r, remembering the good times, excusing the bad. I' d paid for dinners, gifts, even helped her family out when they were in a bind, all because I th

sorrow. They thought I was weak, a puppet. Th

nds. Mr. Thompson, our ranch foreman, a man who' d been more of

etched with concern. "E

eady. "My grandfather, he had a pact with the Ha

nd old Mr. Hayes, yes. Haven't heard that spoken

o activate it. Get me everything you

of understanding in his eyes

r' s office, I saw them, Britt and Dylan, swanning out of a ridiculously expensive boutique. Britt

t fake, dazzling smile. "Ethan! Darling! Look w

t. "Just a little somethi

xcuse me, Mr. Miller? Mr. Dylan Miller?

g to panicked in a second.

"Oh, Ethan, darling, could you? Just t

ectation that I' d just cough up. The old Et

ght in the eye. "N

faltered

ttled red. "That credit line you' ve been enjoying? The one linked

o that!" Dyl

e 'loans' you've taken from me over the years? I' ll have m

pretty pout was gone, replaced by a fla

t," I said, turning to walk away. "A

almost worth the years of f