Emma snorted. “Oh, man. Austin and I have had some rocky times. Except with him, he thought sending me away would protect me.” She rolled her eyes. “Dork.”
“At least he sent you away because he cared about you. I thought Sean felt something for me. But boy was I wrong.” Emotions rose in her throat, choking her. She swallowed against the lump that had formed there.
“Sean cares about you.” Emma’s soft voice pulled her attention over.
“What?” Why was Emma causing her to hope? She needed to write that frustrating cowboy off forever. He didn’t care about her and he never would.
“He’s just protecting himself. Probably because he cares about you a bit too much.” She wiggled her eyebrows.
“He sure has a funny way of showing it.” Christine turned her attention back outside. They needed to stop talking about Sean right now. “Would you mind us just driving in silence?”
From the corner of her eye, she saw Emma nod. “Of course I wouldn’t mind.”
They drove in silence the rest of the way. Christine spent the entire time trying to figure out what she was going to say to Sean when she saw him. By the time Emma pulled into his driveway, she’d decided on simple pleasantries. She didn’t need to have a deep and meaningful conversation, but she could be civil. After all, that was what she’d been taught.
She swallowed. She only hoped he’d believe the lie.
The truck idled as Emma put it into park. Christine shot her a smile as she unbuckled her seatbelt. “Thanks for the ride.”
Emma nodded. “Anytime.”
Christine opened the door and started to climb out when a hand on her shoulder stopped her.
“Christine?”
She turned around to see Emma peering over at her. “Yeah?”
“Don’t give up on Sean just yet. He’s confused. He’ll figure it out.”
Her stomach twisted from Emma’s words. Not sure what to say, she only nodded. “I’ll try.” She hopped out of the truck.
“I’ll see you later?”
Christine nodded and shut the door. She stood in the dark and watched Emma drive away. Once her taillights had disappeared in the distance, she turned back around. All the windows were dark. Wrapping her arms around her chest, she sighed.
What was she going to do now?
The next morning, when Christine finally pulled herself out of bed, she found the house completely quiet. She didn’t expect to see Sean, as it was a quarter past ten, but that didn’t stop her from jumping at every sound.
Her one goal today was to finish the audit, so she could get the heck out of Moose Falls forever. Back to her boring life in Washington, DC. Where her friends made her feel wanted and cared about. Or at least, where cowboys didn’t hate her.
After brewing a pot of coffee, she poured a mug and made her way to the study. As she passed the living room, she saw Mr. Petty sitting in his rocking chair just as he had the day before.
His weathered hands were gripping a picture frame. She stopped and studied him. His gaze was downturned as if he were sleeping. Not wanting to bother him, she tiptoed past. Just as she cleared the doorframe, he called out to her.
“Nancy?”
She stopped, pinching her eyes shut. She couldn’t just leave a grieving man sitting along in the living room, thinking that his late wife had passed by and hadn’t taken the time to stop and talk to him. So she let out her breath and turned back around.
“Sorry, Mr. Petty. It’s just me.” She smiled at him as she walked into the room.
Mr. Petty looked so hopeful that when he saw her, she almost wished she’d been Nancy. His wrinkled cheeks elongated as his smile morphed into a frown. “My mistake,” he said, glancing down at the picture one more time before he brought it back to his chest.
“Was Nancy your wife?” She pulled up the ottoman so she could sit next to him.
Mr. Petty glanced over at her. A spark had returned to his gaze. “She was. Wife of fifty years. She passed away a year ago. Cancer.”
Christine’s heart broke as she rested her hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry.”
He just nodded. A small tear slipping from his eye and rolling down his cheek. They sat in silence for a few minutes. The sound of the clock ticking in the other room surrounded them.
Christine thought back to her discovery. She desperately wanted to know if what she’d found was a mistake. Perhaps, he knew why there was no record of calves sold during those years.
“Mr. Petty, can I ask you a question?”
He turned his gaze over to her and nodded. “Sure.”
“I was going through your paperwork and I found something that I thought was odd. A few years back, you showed no income for two years. At least, no income from the sale of calves. Was that a mistake? Or just a really bad year?”
Mr. Petty’s skin paled, telling Christine everything she needed to know. It was true. He’d purposefully omitted that information.
“Why? Why did you do that? You don’t seem like a scammer. You’re honest and hardworking. Why would you jeopardize your ranch like that?”
Mr. Petty cleared his throat as he laid the picture down onto his lap. He ran his fingers over the frame. “Nancy got sick three years ago. Doctors told me that there was this miracle drug that could shrink the cancer cells. Unfortunately, it was still in its testing phase and insurance didn’t cover it.” He dropped his voice. “Not like they cover much anyway.” He mumbled a few more incoherent things. “Anyway, I was desperate. I needed to know I’d tried everything. I couldn’t leave a stone unturned.”
Christine sat back as she let his words wash over her. He’d used the money to pay for the treatment. An ache took up residence in her heart. He’d just wanted to save his wife.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, even though she knew her words wouldn’t mean anything.
