The Rival

Chapter One

IFTHEREWASone thing Levi Granger knew, it was that he was never—not ever—getting into bed with someone from Four Corners.

They were, in his opinion, a ranching Death Star. Their choke hold on the region was why he’d formed the Huckleberry County Ranching Association five years ago. Four Corners had resources many of them could only dream of, and Levi had never been comfortable with one group having so much power. So he’d decided to do his part to try to balance that out.

Maybe, just maybe, it was partly because he had an old-school axe to grind with the Four Corners folks. But that wasn’t his driving motivation. Being petty could only get you so far, and it certainly couldn’t earn you the respect of your peers, which he’d done.

His voice was now one of the most influential in the community apart from the Four Corners people, and he took pride in that. And if it was partly because of his prior experience with Four Corners, fine.

It only meant he knew better now.

He’d been there and done that, in a business deal gone horribly wrong, and he’d learned his lesson. He wasn’t going to sign himself over to them, to their collective, no matter how nice and clear-cut the deal seemed.

No matter how persuasive of a presentation they gave tonight.

Levi Granger was no longer a man who could be persuaded.

“Do you think that they’ll do a ritual?”

Levi looked down at his little sister, who was full-on gawking as they walked into the barn that served as a meeting place for Four Corners Ranch.

“Obviously not,” he grunted. “They only pray to Beelzebub when none of the uncleansed are around.”

“So this is more like recruitment. A promise of enlightenment, and once you actually sign up, then the blood drinking begins.”

He chuckled softly. It did something to ease the tension that he had felt creep up into his shoulders the minute that he had driven onto the property.

He hadn’t been on the Four Corners property in more than a decade, and having to come back just made him mad. It served as a memory of all kinds of things. Things he preferred to not think about. Particularly difficult times in his life that he didn’t like to dwell on.

Camilla, on the other hand, had no such baggage when it came to Four Corners, and had been desperately curious to come onto the property and get an inside look.

He understood.

For those who weren’t part of the Four Corners collective—either as an employee or as one of the founding families—it remained a mystery. A ranching monolith out here in the middle of nowhere, in Pyrite Falls, Oregon.

They were far bigger than any other operation out here. Hell, they were the biggest family ranching operation in the state. A group of four families whose land totaled forty thousand acres all up.

They supported one another financially, they made decisions as a team, and they basically made it almost impossible to earn a living as a rancher in the surrounding area.

Not without being creative, at least.

The town had been invited to this meeting because now the Sullivan family—who Levi had personal beef with, the conflict kind, not the literal kind—wanted to create a new road access onto the Four Corners property that would make a road that bypassed Pyrite Falls altogether and bring people straight to the farm store that they were making at Sullivan’s Point.

The small ranching collective that Levi ran, a response to Four Corners, was against it.

As was the town council.

And he had been chosen to voice the dissent today at the meeting.

He knew how this kind of thing went. Typically, the Four Corners people did whatever they wanted to in isolation, but when they asked for outside community approval, they expected townsfolk to fall in line. They expected the townsfolk to agree with them because they had money and a certain amount of influence in the community. Because many people sent their kids to school at the little schoolhouse on the property, many people worked for them or had family who did.

Levi stood apart. A rancher who wasn’t afraid to go after them, head-on.

Because he already knew what a disaster it was to try to work with them. And he wouldn’t be doing it again.

So he had been the natural choice to get up and speak his mind.

He didn’t have his speech written down. He had it in his head.

In his heart.

He knew exactly what needed to be said, and he wasn’t afraid to say it.

They waded through the crowd, and he and his sister Camilla took their seats in the front row, on the far left.

The Four Corners people were on the right.

At the front were Denver, Landry, Justice and Daughtry King. Then there were Wolf, Sawyer and Elsie Garrett.

The McCloud family, which consisted of Taggart, Angus, Hunter, Lachlan and Brody.

And then there were the Sullivan sisters.

God knew he couldn’t tell them apart. Redheaded, all of them, and in floral dresses. There was one that was holding a baby, and sitting next to Angus McCloud. He’d heard through the grapevine that the McClouds and Sullivans had married up to one another. He knew that the oldest one was Fia, and she was probably the one seated at the far end with a neutral expression on her face. She had the look of an oldest child—he should know. There was another staring off into space, twisting her hair around her finger.

