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“Wh-wh-what danger?” I whisper, tripping over my words and quickly losing the ability to think the longer this man’s warm, hard body doesn’t move away from mine.
“What happens when one of these men changes their mind about being okay with a woman slapping them and decides to retaliate? Or when one of his idiot, drunk friends starts calling him a pussy, it pisses him off, and he decides to take it out on you? Not just no, butfuck no.”
He finally steps back from me, pushing off the bar with his hands and giving me enough breathing room that I can think straight and shoot him an annoyed glare.
“Nothing like that would ever happen.” I scoff. “You’re being ridiculous.”
“Unless you can guarantee me with 100-percent certainty that you will never,everbe harmed, no.”
Warmth spreads through my body and makes my heart clench at how worried he is about my safety. He’s the only person in my life who has ever been worried about my safety, but that doesn’t mean I’m not still pissed off that he’s immediately shooting down my brilliant idea.
“You are so infuriating. You know you make me want to scream, right?”
“Oh, I’m well aware. Just do me a favor and hold off on that for now.”
“And why is that?” I huff in annoyance at being told what to do again.
Before I can brace myself, Ford is resting his hands back on the bar on either side of me again… standing too close, invading my space, and making every brain cell I have short-circuit while he puts his mouth right back by my ear to speak in a low, gruff voice.
“The first time I make you scream my name, it’s not gonna be because you’re pissed at me.”
His cell phone suddenly starts ringing from on top of the bar. The music playing over the speakers and low hum of conversation immediately rushes back into my ears, like everything around me and Ford had been put on pause for a few seconds. I don’t even realize I was holding my breath until it suddenly whooshes out of me when he moves away from me again to snatch his phone up into his hand. Letting out a string of curses as he looks at the screen, he silences the call and shoves the phone in the breast pocket of his flannel before turning and walking away. Like whatever the hell just happened never happened.
“I’ve got shit to do. I’ll see you later.”
As soon as he disappears out the door of the bar and into the bright sunshine on this beautiful fall day, I finally remember how to speak again.
“What. In the actual.Fuck?” I’m still staring at the door, still trying to calm my racing heart and the ache between my thighs, until I hear Steve clap his hands together a few times behind me.
“Okay, he’s gone now. Pour me another tequila! And really go for it this time until I can hear my teeth rattling around in my head.”
Chapter 7
Ford
“Arrest this interloper!”
“You had toexpect a little push-back from them, Ford.”
Cursing under my breath with my phone pressed against my ear, I sidestep around one of the light posts on Main Street. Just like every light post in town, it’s wrapped with dried corn stalks with a grouping of pumpkins, gourds, and potted mums at the base of it. I can’t help but shake my head that six years ago, I probably would have kicked one of those gourds out of my way instead of taking care not to disturb the street decoration.
“What the hell am I paying you for? You’re supposed to be the one dealing with all of this and explaining everything to them,” I remind my attorney, looking both ways before I quickly cross the street, careful not to run into the giant inflatable pumpkin in front of the Harvest Grove General Store when I get to the other side. “I signed Prescott Lumber over to Finch. I’m no longer in charge of making sure they can continue living the way they’re accustomed to. I moved out of my condo. What don’t they understand?”
Even just thinking my brother’s name six years ago would have put me in a bad mood for a week. I still have no desire to be in the same room with him, but it’s surprising I can say his name aloud now without spitting it from my mouth like it burns my tongue on the way out.
My attorney just laughs through the phone, as Nicky Price quickly scrambles out from behind the table set up in front of the store sellingThe Babysitter’s Last Halloweenmerchandise. I blindly grab a Tupperware container she holds out to me as I keep walking.
“Have you met your family?” He chuckles again. I start walking faster toward my destination, thanking Nicky with a wave of the Tupperware container over my shoulder while I weave in and out of tourists. “I did explain it to them. Extensively. They still want to talk toyouabout it.”
As long as Finch can pull his head out of his ass and not fuck everything up, they’ll all be fine. They don’t need me. I’ve done enough for people who don’t appreciate anything and are only blowing up my phone now because shit just got real for them. They’ve never cared about me or what I’ve wanted. And right now, the only thing I wantorgive a shit about is a sexy, frustrating brunette… who is currently pissed at me for a multitude of reasons, half of which I don’t even understand. I’ve got more important things to deal with than my ungrateful family.
“Yeah, well, I don’t want to talk tothem. Handle it.”
Ending the call before my attorney can piss me off even more, I shove my phone in the back pocket of my jeans and push open the door to city hall. My irritation slips away as soon as I walk into the packed meeting room and spot Sidney sitting with her family down in front. The last twenty-one hours without her were too fucking many. The fact that she’s been avoiding me for the entire twenty-one hours made me uneasy. She’s never before turned a corner and walked in the opposite direction when she saw me coming, changed her shift at the bar so we wouldn’t work together, or rearranged her plans so we wouldn’t be in the same place at the same time. That’s exactly what she’s been doing since I walked away from her yesterday afternoon, and I’ve had enough.
Sidney is turned around in her seat with her arm resting on the back, talking to someone in the row behind them. Her eyes flicker up to meet mine when she notices me walking down the aisle toward her, and just having them on me again makes the knot in my stomach go away. I don’t even pay attention to the greetings thrown out at me while I watch Sidney’s frown deepen the closer I get to her, definitely annoyed I’m here and that she can’t dodge me any longer.
After the stupid shit that came out of my mouth before I left the bar yesterday, she’s probably justified in her irritation right now.
