by A. J. Pine
Maybe he wasn’t a graphic design whiz, but he bought the domain and got some good pictures up there. What else did she expect? He wasn’t trying to sell the site. And why was he getting so defensive anyway? The ranch was what mattered, and he was proud of what he, his brother, and Colt had built.
“You drove here in the middle of the night?” Sam’s brows drew together. “After you happened upon our website?”
Delaney groaned. “Every now and then I google him. After what he did to me—I don’t know—I was hoping I’d find something that gave me some peace or closure or something. Instead I found out he took the last thing from me I owned.”
Sam gritted his teeth. “Look. I’m sure you want out of this mess as much as I do. If what you’re saying is true, can’t we figure out a fair price for me to buy you out?” He didn’t know yet where he’d get the money. Maybe the bank would give him an equity loan. He’d cross that bridge when the time came. Heck, he’d move heaven and earth to keep his land and his business intact, not just for himself but for Colt and Ben. For his father too.
“Sorry,” she said. “But I want my land back. If you don’t have the paperwork for me, I guess that means I’ll be heading down to the county courthouse to grab a copy of the forged deed I plan to contest. Sorry to bother you, Mr. Callahan.”
She turned on her heel and strode toward the cabin door.
“Whole town’s shut down for the week. Autumn festival and all.”
“Autumn festival?” she repeated, her brow furrowed.
He nodded, then scratched the back of his neck. “Meadow Valley Harvest Fest. Gourds. Corn maze. Bounce house for the kids. Any of it ringing a bell? You did live here at one point, right?”
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. “Didn’t make it past six weeks before—before I left.”
Her eyes flashed with something that looked like fear, but when he blinked, her gaze was nothing more than focused and intent. For a second, though, he saw. He saw that there was more to her story, and he found himself wanting to ask what it was or why she’d gone so soon after arriving.
She spun to face him. “What kind of town closes down for an entire week for pumpkins and bounce houses?”
“Don’t forget the corn maze and bobbing for apples,” he said with a wink. “We go all out.”
She gritted her teeth and let out an exasperated groan. “Very well,” she said, chin held high. “Then I guess you’ll be hearing from my lawyer when the town is back in business.”
He fought the urge to follow her to the door, some inexplicable need rising—a need to stop her from leaving, especially in her state of distress.
“Why not just take this up with your ex-husband?” he asked. “Doesn’t that make the most sense?”
Her shoulders sagged as he watched her bravado deflate. “Because I don’t know where he is. I tried calling the only number I had for him, but it rang and rang until it finally went to a generic voicemail. Not sure the phone is even still his.”
“You leave a message?” Sam asked.
She shook her head. “Didn’t see the point since I wasn’t sure who I was leaving it for.” She paused. “I thought if we fixed this place up together and made something out of it that I could somehow fix him. But I learned my lesson.”
This mess wasn’t her fault. She was just as blindsided as he was, and it wasn’t fair to put the blame on her.
“Let me get you a cold drink, maybe something to eat?” he said. “You have to be starving after driving all night and into the morning.”
She pressed her full pink lips together, and he couldn’t tell if she was considering his offer or trying to keep herself from yelling at him. Wade Harper was the one to blame here. Not either of them. But Wade wasn’t here, so it was up to the two of them to figure it out, which meant he had to ignore the lips he realized he’d been staring at.
Logic. Not whatever it was that drove Luis’s decisions. Log-ic. Yet he found himself gritting his teeth, waiting for her reply. Did he want her to say yes? No? Why couldn’t he reconcile the thoughts swirling around his head?
“I can’t,” she finally said.
And with that she stepped through the door, letting it slam behind her, the sound jolting him back to reality.
He breathed a sigh of relief, yet every muscle in his body was still as tense as the day his mother walked out on their father.
It was only then that Sam realized the white-knuckle grip he had on the reception desk’s wood trim—and that he had torn it free from its nails.
Luis, Anna, and the so-called kitchen emergency were already a distant memory. His stupid inkling had nothing to do with them. No, sir. It was all about Delaney Harper—the woman who would be his undoing.
This wasn’t the other shoe dropping. It was a steel-toed boot pummeling him into the dirt. He had to figure out how to fix this before Colt and Ben found out—before all three of them lost everything they’d given up to build.
