Page 112 of Burning Skies
Reluctantly, he pats my back. “Hey, brat. Causing more trouble?”
Relief sweeps through me that he’s not giving me the cold shoulder anymore. When he didn’t respond to my texts this week, I was afraid I’d really screwed up our relationship. Trig is moody, but he’s always been there for me. “We need to have a family meeting.”
Trig’s brows lift. “Without the parentals? I’m not sure I’m qualified to partake.”
“Shut up. We don’t need Mom and Dad to have a family meeting.” I shove him, and he finally smiles. “Glad to see you’re talking to me again.”
“Well, you didn’t bring Fuckface with you, so…”
My expression flattens. “You cannot call Beau Fuckface. What’s wrong with you? Did Mom drop you on your head when you were little?”
Cash chuckles and pulls me into a headlock. “Can we call him Dick Cheese?”
I sock him in the gut, and he lets go of me with an oof. “I’m going to puke on your boots. You’re disgusting.”
He chuckles, and I reluctantly laugh. Cash hangs his hands on his hips as he glances at the field. “I guess Beau’s okay. As long as I don’t find y’all naked and canoodling again, I can deal.”
Trig’s eyes narrow. “What the fuck? When did this happen?”
I poke his shoulder. “It’s not important. What matters is that I love him. I’m going to date him whether you like him or not.”
“Jesus, don’t say that. Don’t say you love him.”
Cupping my hands around my mouth, I yell, “I LOVE BEAU WALKER.” I just haven’t told him yet. I swallow at the sudden ball of nervousness that coils in my stomach. Does he love me too? Is he willing to put up with my insane family? Or will they drive him away?
Trig tucks his work gloves in his back pocket and scrubs his face. “You’re supposed to be ten and wearing braces. I’m not ready for you to run off with some asshole.”
Aww. I love my protective older brother. I hug him. “I love you too. And I don’t want to run off anywhere. But can I be honest? Beau treats me a hell of a lot better than Ian Fairchild does.”
Trig and Cash look at each other. Then turn to me. Trigcrosses his arms. “What did Fairchild do?” There’s an edge to his voice.
“Calm down.” I won’t mention the bruise Ian gave me or Trig will lose it. “He hasn’t done anything, except tell me I have to marry him or he’s going to call in Dad’s loans and ruin us. Which is why I came straight here. Is this true? Do we owe the Fairchilds money?”
Cash frowns. “Not that I know of, but Dad handles the finances.”
I nod. Cash handles the day-to-day operations, but my father does the investments and deals with the money. “Have you ever heard him mention loans to Ian’s family? Or debt?”
“We took out a big loan a few years ago to upgrade all of our equipment, but that should’ve been paid off by now.”
That’s encouraging. “Does Dad use Ian’s plane? Because that’s something else he mentioned to prove that we’re beholden to him somehow.”
“Yeah,” he says slowly, “but that doesn’t mean we owe him our goddamn ranch.”
I explain what Ian told me this morning, that marrying me will give him a third of the ranch and the chance to buy out my brothers. Trig’s nostrils flare. “That son of a bitch. Ian Fairchild can suck my dick.”
“That’s graphic, but thank you for the support.”
“Do you know where he’s at? Because I’ll go over there right now and kick his ass.”
“Calm down, Wolverine. No one needs to die.” I cross my arms to stay warm. “Dad already rescinded the donation to the high school for the Harvester Club, and now Ian’s showing up at my house uninvited with threats. I have until the first of the month to decide. What do I do? I won’t marry a man I don’t love, but what if he’s right? What if Dad’s fucked us over?”
I thought things were bad when my father said I had to getmarried by my birthday if I wanted my trust fund. But Ian’s demands have hit a whole new level of crazy. How did my life get so screwed up?
Cash shakes his head. “Let me see what I can dig up tonight. I’ll wait until everyone in the office leaves, and I’ll pull up our financials.” He grabs my shoulders. “No one is gonna make you marry someone you don’t want to. Plus, I’m pretty sure Walker will lose his shit if Fairchild carts you off like a pack mule.”
“Aside from not wanting to marry Ian, I get the feeling he doesn’t want to live in town. I want to stay here. I want to teach and raise a family in Wild Heart so my kids get to know their uncles.”
And I want to ranch. Maybe that’s too much for my father, but Beau welcomes my help. Ranching is in my blood, and I don’t think I should have to give that up because it doesn’t match with my father’s impression of what a lady should be.