And there was a third, with her red hair tamed fiercely into braids, and very large glasses perched on the end of her nose. She was wearing a baggy set of overalls, the kind that he had never understood, because they made you question whether or not you were looking at a woman or a toddler—and she had a notebook on her lap. She was scribbling furiously on the pages, and looking around the room, pushing her glasses up her nose, before looking down again.

She had sharp features, and she reminded him a bit of an ermine.

And in turn, reminded him a bit of her father.

Brian Sullivan was a man that Levi wished he had never met.

He had screwed Levi over every which way, and had dragged his name through the mud on top of it. It might’ve all happened fifteen years ago, but he didn’t care.

It was as fresh for him now as it had been back then, when he’d fully realized just how much he’d been duped.

It had been a shit show, and he was still recovering from it.

He looked again at the one in the braids.

He should probably know who they were. He had been to their house a time or two back in the day. But they’d all been little girls. And they bore no resemblance to the children he had known then.

“Wooow,” said Camilla, to his right. “There’s a lot of beefcake in here.”

He grimaced. “Could you not?”

“I could not,” said Camilla. “But I’m enjoying myself.”

“Well, I doubt that Landry King is going to get up and put on a show for you. More likely he’s going to get up and talk bullshit.”

“You really hate all of them, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. They’re basically the big evil Death Star of ranching. Why the hell would I like any of them?”

“I don’t know. Because maybe they’re nice people, and maybe you have beers with them sometimes down at the bar.”

He shifted in his seat. “I do not.”

“You’re so rigid,” said Camilla.

“I am. And I don’t give a flying fuck about what you think about that.”

“Charming.”

“I don’t exist to charm you, Cam. Whatever you might think.”

They took their seats, and it was Landry King who got up and gave an intro, presiding over the meeting and giving a rundown of the things that would be covered. The first order of business was the road.

“Quinn Sullivan will be speaking first,” said Landry. “Giving projected community impact and a detailed plan for what exactly is being asked here.”

“Quinn. Come on up.”

It was the ferret one. With her big glasses and her braids.

She walked up to the front of the room, and looked out at all the people sitting in the folding chairs.

Levi crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her. “Hello,” she said. “I’m very glad that you could all make it tonight, because as you know, being a part of the community is something that’s very important to those of us at Four Corners. I consider it a keystone of my values as a Sullivan, to care deeply about this town. Four Corners has been here since before Pyrite Falls was ever an incorporated community. And as it has built, and grown, my innate feeling of responsibility for it has only increased. What we are asking is that at the fork in the highway, we build a new bit of road access to Four Corners. There would be a bit of new pavement involved, and a change to the intersection there. Everything else would be done on our property. That road would take people on a direct route to Sullivan’s Point, and to the new farm store that we plan to open. At the store we will be selling the produce that we grow at Sullivan’s Point, some of the beef produced by the Garretts and the Kings. There will also be baked goods provided by myself and my sisters, and we will have a section for other local produce and products. We would love the idea of carrying art created by some local people, and would love to supplement our food supply, and maybe even premade meals, with things provided by you. What we hope is that this will be a financially valuable piece to the community.”

She smiled, looking as if she was very pleased with herself, and the mic drop that she had just done. “I have run the numbers exhaustively, taking all of my education that I’ve acquired in agribusiness and applying it to this. I simply do not see how it can fail.”

Everyone clapped, though he could see that people were exchanging dubious glances on the non?Four Corners side. They were just too polite to full-on freeze her out.

Levi, on the other hand, was not hindered by politeness of any kind.

“Thank you, Quinn,” said Landry. “Next we’ll hear from Levi Granger, who is speaking on behalf of the Huckleberry County Ranching Association. Go right ahead, Levi.”

Levi stood and made his way slowly up to the front. He did not have a notebook. He didn’t need one.

He looked out at the crowd for a moment, at each and every one.

Levi didn’t have stage fright. He didn’t get nervous speaking in front of people.

Because he didn’t care what they thought about him. He’d been through hell and back when it came to public opinion, and many other things, and he had emerged out the other side a man who simply didn’t give a shit what anyone thought.

All that mattered was integrity. The preservation of the land, and of his ranch.

And that was what bolstered him now.

“But it can fail,” he said. “Maybe not for the people of Four Corners, but for the people of Pyrite Falls. Already, we are held hostage by the size of this ranching facility. John, what’s going to happen to your store, when they build up their little hipster paradise that they’ve pitched? What’s going to happen to Becky’s Diner when Four Corners is producing all of this food?” That produced a ripple of discontent in the crowd.

