"I'm going to sue you for alienation of affection!"
"Go ahead," I replied, easily. "I'll give you the name of a good lawyer. In the meantime, stop harassing Parker."
Tyler rolled his shoulders back and lifted his chin, trying his best to give us a withering glare. "I'm not harassing her. She's still my wife."
"Not for long," Parker said. "And I'll say one more time, I only want to communicate with you through our lawyers. I can't make you leave Heartstone, thanks to my father's insane ideas about marriage, but I don't have to talk to you."
Tyler lifted his chin even more, making me wonder, for just a second, if he was going to tip over backward. My lips curved in a faint grin, the need to hit Tyler draining away. He was a miserable human being, but he was only a speed bump. We just had to tolerate him long enough for him to get bored and leave Heartstone. Knowing Tyler, that wouldn't take long.
Which reminded me, as long as I had him here... "Why did you come to Heartstone, Tyler? I can't figure it out."
"I came to give Parker one last chance to come back to me."
"If that's it," Parker said, "you might as well leave. I'm not going anywhere with you. Ever."
The petulant look faded from Tyler's face, leaving his eyes sharp and assessing as he studied Parker. Something about that look left me feeling uneasy. Maybe it was the sudden feeling that the accusations, the tantrum, were all an act. He knew Parker was done with him.
"Are you leaving, then?" I pressed. "Now that you know all she wants is a divorce?"
Tyler crossed his arms over his chest, a smirk twisting his mouth. "I don't think so. Thanks to our dear mother, I no longer have a home. Might as well use this one, for now. Even if the Manor is a dump. You two can keep playing house. I'll get what I want in the end." He lifted his chin again and strode past us, taking the porch steps in one leap and striding down the path to the Manor.
We followed him out, making sure he really was gone. Beside me, Parker said, "I wish I knew what the hell he wants. I know it's not me. I thought it was money, but I offered to buy him off and he wasn't interested."
"He wants to win," I answered, my gut speaking instead of my brain.
Parker leaned back and looked up at me. "I don't know what that means."
"Neither do I," I said, more to myself than to her. "He trapped you in here? Did he touch you? Hurt you?"
Parker shook her head. "He all but admitted he did something to the electrical at the Manor. He was a jerk, and a bully, but he didn't touch me. Or threaten me." She fell silent, thinking. "He didn't do a single thing we could bring to West or Harvey. Sadly, being a raging asshole isn't illegal."
"Sadly, it's not," I agreed. "If it were, he and your dad would have been out of our hair a long time ago."
Staring at the summer sky, the green grass waving in the breeze, Parker mused, "It's so typical of Prentice that he set up his will to try to keep us from leaving our spouses when he died, while he discarded wives like they were used tissues." She shook her head. "God forbid any of us use the inheritance to get out of a bad marriage. 'Till death do us part, except for him. The worst thing is realizing that, in a way, I married my father. All those years of wanting to escape, and I did the opposite."
I squeezed her into my side, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Don't do that, sweetheart. The past is the past. We're moving on."
Parker turned into me, wrapping her arms around my waist. "Yes, we are."
"Could you do me a favor?" I asked, deciding to press my advantage while I had her feeling affectionate.
"Mmm?"
"I don't want you alone. I don't care what Tyler says, he clearly targeted you today. I–"
"Okay. We'll have to figure something out, because I have work and so do you, but you're right. Until we understand what he's up to, I think we should be careful. He might come after you next."
I hadn't considered that. Until we figured out what Tyler really wanted, we wouldn't be able to predict what he'd do. "I don't believe this is as simple as Tyler needing a roof over his head, or wanting you back," I said, thinking out loud.
"Neither do I," Parker agreed. "I think this just turned into a game of wait and see. All we can do is stick together and hope he finds something else to entertain him."
I thought about the calculating look in Tyler's eyes as he'd watched Parker and me. I was all about sticking together. At the moment, I could work anywhere as long as I had my laptop and a cell signal. I'd bring a folding table to the cottage and set up here, or work in our suite.
I wanted to think we could wait Tyler out. He'd never stuck with anything for long, even the marriage he was so determined to preserve. But something about the way he'd looked at us, the way he'd shifted gears so abruptly, had my radar pinging hard.
He wants to win.
I'd said it without thinking.
