That would make her ecstatic, and I think it would be good for him too.
I grab my laptop and connect to my phone’s hotspot. Everything else is packed up, and I’m camping out in a sleeping bag for my last night here. Sure, I could have gone to the finest hotel, but for some silly sentimental reason I want to sleep here one last time. Time for some serious Netflix—
My phone buzzes. My brother.
“Hey,” I say.
“Hey, yourself. You still driving home tomorrow?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Good. I just got a weird-ass text from Brendan Murphy.”
“Gingers are always a little weird,” I laugh. Brendan’s a good guy, but Dale and I have been making fun of his Irish red hair for years. He takes it in good humor.
“He says he needs to see both of us right away.”
“What for?”
“I don’t have a clue. I didn’t ask.”
Classic Dale. Asking would require that he text back or call Brendan. As an introvert, he doesn’t think in those terms. I’m really hoping marriage will bring him out of his shell. If it doesn’t? I’ll settle for him being happy. Ashley sure seems to do that for him.
“Well, find out what he wants, and let him know I’ll be in tomorrow. We can meet him at the bar for a drink or something after dinner.”
“Good enough. I’ll text him.”
“While you’re at it, ask him what he wants.”
“Yeah, yeah. Okay.”
A pause. Such a long pause that I know Dale’s considering his next words carefully. That’s what he does.
Then, “You sure you want to do this?”
“Do what? Return to the ranch?”
“Yeah. I mean, you’re leaving Diana in the city all by herself.”
“Our sister is a grown woman, Dale.”
“I know, but…”
“You don’t get it. I know. Why would I leave a huge opportunity at my firm to return to Snow Creek in a dead-end job?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“First, it’s not a dead-end job. Mom will retire, and then I’ll be the city attorney.”
He scoffs. “You and I both know that Mom won’t retire until she’s six feet underground, and that won’t be for decades yet.”
I suppress a shudder. I don’t like thinking about Mom’s or Dad’s eventual deaths. Another way Dale and I are different. He doesn’t shy away from dark thoughts.
“Then I’ll be assistant city attorney for a while. Not an issue.”
“I guess not. I just thought you had bigger aspirations.”
I sigh into the phone, exasperated. “You think it’s unfair of Mom to ask me to do this.”
“Well…yeah. I kind of do.”
“Let me ask you something, then.”
“Shoot.”
“What about your wife? Ashley will be a doctor of oenology soon enough, but you’ve asked her to stay with you on the ranch. Working at the winery. What about her aspirations to be a sommelier at a Michelin restaurant?”
“She can still do that if she wants. Grand Junction has some—”
“Grand Junction is Grand Junction. It’s not New York, LA, or Chicago. It’s not even Denver.”
“It’s different. She’s my wife, for God’s sake. The person I’m spending my life with. She’s not my mommy.”
“You don’t get it,” I say, “and you never will. That’s okay, Dale. I don’t need you to understand. I just need you to support me.”
“You know I always support you, Don.”
Yeah, I know. Dale will always have my back. He’s proved that tenfold. “Then we don’t have an issue.”
“I guess not.”
“So I’ll see you tomorrow. Find out what Murphy wants. We can catch him at the bar after supper.”
“Sounds good. And Donny?”
“Yeah?”
“Drive safe, please.”
“I always do.”
Chapter Two
Callie
Plans change.
My mom’s sage words, only they’re not sage to me.
I was supposed to begin law school in Chicago this winter. Now my law school money will go to help rebuild what was lost in the fire.
Our vines.
Three-quarters of our vines were destroyed through no fault of our own. We prepared. We used firebreaks.
They failed.
They all failed.
It’s no one’s fault. I know that. But I was so looking forward to getting off the ranch and out of Colorado.
I’m trying very hard to be understanding because I do understand. The money is needed for other things right now. In fact, I offered. If I’d insisted on going to school, Mom and Dad would have most likely relented. Deadlines for scholarships and grants have long passed, so no matter what happens at this point, I’ll have to wait another year.
Another year to pursue my dream.
At the very least, another semester.
I love my parents, and I love our ranch.
But part of me is damned tired of putting my life on hold because of it. I’ve waited five years since I completed undergrad, living at home and helping with the ranch because I was needed. In exchange, Mom and Dad put away money for my law school.
Money that’s now needed elsewhere.
I’ll do what I must, because I love my family and I always do what’s best for the whole, not for myself.