Chapter 11
ELEVEN
Ramsey
I resign myself to doing the one thing I’ve been avoiding since I got here—seeing my family. My brothers, Grant and Levi, run the local casino hotel, The Avarice. It’s on family land that abuts the ranch. It was my grandfather’s, and then my uncle’s originally, then my dad’s when he died with no children, and finally, a shared venture between the eldest Stockton brothers. They’d taken a lot of liberties with it from what I’d seen on the website when curiosity got the best of me—modernizing the hotel rooms, adding a huge restaurant and rooftop pool, and even having entertainment in on the weekends.
Kit and the other staff at the inn told me it was becoming a bit of a thorn in the side of the town. Drawing business away from the inn and the other shops on main street during the day and dragging drunken hordes of tourists up into the bars for late night barhops—creating the perfect storm of misery for Purgatory Falls business owners and its small emergency services department. The inn was suffering the worst of it. Many of the visitors who had once come up to stay were now more excited about the all-in-one resort options The Avarice offered. It had made my brothers less than popular with my wife and her friends, but I doubt they care when they count their millions at night.
The woman at the front desk is perplexed when I ask for their offices, insisting that they’re not available at first until I tell her I’m their younger brother. She then calls another assistant of theirs who gives me permission to take the elevators up to the top floor where their operations are. I’m given a code to punch in to allow me access to the upper floors, trying not to roll my eyes when I do it. Our family has always had money, but my father had been strict about keeping us tied firmly to the ground with our lifestyle and our expectations. I can’t imagine what he’d think of his sons living in a penthouse.
When I get out, it’s another maze of a hallway. One direction seemingly leading to residential quarters, and the other ushering me on to corporate offices. I follow the signs and pass through a couple of heavy mahogany doors into an office lobby. This one’s much smaller than the first but still grand. The woman offers up a bright white smile, letting me know she’ll take me to Mr. Stockton’s office in just a few moments. I don’t bother asking which one because, for my purposes, I’m not sure it matters.
Twenty minutes later, I’m finally in my brother Grant’s, office. The dramatic floor-to-ceiling window vista of the surrounding mountainside and valley is extra stunning today with the sun out, and the absence of clouds makes it look like the sky stretches to infinity. I almost forget to greet my brother until he leans back in his chair and makes a clicking sound in his throat.
“Well, if it isn’t the prodigal son…” He makes quick work of surveying me and raises a brow as if to ask what I’m here for.
“I won’t keep you long. Just thought I should come talk to you given I’ll be here for a while.”
“I’m not in a hurry. Work will still be here later. You should at least wait for Levi to get here. We can get some lunch down in the restaurant, or we can have it bought up here to the conference room if it’s a private conversation you need.”
“I don’t need both of you down my throat. One of you is plenty.”
“Sorry. Two for one deal when our baby brother finally decides to show his face.”
“Especially since he’s fresh out of prison.” Levi appears behind me and pulls me in to slap me on the back before he leans back again to give me the same surly once-over that Grant did. “Gonna have to tell us how that went.”
“It went as well as prison can go,” I answer tersely. I’m not sure what they’re hoping for, a rundown of the meal plan and laundry days, or just the opportunity to rub it in that they’ve done far more illegal shit than I could ever dream up, and I’m the one who ended up serving time. Which reminds me… “Just being here is a risk for me, so I’d like to keep this chat short.”
“You’re just visiting family.”
“From what I hear you haven’t been making a lot of friends here locally, and old habits die hard. I’m imagining those two things are going to converge eventually.”
“I don’t plan to do anything I’m not forced to do.” Lev leans back on a low bookcase pushed up against the windows and crosses his arms.
“Is that what you’re doing? Moving back to the ranch?” Grant’s looking at me like he might give me an award for being a clever bastard for moving in on my wife.
