CHAPTER 78

jackson

F or the first time in my life, I had reservations about leaving Double Arrow for the rodeo. All my reservations were wrapped up in the man I left in my bed. I didn’t have the heart to wake up West before I left. Sure, I left him a note, but looking back, I should’ve woken him up. I should’ve said goodbye. I didn’t have a clue when I’d see him again. I knew he’d be watching, but I would’ve given anything to have him with me.

Those reservations only increased in intensity when Amy informed me that the first thing I had to do upon arriving in Nevada was meet with Rex Lexington for lunch. And unfortunately, I couldn’t skip the goddamn meeting. I was stuck with the fucking man as my sponsor.

However, Rex wasn’t the one sitting at the table when I arrived at the steakhouse for our meeting. His son, Colter, was. And I despised Colter Lexington. Mid-twenties with an attitude like he owned the goddamn place, the kid was a self-proclaimed alpha male who looked down on everyone. I knew he’d been working alongside his father to take over the business, but I hadn’t anticipated that change any time soon. Him sitting at that fucking table was telling .

That giant ass grin on his face as I approached the table pissed me off.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” he drawled, sounding straight out of Texas. “I was beginning to think you weren’t going to show.”

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I asked as a way of greeting.

“I think it’s high time you and me had a conversation, Jackson.” He gestured to the chair across from him. “Sit, please. Order something. Anything you want.”

“Isn’t it enough that you get my goddamn business?” I demanded when I sat down. I dropped my hat on my knee and crossed my arms. When the waitress asked for my drink, I told her, “I won’t be staying long enough for anything, darlin’. You can go now.”

“My father said your grumpy attitude was legendary. I didn’t believe him.”

“You should’ve,” I snapped. “Why the fuck am I here?”

“I want to buy Double Arrow Ranch,” Colter said. Silence stretched between us as my brain processed those fucking words. He was fucking with me. He had to be. There was no fucking way this kid actually thought he’d buy my ranch.

“What the fuck makes you think I’d sell you my goddamn ranch?”

“Because I know you’re inches shy of going bankrupt,” he replied. My scowl deepened. How the fuck did he have that fucking information? “I did my research into your ranch. It’s not hard to figure out that you’re bleeding money right now, Jackson. And you know what, it happens. One bad year got you, that’s all. Ain’t nothing to be ashamed of.”

The audacity of this fucking kid. He’d be lucky if I didn’t reach across this goddamn table and fucking kill him. It was real clear that he didn’t give two shits about sponsoring me. There was just no way he’d get me in a sit down with him otherwise.

“You’ve got some balls, you know that,” I snarled. “Conning your way into this fucking meeting only to insult my business and insult me. Why the fuck would you want my ranch?”

“Because you are the biggest threat to my business,” Colter said. That took me by surprise. Taking a sip of his whiskey, he sat back in his seat. “Do you know what every single one of your customers said to me when they switched to my business? ”

“Do I want to fucking know?” This felt like it was about to be a slap in the face.

“ It’s only until Jackson Myles gets back on his feet, ” he told me. “Every single one of them. For as fucking grumpy as you are, you sure as hell have a way with your customers. They don’t want me. They don’t want Lexington Farms. Not in the long run. They just need an interim supplier, and you know what that is? Bad for my business. You are bad for my business, Jackson Myles.”

I couldn’t help the grin on my face. I liked being a pain in his fucking ass.

“If you pick yourself up off the ground and come back, I’m screwed,” he continued. “All your old customers will go running back to you. And if you run your business like you ride, you’ll come back stronger than ever next season. I can’t have that—especially not in my first year running the family business. That won’t go over so well for me. So, I’m offering to buy Double Arrow Ranch at the price of its peak value. That’s way more than it’s worth right now and you know that.”

My jaw ticked. He had me there, and he knew it. That kind of money would launch my ass out of the fucking hole I was in. But the cost would be my entire family’s legacy. Unfortunately, at the rate things were going, there was a good chance I was going to lose my entire family legacy anyway. I fucking hated that thought.

But I hated the thought of letting Colter Lexington get his hands on my business just to save his. I’d rather go toe to toe with him and let the cards fall where they would.

“You can go fuck yourself, Colter,” I told him. The fucker didn’t even have the decency to look fazed. For good measure, I added, “And I won’t be doing your goddamn milk ads.”

“I didn’t ask for you to do milk ads,” he replied. Of course, it’d been Amy’s idea. Why didn’t that fucking surprise me? Colter grinned, and I instantly regretted bringing it up. This kid was the kind who would do exactly that to fuck with me. “Though, I might now.”

Two could play that goddamn game.

“If you want to ruin your business, then go ahead and try to make me do that.”

“I’m your sponsor, remember?” He said the words like I needed reminding. No matter how this goddamn meeting went, I was stuck with Colter and Lexington Farms for the rest of the season. There was a damn good chance I was firing Amy over this bullshit. “I pay the money that lets you ride.”

“You want to hand an openly gay man a glass of white liquid on national television?” I cocked a brow, smirking. Yup. From the look on his little rich boy face, he hadn’t thought that plan through. I let that thought hang in the air between us as I stood. “See you around, Colter.”

Sponsor or not, I had no fucking intention of seeing that kid ever again if I could avoid it. He could take his business offer and go shove it.

I was just fine.