Yellowstone: Love and Cowboys

Knowing When it's Time to Leave

It was time to leave. Jamie had accomplished his purpose and now it was time to get the hell out of Dodge. The paperwork had been filed and now the deed was done, there was no way that even Beth could undo the transaction. Everything was fait accompli.

The money would arrive shortly, and Jamie made arrangements to have it deposited directly into his father's account. It gave him no small satisfaction to know that this year there would be sufficient money for the property taxes. It was the taxes that would kill off the ranch faster than anything. The taxes would rise with the development as the land grew more valuable.

Jamie snapped his suitcase shut and zipped his suit and dress shoes into the garment bag. He regretted the fact that he would not have time for one more of Gator's meals because he did not know how long it would be before he returned. He would be persona non grata for a while until they finally appreciated what he had done.

"It'll take time, Jamie," Lynelle had told him, "But one day your father will come to understand that what you did saved the ranch. Maybe when the money starts coming in your father will understand."

Fat chance of that, Jamie thought as he headed down the stairs. Not so long as Beth pours her poison into his ear. She's been his darling for a long time, I worked hard for the ranch, I went to Harvard law school to please him and it still didn't make any difference. I could have been a fuck up and gotten a girl pregnant and became an alcoholic, but I didn't. I did everything he ever asked me to, and he's never given a fuck.

He took one last look at the ranch before getting into the car. It was still early morning and one of those days when the sky was a clear blue, and the green grass of the lawn seemed to glow. He was going to miss the ranch, for had he not grown up there? John Dutton had always told his children that the ranch was their home, but that was a lie. For Beth it was not her home, she had always hated it and always would—how much had marrying Rip changed that?

Kayce refused to live there, no doubt at Monica's urging. He was the official heir, but he did not want it. Monica, for reasons that only Monica knew, hated the ranch and John Dutton. It had belonged to her tribe before the government seized it and sold it to the original Dutton family. Maybe that was why, but Jamie did not know and had never asked. All he knew was that he wished he could make it a home, but that would never happen, Beth would make sure of that.

He got in his SUV and turned the key in the ignition and the engine started and he shifted it into gear. He had parked so he wouldn't have to back out of his space, partly to annoy Beth, but he liked to just pull out and head down the driveway.

Jamie liked the drive and knew every curve and bump in the road to Helena. There was something satisfying about driving on an almost deserted road until he hit the highway, and then if he was lucky there would be little traffic to hinder him as he made his way to his office in Helena.

So far, so good, it was smooth sailing, and he was able to navigate without having to hit his brake. There was a hill coming up, however, and it would be necessary to tap the brake a few times to keep him from building up too much speed.

One time, out of dire necessity, he had to resort to riding with Beth into town. Out of spite, she would navigate her Mercedes down the hill without braking, the tires squealing as her sedan built up speed as she drove around the curves. He braced his hands on the dashboard, wondering what the hell she was doing, and she gave him a wicked smile to let him know she did.

His SUV handled well, but it was designed to handle the rough roads, not take the curves like a race car. He was going faster than he liked and tapped the brake lightly to slow down.

But the car did not respond. He tapped the brake again, then again, then he realized that the brakes were not responding. The SUV was gaining speed as it went down the hill, and it was getting harder and harder to negotiate the curves.