Chapter 4

The Annual Sterling Charity Rodeo was the event of the season.

My father, Hamilton Sterling, stood on the platform in the center of the arena, his voice booming over the cheering crowd.

"And the grand prize for this year's barrel racing champion," he announced, a twinkle in his eye, "is a controlling interest in our new Sterling Vineyards venture in Napa!"

A gasp went through the crowd. Sterling Vineyards was rumored to be incredibly lucrative.

I was a skilled rider, one of the best in Texas. That vineyard was as good as mine.

I saw Savy lurking near the stables, her eyes fixed on me with a venomous intensity. She looked desperate.

The competition was fierce, but I navigated the barrels with precision and speed.

I was on my final turn, the crowd roaring, the vineyard almost in my grasp.

Suddenly, my horse, Starlight, shrieked and bucked violently.

The saddle, secure moments before, lurched sideways. I felt myself flying.

Then, strong arms were around me, breaking my fall, and another figure was wrestling with Starlight' s reins, calming the panicked animal.

It was Caleb "Cal" Maverick, son of our Head of Security, my childhood friend, and the man who was always there when I needed him.

He helped me to my feet, his face grim. "Are you okay, Rory?"

"Shaken, but alive," I managed, my heart still pounding.

Brent and Grayson rushed over, their faces masks of concern.

"Must have been faulty equipment!" Brent exclaimed, examining the saddle. "Terrible luck, Rory."

Grayson nodded. "Just an accident. Thank God Cal was here."

An accident? I didn't think so.

Cal, ever watchful, had already found something. He held up a small, specialized leather-working tool, a type used for cutting thick straps.

"This was on the ground near the railing where Miss Dixon was standing just before your ride, Rory," Cal said, his voice low and steady. "And your cinch strap has been deliberately frayed, almost cut through."

He handed the tool and the damaged cinch to me.

I strode towards Savy, who was trying to look inconspicuous.

"An accident, Savy?" I asked, holding up the tool. "Or did you hope I'd break my neck so you could feel some twisted sense of victory?"

Her eyes widened in feigned innocence. "I don't know what you're talking about! I wouldn't!"

My father appeared, his face thunderous. He had seen everything.

"Savannah Dixon," he roared, his voice echoing across the now silent arena. "You deliberately endangered my daughter! You sabotaged her equipment! You are a menace!"

He was about to banish her, I could see it in his eyes. "You will leave Sterling lands immediately and never return!"

Just as the words left his mouth, Savy let out a choked cry and crumpled to the ground in a dramatic faint.

Chaos erupted. A doctor was summoned.

Later, after Savy was revived and examined in the estate' s infirmary, the doctor delivered the shocking news.

"Miss Dixon is pregnant," he announced gravely. "Approximately six weeks."

My father froze. My mother gasped.

Savy, from her bed, looked up with wide, tearful eyes, her gaze flicking towards a stunned and pale Grayson.

"It's... it's Grayson's," she whispered, a pathetic, desperate plea in her voice.

Grayson looked like he'd been poleaxed.

Savy was spared banishment, but her victory was hollow.

Father, his face a mask of cold fury, confined her to a small, isolated guest house on the furthest edge of the estate. All luxuries were stripped. She was to be under strict supervision, a prisoner in all but name.

Grayson was publicly reprimanded by Father, his authority within Sterling Enterprises significantly reduced, his allowance cut, and he was assigned the most tedious, remote projects.

The vineyard prize was quietly awarded to a local charity.

Savy had avoided exile, but she had unleashed a storm, and the Sterling family would never be the same.