Page 49 of The Reason I Married Him
I turn toward her and say, “You’re making this very counterproductive for the both of us.”
“You are not tearing out my fields.”
“My fields.” I boop her on the nose, and she swats me away. “But they could be yours if you become Mrs. Wyatt J. Preston.” I look up at the sky dreamily. “Aubree Falooloo Preston. Has a beautiful ring to it, doesn’t it?”
“You’re deranged. Now stop this nonsense. I have things I need to do, and I can’t babysit you this whole time.”
“I never asked you to babysit me. Feel free to leave anytime you want. I’m just going to keep working.”
“You realize if I leave and you still stake, I’ll come out here tonight with a flashlight and remove all the stakes, erasing your unnecessary work.”
“You’re going to be that spiteful?”
“You have no idea how spiteful I can be.”
“Well, Mrs. Preston, it seems you have met your match,” I say, grinning at her.
Oh, I can tell . . . this is going to be fun.
Chapter Five
AUBREE
I rub some aloe vera over my shoulders as I stare at myself in the bathroom mirror. I wasn’t expecting to be out in the field without sunscreen during the hottest part of the day, but that happens when Wyatt Preston thinks he’s some funny guy attempting to make a statement.
Guess who won?
Me.
He ran out of stakes, and when he tried to take them away from me, I ran away, sprinting across the fields in boots and leaving him in my dust. He left after that, and I have never felt more satisfied. Well, besides when he saw me working on the chicken coop he’d been determined to build. I proved to him that I’m fine without his help or opinion.
Or the offer for his hand in marriage.
Honestly, I still can’t get over the audacity. He doesn’t care about this farm. He said it himself that he would hand over the land freely. The only reason he’s holding on is because he wantssomething from me, and that something is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.
Marriage.
He wants to marry me . . . out of convenience, to save some family cabin.
Don’t get me wrong, I can understand the desperation to save something close to you, hence why I’ve been battling with him over this farm. But he needs other options because I’m not one of them.
I slip into a tank top with a built-in bra and slide into cotton shorts. I’m just having dinner with Ryland and Mac. It’s not like I need to dress up. With my hair wet and down, I slip on my sandals and start toward the farmhouse when my eyes connect with the stupid SUV that keeps popping up on the farm.
“You have got to be kidding me,” I mutter as I stomp toward the house and up the porch steps. When I open the creaky screen door and see Wyatt on the ground, dressed up like a ninja and rolling around in mock pain from Mac’s zappy hands, I inwardly groan.
Whyyyyyy?
Why is he here?
Can I not have a peaceful moment without him tagging along?
“Aunt Aubree!” Mac says as she charges toward me. She sees me every day but still acts like I’m visiting for the first time in months.She is the absolute best balm for the end of any and every day.
“Hey, Mac, how was your day?”
“Great. I’m zapping Uncle Wyatt until he turns into dust.”
“Need help? Because I’d love nothing more than for that to happen.”
