Chapter 8 Family Expectations #2
"I'm not sure those are the kinds of stories I'd choose."
"They're exactly the stories I wanted."
He looked confused.
Rachel continued.
"My business services combines, harvesters, excavators, loaders, and heavy agricultural equipment across three counties."
"We've grown faster than expected."
"I need someone to lead our heavy-equipment service division."
Sawyer blinked.
"I thought you were here about repairs."
"I am."
She smiled.
"I'm trying to repair a staffing problem."
Eli folded his arms with an amused expression.
"I wondered when somebody would come looking."
Sawyer glanced toward him.
"You knew?"
"I suspected."
Rachel reached into her leather portfolio and placed a folder on the workbench.
"I've read your military service record."
Sawyer stiffened.
"It's public enough."
"I also spoke with former supervisors."
She met his eyes.
"They all said the same thing."
"What?"
"You stay calm when everyone else panics."
"You solve problems people think are impossible."
"You make everyone around you better."
Sawyer looked down at the folder without opening it.
Rachel continued.
"The position includes a management salary."
"Performance bonuses."
"A company truck."
"Health coverage."
"Retirement."
"Ongoing technical certifications."
She smiled again.
"And considerably more money than you're making now."
Eli gave a low whistle.
"That's one way to recruit somebody."
Sawyer finally opened the folder.
The salary printed on the first page made him pause.
It was nearly double what he currently earned.
He slowly looked back up.
"This is... generous."
"It's competitive."
"It's more than competitive."
Rachel shrugged lightly.
"Good people are expensive."
"And worth every penny."
For several moments, Sawyer didn't know what to say.
The offer wasn't simply a better paycheck.
It was exactly the kind of career opportunity he'd assumed no longer existed after leaving the Army.
Leadership.
Responsibility.
A future.
"When would you need an answer?"
"Within two weeks."
She smiled warmly.
"I don't expect one today."
"I'm asking you to think about it."
Sawyer nodded slowly.
"I will."
"I hoped you would."
Rachel handed him a business card before shaking Eli's hand once more.
"I'll let you get back to work."
As her truck disappeared down the road, silence settled over the garage.
Eli looked sideways at Sawyer.
"Well."
"Well."
"You just got offered one heck of a promotion."
Sawyer laughed softly.
"I noticed."
Eli's smile faded.
"What are you thinking?"
Sawyer stared at the folder still resting on the workbench.
"I honestly don't know."
"You'd be good at it."
"I know."
"You'd finally have stability."
"I know."
"You've earned an opportunity like this."
Sawyer closed the folder.
"I know."
Eli studied him carefully.
"But?"
Sawyer looked toward the open garage doors.
Beyond them, the highway stretched west toward Harlan Ranch.
"But Red Hollow wasn't supposed to matter."
Eli smiled knowingly.
"And now?"
"Now it does."
The older mechanic nodded.
"I figured."
Work kept Sawyer busy through the afternoon, but the folder seemed to follow him wherever he went.
Every time he opened a toolbox, he remembered the salary.
Every time he climbed beneath a machine, he remembered the management position.
Every time he glanced toward the highway leading to the ranch, he remembered Tucker.
Late that evening, after finishing repairs at the Wilson farm, Sawyer parked beside a quiet pond just outside town instead of driving directly home.
The sun was setting.
Orange light reflected across still water while dragonflies skimmed lazily across the surface.
He sat on the tailgate of his truck with Rachel's business card turning slowly between his fingers.
It should have been an easy decision.
For years he had drifted from one place to another because nothing ever gave him a reason to stay.
Now life had finally offered him two futures.
One promised security.
Advancement.
Financial freedom.
The other promised something far less certain.
A man whose quiet smile had slowly become the best part of every day.
Sawyer closed his eyes.
He already knew which future he wanted.
The problem was believing it could ever truly belong to him.
He remembered the conversations he'd overheard around town.
The comments about the Harlan legacy.
The expectations placed on Tucker by relatives, neighbors, and generations before him.
A family name.
Marriage.
Children.
A future carrying the Harlan bloodline forward.
Where did Sawyer fit into that picture?
The answer came too quickly.
He didn't.
Not really.
Even if Tucker cared about him...
Even if the feelings between them were real...
Duty had shaped Tucker's entire life.
He always chose responsibility first.
His ranch.
His family.
His community.
Sawyer couldn't imagine asking him to choose differently.
He looked once more at Rachel's business card before slipping it back into the folder.
He wasn't ready to walk away from Red Hollow.
Not yet.
But neither could he ignore an opportunity that might become necessary sooner than he wanted to admit.
When his phone buzzed a few minutes later, it was a message from an unfamiliar number.
Take your time. I think you'd be exceptional. Call me whenever you're ready.
—Rachel Morgan
Sawyer read the message twice before locking his phone.
He wasn't accepting the offer.
Not today.
Maybe not ever.
Still, he had quietly made one decision.
He would think about it.
Because deep down, despite everything they had shared over the past weeks, he couldn't shake the fear that when Tucker was finally forced to choose between the life his family expected and the man he had quietly fallen in love with, duty would win.
And if that day came, Sawyer wasn't sure he could survive staying in Red Hollow to watch it happen.
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