Maria Howard

I let the supply contract with Whole Foods expire. I also “forgot” to prepare the ranch’s financial statements for the next quarter. The water rights renewal, the document that was the very lifeblood of our ranch, I buried under a pile of junk mail. I’m Ava, Caleb Walker’s wife. I’m the woman who used her own money and ten years of her life to turn a failing family ranch into a modern business empire. And now, I was going to destroy it with my own hands. At last week’s barbecue, Caleb put his family’s century-old cowboy hat—the symbol of his legacy—on his illegitimate son’s head in front of everyone. His mistress, Briar, stood beside him, proudly announcing to the crowd that the ranch hands all took their orders from her now. In that moment, something inside me died. I didn’t make a scene. I just calmly finished my beer. But Caleb didn’t know that from that moment on, his reign as the “cowboy king” was on borrowed time. He finally came to me when the......