We. Us.
I hated the words. There was no ‘we’ as far as I was concerned, not when it came to Black Springs. That was my parents’ legacy, the business they painstakingly turned into something more than a simple cattle ranch.
Even though I knew what Ellis meant regarding the terms and how he and his father relied on this land to make money like the rest of my family did, I still hated how he used them so casually.
“Great,” I said, pulling my bottom lip between my teeth. “Um, why didn’t you come by tonight? It would’ve been nice to see you before the clinics started.”
“I know, but I got caught up with work and lost myself. You know how it is. I’ll come to the next one.”
“Yes, but this was important to me,” I said through gritted teeth, trying and failing to keep my voice below a whisper.
“There will be other cookouts, Josie,” he sighed.
But would my dad be there? That was the question I didn’t dare voice, too damn scared of the answer.
No one outside of the family knew about my dad’s heart condition,and he was adamant it would stay that way until he was ready. I don’t think he wanted to see people change toward him, acting like his grave had already been dug and he had one foot in the coffin.
“I could come over tonight. What time will you be home?”
Now, it was my turn to sigh. I may not have known earlier if I wanted to stay, but I’d told Ellis I was before ever coming out here. “I’m staying here until the clinics are over. I told you that when we had dinner last week.”
Ellis paused the clicking on his keyboard suddenly stopping. “But that’s two months.”
“Yup, till the end of July.”
“So, I won’t see you for two months?” Ellis asked, tone sharpening.
I laughed, unable to help myself. He wasn’t serious, was he? We didn’t see each other much during the week as it was, and if we did, he was constantly on his phone or computer. “I mean, I’m at the ranch. It isn’t that far of a drive, and I’ll have weekends off?—”
“I don’t have time to drive out there whenever I want to see you. Will you be home on the weekends?”
“At this point? I don’t know, Ellis. It’s hard to tell what my schedule will be when clinics haven’t even begun. I have a meeting with your father at the end of the week, though. Maybe I could stop by then.”
“Why’re you meeting with him?” he asked.
I had to stifle my groan. Sometimes, I swore he never listened to me. “We’ve been searching through statements and electronic transfers for over a month now and haven’t come up with anything. I thought it might be worth having your father take a look at everything I’ve gathered to see?—”
“I’m the one in charge of Black Springs’ accounts, Josie. I’ll find the discrepancy and sort it out.”
“I know, but there’s a lot of money missing. Dad may not be worried about it right now, but I am.”
Suddenly, there was an all too familiar presence at my back. I didn’t know how close Lincoln was, but I could feel the heat coming from his body.
“Josie—”
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” I said, quickly ending the call and turning to see Lincoln bathed in moonlight.
He was so handsome—too handsome for my own good. Like the last piece of decadent chocolate cake you know you shouldn’t touch, or speeding down a deserted highway with the windows down and your favorite song on the radio.
And god, I wanted to feel the wind in my hair so badly I had to bite my tongue to keep my mouth shut.
But I had Ellis.
I had Ellis, and he was good for me. He came from a good family with a good reputation, and I didn’t question where he was every night or if his words were true. I didn’t question whether he was fucking another woman behind my back. Some, my sisters mainly, might have called him a safe choice, but I didn’t think I would survive another relationship failure.
As it was, I was already quickly losing faith in my ability to make decisions.
“Boyfriend?” Lincoln asked, sticking his hands in his pocket and rocking back on his heels.
