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She held up a hand when Bo called after her, but Daniel got to him first.
“Let her go. She doesn’t belong here.”
He was right. Shedidn’tbelong.
Not yet.
But that was about to change and Daniel Reese would be eating his words.
Megan charged toward the family setup. She clenched and relaxed her hands several times, digging her perfectly manicured nails into the palms of her skin just so she could prevent herself from making a scene in front of her cousin’s new family.
To be fair, everyone here seemed lovely. They had all been welcoming and apologetic when Daniel had thrown his temper tantrum. Jennifer had tried to make excuses, none of which Megan really paid any attention to. Her focus had been on Daniel as he took off like a villain in a book on that horse.
Heck, he had a black hat and matching cowboy boots to make it quite an exit.
The worst part was how dang attractive he was. She’d been prepared to come up against some of the locals in a turf war. That happened everywhere. She’d even been prepared when she found out that Gabby’s new brother-in-law owned the coffee shop across the street. Bo had been the one to insist on keeping it a secret from his family and she’d been fine with that.
It wasn’t her family she had to live with.
But what she hadn’t been prepared for was the butterflies that had burst from hiding within her chest when she’d met the one and only Daniel Reese. She loathed that her heart was trying to make things difficult.
That had to be the reason she ended up in the barn when she had. Against her better judgment, she’d allowed her heart to go rogue and try to mend the bridges that would help her make it in this town.
Megan arrived at the table to a surprised Gabby. She grabbed her cousin’s hand and pulled her away from the group. Her back to the table, she lowered her voice to ensure that no one would be able to hear her. “I want you to take me home.”
Gabby laughed a little louder than necessary. “You realize that this is home, right?”
A vague memory of Gabby telling Megan all about the house that Bo had built for her on this very property came to mind. She hadn’t thought ahead enough to find a temporary housing and the bookstore didn’t have anywhere she could set up a bed. She was going to be stuck on this ranch with the one man who would rather see her die a horrible death than watch her succeed across the street from him. Maybe that was a bit of a dramatic take, but it’s exactly what she thought of Daniel right now.
She pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned. This wasn’t ideal, but she’d have to work with it. “Okay, well I only see one house right here, so where is your house?”
“It’s not quite finished yet. We’re supposed to close in about a month.”
Megan’s head shot up. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Her voice was loud enough she wouldn’t have been surprised if Daniel and Bo had heard it in the barn all the way across the property. Not even taking a deep breath would help alleviate her blood pressure as it continued to mount. “Are you telling me that when you told me I could stay with you, I would be staying in the same house as my competition?”
Gabby’s chagrined expression was all the proof Megan needed. She was officially done for. Fire seared her cheeks making every part of her feel sweaty even though the temperatures were dropping as they headed into the autumn months. “Don’t you think you should have mentioned something like that? I would have told you that keeping this information from Bo’s family was a bad idea. Avery badidea, Gabbs!” She chanced a look toward the barn, not surprised to find Daniel and Bo headed in their direction. “I don’t think anyone who lives here will want me anywhere near this place after what just went down.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re practically family.”
“No, I’m not. Why even say that?” Her blush deepened as she sought an escape—any escape that would get her away from this family until she could compose herself. “Daniel doesn’t know that I’m staying, does he?”
“Only Bo’s folks.”
Megan groaned again. “I can’t do this. You know I can’t.”
“Why not? Daniel needs to grow up and see this as an opportunity,”
“You try telling him that,” Megan hissed. “Go on, he’s coming our way. Tell him that the person he clearly hates above all else is going to be living with him for the next month. Idareyou.”
Gabby shoved her playfully. “Look who’s blowing this all out of proportion, now?”
Megan was grasping for straws, desperate for another solution. “I thought you had an apartment. What happened to that?”
“My lease was up and we thought it would be better to just stay at the ranch temporarily. Honestly, Megan, it’s fine. This place is absolutely huge. Just relax.”
“She’swhat?” Daniel’s voice blurted loud enough for everyone to take note.
Megan closed her eyes briefly. It sounded like his mother just gave him the news. They probably should have told him before he went on his ride to clear his head. At least then he could have decided if he wanted to come back or go riding off into the sunset. “See?” she muttered under her breath. “He’s not happy. This is going to tear your family apart.”