“I’m not moving back in. Just staying while I get through parole. It’s quiet. Safe. I’m hoping it keeps me out of trouble. Gives me a chance to get some closure on shit, grab my things… Just makes it easy all around, and I finally have time to get it done now that I’m not playing,” I lie, using the half-truths that Haze gave me to run with.
“You could have come here.” Grant almost looks hurt.
“You miss the part about staying out of trouble?”
“Now, it’s been what… five years? We’ve grown,” Lev says defensively.
“I can see that.” I look around the office. “I’m sure all of this was built ethically.”
“Beautiful, isn’t she?” Grant surveys his surroundings because he gives me a smug look of interest. “You should come to work with us. We have a third office up here we kept open for you. Figured you’d be back someday. We could find you space for an apartment up here. Get you out of that dusty old ranch and into something more your speed.”
“I can’t imagine you were living that rough in Cincinnati.” Lev gives me a questioning look.
“I was living in an RV.”
“Oof.” Grant shakes his head. “I don’t know why you insist on that kind of poverty when you have the money to do better.”
“I’m happy keeping life simple. I don’t need all this fancy shit you all do, or the trouble that comes with it.” We’d taken different things away from our parents’ death. I’d seen two people who were dead as a result of my father’s greed and my mother’s complicity in his crimes. My brothers had seen an opportunity for revenge and newfound wealth. I suppose there’s something poignant to say about how we all grieve in different ways, but I prefer not to think too long on it.
“Simple isn’t always good.” Grant shakes his head.
“Simple’s boring as fuck,” Lev adds.
“You’re entitled to your opinions,” I counter.
“And the millions our opinions make us.” Lev smirks.
“Well I should be going.” I give him a flat look and then turn to leave.
“Just have lunch. I’ll have it brought up here.” Grant’s tone softens, and it’s rare enough that it compels me to pause.
“We missed our little brother. You can spare an hour, can’t you?” Levi spoons on a little more guilt.
“Fine. Just lunch though, and then I’ve got to get back. I was going to help Elliot repair one of the fences,” I reluctantly agree, although I’m sure I’ll regret it.
An hour later, we’ve discussed how our sister Aspen and her daughter Fallon are doing, sharing updates we get from her as she’s on the road with her job. We cover all the new additions to the hotel and casino, and Grant fills me in on their ambitious expansion plans, and follow it up with a debate on how the town of Purgatory Falls is going to feel about it. Levi presses the same issue Grant did about me moving to the tower, and I shake my head as I put my fork and knife down for the waitstaff to take away.
“I’ve got business at the ranch. It’s easier to just be there.”
“Fixing fences? Chasing horses? Be serious. You’ve got people that can handle that for you.” Levi looks at me thoughtfully.
“It’s not the fences he’s chasing, it’s the girl.” Grant drops his napkin on his plate and sits back to study me.
“I told you—” I start, but Grant cuts me off at the pass.
“Don’t lie. This is the Stockton family vault. You can tell the truth here.”
I give him a skeptical look, and he sits a little straighter.
“Can I?” It’s an open question. There’s a giant chasm between us and where we left things when I went off to play ball. Hazel wasn’t the only person I left behind. I divorced myself from every part of this town, including my family.
“The past is water under the bridge. I wish you’d stayed, but I understand now why you didn’t. Levi and I make a better team anyway, so no hard feelings.” Grant shrugs.
“Gee, thanks.”
“Of course.” Grant flashes an amused look in my direction.
“You want her back?” Levi asks, circling us back to the conversation at hand.
“Wouldn’t you?” I put the question back to him. “If you could have Cora back?” She’d been his near obsession for a while before she left. He doesn’t answer. He doesn’t have to. We all already know what he’d say. “Then you know.”
“But I don’t.” Grant raises a brow. “So tell me.”
“She’s my wife. I want it to stay that way. That’s all there is to tell.” I’m willing to admit the truth, but I’m not ready to have a session where we all discuss our feelings about it.
“Well…” Grant looks out the window, staring out over the expanse beyond as he contemplates it. “Then just let us know what we can do to help.”