Page 28 of Fall or Nothing

“Welcome to the?—”

“Real world. Got it.” If I paid Sage back what I owed her for the clothes, I’d have next to nothing left for the week. Which was what this was supposed to feel like. Having nothing. It sucked. “How does a man survive on this?”

Ash laced his fingers on the desk. “We give room and board and plenty of food, a warm place to sleep in winter.” He said it without apology. “A man wanting little, working beside a team of men he can trust, is better off than most. We will increase pay once he proves his worth. When it looks like he’s going to stick around. Of course, the Colts and the Knoxs of this world are the men who become leaders. They earn something closer to a living wage.”

My jaw worked while he let that land.

“So the question is—what do you think you’d be worth if you stayed, Carter?”

“Lucky for both of us I won’t be around long enough to find out.” I picked up the check and left.

Outside in the equipment yard, I inhaled and exhaled deeply, biting my tongue to avoid screaming or swearing. I gaped at the check amount again.

I’d spent more on dinner in the city for one. Dropped double that at a casino table in thirty seconds without blinking. And spent at least this much on a bottle of wine just to impress a woman I dated.

“Is it worth it?” I flexed my aching right hand, where blisters were turning into calluses. Dirt had lodged so deep into my nails I hadn’t been able to scrub them entirely clean yet. Muscles everywhere screamed for a massage.

If my mother saw her son like this, she would be horrified.

“Fuck it. I’m outta here. Screw the inheritance.” Everyone could call me a wimp, for all I cared. I wasn’t putting up with this situation for another second. I’d head back to New York tomorrow and figure something out.

Jake was leaning on the fence near the barn when I came around the corner. Trig and a guy named Pete stood with him.

“Hey, we’re heading into town tonight to cash our checks, grab a bite and a drink, maybe look at some pretty women at the Sapphire Saloon,” Jake shouted.

“Maybe allyou’lldo is look,” Trig snickered. “Some of us know how to take a woman farther.”

Jake ignored him and gestured with a thumb at his double-cab truck. “Got room for one more?”

Damn it, I had to find Sage and pay her back for the clothes. Forest Grove was a small place; on a Friday night, she’d be somewhere in it. I wasn’t that much of a shit to leave town and stick a nice woman like her footing my clothing bill.

I’d find her, pay up, and then somehow leave this place far behind me.

As we drove into Forest Grove, I kept to myself, deep in thoughts, but the endless chatter between the three of the guys eventually drew me in.

“The damn jackalopes are back. Got into the horse feed. Isn’t that right, Pete?” Trig was in the front seat and glanced back at us.

“Yep. I found their trail this morning, heading straight into the woods. Next thing you know, the Wolfagators will come back, too. And we don’t need those terrorizing the horses,” Pete warned with a guffaw.

“Jackalopes? Wolfagators?” I’d never heard of such animals.

“Predators. Horrible. Native to our region,” Trig quickly explained. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Uh…” Pete hesitated.

“Search party?” Jake offered.

“Hell yeah. We organize a search party and take the jackalopes down before they hibernate for the winter.” Trig organized the search details, but I tuned him out. I wouldn’t be here long enough to care.

TEN

Locked

CARTER

The musicfrom the Sapphire Saloon reached half a block out, announcing a band playing tonight before we saw the signs. The place wasn’t too impressive from the outside: an older building, neon in the windows doing their best against the dark. But inside it was probably what locals would call Montana chic: wooden tables, blue leather stools, a stocked bar, and at least a dozen beer pulls.

The walls had a mix of framed old black and white photos of locals on the lower half and stuffed heads of hunting trophies up high. The various dead animals stared and practically laughed at all the people here.