AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re a stubborn ass.”
“You knew that when you agreed to—”
“Are you done painting those steps or not? We didn’t exactly announce we were leaving the house, and we’ve been gone awhile,” she said, done discussing the matter.
“I’ve never seen you avoid anything. Should I be flattered I’m the first?”
Her jaw ticked. She marched past me and swiped up the keys from the grass where I’d laid them. “You want your truck back? Come get it yourself.” She hopped up on the porch, propped open the screen door, and poked her head inside. “Leona. We have to get moving before they call out a search party,” she hollered.
“I called Grandmama. She said for us to stay as long as we wanted.”
Mulaney’s grip on the doorframe tightened, and she looked back at me like I’d conspired against her. “What are you smiling about?”
“Mulaney Jacobs, you better come in here and see an old woman. It’s been a coon’s age,” Grandma Carter called.
Her shoulders dropped. She pointed at me, all unrestrained fury. “You won’t always get your way.”
The screen door slammed behind her.
“Don’t need to,” I said to the empty space. Mulaney thought she could handle me like a business deal, that I’d sign a bunch of useless papers? Like hell I’d ever consider it. Soon she’d come around, and we’d burn the damn things in a fire, because when it came to our agreement, I most definitely would get my way.
Chapter Fifteen
Mulaney
“You missed the turn.”
We’d stayed over an hour at Grandma Carter’s house, and for as much as I wanted to be mad about it, I couldn’t. I’d missed her, missed talking with the Carters about things other than business. The last time we’d simply visited had been too long ago.
Easton lifted a brow. “I’m going by the filling station. The truck’s on fumes.”
My face heated. It was bad enough I had to spend more time with Easton while he took us back to the ranch, but it was my own fault I didn’t fill the tank before I returned the truck. I’d been totally focused on the mission at hand with Leona. “They won’t be open today.”
“They’ll be open.”
“Didn’t you do that to Great-Granddaddy too?” Leona asked, little smarty-pants.
“I don’t know what either of y’all are talking about.”
“Daddy said you used to leave the car on empty all the time.”
I bet he did. “You know he’s always trying to make me look bad. He can’t stand I’m the favorite.”
“Grandmama says I am,” she said without an ounce of boastfulness.
I turned around and looked at her through the opening between the seats. “You mean to tell me I’ve lost that spot with Mama too? This is that younger brother of mine’s fault. Everything was fine before he came along.” I righted in my seat and folded my arms over my chest.
“If you need to be someone’s favorite, you can be mine.”
I hugged myself even tighter as I stared straight ahead.
“Problem solved,” Leona said. “I get to be Grandmama’s favorite and you can be Easton’s.”
I wanted to be irritated, but the girl had had a hell of a day. Taking pregnancy tests on Christmas Day wasn’t ideal, though necessary. We’d gone overkill, using no less than five different tests to be absolutely sure. I’d never realized the power those little sticks held until this afternoon, and now they were on the back seat floorboard as if they couldn’t have possibly changed our whole lives. The residual effects of the scare would linger with both of us for a while. Her showing signs of her old self was progress, even if it was at my expense. I wouldn’t even think about what Easton had just said or how it affected me more than I cared to admit.
“Problem solved,” I muttered.
Dierks Bentley and Elle King sang low in the background about how things were different for girls. I’d yet to turn off the blasted custom playlist, but this was the first song Easton missed the mark on. If I ever was fool enough to have my heart broken again, I’d definitely tape it back together with a whiskey and Coke. That was a far better solution than wallowing in emotions I didn’t have time for.
