could only make about four things. Although, in the month and a half since he had asked her out, he seemed to have picked up two new recipes, judging by the quesadillas and biscuits he made—with varied success.
It was strange to think of how much had changed in that month and a half, or in the almost four since she had taken the job. The pigpens were shaping up more than ever, but when she went on to explore the other livestock just so she could get ahead and take her time planning, she was almost overwhelmed with all the work that needed to be done.
So, in a way, it was much harder, but in other ways, it was so much easier.
Almost every other afternoon was spent with Mrs. Miller in her gardens or chicken coop, which Frenchie and Teddy apparently also spent plenty of time in. The four of them ended up building a strange sort of bond, three poor girls and a rich white lady. It was unorthodox, sure, but sincere. Elizabeth got the feeling that Mrs. Miller was lonely, considering how much of her time she spent surrounded by men.
“No one does after-the-credits scenes since those superhero movies ended.”
“Those superhero movies?” Sterling whispered back in amusement. “Are you calling some of the most blockbuster movies of this decade those superhero movies?”
“Since when do cowboys watch comic book movies?”
“Since when am I a cowboy?”
“You live on a ranch. You ride horses. Close enough.”
He chuckled, and the sound made goosebumps rise along her arms. He truly had no idea how much he affected her.
Which was good, because if he did know… well, it would be embarrassing, that was for certain. Elizabeth had always been the calm and collected girl, the type of person whose nose was too busy against the grindstone to care anything about romance or crushes. But when she looked at Sterling, well, a lot of that flew right out the window.
It didn’t hurt that he was stunningly handsome, but it was so much more than that. Sure, in the month and a half that they had been casually dating, he
still said some stuff that made her give him the side-eye, but she could tell that he was trying, and that’s what meant so much to her.
He never told her she was odd, never told her she was wrong, he never even told her that she cared for animals too much. No, according to what Sterling said, she was practically perfect. Which of course wasn’t true, but goodness, it sure did make her feel special.
Elizabeth spent so much of her life being not understood. At being an “other.” At being that strange girl who was practically inhuman. Her mother had loved her, of course. Her father loved her. But she’d never really had friends, never really had anyone she was that close to. Sure, she had other nerds that she formed bonds with. Safety in numbers, after all. And they had goaded each other with friendly competitions and challenges. But she’d never felt connected to someone like she had become connected to Sterling in the past few weeks. She hadn’t even known it was possible.
And she certainly hadn’t thought it would be with a billionaire whose family had a history of standing for things that had hurt folks like her. Honestly, if Sterling was anything like his father, it would have ended things point-blank. But the closer they became, the more he confided in her, the more she believed that he wanted to undo all the things their empire had done to hurt others. Starting with their workers and their animals.
“Well, if there’s no after-credits scene, do you wanna head out?”
She didn’t. Not really. She wanted to stay in the dark theater, her fingers intertwined through Sterling’s. Tucked away from the rest of the world. Just him and her and the words rolling up the screen. But her bladder gave a protesting pang, so she let out a sigh.
“Yeah, that’s probably for the best.”
They headed out of the theater hand in hand, following the gentle flow of traffic. Once in the lobby, they parted so Elizabeth could take care of her business, and when she returned, he was waiting at the door for her.
