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“Here I am,” she said.
Fia looked at her, far too closely. “Alaina, are you okay?”
Fia had become the parental figure when their family had fallen apart, and she took it upon herself to make all of her sisters’ business her business.
Of course, when it came to her own business, Fia was like a steel trap, but Alaina knew better than to call her out.
It wouldn’t lead anywhere.
“I’m good,” she said, forcing a smile.
“You’re a liar,” Fia said, looking both suspicious and worried.
She swallowed hard and wondered if she looked as miserable as she felt. Why was she falling apart now?
Eventually, everyone will literally see the evidence of it and you won’t be able to hide it anymore.
“Then why did you ask, Fia?” she shot back.
When the meeting started she made sure to take a seat in the back and as far to the right as possible. Far away from the Garrett clan. Far away from the McClouds.
She could go to the Kings’ section.
Arizona King wasn’t as unpleasant as she used to be, now that Micah Stone had come back to Four Corners and married her, giving her an instant family with a teenage stepson, but that didn’t make Arizona warm and cuddly. The truth was, the Kings were kind of a breed apart. They closed ranks with each other when need be, and they also seemed to have plenty of conflict within the group.
One did not just go sit with the Kings. Sullivans most especially didn’t.
Though, half the problem with the Sullivans and the Kings was whatever had transpired between Fia and Landry. Fia never talked about it, so none of them knew the details. But Alaina wasn’t an idiot. She assumed her sister had slept with him. And that he’d done what men did.
Except, rather than run off to another ranch he’d stayed next door. Which must suck.
Alaina had new sympathy for how that must feel.
Though, Alaina couldn’t see being mad about sex for all those years. Particularly when it didn’t get you pregnant. If she could set aside her anger for a minute, the abandonment and pregnancy aside, she could sit in the disappointment that sex was just...not all that fun.
What a letdown. What a truly tragic thing to learn that there wasn’t much fuss about it at all.
Sure, there had been contributing factors. Like it being a spur-of-the-moment thing. She hadn’t had a whole lot of fantasies stored up about Travis to boost the moment. But Travis was a good-looking guy. And by all accounts he was a total playboy. He had... He’d donestuff. Made some moves. Touched her certain ways. But it just hadn’t...hadn’tthrilledher. And the main event had been uncomfortable. And that was it.
She wouldn’t be rushing out to do it again anytime soon.
A hilarious thought, since she was soobviouslynot having sex again any time soon.
She realized that she’d been spacing out for the whole first part of the meeting. But it didn’t matter. She wasn’t high enough on the totem pole to be called upon to give much of an opinion. She and her sisters did work on their own ranch, and Fia was the acting head of Sullivan’s Point.
Fia had grand plans for their parcel of land, but that didn’t involve Alaina.
The McClouds had been making changes around Four Corners, and the Garretts had been working with them. But they’d always been the coziest of the four families.
Right now, though, listening to any of them talk felt like torture. And she just ignored them.
Finally, it was bonfire time, and she figured she would cut out as quickly as possible. She didn’t have any patience for this nonsense. She didn’t feel like being social. Not tonight.
But then Fia shoved a piece of pie into her hand and dragged her toward the fire.
“Dammit, Alaina, at least don’t let them see you looking this sulky. You have to have more pride than that.”
“What?” she asked, confused.
