Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 97836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
“So you were, what… twenty-three?” I asked in surprise. “Why did they elect someone so young?”
Spots of sunlight danced across the trail in front of us as a light breeze ran through the trees. It was cool now that we were at a higher elevation, but the sun and our movement kept it warm enough for comfort. There had been several other cars at the trailhead, so we weren’t the only ones taking advantage of the clear weather.
“Maybe everyone else was smart enough to say no,” Way said, smiling as if it was a joke. I could tell it wasn’t a laughing matter, though, by the way he pulled his hand out of mine and lifted his hat off before pulling it back on again. I missed the feel of his hand in mine, but there was something reassuring in being able to recognize his agitation.
“Why didn’t you say no?”
He blew out a breath and glanced off the trail, leaving me with a view of the thick blond hair flicking out from the edge of his ball cap. “I wanted to fix it. Couldn’t stand the idea that one lying asshole’s dick move would cost the rest of us the town we’d lived in for so long. My family has been in Majestic for generations, and we’re not the only ones. The idea of having to get rid of our librarian or our firefighters or any number of other essential elements of our community… it was untenable. So a group of the largest landowners got together to brainstorm in hopes of staving off bankruptcy. Each family agreed to loan as much as they could, only in my case, it couldn’t be cash. The ranch was just coming out of the worst of its debt and definitely didn’t have capital to loan.”
“But you could give your time and effort,” I suggested, finally understanding.
He nodded. “Foster did the same. He was a deputy at the time but also volunteered to work with no pay since he’s a partial owner in the Love Muffin and was still living at home with his mom at the time. Jenks Dairy, the Godfrey family holdings, which includes a couple oil wells, and Duke Stanner’s construction company all loaned the town enough to cover the biggest commitments. We negotiated some of the other stuff into better terms.” He shrugged. “We got through the worst of it those first two years, and now… if we can sign AdventureSmash to a big race next season, it’ll finally put us back right.”
“How much debt is left?” I asked before reminding myself it was none of my business.
“Three million. But we project the exhibition will take care of almost a third of it, between tax revenue and the resulting bump in tourist traffic we expect this summer, thanks to media coverage for the event.”
Part of me wanted to donate the money. It was only three percent of what I earned each year from my investments, and I’d spent enough time in Majestic and with its leader to feel comfortable it would be well spent. Waylon was a hard worker. Dedicated and smart, too. He cared more about Majestic than his very own comfort.
But I also knew that if I was going to give anyone three million dollars, it should be my actual husband rather than, essentially, his employer. He and his family could do a lot of personal good with that money on the ranch and in their own individual business endeavors.
And there was my promise to the brotherhood to consider. Throwing around seven-figure sums of cash wasn’t a great way to fly under the radar.
“What are your remaining pain points?” I asked, falling back into the familiar corporate strategy rhythm that had become second nature in the past decade.
As Way methodically laid out the areas of greatest concern, I did my best to make low-pressure suggestions, making sure to use real-life examples to justify each one.
Thankfully, Way listened without getting his back up, and we spent the next forty minutes discussing various municipal topics as well as the challenges remaining for the AdventureSmash exhibition. One way I could help mitigate the town’s debt was by quietly securing a few additional corporate sponsorships, something I’d already asked Kenji to work on.
I’d also texted Kenji to find out if he could lure an experienced rock climber out here on short notice to help vet the rock climbing routes AdventureSmash planned on using during the exhibition. While I knew Way wanted me to stop interfering, that didn’t mean I couldn’t have solutions on hand when they were needed. As long as I didn’t push them on him, surely he wouldn’t argue against having a problem solved without additional effort on his part.
As we cut across another stream, this time hopping from flat rock to flat rock to cross the wider expanse of running water, Way glanced back at me with an unexpected smile on his face. “Thanks for talking this out with me. Maybe I was premature when I asked you to stop helping. Seems like you know a few things.”