The smell made me gag. Dry hay, horse shit, mud, and wood, all mixed into a head-swirling, heavy stench that made it impossible to breathe.

I got out of the car and stretched my legs, the tips of my toes starting to go a little numb. It was nothing a quick little walk wouldn’t fix.

My fingers wrapped around the tiny bottle of painkillers I had hidden away in the pocket of my blazer. Before we left, Thomas had helped fold up my wheelchair and store it in the trunk. I’d said that I didn’t need it, but he’d brought it along anyway.

Just in case, he had said.

We had met up with the representative from Lions Gate Bank, Albert, before following him out to Breakaway Ranch. The place was only about a twenty-minute drive away from town -– the perfect distance to start a new development.

It wasn’t hard to see how badly the people around here needed work. We would be providing the area with jobs, and could potentially bring in an increase in population. A project like this would no doubt be good for this dinky little town.

And really good for my own wallet.

“This is it?” I huffed, taking a look around. So far, I was unimpressed. From what I could see, I wasn’t surprised that the ranch was deep in the red.

There was plenty of open space that hadn’t been developed. If I owned this place, I would have installed a larger horse shed, and would have closed off a much larger area for the horses to run around. Being cramped up was bad for their morale.

Not that I cared about that sort of thing. Horses, farms –- gross.

“The property extends past those trees there,” explained Albert as he pointed to the far end of the ranch.

I nodded. That sounded promising. I knew plenty of people who’d pay a pretty penny for the space to build an outdoor pool.

“Who the hell are you people?” a deep, low voice boomed.

I turned towards the front porch of the house to see a man standing in the open doorway. My breath caught in my throat. He was towering and intimidating, but altogether entrancing.

Beneath his short brown hair were the most piercing blue eyes I had ever seen. He stood like a tree, tall, strong and sure, with broad shoulders and well-defined muscular arms, dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and a grey shirt that clung to the form of his torso.

There were dark circles beneath his eyes. The man looked groggy, but there was no mistaking the quiet anger behind his glare. He was sleepy, he was pissed, and he definitely wasn’t expecting company.

“Ah, Dan,” greeted Albert, as he got out of his own vehicle. “Good morning.”

“What’s going on?” asked Dan, his voice turning sharp, losing the heaviness of sleep.

I glanced at my watch. It was roughly ten after eight. No wonder the ranch was falling apart. When I'd lived on my father’s farm as a kid, I was up by five every morning to feed the horses.

Mainly because my father made me, but still.

“These gentlemen,” continued Albert, gesturing towards Thomas and me, “are hoping to take a look at the property.”

“What?” snapped Dan, a frown on his face. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the sharp line of his jaw. He was captivating to look at.

“I know we couldn’t approve your stay for auction, but we might not have to put the ranch up for auction at all,” explained Albert. “This is Thomas Knack and Jacob McCullough. They have a very interesting proposition for you. Would you mind if we came inside?”

Dan gave me a once-over, examining me from head to toe. I was dressed in a suit that Thomas had lent me. It didn’t fit quite right, a little too loose in places, but looked professional all the same, being one of those custom-tailored suits that cost thousands of dollars alone for the fitting. I could never get one of my own because I couldn’t find the energy to stand the entire time, so borrowed suits it was.

I shifted my weight from foot to foot, leaning against the frame of the car. The tightness in my lower back was already beginning to radiate out. I let out a small huff, a little winded.

“Fine,” said Dan curtly, before turning to go back inside.

Albert led the way; I followed, with Thomas a few paces behind me. “You going to be okay?” he asked in a hushed whisper.

“Yeah,” I said quickly. “Let’s just make this fast.”

The interior of Dan’s house left me uninspired. It was nothing like the modern layout of my apartment. It had a real farmhouse-chic vibe going on –- not at all my style. I supposed it wouldn’t be too great a loss if we had to tear it down to make room for the new subdivision.

Despite the house’s small appearance on the outside, it was rather spacious. It had an open-concept kitchen that led directly into the living room. Down the hall, I could see two doors. One led to the bathroom, and the other to what I assumed was the bedroom.

The four of us sat down at the kitchen table. The hardwood back of the chair did nothing to ease the throbbing pain in my spine. I briefly considered popping a painkiller, but decided against it.

We were here to work.

“So, Dan,” started Albert, “Thomas and Jacob are interested in buying out your property.”

Dan’s eyes fluttered between me and Thomas, finally landing on me. He looked at me with a great deal of severity, like he was focusing on the minute details of my face. I swallowed at the lump in my throat, unsettled by his cool gaze.