Mr. Petty turned to look at her, tears brimming his eyes. “Miss Jordan, I don’t know what to do. I can’t ruin this for Sean. That boy’s worked so hard. And if Nancy had found out what I did, she’d never forgive me either.”
Christine watched him, nodding as he spoke. She could only imagine the pain he was going through. If she could take it all away, she would. For Mr. Petty—and for Sean. Even though he broke her heart last night.
“Mr. Petty, I’m going to do what I can to help,” she said, reaching out and patting his hand.
He smiled. “It’s okay. It was my mistake. I will make it better. I have to.”
Christine wanted to ask how he planned on doing that. The man took four-hour naps during the day. His tired gaze and worn complexion told her, there wasn’t much he could do.
No. This was a problem that she could fix. She had to. And then Sean could send her away—tell her that she wasn’t allowed in his life. The only thing that would keep them apart then was his own stubbornness. That was something she couldn’t change. It was up to him.
So she gave Mr. Petty one more smile and stood, making her way to the study. She shut the door and got started on the paperwork. She needed to finish her audit and head back to Washington, DC to have a conversation with Parker.
If her plan worked, she’d be able to confront the irritating cowboy with a clear conscience. She’d tell just what she thought about him and then would he have to decide if he felt the same.
And if her plan didn’t work, she’d leave and never look back. And no matter how much the thought broke her heart, she’d do it. Because one thing was for sure, he hated her. And she wasn’t sure she could change anything about that.
Chapter Fifteen
Sean
Sean worked until it was dark. The last thing he wanted was to walk into the house to see Christine sitting there, confusing and frustrating him. His plan was to work all day, come home, shower, and go to bed. Talking to Christine wasn’t part of the plan at all.
He pulled open the back door and walked into the kitchen. He caught a glimpse of someone sitting at the table and dropped his gaze. His heart st
uttered in his chest as he focused on pulling off his shoes and setting them next to the door.
“You’re an idiot.”
Whipping around, he saw Emma stand up from the table with her hands on her hips. She waddled over to him and stuck her finger into his chest.
“Em, what are you doing here?” He peered behind her. Where was Christine? Then his heart sank. She was gone.
“Austin’s dropping her off at the airport.”
Sean swallowed. He knew he should be feeling relieved right now, but for some reason, he didn’t. His heart hurt. His stomach hurt. But he couldn’t dwell on that right now. It was the best thing for the both of them to have her leave. They were wrong for each other.
Emma threw up her hands. “What happened? You guys seemed so happy together. She was perfect for you.” She narrowed her eyes. “You’re a stubborn old goat, you know that right? Why would you tell her to leave? She was just doing her job.”
Sean pushed past her and over to the sink. Emma wasn’t going to let up. She followed after him.
“So, what do you have to say for yourself?”
Sean looked over at her. She didn’t understand. He needed to protect himself. Protect his ranch. Letting Christine in might break him. And he wasn’t sure if he would survive. “Can we just drop it?”
Emma shook her head. “No can do. You need to tell me why you pushed her away.”
He washed his hands. “I told you, she’s about to shut down my ranch. The amount we owe is going to break us”—his voice dropped an octave—“break me.”
She studied him as an understanding expression passed over her face. “Oh, I understand now.” She gave him a small smile as she leaned against the counter and folded her arms over her tummy.
She was acting cryptic. He narrowed his eyes. “Understand what?”
She raised her eyebrows as she looked over at him. “You love Christine.”
He scoffed and turned to stare out the window. “I don’t love Christine.”
She snorted. “Right. And this is nothing like when Austin sent me away because he was worried I’d get hurt.” She leaned in. “Except in his case, he did it to protect me—not himself. That was nobler.”
“I’m noble.”
“Sean, look at yourself. You’ve finally met a woman who not only challenges you, she cares about you too, and what do you do? You screw it up. You send her away.”
Sean stared at her. “She cares about me?”
Emma pinched her lips together and nodded. “Well, she didn’t say those words exactly, but I can tell she does.”
Sean scrubbed his face with his hand as he thought about Emma’s words. Christine cared about him? He’d spent half the time she was here calling her a dragon and the other half making her feel bad because of her job. Man, he was the worst.
“Good, I got through to you. Now, what are you going to do about it?” Emma studied him.
Sean looked over at her. “Is there anything I can do? I messed up, Em. I really did. She probably hates me now.”
Emma sighed. “She’ll forgive you. I promise. Now, let’s plan the big romantic gesture that will get her back.” She rubbed her hands together. “I’m excited!”
Sean watched a maniacal expression pass over Emma’s face. “Should I be worried?”
Chapter Sixteen
Christine
Two days later, Christine sat across from Parker, eyeing him. He was tapping the keys of his computer, taking his time to notice her. She swallowed. How was she going to ask him to help with the Petty ranch? Especially since he already thought she had done a terrible job.
The clicking noise stopped as Parker turned to look at her. “Now, you wanted to talk to me?” He raised his eyebrows. They rose above the black-rimmed spectacles perched on his nose.
Christine took a deep breath and sat up straighter on her chair. “Yes. I want to discuss the Petty ranch.”
He took his glasses off and began to clean them with his tie. “I thought that file had been finished.” He paused. “Did you find a mistake you made?”
