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certainly taught him good manners.
    â€œNice to have you back, Wade. I can see you’ve already made some improvements on the place.” Jim reached out and shook Wade’s hand.
    Lori smiled at Jim, grateful that he was the one buttering Wade up. She knew bringing him with her was a good idea. He’d make sure she kept things professional.
    Both men were looking at her expectantly.
    She took a bracing breath. “Wade, I said some things the other day that I regret.”
    Jim looked at her sharply. She hadn’t exactly filled him in on the details of her and Wade’s previous chat.
    â€œThank you,” Wade said carefully.
    â€œYour new well had me really worried. It still does.”
    â€œIs that what brings you out here?”
    â€œI met with Bill Cooper about our water situation. He had an idea that might be beneficial to both of us.”
    Wade leaned back against the sawhorse behind him and crossed his arms. “Okay,” he said, “shoot.”
    Lori swallowed hard. She remembered Mandy’s advice. Humble pie. “He said that trying to drill deeper will only create new problems.” She readied herself for the hard part. “So Bill thought... I thought...maybe we could share the water from your well?”
    Wade stared at some spot on the ground in front of his battered work boots. “I don’t know,” he finally answered.
    â€œYou don’t know?” It wasn’t what she’d expected, and her voice came out in a squeak.
    Jim touched her arm in a silent command to calm down. “Son, it’s like this. The water in your well has been supporting the upper end of Lone Mountain Ranch for a long time. We’re gonna need some of it back.”
    Wade nodded slowly. “With all due respect, Jim, I didn’t do anything wrong when I sunk a well on my property. And you don’t know for sure that my well is what caused yours to dry up.”
    â€œBut Bill Cooper said so!” Lori regretted the words the second they were out. She sounded like a four-year-old.
    â€œOf course we’d compensate you for the use of your well,” Jim went on as if she hadn’t spoken. “Split any maintenance costs, for example.”
    â€œAnd it would help us manage the existing water in the aquifer more carefully if we were working together,” Lori added. There. That sounded scientific and neutral.
    â€œLook, I get that you guys are in a bind,” Wade said. “But as you know, I’m only just getting started, and this place has been neglected for a very long time. I’ve sunk all I have into this ranch, and my sister’s done the same.”
    â€œI thought I saw Nora the other day,” Jim said. “But I figured my old eyes were playing tricks on me.”
    Wade brightened a little at the mention of his sister. They’d always been close. “She’s working as a consultant on range management. But in her free time she’s been here, helping me out.”
    â€œThat’s really great,” Lori chimed in. “How nice that you’re working together to start up the ranch again.”
    â€œThanks.” Wade gave her a glance with eyebrows raised, obviously recognizing her chipper demeanor for what it truly was—desperation. He saw right through her—he always had. It was like he was born with a Lori Allen instruction manual and he’d memorized the whole thing. Back in high school, she’d tried to hide her crush on him, but he’d known the entire time.
    â€œLori, I want to help. I really do. But I’m new at this. I don’t know how much water I’m going to need, and I don’t want to take any big risks. I’ve got to turn a profit as fast as possible or I won’t be able to make it.”
    â€œI understand that.” Lori tried to calm the anxiety rising inside. “But I need to make a profit, too, and with this drought, we’re on year three of loss.