“Why?” he asked, straight-faced and serious.

Thomas leaned forward, pulling out one of his business cards from his pocket. He held it out for Dan to take, but the man made no effort to move. Thomas cleared his throat, placing the business card on the table’s surface, brushing quickly past the awkwardness.

“Jacob and I are in the property management business. We like to buy land and develop it. We think that Breakaway Ranch will provide a fantastic opportunity for all of us, and–-”

“Save the speech,” snapped Dan. He kept his eyes on me. “Give it to me in plain English.”

I almost grinned. Straight to the point. Maybe I did like his style after all.

“You’re broke,” I stated flatly. Thomas shot me a glare, but I ignored him, too transfixed by Dan’s sharp eyes. “And we want to make some cash.”

“What if I don’t want to sell?”

“You’ll sell,” I said confidently, unwavering.

Dan folds his strong arms across his chest, defensive. “What makes you so sure?”

“It doesn’t take a genius to know that business hasn’t been good for you.” I tossed my head in the direction of the horse stables outside. “You’ve got, what? One horse housed? Tell me, how much does a roll of hay cost you?”

Dan clenched his teeth, the hard line of his jaw more prominent. God, I shouldn’t have been staring. Was it obvious that I was staring?

“Seventy-five a roll, but what’s your point?” he snapped.

“It’s simple,” I continued, shrugging a shoulder. “Breakaway Ranch is costing you a fortune, business hasn’t been good, and the prospects of running into cash to pay off your debts before collectors start knocking is slim. My partner and I are willing to buy you out, debt and all. You’d get a clean slate.”

Dan remained quiet for a moment, seemingly thinking over the offer. If I were him, I’d take the deal in a heartbeat. The way things were going, there was no hope of a future for him and his little ranch. He’d be better off trying his luck elsewhere, far from these backwoods.

“Do I know you?” he asked me instead.

I blinked. “What?”

“Do I know you?” he repeated. “You seem really familiar.”

I shrugged again, exchanging glances with Thomas. I didn’t know what he was talking about.

“McCullough,” he said my last name slowly, testing the word in his mouth. “Like McCullough Farms just up the way?”

I straightened in my seat, partially because the tips of my toes were starting to tingle. I frowned at him. “Yeah,” I said, “that’s my family’s place.”

“Well, shit,” he chuckled. His serious expression melted away and was replaced by a smile of familiarity. “No wonder you looked so familiar.”

“Do you two know each other?” Thomas piped in.

“We used to go to school together,” explained Dan. “I think you were a grade lower than me. You were in Mrs. Jenkin’s class. Seventh grade.”

I allowed my shoulders to relax slightly. I studied Dan’s face. I didn’t recognize him, but he sure had me pegged. I shook my head. He wasn’t ringing any bells.

“I went to your twelfth birthday party,” continued Dan nostalgically. “Got you a saddle that you could use on that horse of yours.” He tilted his head back in thought, exposing his bare throat.

I swallowed, bit my lip, and wondered, very briefly, what it would be like to plant my lips there.

“What was her name again?” Dan asked.

“Butterscotch,” I answered automatically. I didn’t mean to. The name just fell out of my mouth before I could even process what was happening.

“Yeah,” he said slowly. The faintest of smiles ghosted across his lips. “But you kind of disappeared one day. Nobody knew what happened to you.”

I adjusted my tie and cleared my throat. It was bad enough I’d had to leave the comfort of my own home to visit this shitty place, but Dan was digging up old memories that I preferred to keep buried.

He looked so different that I hadn’t recognized him — like another person entirely. His features were harder, made so by years of hard work. The Dan Stanton I’d grown up with had had chubby cheeks, a gap-toothed, goofy grin, and a messy mop of brown hair.

The Dan Stanton I was dealing with now was colder, closed off. That silly smile he always used to wear was now permanently replaced with indifference.

“I don’t remember you,” I said flatly. “Sorry,” I added for good measure.

The stern expression once again found its way onto Dan’s face. It was back to business as usual.

“You don’t have to decide anything today,” said Thomas quickly, trying to shoehorn himself into the conversation. “We know it’s a big decision. We don’t want to rush you.”

“Let me get this straight. You want to buy Breakaway Ranch, along with all the outstanding debts associated.”

“That’s correct,” confirmed Thomas with a curt nod.

Dan stood up from his seat, looking down on me with a vicious glare. No more Mr. Nice Guy. “I’m not giving this place up. Like I said, it’s not for sale.”

“Dan,” started Albert. “Let’s be reasonable. We can–-”

“Get the fuck out of my house.”

Well, that was that, apparently.