My hands clench tighter, my nails digging into the sweaty skin of my palm. Why am I sweating? It’s January. “And where will he be staying?”
She glances down at his file. “The Mayson Ranch.” She closes the folder, holding it out to me.
My smile barely shows my teeth as I give a tight nod. I grasp the folder in my hand. The one I plan to soon burn to nothing but ash. Null and void.
No way can I do this.
“Okay, everything you need to know is in there. If it makes you feel any better, take the weekend to look it over. If it’s something you can’t swing, we will have to figure a way to readjust.”
“Thank you, Dr. Whitaker. I will let you know.”
And I know exactly where I’m headed first. To see where Parker Stillwater found the sheer audacity to think he could buy me after what he did.
Chapter three
Parker
The SUV comes to a screeching halt before the driver’s door flies open. My pulse skyrockets when I see all that red hair, creamy skin, and piercing blue eyes emerge from the vehicle. The eyes that shoot daggers straight into my soul when they turn my way. She’s still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. Yet now, she carries herself differently. Strong but quiet. Resilient but fragile. I can’t help but feel I’m a part of that equation. Of the reason she’s guarded.
Her angry steps carry her across the gravel, heading toward Dakota, who pauses in the front yard of her and Cooper’s cabin.
“What’s wrong?” Dakota asks, her posture stiff.
Laiken comes to a stop, aiming her finger in my direction. “Thatis what’s wrong.”
Her raspy voice hits unexpectedly. I’ve only been able to catch glimpses of it in the last seven years and the simple sentence ricochets inside of my chest.
“Laiken?” Her name tumbles from my lips, just as natural as it used to.
She glares at me before Dakota speaks.
“What’s going on?” Her eyes bounce between us.
Laiken flails the folder in her hand in my direction. “Why don’t you ask him? He seems to be calling the shots around here.”
Cooper shifts in his boots next to me. “What the hell did you do, man?” he mutters under his breath.
“He just got here.” Dakota chuckles. “And what is this folder?”
“This folder.” Laiken tosses it onto the gravel.
Ouch.
“This folder is bull.” She crosses her arms before facing me. “And I’m not doing it.”
She’s fighting it, which means she still has some feelings in there. Which gives me something to work with. If she were indifferent, I would have been worried.
I hold in a smile. “Have you expressed this to Dr. Whitaker?”
Cooper lets out a low whistle before he walks over to Dakota. “Baby, let them have a second. They clearly have something to discuss.”
Dakota narrows her eyes at me. “Parker. Do I need to kick your ass?”
“Someone needs to,” Laiken quips.
“No need.” I speak to Dakota but keep my eyes on Laiken.
We remain silent, waiting for Dakota and Cooper to disappear into their cabin.