Great. In one sentence, all her confidence flew out the window. “No, not that. I—um, wanted to discuss what we could do to help.”
Parker coughed as he replaced his glasses. “Christine, the IRS is not in the habit of handing out charity to everyone who decides that they just don’t want to pay their taxes.” He peered over at her.
“I understand that. It’s just that, there were reasons why the taxes weren’t paid. Good reasons.”
Parker pressed his hands together and rested his elbows on the desktop in front of him. “I’m intrigued.”
Thankful that he wasn’t kicking her from his office, Christine smoothed her skirt and began. She told him about Mr. Petty. About how his wife got sick. How he used the money to fund the treatment. She told him how hard Sean had worked to save money and how there was no other person in the world more suited to run that ranch then him.
Parker studied her as she spoke, rocking slightly in his desk chair. He didn’t look mad, but he also didn’t look happy. Christine wasn’t quite sure how to read his facial expressions.
When she finished, she met his gaze. It looked like he was contemplating what she’d said. He picked up a pile of papers and shuffled them.
“Do you know why I think you’ll make an amazing auditor?”
Christine stopped. Did he just say that she’d make an amazing auditor? Was he serious? “Um—what?”
Parker leaned back in his chair again. “When your uncle asked me to take you on, I didn’t want to. I hate when family members hire other family members. I thought you were going to be a stuck-up snob who would run to her uncle every time something got hard.”
She parted her lips to say that she would never do that, but Parker raised his hand.
“Let me finish. You’ve never done that. You meet every deadline. Work harder than anyone on your floor. And when I sent you into the field, you not only got the job done, you also did more.
“See, people think we are just there to add numbers. Go through receipts and report what we find. But there’s so much more. We understand that it’s hard and everyone has a different experience.” He gave her a smile—something she hadn’t been sure he was even able to do. “And you came to me with your findings. Not your uncle. So, if you want to see if there’s something the IRS can do for the Petty ranch, then I’m okay with looking into it.”
A huge weight lifted off of Christine’s shoulders as she stared at him. Who had taken Parker, and what had they done with him? She discreetly pinched her leg just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. She was awake.
“I’m a little shocked, but. . . thank you.”
Parker nodded. He glanced over at her as he turned back to his computer. “Did you need anything else?”
Christine forced herself to shake her head. Shock still paralyzed her body. This had been the last thing she’d expected when she walked into his office a half hour ago. She pushed her body out of the chair and left.
Out in the hall, she leaned against the wall, tipping her face toward the ceiling. Not only had Parker complimented her on her job, but he’d also said that he’d look into helping out Sean. Her heart surged as she thought about what this meant.
Sean would be able to keep his ranch. The place he loved. That thought made her happier than she’d been in a while.
“I have a surprise for you!” Tylinn sang out.
Christine glanced over to see her friend walking up. “So do I,” she said.
Tylinn raised her brows. “I bet mine is bigger.”
“No. Mine is.” Christine linked arms with her best friend and walked down the hall with her.
Tylinn snorted. “I highly doubt that.”
“Would you believe it if I told you that Parker actually told me I was good at my job? That he knew I was a hard worker? That I rose to the occasion?”
Tylinn peered over at her. “No. I’d say you’re lying.”
Christine s
hrugged. It felt good to say those words out loud. Like it made them real. “Well, he did. And he said he’d help me find a solution for the Petty ranch.” Just saying Sean’s last name caused her stomach to twist. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t miss Moose Falls—or Sean.
“Well, you’re just telling me things I already know. I’m happy that Parker finally realized it too. You deserve it, sweetie. All the things he said were true.”
“Thanks.” Christine felt as if she were walking on cloud nine. The only thing that would make this perfect was if Sean flew to Washington, DC and declared to her what an idiot he’d been. But that was a fantasy. “So, what surprise did you have for me?”
“That.” Tylinn nodded down the hall, toward the large foyer of the building. Standing in the middle, with a huge bouquet of daisies, was Sean. He had on his signature plaid button-up shirt and jeans. With a cowboy hat and boots. He looked like he’d just stepped out of a rancher’s magazine. If there was such a thing.
Tylinn squealed next to her, grabbing her arm. “This is insane! No wonder you were distracted in Moose Falls. If that was who I was investigating, I’d be distracted too!”
“Tylinn!” Christine said under her breath. She was pretty sure she knew the reason Sean was here, but just in case there was another reason he’d showed up here, clutching flowers, she didn’t want him to overhear her loud best friend.
“Oh, please. That boy is so smitten with you.” She snorted as she pulled Christine toward him.
Sean shifted from one foot to the other and his eyebrows rose as they neared. Tylinn reached out her hands.
“Tylinn Grace.”
“Sean Petty.”
The deep sound of Sean’s voice washed over Christine. Her heart picked up speed as she thought back to their time in Moose Falls. The feeling of his arms wrapped around her or his lips pressed against hers. Had he only come here to taunt her? He was playing with her heart and she was pretty sure it couldn’t break anymore.
Fighting Love for the Cowboy (A Moose Falls Romance Book 1) Page 11
