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“Mr. Donovan,” Annie says, her voice clear and confident. She gives him a wide, slightly scary, smile. “You don’t know me, but my name’s Annie. You must be so proud of your beautiful family. To have a daughter who is smart and kind, and a wonderful mother to your granddaughter. To have a son who is so close with his brother that he gave up a job to work with him. And to have another son who has worked so hard to start such a wonderful company that he’s able to employ a bunch of people—me, included—and garner the interest of a huge investor.”
I swivel my head from Annie to my father, who is one hundred percent not used to being put in his place. Constance is pale, Lana Mae is hiding a shocked smile behind her hand, and my dad looks, well, vaguely stunned.
His eyebrows shoot up and he looks at me skeptically. “Investor, huh?”
“We haven’t secured the investment yet,” I cut in smoothly, not wanting to get ahead of anything.
Annie covers my hand with hers. Smiles. “But they will. They’re a shoo-in,” she says confidently, her eyes never leaving mine.
My gaze softens as I take in all her red-cheeked, indignant glory. Annie’s got my back—got Luke and Lana’s backs too. And it feels, well… nice.
Unfortunately, the moment is short-lived. My dad’s expression goes from surprised to smug as his eyes zero in on our clasped hands.
“Word of advice,dear,” he says coldly. “If Liam is, indeed, your employer, I suggest you think twice about sleeping with the boss to get ahead.”
Annie reels backwards like she’s been slapped, and a surge of white-hot anger blinds me.
“Never, ever speak to her like that again,” I say in a low, steely growl.
My father blinks. Dabs the corner of his mouth with a napkin. “Excuse me?”
I drop my voice to a hiss. My hand reaches for Annie’s as I keep my eyes on my father. “You can go after me and criticize my life choices all you want, but don't you dare talk to Annie like that. In fact, do her a favor and don’t talk to her at all. Stay the hell away from her altogether.”
My dad’s eyes are bugging out of his face, but he makes a strange huffing sound that I take to be an affirmation.
“Good.” I glance at Annie, and my demeanor and voice both automatically soften. “Want to get out of here?”
She nods, her eyes huge.
I throw an apologetic look in Lana Mae’s direction and I’m relieved to see that Legs is still happily locked into Candy Crush on her mom’s phone, swinging her legs. She didn’t hear any of that.
“Sorry,” I say to my sister.
She smirks in return, clearly enjoying herself. “Not atall. Legs and I were just about to leave, too.”
“Good night, everyone,” I say, purposely not looking at my father and Constance, who are both still frozen in some kind of shock.
Annie gives a wobbly smile. “Nice to meet you.”
She’s a ray of sunshine even now. I don’t deserve her.
And the least I can do is get her out of here. I kiss Legs on the top of the head, then drag Annie by the hand through the dining hall, into the foyer and out to the grounds of the ranch.
My hand tightens around hers as I stride forward, static buzzing in my ears. The night is cool and breezy, but I’m burning. Burning with shame and humiliation and… anger. The feeling is foreign. Heavy.
I can’t remember the last time I let myself feel my anger. Feel the enormity of the screwed up situation that is my relationship with my dad. How much I miss my mom.
For so long after she died, I was emotionally drained. Shut down. But tonight, here with Annie, it’s like she’s torn down my walls.
Right now, she’s silent at my side, skipping slightly as she overcompensates to match my pace. She casts a worried look in my direction, but doesn’t ask anything.
When we’re at the creek, standing by the water in the moonlight, wind whistling through the trees and not a soul in sight, I stop. Drop her hand.
“Annie,” I begin, unsure what to say. Where to start. How can I begin to explain?
She looks up with such a kind understanding in her eyes, it makes my heart ache. She presses her palm to my chest, spreading her fingers over my heart, which is pounding erratically.
“You don’t owe me an explanation,” she says simply.
