Page 12 of Cowboy's Healing Heart

My phone buzzes in my pocket again. I ignore it, knowing it’s my father. He’s been calling nonstop since I left New York, and each missed call is another brick in the wall between us.

I ignore the buzzing in my pocket, focusing on the tractor’s steady hum. My father can wait. He’s been waiting for years, expecting me to fall in line with his grand plans. But I’m done being a pawn in his corporate chess game.

The sun beats down on my neck as I adjust a bolt. Sweat trickles down my back, a reminder of how far I am from the air-conditioned boardrooms of New York. Good. Let the heat and grime wash away the last traces of that world.

My mind drifts to the countless arguments with my father. His voice is always so controlled, so certain he knows what’s best for me. “The company needs you, Shane. It’s your birthright.” Asif I’m nothing more than an extension of Innoventis, a cog in the machine he built.

I tighten the bolt with more force than necessary, picturing my father’s face. The disappointment when I enlisted. The thinly veiled contempt when I refused to take my “rightful place” after my discharge. He never understood that I was suffocating in that world of power suits and profit margins.

My mother’s face flashes in my mind. Always caught in the middle, trying to keep the peace. But even her attempts at understanding felt hollow. “Your father means well, Shane. He just wants what’s best for you.” As if what’s best for me is sacrificing my soul to the family altar of success.

The phone buzzes again. I clench my jaw, resisting the urge to hurl it across the field. Instead, I pocket it, letting my father’s calls go unanswered. Let him stew in his frustration. I’m done explaining myself.

I wipe my hands on my jeans, surveying the tractor. It’s solid work, honest work. Something my father would never understand. Here, I’m not Shane Kennedy, heir to a fortune. I’m just Shane, another pair of hands trying to keep this place running.

And for now, that’s enough.

I focus on the task at hand, tightening a bolt with more force than necessary. The ranch stretches out around me, vast and indifferent to my inner turmoil. It’s been weeks since I arrived, and I still feel like an outsider.

Krystal’s voice echoes in my mind. “Don’t half-ass it, Kennedy. I’ll be checking your work.” Her words from this morning were sharp and challenging. I’ve been keeping my distance, but she has a way of getting under my skin.

A commotion in the distance breaks my concentration. Kids’ voices, sharp and taunting. I try to ignore it, but something in the tone makes me pause.

“Hey, new girl! What’s wrong with your hair?”

“Yeah, why’s it all twisted up like that?”

I set down my wrench, listening. The jeers grow louder, more vicious.

“Bet she can’t even see through those thick glasses!”

“Go back where you came from!”

A girl’s voice cuts through, defiant but wavering. “Leave me alone!”

I’m moving before I realize it, drawn by some instinct I can’t name. As I round the corner of the barn, I see them. A group of boys, maybe five or six, surrounding a smaller figure. A girl with dark skin and braided hair, her fists clenched at her sides.

“What’s the matter, Ashanti? Gonna cry?”

The girl – Ashanti – throws down her backpack. “You want another bloody nose to match your black eye, Devon? ’Cause I can whoop your ass and not get suspended this time. You started it.”

I almost laugh. The kid’s got spirit.

I move closer, arms crossed over my chest. The boys notice me first, their eyes widening. They start backing away, but Ashanti doesn’t see me. She thinks it’s her threat that’s scaring them off.

“Yeah, that’s right. Run away, you cowards!”

The leader – Devon, I guess – advances, rage twisting his features. “You little-”

I step between them, towering over the boy. “That’s enough.”

Devon freezes, shock replacing anger. The other boys scatter, leaving him alone.

I fix him with a hard stare. “If I hear you’ve been bothering my friend again, we’re going to have a problem. Understand?”

He swallows hard and nods.

“Good. Now get out of here.”

---