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He turns his back toward me, and I cock my head, trying to understand why Tony upset him, but Eli doesn’t.
“He left me to fend for myself,” I explain. “Told me I was too much and took off. I got laid off at work the next day. This is the first I’ve heard from him since then.”
Connor shifts his body back toward me, his russet eyes lightening at my confession.
“That’s when I found out about Gran,” I went on.
“Shit, you’ve had a rough ride lately.” He extends his arms toward me, and I happily fall into them, accepting his bear-like embrace, inhaling his masculinity as he holds me close.
I nuzzle his neck, so grateful I took the plunge to come to Montana, despite all of my reservations.
“He did me a favor,” I agree, closing my own arms around his back.
Connor’s shoulders relax, but there’s still suspicion in his face. “What does he want?”
I shrug. “I don’t know and don’t really care.”
“Are you thinking about going back to him?”
Understanding strikes me like a tsunami, Gran’s words ricocheting through my mind.
“Rumor has it she ran off with one of the hands when Connor was six or seven. It was quite a scandal at the time…”
“No,” I answer bluntly, drawing my head back to look up at him. I reach up to touch his face. “I’m definitely not going back to Tony.”
Connor’s mouth purses, and he dips his cheek against my hand, allowing me to cup his clean-shaven face affectionately. Even this late in the day, there’s no hint of a five o’clock shadow, his skin smooth.
The bounce of truck tires on the gravel directs our attention back toward the driveway, and I drop my hand into Connor’s, the two of us standing to greet Hudson and Eli. Their faces do not look promising.
“What happened?” Connor demands, almost dragging me down the steps.
“Not here,” Hudson says in a low tone. “Let’s go discuss this back at my place.”
I glance back at the house. “Gran is napping.”
“Good. She doesn’t need to hear this,” Eli sighs. “It’s not good news.”
“Tell me,” I urge in a low voice. “What’s going on?”
“Half the neighbors have already agreed to sell. The eminent domain is scaring them all into submission. MVP has won.”
“NO!” I bark, untangling my fingers from Connor’s to fold my arms over my chest. “We’re not letting them win. Tomorrow morning, I’m taking matters into my own hands. I’ve got to pack and go back to Seattle to get some help. This has gone on long enough.”
CHAPTER19
Connor
My worst nightmares are coming true as history repeats itself.
We stare at Rose, dumbfounded, all of us open-mouthed and unable to speak. Hudson is the first of us to recover and steps forward, shaking his dark head of hair and stroking his face nervously.
“I don’t think we fully understand.” He glances at us as if expecting backup.
Eli is all over it.
“No, you’re not leaving!” he barks out before Rose can answer or Hudson can finish.
I silently agree with Eli, but my deeply rooted insecurities only confirm what I’d always known to be true. She is going to leave, too.
