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Brielle shook her head again. “I wasn’t supposed to say anything. She made me promise.”
He scowled at her and his voice lowered to a more sinister tone. “You’re going to tell me everything you know.” Dax had zero leverage. That was the worst of it. Brielle could tell him where to shove it and he’d have to accept it.
Only, he was counting on their past relationship to help him get through this moment. “I need to know, Bri. It’s important.”
She gnawed on her lower lip, her gaze darting around the truck before finally landing on his face again. “Fine. But you have to promise me this stays between us.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Dax!”
He held up his hands. “If she’s being blackmailed, I need to help her.” It didn’t matter that she’d broken his heart. In all likelihood, she had meant every word she’d said to him the last time they were together. But that didn’t change the way his heart went out to her. No matter what she did, Dax was still in love with her.
Their conversation lasted for about an hour as Brielle went over every detail, lie, and truth that Sarah had told him while she’d been visiting—at least everything that Sarah had confessed to Brielle.
Sarah wasn’t related to the sheriff. She’d been involved in something criminal with Kenneth and had gotten caught. Her community service included every little chore she did for the Callahans.
Kenneth wanted money, and Sarah believed Kenneth would walk away once he got it.
Fat chance. Guys like that were never happy with the first payment. Dax could almost guarantee that Kenneth would be around again, holding out his filthy paws for more. And if Sarah had told him, he would have reminded her as such. But it was too late now.
Or was it?
29
Sarah
Sarah hated her desk. She hated her job. And she hated the palpable smog that hung in the air. Okay, so that was an exaggeration. But after spending a little over three months in the country, she could taste a difference in the air. And it wasn’t pleasant.
She stared out the window of her corner office down at the people in the courtyard. She used to think that being so high up in a building was the most magical place a person could be. But she’d been wrong.
The exhilaration of riding a horse, the sense of kinship as she shared the property with the Callahans, and even her relationship with Dax had been the best part of her entire life.
Too bad things like that were only rooted in fairy tales.
It hadn’t taken long for the bitterness and hopelessness to creep in once returning home. Being stuck in her office and seeing her parents every single day tended to do that. She’d enjoyed her freedom at college—perhaps too much. She’d enjoyed her time at Slate Rock Ranch more, which was ironic seeing as it was a sentence.
Sarah let out a sigh and took a seat at her desk. Her lawyer would arrive soon with the NDA for Kenneth. She didn’t care that doing so was just as ridiculous as expecting him to be happy with the money she was about to transfer into an account for him. If it meant preventing Kenneth from hurting her family’s reputation, then she’d do just about anything.
Besides, her time at the firm wasn’t going to be forever. Even if she couldn’t be with Dax, she fully intended on walking away from this place and the misery it gave her. She’d take her money and get a small property outside of the city limits. Maybe get a horse or two.
A smile touched her lips at the thought of being closer in proximity to Dax, then immediately it fell from her face. He wouldn’t forgive her. Not after the way she left things. He already had a hard time with trust, and she’d hurt him deeply.
It had taken all of her mental strength not to find him the day she left and tell him she was sorry. There had been truth in her words—a sense of unease surrounding his past alcoholism. But it hadn’t been enough to break up over.
That was all Kenneth.
She let out a frustrated sigh. Maybe this was karma. She was being punished for everything she’d done since starting college. She might as well get used to this lonely feeling because there was no one she’d rather be with than Dax.
A light knock sounded at the door and she lifted her head to find her secretary peering into her office. “Your lawyer is here.”
Sarah nodded and rose from her desk. “Send him in.”
Her secretary held open the door and stepped aside, allowing Mr. Goldblum into the room. The man looked more tired and harried than he’d been when this whole fiasco started. He’d been the only one out of her family’s herd of lawyers that she knew she could trust to keep her affairs private. And he’d followed her requests perfectly.
His grim expression only hinted at the irritation she knew both of them felt regarding this topic. Mr. Goldblum held out a file he had in his hands. “I don’t understand why you’re even bothering with this. That boy will keep the secret only if it’s in his best interest. What are you going to do if he demands more money?”
“I won’t give it to him.” She accepted the folder and flipped it open.
