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Fuck.
“I didn’t ask Remi to hire you,” I hedge.
“But?” she bites out between her clenched jaw.
“But, I did bring you to his attention,” I say.
She growls and balls her fists.
“Why, Hayes? Because you wanted me here so badly that you’d convince your friend to give me a job I wouldn’t be considered for otherwise? How do you think that makes me feel? After everything I shared with you, you know that is the very last thing I would want,” she says and starts for the door.
My arm whips out like a lasso and I draw her to me.
“No, you aren’t leaving,” I say. “And scream because the closest house is three empty lots away. And you’ll be screaming for nothing because you know I will not hurt a hair on your head to keep you from leaving,” I say.
She looks pointedly at her arm, where my hand is cuffed around it.
I let go.
“I’m not holding you, but you’re not walking out of here over that. You needed a job. This one was perfect for you, and Remington already had your resume. He just needed someone to vouch for you. And I did,” I say. “But you know him now. Do you think he would have hired you because his friend asked him to? His twin sister works somewhere else because he won’t hire her,” I remind her.
Some of the fight flows out of her.
“Why didn’t you tell me, then?” she questions. Her voice is raised to a near shout, her eyes are pools of conflict. She’s angry, hurt, but she also … understands.
“Because you are so fucking stubborn, Tesoro,” I say in exasperation. “You would have cut off your nose to spite your face and spit in Remi’s the minute you knew I was involved,” I say.
“I would not have,” she says.
“Liar,” I taunt her.
“I would not have. Not everything is about you,” she says.
“Liar,” I say again.
“Stop saying that,” she says angrily.
“Stop lying,” I say.
“You are not a mind reader!” she yells now. She’s practically vibrating, but with something much more potent, vibrant, and transformative than anger. It is relief and acquiescence. She’s relenting.
I press my advantage.
“You and I are cut from the same cloth, molded from the same earth, sky, water, and fire. I can read you.” I trace a line down her forearm.
“Did you do this because you wanted me to take you back?” she asks and points out at the development.
“Partly, yes. But not just because I want you on my arm and in my bed, but because I need you by my side,” I say.
“You do?” she asks, and I laugh at the surprise in her voice.
I nod over at the window, at the land. “I could have sold it. It’s some of the most valuable land in Texas. But, what’s the point of enriching my family and living in a walled off castle when the rest of the world is burning or in Houston’s case, drowning. But I wouldn’t have considered if I hadn’t met you. At least, not as quickly,” I admit.
“So, you did it because—"
“Because I knew it was the right thing to do. The only thing I could do. You said this should be a personal problem. And you’re right. When I think about what I want the legacy of my times as head of this family to be, I find that preserving it isn’t enough. Not just for the sake of it, anyway. That land has sat empty for two hundred years. It doesn’t flood, the only real expense of it are the property taxes, and because it was a donation and they’re a 501(c) (3), it’s a nice tax holiday for all of us. So, win-win,” I say with a shrug.
“My brother is on death row. He killed my father during one of their drunken rages,” she blurts out suddenly and I freeze.
