Page 25 of The Reason I Married Him
“You in the back?” I ask.
“Yup,” he calls out.
I make my way through the barn and toward the back doors, only to find Parson sitting on the tractor and a man helping him load some tools onto the trailer.
“Oh, hello,” I say.
The man stands tall, and my face immediately turns into a sneer.Wyatt.
The moment I saw him last night, I knew exactly why he was here. Not to see Mac. Not to reconnect with the family. Nope, he was here for business. “Morning,” he says with such an annoying grin that it makes me want to chuck my coffee at him. The man is deadly attractive, an in-your-face kind of handsome that makes people feel weak in the knees, with the slight curl in his hair, captivating eyes, and sharp jawline. “Parson and I are headed out to the fields to see if any potatoes need to be covered. I had no idea you had to make sure there was dirt on them at all times.”
“They grow underground. What else would you expect?” I ask, my voice full of snark.
He stands taller and wipes his hand over his forehead. “I can see you haven’t had your full cup of coffee just yet.”
“That’s an asshole thing to say.” The minute the words slip from my mouth, I realize that I’m standing in front of Parson as well. He has no idea how much animosity I feel toward Wyatt, so I’m just coming off as a total bitch.
Tacking on a smile, I turn to Parson and say, “Would you mind heading out to the field so I can have a conversation with Wyatt?”
“Not a problem at all,” Parson says. I’m sure he wants nothing more than to escape this interaction.
He backs up the tractor and takes off, heading down the side road that leads to the fields.
When he’s out of earshot, I turn toward Wyatt and grip my cup tightly as I say, “You don’t belong here.”
“Oof, I think the deed to half of this land I hold in my possession tells a different story.”
I blow out a deep breath, trying not to get overly angry about this because we knew it would happen. The moment I found out Wyatt owned half of the farm, I had this bad feeling he’d try toclaim it somehow, take over, or do something to mess up the plan I’ve laid out for myself.
The plan Cassidy had for this property.
That’s why I was talking to my lawyer. I wanted to see if we could do anything on our end, but there was nothing. Wyatt is the rightful owner, and the worst part of it is that he owns most of the farmland. This means he is the main owner of the potatoes. The potatoes that our entire business plan relies on. If he takes charge of his land, then everything, and I mean everything, is thrown off.
Wyatt’s arrivalisthe worst-case scenario.
One that puts me on edge.
Because I don’t want to lose this. I don’t want to lose Cassidy’s memory. I don’t want to lose the one thing that makes me feel . . . semi-worthy.
“Wyatt, why are you here?” I ask, just wanting to get to the bottom of this.
“I told you.”
“I want the truth,” I say. “You haven’t had any interest in being here, being a part owner, so why now?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” he asks. “Going through a midlife crisis. I need something new in my life, something to keep me occupied. And I like potatoes.”
“You barely look younger than my brother, so that’s not midlife. And don’t you have book deadlines to keep you busy?”
He leans against the barn door and crosses his arms. “Actually, I don’t have any deadlines at the moment, so I have some time off. Which makes it the perfect time for me to be here.”
“But the problem is, Wyatt, I don’t want you here.”
He nods and toes the ground. “That’s been quite obvious, but that won’t make me leave.” He pushes off the wall and walksover to where the tools hang. He picks up a pair of gloves and a shovel. “Now, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll tend to my dirt.”
He attempts to walk by me, but I stop him by standing in front of him. “Wyatt, do not mess with my flow. Everything is under control. I don’t need you digging around in the dirt to fulfill some fantasy you have built up in your head. Your little keyboard fingers won’t be able to handle the real work we do out here.”
“Umm, that’s insulting. And maybe instead of being rude, you can actually offer to show me around. Tell me about the farm and inform me of what’s been going on.”
