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I glance at the time, noting that it’s already coming up on five and Brent’s probably waiting for me to come join them at the kitchen table. I’m sure he and Nathan will be fine without me. Brent’s probably still in the office stressing over whatever got him in a twist earlier. Considering the way he snapped at me, I have a feeling it’s best that I don’t show up tonight.
My phone rings again from the kitchen counter and I groan at Heath’s name — does he realize he has me working a job here? What could he possibly need right now that can’t wait until tomorrow?
It’s the last thing I want to do right now, but I reluctantly accept the call and bring the phone to my ear. I keep my eye on the milk that I’m heating up on the stove, making sure I don’t burn it, and say, “Heath, hi, did you need something?”
He scoffs. “Yes, Sydney, I do — I need you to answer my calls when I make them, think you could manage that?”
I roll my eyes. “I was just doing the job you sent me out here to do, so what do you want that can’t wait?”
“Always an attitude, Syd. I was just calling to check in, see if you have anything new for me when you make it back tomorrow.”
“There’s nothing more than what I’ve already given you, Heath.” It’s not a complete lie because even if I was still taking notes, there isn’t anything going on around here that would be worth telling Heath. Nothing that pertains to the job, at least. I highly doubt he wants me to write a note stating that I’ve got the hots for the guy he wants to throw to the wolves — at least, that’s what I’m assuming is happening since that’s what he and his father specialize in.
Heath growls through the other line. “Syd, this is becoming increasingly difficult. Do I need to send someone else there to get the job done for you?”
“I’m not sure what you want me to do. There’s nothing worth mentioning in my notes.”
“Well, find something, dammit.”
Before I can respond, the call blinks away and I turn the heat off for the milk. There’s a mug sitting on the counter that I rinse out quickly, then get a ladle and scoop some of the milk into the cup. The rich scent of chocolate fills the air as I mix everything together and I moan, then carry the cup into the living room and curl up on the couch.
If Heath wanted to find out information on Brent’s ranch so badly, maybe he should’ve come out here and done it himself. Maybe then he would see for himself that there isn’t much more information to give him than what I already did and I highly doubt anyone else coming here would change that. He just has to come to terms with the idea that a property he was interested in isn’t as interesting as he thought it was.
I click through the movies on Netflix, trying to find one that I haven’t seen yet, but it’s pointless. Most of my time spent here at night is watching movies, so all the ones I’d be interested in are pretty much already watched. Instead of going with something I haven’t seen, I find a TV show I’ve watched a million times and play it from the beginning — again.
Part of me feels bad for staying in tonight when I told Brent I’d come there for dinner with him and Nathan, but I don’t want to get any closer to the two of them than I already have. It’s already hurting more and more each time I leave, it will only get worse if I keep getting closer to them. Heath sends me a colorful text about how terrible of an employee I am, but I only flip my phone over and turn my attention to Meredith Grey — a badass from Grey’s Anatomy.
If Heath has anything he wants to say, he can wait until I get there tomorrow morning and say it to me. I’m not going to take his shit when he can’t even have the courage to say it all to my face, it’s pathetic.
Instead of worrying about what Heath could do to me when I get into the city tomorrow, my mind turns to Brent and Nathan as I wonder what they could be eating tonight.
I’m stupid if I think I’ll be able to turn my back on this place so easily.
Chapter 19
Brent
The pounding on my office door has me straightening in my chair and I mumble for whoever it is to come inside, praying that it’s not Sydney after the way I snapped at her the first time. Nathan slips through the crack in the door and takes a seat on the sofa with me, his gaze darting toward my desk where the book sits open on it. He runs a hand down his face, guilt shining in his eyes as he looks over at me.
“You knew,” I mutter matter-of-factly.
He nods slowly, then leans back into the cushions. “I’m not sure what we can do to help with the repairs. I even tried buttering up the lady at the bank a few weeks back after I got the area cleaned up all the way and it didn’t work.”
“Yeah, they already told me the last time I took out a loan that they wouldn’t be able to give me any more for a while.” I’m not a banker, so I have no clue what a while means and I didn’t bother asking. At the time, I didn’t think I’d need another loan for a while. “I’ve got a few ideas written down over there, but I’m not sure they can give us everything we need for the repair.”
Nathan lifts from the couch and walks over to the desk, grabbing the notebook paper lying on top and scanning the paper with creased brows. He sighs and lets the sheet of paper fall back onto the surface. “It will help a little bit, but not as much as we might hope it will.”
There’s a conflicting look in his eyes that has me leaning up and studying him. ‘What is it?” If he has any other ideas that will generate more money than the ones I came up with, I’m all ears at this point.
He clears his throat and shakes his head. “I’m not sure you’ll agree with where my head’s at, Dad.”
I sigh. “Try me, son, because we have to do something about this. I’m all out of better ideas.”
“There’s a derby —”
“No,” I snap, cutting him off completely.
Don’t get me wrong, I was going to give him the chance to figure out his career, but I wasn’t prepared for it to happen this quickly. I need time to process what he’s wanting to do with his life and this isn’t going to give me that.