“They’re already their own little town right in the middle of us,” he continued. “We already know how hard it is to compete when it comes to producing beef. We don’t have a big pool of money and hundreds of employees helping us out. We don’t have endless acres of land. They’ve claimed most of it. And while the rest of us have to endure the hardships of waxing and waning prices, accessibility and products, they’re always able to cover the issues that each other has. If beef is lagging, the McClouds’ equestrian money covers it, and on it goes. We’re on our own. They look out for each other. They don’t look out for us. A road that bypasses the main street of town to allow people to directly access the store that competes with many existing businesses is not in our best interest. It is not now, and it never will be. And no amount of allowing people to use their shelves to sell a jar of local honey, or featuring a clay pot that they tossed in the corner of their store,” he said, directing this part right at Quinn Sullivan’s overlarge glasses, “is going to compensate for lost income.”

“That’s not fair,” said Quinn, standing up and pushing her glasses up her nose. “We do care about the town. I said that. It was in my speech.”

“Yeah, politicians say a lot of things, too. That doesn’t mean it isn’t horseshit. And it doesn’t mean that what you said is true, either. And I’m gonna call it out. That’s just you trying to make it sound as if you’ve given half a thought to what might affect the people around you. But you haven’t gone deep enough. What about John’s?” He pointed to the store owner sitting there in the third row.

The store stocked basic food staples, fishing and hunting supplies, gardening equipment and other miscellany. It was the only one-stop shop for miles, and if the farm store was aiming to stock food, it wouldn’t be that anymore.

He looked around. “Yeah,” he said. “What about me? You used to sell pies in my store, and some of your produce. The farmers market out front brought business to me, and what’s going to happen when I don’t have that anymore?”

“John,” said Quinn, looking over at him. “We do care about that. And we’re not going to carry things like prepackaged products and processed foods...”

“All right, so you’re just happy to have my store be the low-rent store. Need a Pop-Tart, go to John’s. Need a fresh meal, head to Four Corners.”

That sent murmurs out through the crowd.

“No. But when it comes to your store, we do provide the produce,” said Quinn. “I fail to see how we are required to sell them in a particular venue that benefits somebody else. It isn’t as if we’re taking a product we didn’t make and selling it—”

“But be honest,” said Levi. “Who is helping finance your growing operation? Because I doubt it’s as lucrative as the Kings. Or the Garretts, for that matter. Hell, I bet even the McClouds’ horses pull in more money.”

It was Gus McCloud who stood up then. “And our operation brings new people into the town all the time. We create tourism revenue that would otherwise not exist. Framing our ranch as a drain on the community is a pretty weak-ass narrative.”

“Fair point,” said Levi. “I do fancy myself a fair man, by the way, so it matters to me that we approach this in a fair way. But the decision of the Huckleberry County Ranching Association is to voice our opposition against new road access to Four Corners. It is our position that bypassing the town will put an undue burden on the businesses here, and give an unfair advantage to the Sullivan family, and to the greater Four Corners collective. We will be encouraging the county to deny the permits, and to reject the change. If the county should like to go ahead with it, we will continue opposition in other ways.”

“Maybe you don’t understand,” said Quinn, facing him full-on with the full force of that ferret energy, and he swore if she had a scruff it would’ve been standing on end. “This is for the benefit of the community. People know that they can come here for this produce. It will be a destination store.”

“A destination which allows people to bypass all of Pyrite Falls. Why would we agree to that?”

“There is another way,” said Quinn. “They’ll drive right through Pyrite Falls as long as you allow people to use the road that goes through your land, Levi Granger. That would be the most direct way to access the Sullivan’s Point farm store from the highway.”

“No,” he said.

“What?”

“I said no. It’s my land, and you don’t need to be treading on it. Bottom line.”

“But...but... You’re being unreasonable,” she said.

“I don’t think I am. I think I’m being perfectly reasonable. I am here voicing the opinions of a collective, Ms. Sullivan. It’s not personal.” Except with all those sparkly green eyes pointed at him, it felt damned personal. And he couldn’t deny, the memory of working with the Sullivans in the past made his gut burn now.

“You...you...”

