The Marriage Contract (The Azure Ridge #2)
1. Trace
TRACE
“H ere’s to you…”
The group gathered around me are my nearest and dearest. They’ve come here tonight to our local bar to give me a sendoff—one I’ve been looking forward to since I was old enough to know what making my own decisions meant. Before I realized those decisions were no longer mine, they were my family’s to make for me. Which is why I’m so thankful to be where I am at this moment. A few are missing though: my cousin Cain, who got called in for a last-minute shift with the Sheriff's office, and a couple other acquaintances.
“You fuckin’ got out,” my best friend, Kyle, clamps his hand down on my shoulder, squeezing to get my attention. “You lucky son of a bitch. This is what you’ve wanted. I’m incredibly happy for you.”
“Thank you,” I tip my bottle toward him. “You don’t know how much that means to me. Besides Ward, you’re one of the only people who’s ever believed in me."
He’s right. I’ve gotten out. In Azure Ridge, MT, you’re either a Miller, a Brown, or you’re nobody. I’m a Miller, and while that would bring thoughts of privilege, opulence, and jealousy to everyone on the outside looking in, it feels dreadful to me. While everyone wants to be a part of my family, I don’t want to be. What most people don’t know about being a member of the Miller family is not only the pressure, but the expectation of what comes with the name.
The responsibility of being the eldest son is as suffocating as a down comforter in the dead of summer with no air conditioner. There are expectations I didn’t realize until they were laid at my feet; much like a cat brings a bird or mouse to their person. They’re so proud to give it to you, and all you want to do is back away slowly.
When I turned twenty I was notified—not asked, notified—that I would be expected to enter into an arranged marriage when I turned thirty. Imagine my surprise at the thought, but then I found out it was someone I didn’t know, and not even a woman my age. She's Ward's age, which means she's a good seven years younger than me, if not more. The Brown family and mine desperately want to enter into a land merger. If we’re able to combine our acreage together, we stand to be billionaires—and more powerful than the President of the United States. There’s a lot at stake.
I’ve been dreading it since I was told about what my part in all of this was supposed to be. I tried to think of ways I’d be able to get out of the agreement, but nothing seemed like it would be worth it. There was so much logistically to work out, I knew I’d be fucked for the rest of my life. Eventually I got sick of the what-if’s, and I did something no one thought I would.
I rebelled. Refused to do anything they asked of me.
That’s when my dad wanted to “have a talk with me.” We ended up in a fist fight and we didn't speak for almost a week. Little did I know, someone else had seen me pushing back. Someone else felt the same way I did, but was willing to take the fall for me.
My little brother, Ward? He stepped up to do the things I refused. He’s a steward of the land in every way I never will be. He loves getting up early, doing research on what feed will give us the best weight for cows, talking shop with our Dad, and walking the land. He’s all about the cowboy shit I’ve never been good at. He knew I didn’t want to marry and I sure as fuck didn’t want to continue with the family business. That morning he came to me, offering to marry her and take my spot, it was as if all my dreams had come true. I’ll never be able to repay him. I could try for the next hundred years, and I don’t think I’ll even come close to what he deserves.
“Damn right he is.” Ward stands beside me, putting his arm around my neck, hugging me close. I can’t believe how much he’s grown up in the last few months since he agreed to take my place at the altar. “We’ve got the best of both worlds though. I got what I wanted, and he got what he wanted. We don’t have to disappoint our family and we’ll never resent each other. The biggest deal is our parents agreeing to it.” He finishes his beer. “Either way I gotta head out.” He looks down at his phone. “Alarm went off, looks like some cattle are on the move in a direction they shouldn’t be.” He gives us a wave, as he leaves.
“What about the girl?” Kyle asks. “Does she know she’s not marrying you?” He points to me.
“I don’t know what the fuck she knows. We’ve never met one another. She went to high school with Ward, but by then I was working full-time on the ranch.”
He chokes on the beer he just took a drink of. “You were ready to marry some chick you’d never met? What the fuck, man?”
I drain my frosty bottle before slamming it down on the worn wood of the table. “You don’t get it. You’re not from a family like ours.”
“Rich?” he supplies.
“You know it makes no difference to me, but it’s what’s expected when your family has money. The worst part of having money is having to make more. There’s never enough. We could be billionaires and we still wouldn’t be set for life. It’s the nature of the beast. With the Brown family, we’ll be flush to start the new breeding program our dads want to start,” I tell him a little of the plans.
“Don’t they have enough to do that on their own?”
“Nope,” I shake my head. “We’re land rich, which is worth a lot of money. We aren’t liquid. The ranch itself is in the red. Little known secret. When we combine together, there will be more collateral for us to get our breeding plan up and running. Another little known secret. Dear old dad has a no plans to bring us into the next couple of decades, but I did, if he’d listen to me.”
“That’s some twisted shit,” he pops a peanut into his mouth.
“It’s how the other half lives. Everyone thinks it’s glamorous, but once you have the money and the accolades, you have to keep it. Many think it’s easy, but believe me, it’s not. When you’re at the top, it’s not far to the bottom. All it takes is one mistake, then another—it rolls together like a snowball. There’s a perpetual target on your back. Someone always ready to steal your land, or force you to sell. Then there’s the acts of God and the cattle you lose, or the field of feed you need to come through for the next season. It’s stressful, and not at all meant for everyone. But we take the risks others are scared to take—it’s how you make the big bucks.”
Even saying the words is enough to make me sick to my stomach. I’ve never cared for the money, or the ranch. I don’t get the animals, or the so-called legacy. If it were up to me, I’d sell and never look back. Not so much for the other members of my family—which is why they’re letting me out. When I leave in the morning with Azure Ridge in my rearview, it’ll be the culmination of a dream.
One I never thought would come true.
“Hey, she’s been looking at you all night.” Kyle elbows my side, putting his bottle up to his mouth to hide his words.
“Who?” I look around, but try to keep it as inconspicuous as possible.
“Over there next to the register. Dark hair, light eyes, belly shirt. It says Azure Ridge FFA on it.”
My gaze works in that direction and it lands on her almost immediately. Her fingernails are painted a deep red. Not that bright shit our mothers used when they went into the workforce. No, this is a maroon. Deep, dark, and sexy. Makes me want to find out if the woman wearing it has the same kind of energy she’s giving off. Since this is my last night here, why the fuck not? Who knows when I’ll be back? I don’t see myself visiting Azure Ridge to see anyone in the near future. Ward will be busy, and so will I.
“See ya, man.”
“What? You’re leaving me? You won’t be back for who knows how long and you’re leaving me?” Kyle grins.
“You’d do it too.”
“Fuck yeah I would.” He reaches out, grabbing my hand with his. We do this handshake we’ve done since our freshman year of high school. “Keep in touch.”
“Always.”
Walking away from him and over toward her is almost indicative of what I’m going through. Leaving behind everything I’ve known, and ready to take on a whole new world. Her light eyes follow me as I approach, a sexy little smirk on her face.
“Couldn’t help but see you watching me over there,” I flirt as I take a seat next to her.
“Oh really? It looked like you were having a good time. Celebrating something?”
I take a long pull from my bottle, finishing it one drink. “I’m leaving tomorrow morning, before the sun comes up.” I place mine next to hers. “What about you?”
She wrinkles her nose. “I’m not celebrating, but I am saying goodbye to an old way of life. Tomorrow, my new one starts.”
I haven’t tried a line like this since my last semester of college. “What do you say we give our old lives a good send off?” I hold out my hand to her, and wait to see if she’ll take it.
Her eyes meet mine and I know she understands what I’m suggesting. She finishes her beer just like I did