an anchor in the town gossip hotline. The door squeaked as I exited. I didn’t know if Richard realized that I was on the move, or if he thought my silence meant I didn’t want to talk to him. I wasn’t sure myself.
“It’s, um, it’s been brought to my attention that now that you’re the sole owner of Cartwright Cattle, you might want to meet and discuss your options.”
“Do I have options?” My question sounded as incredulous as I felt.
“There are several programs available for those in various forms of agriculture. I can give you information on farm loans, even housing assistance due to how rural King’s Creek is. You might even qualify for a first-time rancher loan since your name is on Cartwright Cattle now.”
That wasn’t what I’d meant. I could walk into any bank or loan office and I’d be pounced on, a starved bunny in need of a carrot. Only that carrot would come with a ton of interest and I’d be so overloaded in payments that I’d have to take out another loan to live on.
Just because no one had wanted to do business with Pop didn’t mean I hadn’t done my research. Reading articles online didn’t suck up a lot of data, and in my RV, Pop hadn’t known what I was researching. All my plans for the ranch were in my head, but they were there.
“I can meet with you this week,” he pressed.
“I’ll give you a call back if I’m interested.”
“Uh . . . okay?”
Big Dick Lang wasn’t used to waiting and that wasn’t my problem.
I disconnected and called Dawson. When he answered, I jumped right in. “Big Dick called wanting to meet with me.”
“Really?” Wind blew across the line. I pictured him leaning against one of the fence posts he and Tucker were pounding in around the murder pit.
“Did you tell him to?” Would I be mad if he had? Big Dick was the only surviving bank in town. The last one had closed its doors when I was in high school. Miles City and Billings were too close and online was easier than another errand to run.
“No. But we had words.”
“About me?”
“About how unfair he was. He thought—fuck—he thought you’d fail and I’d buy you out.” Rage swept up. Not at Dawson, but at the thought that everyone was waiting for me to fail—and that without Dawson’s help, they would’ve gotten their wish. “What’d he want to talk with you about?”
“Loan programs.”
“I told him he should think about his business ethics. That’s all.” He paused. “You gonna meet with him?”
“Maybe. I don’t know.”
“You can at least get the information, and take it somewhere else.”
“Dawson King, that’s downright scandalous.”
He chuckled. “Big Dick doesn’t deserve one cent of interest he’d make off you. But it’s nice to think he’s actually going to do his job. You have time to make him think he has to work for it.”
Why had Big Dick called me and not one of his loan officers? Had Dawson rattled him that badly? I might have to find out. Have Big Dick scramble to work for me for once. “He wants to meet this week.”
“Everyone will be on vacation next week for the Fourth.”
“Okay, I’ll meet him.”
“Let me know when. We can grab a sandwich in town afterward.”
“Will do.” I hung up and called Big Dick back. I patted myself on the back for calling him Richard when he answered. “Friday at eleven sound good?”
Friday was the best option because Big Dick probably took off every Friday of the summer.
“I . . . Yeah. No, it should be fine.”
“See you then.” I hung up and ducked into the coffee shop.
I soaked up the cool air as I crossed to the table. Emma and Taya were shooting me curious looks. I got to tell them the bank president was actually going to treat me like a real person—and I wasn’t going to let him get away with anything less.
Dawson
Another message buzzed on my phone. Are you ignoring your grams?
Grams had been relentless today. She’d tried calling, and I hadn’t legitimately ignored her. The baling tractor needed a new radiator hose and I’d been elbow-deep in replacing it. But I hadn’t called her back.
Then the messages had started. She didn’t say anything other than We need to talk.
I knew Grams’s form of talking, and it wouldn’t turn out any better than when I’d met her for supper.
I wiped grease off my hands and was thinking about what I wanted for lunch when