Straddling the Line - By Sarah M. Anderson Page 0,59

fine.”

“The old stuff is just that—old.”

That was another nice thing about Billy. He didn’t get bogged down in emotions like disappointment or failure. He worked best with anger. And there was no mistaking the situation—Billy was borderline violent.

“We can’t afford that kind of equipment! I ain’t paying for it!”

“We could afford it if you’d let Ben do his job and manage the company’s funds.”

It was nice of Billy to come to his defense, but Ben could take care of himself. There was still a chance he could talk his way out of this without getting his order canceled. He had to keep calm. “We’re going to get a big tax write-off for donating this old stuff. We’re going to get some good press—something I thought you’d understand,” he said with a jerk of his chin toward Bobby. “And equipment that actually works would help production. We wouldn’t lose time to recalibrating the tools.”

“Or is that too much for you to get?” Billy added.

“You watch your tone.” The old man’s voice was low—too low. Too dangerous. A brawl was imminent.

“My tone?” Billy spat on the ground. “Let me tell you something. I’ve had it with you, old man. With both of you.” Billy cracked his knuckles, just like Dad did. Like they all did. “All you do,” he yelled, jabbing a finger toward Bobby, “is spend money you’ve done nothing to earn.” Billy started in on Dad again, and Ben thought he saw the old man shrink back, just a little. “And you? You break things. You cuss at my guys. You bitch and moan like a little girl about how things used to be. You scare the customers. When are you going to get it through your dented skull that this isn’t your business anymore? It’s mine—mine and Ben’s. We work here. You two are only here out of the kindness of our hearts.”

“The kindness of your hearts?” The man seemed to puff up two sizes. “I built this business from the ground up. We are a family. This is a family business. You don’t like how I do business?” He looked at Ben without attempting to hide his disappointment. “Well, you can just pack your things and go. And if you aren’t a part of the business, then you aren’t part of the family.”

And there it was. The ultimatum. Maybe it had been years in the making, but it still hurt more than the last time he’d crashed his bike. Ben could either toe the family line, or he could go on his merry little way. He didn’t need Crazy Horse—he had more than enough in savings to retire, and if he wanted to work, he’d have no problem finding another job. If the brawl was bad enough, Billy might walk anyway, and he and Ben could start a new business. Their own business, run it the way they wanted.

But if he wasn’t a part of this business, he wasn’t a part of the family.

He’d spent too many years doing everything in his power to keep the family together. If he quit, he’d be walking away from more than just a job. He’d be walking away from his life. He wanted to think that his mother would have understood that he’d tried his best—more than anyone else, she’d understood him.

More than anyone else until Josey came along, that was.

He could quit. Sometimes, a man had to cut his losses and walk away. He’d still have Josey. They could make a new family, a new life together. She could make him happy—happier than his father ever could.

Josey would understand about the equipment, he thought. Family was family, after all. She’d worked so hard to provide for her family, her tribe—that was one of the things he admired about her. She’d made a promise to her grandfather, and she’d kept it. He would not break his promises to her just to keep Dad and Billy from brawling. He would not be the kind of man to turn his back on her for such an everyday event.

What had she given up for him? He couldn’t forget how all those kids hadn’t looked at him that first day at the school—how he was practically invisible. He hadn’t missed how people cut a wider berth around her mother at the powwow. He knew, deep down, that she had taken a risk being with him. She’d found a way to honor her promises and be with him.

Ben’s family had always been the most important thing