Page 32 of The One Who Saw Her: Boone

Vivi felt her spine stiffen and heat climbed her neck in a mix of frustration and that old, familiar ache of not being taken seriously. She'd come in full of fire, with an idea she'd genuinely believed could help, and now it was flickering under his calm, rational stare.

She wanted to tell him to go to hell, but she had to admit to herself that his question wasn't cruel—it was the kind of question a man asks when he's spent too many years holding everything together with his bare hands and duct tape.

Still, she met his gaze squarely, refusing to shrink. "You just made ten grand you weren't counting on."

"She might have something here," Colter said with a wink in her direction, and Vivi felt herself blush.

The Callahan brothers were handsome—all three of them. Not just the kind of good-looking that made you glance once and forget it, but the kind that made one’s pulse hiccup and their thoughts scatter.

Boone, with that gruff, commanding presence, exuded a dangerous kind of control she couldn't ignore. Colter had a quiet steadiness about him—soft green eyes that seemed to read her in a way that was both comforting and unnerving. And Eli had this lethal, jagged edge that was all controlled strength, like he could see straight through every defense she had without even trying.

Even from across the room, they dominated the space. Not in a loud, showy way, but in the way men who knew exactly who they were simply carried themselves. And Vivi, trying to act casual, found herself staring anyway. Apparently, self-preservation had left the building.

"Where the hell are we going to find the time to fix the place up?" Boone asked.

"For five grand a weekend, I bet you could find the time, Grumpy Cowboy," she said.

"Grumpy Cowboy?" Colter repeated—and both brothers burst out laughing.

Boone's voice cut across the room with finality. "I'm not on board with turning the bunkhouse into some tourist trap. This isn't a theme park. It's my family's land, and I refuse to let it be turned into a sideshow."

Vivi bit her lip, trying not to flare up. She had expected resistance but the edge in his tone made her stomach tighten.

Gone was the gentle, steady man who'd bandaged her hands and made her feel seen. This version of Boone was all sharp words and dismissive tone, his voice cutting through the air like gravel. The lack of faith hit harder than it should have, knocking the breath out of her.

For a second, she just blinked at him, thrown by how quickly the warmth between them had evaporated, leaving only that cool, assessing stare she didn't know how to read.

Rea tilted her head and let out a sigh that carried the weight of decades. "Boone, darling. Sometimes the best way to protect what you love isn't by digging your heels in and refusing to move. You want to keep this land alive, don't you?"

Boone opened his mouth, but Rea held up one hand, silencing him with the authority only a grandmother could command. "Vivi has ideas. She's smart and capable, and she isn't trying to replace you. She's trying to help. You didn't build this place alone, your granddad and I did, then your parents took over. This isn't only your land. It belongs to all four of us, which means all four of us have a say. Now let us use her head to help keep it standing. You don't have to like it, but sometimes listening is part of leading."

Colter and Eli exchanged a glance, quiet approval written all over their faces. Boone shifted uncomfortably, jaw tight—but Rea's words had the undeniable effect of planting a seed.

A hard set stole across Boone's features and Vivi felt her chest clench as she watched him rise from his chair.

"I said no, so this isn't happening."

"Are you against this because it's a bad idea or because it's my idea?" Vivi asked.

"Both," he barked, the word leaving no room for negotiation. He gave her a long, piercing look, like she was being held accountable for daring to suggest it, then turned and strode from the room.

Vivi sank back into her chair, cheeks burning, stomach twisting. The excitement she'd felt just moments ago was now crushed under the weight of Boone's disapproval. She'd caused a rift. Not just with him, but with the family she'd started to feel like she belonged to. Her hands twisted in her lap as she tried to hold back tears.

Boone's dismissiveness stung in a way that felt achingly familiar. Like she'd just traded one man who didn't believe in her for another.

CHAPTER 14

Vivi was twenty-six years old, and apparently one bad night away from building a blanket fort.

She sat cross-legged inside the questionable structure she'd wedged into a quiet corner of the barn, surrounded by two hay bales, an old horse blanket, and enough bad decisions to make the whole thing list slightly to the left.

Her temples throbbed from crying half the night, and her chest still ached from Boone’s sharp rejection of her bunkhouse idea.

He hadn't shown up at her room to drag her out of bed that morning, and the barn had been empty at their usual five o'clock meeting. Part of her wanted to feel relieved—no shouting, no pots clanging, no scolding—but that thought quickly soured. She'd tried to hold her chin high, but the sting of humiliation and the ache of being dismissed still sat heavy in her chest.

So she'd opened Glow Up.

Big mistake, because today’s exercise was to do something her ten-year-ols self would have loved. Ten-year-old Vivi, it turned out, wanted a fort.