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Kyle focuses on me now, his expression much more unpleasant than Mabel’s. John is munching on corn, unbothered.
“You’re not hungry?” Kyle picks up a rib, eyes on me as sauce coats his fingers.
I shake my head, tempted to sip more water but also refusing to show any weakness. “I don’t eat meat.”
“You don’t eat meat.”
His flat, disbelieving tone rankles me.
“You’ve never heard of being vegetarian?”
“I’ve heard of it. Just never met one.”
I can’t tell if he’s kidding or not. I’m not sure if this sour version of Kyle knows what a joke is.
“Well, now, you have.”
His gaze remains on me. “We eat a lot of meat around here.”
“I’ll manage.” I lean forward, using the tongs to transfer some greens and a cob of corn to my plate.
Kyle’s disbelieving scoff is the last sound he makes for the rest of dinner.
CHAPTERSIX
KYLE
Istare up at the ceiling of my childhood bedroom, listening to the low hum of the air-conditioning. The window unit is an improvement from summers growing up. I used to jump into the pond in the west field before dinner and then sleep directly in front of the fan as a kid.
Mabel and John never upgraded the years I was gone, but I only lasted two days back in Oak Grove before driving into town and picking up three air conditioners. They do a decent job of cooling the bedrooms.
But I’m not certain there are even fans in the old bunkhouse. When I was younger, I’d sleep out there with friends, but that was over a decade ago now.
I think Linnia used to clean in there in addition to the main house, but I’m not sure about that. Mabel didn’t even tell me the housekeeper one of my assistants had hired moved back to her hometown until I came back. She and John always resisted any assistance I offered them. I would have insisted though, had I known the state the property was in.
And now, I’m lying in bed, wrestling with guilt because Piper Egan decided to show up at my ranch and she’s more stubborn than I was expecting.
I assumed she’d scare easily. That she’d take one look at the run-down surroundings and hightail it back to New York. I figured she’d at least leave to sleep at a hotel. But she didn’t. Piper thanked Mabel for dinner—more like the veggies she’d nibbled at—and then headed back to the less-than-luxurious accommodations by the south pasture. I didn’t even offer to walk her back, which Mabel’s hard gaze judged me for until I left the table too.
I don’twanther to stay, is the problem.
Had Carl Bergman consulted me on sending someone here, which he obviously didn’t, Piper would have been my last choice.
Something about her—maybe the obvious disdain directed my way—has always intrigued me. That moment I first saw her standing in her blue rain boots on a sunny day has stuck with me, just like I knew it would.
And now, she’shere, making a mess out of what was supposed to be an easy exit.
Making me feel badly for conveying she’s unwelcome when that’s exactly what she is.
Adding more stress to what was supposed to be a reset and instead has been nothing but a headache.
Irritated, I fling the sheet off and roll out of bed. Pull on the shorts I wore earlier since Mabel is an insomniac with a tendency to wander when she can’t sleep.
She won’t be embarrassed about seeing me in my boxers, but I’ll be uncomfortable. It’s an awkward reminder that I’m a twenty-eight-year-old multimillionaire, living with a married couple in their early fifties. I’m surprised Piper didn’t have a snarky comment to share about the strange dynamic. I’m certain the only reason she didn’t mention it is that she’s hoping that I’ll agree to sign if she’s nice to me. Watching her struggle to come up with polite comments during dinner was the best entertainment I’d had in months.
Floorboards creak as I leave my room and walk the slanting hallway that leads toward the stairs. Despite its many issues, this house has a character that’s been lacking in every place I’ve lived since leaving Oak Grove. I spent most of that time staying in fancy hotels or luxurious rentals filled with glass and chrome and marble.
Nothing soft or welcoming.
