Jeremy
I haven’t stopped thinking about you.
Yeah, right.
If he thought these low-effort texts would unlock my heart, he was dead wrong. Steering his wheelbarrow of shit up to the gates of hell was the wrong move. It was nothing but fuel to my anger. A sly smile tugged at my lips. A message back might be just what I needed to distract myself from these confusing new thoughts about Callan.
Erin
I haven’t stopped thinking about you either.
Jeremy
Tell me, beautiful.
I paused to reconsider what I was about to do. When my lawyer eventually saw the message, I bet she’d sigh and do that solemn frown she liked to do.
“Rise above the pain,” she’d said. “Don’t do anything foolish to jeopardize your property settlement.”
How was it fair that Jeremy could hurt me so much, but the law stopped me from protecting myself? Rules made by old men forced me into a year-long game of limbo. A whole year. Rise above the pain? Easy for my lawyer to say.
Just wait until the judge sees this…
Erin
I was thinking about how lucky you are that all my tests came back negative.
It’s a pity, though. There are so many nice farming tools here that I’m sure one of them would’ve worked wonders on your penis.
I snorted a laugh.Restrained. My lawyer would prefer me using “penis” instead of “dirty, rotten, cheating dick,” surely?
You’re angry.
I can see how you got that medical degree. Whoa.
Erin, you’re better than this.
You’re right. I am. I’m way too good for you. Enjoy your dinner, pookie. Oh wait…
I was about to push my phone away when I saw dots flashing under Callan’s name. I hurried back to my messages and prayed he was about to say something nice about the sandwich andnotmention my hands wandering over his big, hard chest. Callan was a patient sort of man. That was a prerequisite for growing up in his house.
The dots disappeared.
Okay, he was probably getting up the courage to tell me to back off.
A picture of the blue skies soaring over the valley popped into my messages—the same skies I smiled up at.
Callan
Work was a breeze this afternoon after a lunch like that. Best I’ve ever eaten.
Erin
The best ever?
Yup. Ever. Thank you.
I pressed my phone to my chest to hide my grin from the screen. A wriggle on the outdoor lounge didn’t help scatter the tension throbbing through me. The almost-forgotten feeling was more than just needing the validation of any man. Men noticed me. I’d awkwardly laughed off a dinner invitation from a handsome tourist in the village store yesterday. His interest didn’t matter.
