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“That’s a first.”
“—So I’ll make this quick,” Kyle continued. “Hand over the house, and we can keep this whole ordeal a secret.”
I clenched my jaw. Here it was, their plan all along, I imagine. “You’re insane.”
“It’s simple really.” Kyle shrugged, completely unphased by the evils in his plan. “You broke company policy. You’ll be fired in the morning. Which means your agreement with your parents is also broken, and you lose your inheritance. There’s no way you can afford this place without it. Christ, the taxes alone will be astronomical!”
“That’s your opinion. I’ll think of something.”
“Fine. Then, I’ll be forced to tell your parents about this.”
My chest tightened, threatening to suffocate me if I didn’t come up with a solution soon. This could not be happening. I would not lose my home to these people. They would toss all of my grandmother’s belongings into boxes and either sell them at auction or leave them on the side of the road. Every inch of this house would be redone and changed into something cold and modern to reflect Kyle’s tastes. Nothing of the original Hummingbird Hollow would remain but the frame. At least, nothing any of us would recognize.
“Isn’t that what you wanted all along?” I snapped. “Anything you could use against me.”
“Don’t be stupid.” Kyle was clearly losing his patience. He shook his head, squeezing his eyes closed to alleviate the anger building behind them. “You don’t even want the house. You’re always ready to move on to the next thing. Give us the house, and you get to keep your inheritance and whatever Mommy and Daddy want to throw your way. You’ll be set for life. You can buy your own house somewhere in Monaco for all I care. This is what works best for everyone.”
I stared him down, not answering, not backing down. There was no way around this. I couldn’t afford the house. What job could I do with no experience that would provide all the expenses on a multi-million dollar home? But I couldn’t simply hand it over to him either. It meant losing. It meant admitting defeat. And neither of those things described me.
“You have twenty-four hours to make a decision,” Kyle said, turning toward the door to leave. “After that, I’ll assume no reply is a ‘no’ and send your parents the sad news of your termination.”
I stared at the door, even after he’d closed it, for another five minutes. I didn’t notice Hunter standing behind me until his arm looped around my waist. He drew me back against him. My heart galloped. My throat tightened and my body echoed its final goodbye.
This was the end. I could think of no other way to get out of this mess.
“Why didn’t you tell me what was at stake?” Hunter’s breath feathered across my temple.
“Would it have made a difference?”
Silence reigned a moment longer, then he said, “What are you going to do?”.
I shrugged, unsure myself what the next steps might be. “There isn’t really much I can do, is there?”
“You can’t give them the house, Lyndsey. They’ll tear everything apart.”
“I know that.” I certainly didn’t need to hear it confirmed. “But if I don’t, I will lose it anyway. Some bank will take it, or the government, then sell it at auction to a complete stranger.”
“You don’t know that.”
I pulled out of his embrace and faced him. He’d already dressed, though his hair still looked a mess. Hot and disheveled was more like it.
Dammit. This was no time for distractions. This whole mess started because I couldn’t control my libido.
That wasn’t true. It had never just been about the sex with Hunter. He was the only thing that made staying in this town worthwhile.
“You’re right; I don’t know that,” I said finally. “But the possibilities of me keeping this place are so far out of my favor, I might as well give up now.”
“And then what? You’ll just pick up and go?”
It’s what I’d wanted from the start. I hadn’t planned on staying here forever. I didn’t even want the house. Now, I was contemplating living in this town, even if it was without the one place I could call home.
“Maybe it’s all for the best,” I said. “Maybe I was never meant to stay here forever.”
“That’s crazy.” Hunter pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a step back as if to catch his breath. “So, what? You’re just leaving because of this?”
“I’m not leaving. I just...I don’t know what to do.” Because I didn’t. This wasn’t a simple decision.
“You stay and fight for what’s yours,” he said.
