AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I like having you and Ford around.” Maggie walked away after kissing his cheek, leaving him standing there wondering why life had to be complicated with all this peopling crap.
He wandered to the windows. It wasn’t that he didn’t like people, he just didn’t need to have them in his face constantly. He liked his own company, and while he spent time with Ford and his dad, and other hands on the ranch, he also spent a lot of time alone.
Walking outside while no one was looking, he moved around the group of people to the side and kept walking until he was alone. He leaned against a wall and looked at the view. Not that he could see much except discreet lights and gardens. But he felt them, the mountains. This place had touched something inside him when he’d first come here. Peace had settled on him when Ted walked him over the land he now owned.
“I know what she’s done, Hugo. Just leave it alone; we’ll be like her if we fight back.”
Leaning forward, he looked left and found Luna McKinley. She had a phone pressed to her ear and was staring into the night. He was behind a column, so she couldn’t see him.
“She hates me, no point in sugarcoating it. Also, no point in trying to defend ourselves. The woman is fueled by rage, power, and not much else.”
He watched her as she gripped the railing, then dropped down into a knee bend. She was supple, no getting around that fact. The light was weaker here, but he watched her skirt creep up her thighs. This was not going to help his visions.
“Hugo, we can’t stop her. If we say or do anything, it will look like sour grapes. Just leave it. Nothing we do or say will change Olivia Tyler, so we ignore her.” She rose to her feet again. Her accent wasn’t quite as classy now she was pissed. Nash liked it more.
He wondered who Olivia Tyler was; not that he cared. But she obviously wasn’t on Luna McKinley’s guest list.
“I put what where?” she said, her voice rising. “I didn’t do that.” More silence, and then she said, “I’m sure I would have remembered doing that, but okay, I must have. I need to go, Hugo, talk soon.”
She finished the call, then dropped the phone into her bag, which he was sure was filled with a whole shit ton of crap like his sister’s and mother’s were. He thought she’d leave then, but she didn’t. She braced her elbows on the railing and looked out into the night. As he watched, her shoulders slumped, and her entire body seemed to sink downward.
He could feel the despair coming off her in waves. Nash even felt himself move toward her, but then her phone rang again. Her sigh was loud. She shook out her hands before digging around in her bag again and pulling out her cell phone.
“Hi, Sadie.”
She may have looked like the weight of the world was on her shoulders seconds ago, but her voice didn’t show it.
“He did what?”
Her shoulders were back now as she looked out at the night sky.
“Okay, well you just leave him lying there. He can wake up cold with his usual sore head.”
Nash watched as she dropped into another deep knee bend until she was crouching with her forehead pressed to the railings.
“Did you get that money I sent you? You and Sydney are paying the bills, right?”
He should leave, but she blocked his exit. Nash was a private person and knew he had no right to listen to her call, but he also didn’t want to alert her that he was here and scare her again.
“So, I just have one more payment and the mortgage is finished and the place is yours. I will also send over the money for your fees and some extra.”
Who was she talking to?
“Yeah, I know, and when I’m old you can look after me. I wish I could bring you two out here.”
Family? Her next words confirmed that.
“I know Dad needs you, but he’s the adult, and maybe he should start behaving like one. Okay, we won’t talk about that anymore, but if you need me, just call. I’ll be over in a few months, and we can sort out more things. Is Mrs. Beadle still coming in every day?”
She pushed hair behind her shoulders with long fingers.
“Good. At least she’s making you healthy food. Love you too. Hug Syd for me.”
She was still crouched with her head pressed to the railings. Clearly, she was supple; his knees would be creaking by now. When the call was done, she pressed the phone to her chest and just stayed there.
Defeated, Nash thought. That’s how she looked.
He didn’t like the woman and hated what she stood for. He was intelligent enough to know that wasn’t fair, because not everyone who did what she did was a bad person, but it was how he felt. Her face wasn’t her fault either. Or her body, for that matter.
He didn’t like to see people in pain, and Luna McKinley was hurting. Yes, he wore the label of grouchy asshole, but it didn’t mean he was one all the way through. Right then, he could feel empathy for a woman who was clearly unhappy. Before he could move, someone called her name.
She rose. Inhaled and exhaled three times. Shook her head as if to clear it. Then she walked away, leaving Nash standing there wondering why the hell a woman who had all that she clearly did was so unhappy, and why he cared.
Why had seeing her hurting made an ache lodge itself under his ribs? He hoped after a night’s rest it would be gone.