“You had your turn to speak already,” he said. “You ceded the floor. I am not done. This would have an impact that is difficult to project onto a community that is already struggling. These last few years have been hard. The financial burden of trying to keep small businesses going when movement and numbers were down has been incredibly difficult. We lost cows because we weren’t able to travel to the USDA weigh stations. We are still trying to dig out from under all of these issues. And it isn’t getting easier. In periods of financial instability, Four Corners is able to bolster itself in a way that the rest of us cannot, and we must look to our own interests. We vote against.”

“It isn’t actually up to a vote,” said Quinn.

“You have to get the permits,” said Levi. “And many people that are party to approving the permits are here, and I hope that they take into consideration the potential impact upon the community.”

“I hope they do,” said Quinn. “Because clearly there is a logic gap happening in your head. More people means more money.”

“A logic gap?” he asked. “Is that college words for you’re stupid?”

She turned pink. “I didn’t say that,” said Quinn. “But if you exemplify it...”

A roar went through the room, and arguments began to break out all over.

Over in her seat, his sister looked like she wished she had a bucket of popcorn.

She had always been far too into drama for her own good.

“Order,” said Sawyer Garrett, standing up and making his way to the stage. “Thank you for coming and voicing your concern, Levi,” said Sawyer, his expression cool. But Levi could see that Sawyer wasn’t actually appreciative of Levi’s presence. “It’s up to the county now.”

“Yes, it is,” said Levi. “I trust that they’ll make the right decision.”

“Now that the meeting is through,” Sawyer said, “everyone—” he looked over at Levi “—everyone is welcome to stay for a bonfire and some food. We are a community, even if we disagree sometimes. And if we can’t come together over food and music, then what is the point of any of it? So I hope that all of you, regardless of where you stand on this issue, will stay.”

Levi looked over at Quinn Sullivan, who was scowling, and he had a feeling that she was hoping if he did stay he choked on a chicken bone.

Fine. He didn’t like her, either.

But he’d said his piece, and he was not staying for a barbecue.

“Come on, Cam. Let’s go.”

“I want to stay,” she said, looking around with wide eyes.

“You can’t,” he said. “Because Quinn Sullivan is probably fixing to get her shotgun and dispatch me.”

“Well, as long as there’s a ritual sacrifice after, I think it’s worth staying for.”

“Speak for yourself when it’s your own ritual sacrifice on the table.”

“Please,” she said.

“I’ll take you down to Mapleton for pizza and ice cream.”

“Okay,” she said. “That sounds good.”

They departed the meeting quickly, not speaking to anyone as they did.

“Actually, it’s a good thing that we are going out,” said Camilla. “I’ve been needing to talk to you about something.”

“What?”

She wrinkled her nose and looked away. “I’m thinking about dropping out of school.”

“What?”

“Well... It’s hard. And I don’t like being away from home. And I am an absolute weirdo there.”

“It’s only been a year, Camilla. Give it time.”

“You need help, Levi. I’ve seen the office. It’s an absolute disaster, without me there helping you with the paperwork...”

“I’m fine,” he said, anger spiking in his blood. “Never talk about leaving school because you think you need to do something for me. Camilla, I didn’t work this hard to get you where you want to have you leave school. But you need to be at school. You want to be a lawyer, Cam, and that means that you need school, and law school...”

“Maybe I changed my mind. The city is all well and good as a daydream, but what am I actually going to do there? And what’s the point?”

“The point is that Mom and Dad are dead. And in their place I worked so hard to make sure that you all didn’t lack for anything because you didn’t have your parents. Dylan joined the military, and I’ve never been that thrilled with that, but it’s what he wanted, so it’s what he’s doing. Jessie always wanted to work the ranch. And now she has a ranch of her own with Damien. And she’s happy. You deserve that. That full dream.”

“But back when I decided to go to school, Jessie hadn’t left you. I thought that she was going to stay and...”

“I didn’t want her to. I don’t want any of you to be tethered to this place, to this ranch, because of me.”

Lord Almighty.

As if this whole thing with the Sullivans hadn’t riled him up enough, his sister was talking about leaving school. He couldn’t have that.

It was not her dream.

And he really needed Camilla to keep going after her dreams.

He definitely wasn’t having her give them up for him.

“It’s okay, Levi. I won’t make any decisions just yet.”

“There are no decisions to be made. You got into school, you’re going to school. That’s it. That’s final. And at the end of spring break, you’re going back.”

Quinn Sullivan better mind her own business, because Levi had his own problems, and he was in no kind of mood.