Page 120 of Then You Happened
“I can’t be your next time, Tatum.” The despair in his tone mimics mine as our eyes hold in the waning light, and I see it. He doesn’t have to say the three words for me to hear them.
And he knows I see it.
He just nods ever so slightly before wrapping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me against his side.
We sit like that for some time. Together. Alone. Quiet. Accepting the inevitable and fighting it all at the same time.
I take comfort in the heat of his body beside mine, in the brush of his lips over mine, and in the soft sigh of a kiss we slip into as he lays me back onto the grass beneath us.
He makes love to me in the twilight without any words but with every emotion pouring out of him through the gentleness of his actions. The reverence in his touch as he kisses away the tear that slips down my cheek is something I draw deep into me so that I can keep it with me once I no longer have the man who bestowed it.
46
JACK
“You want to tell me what this is?”
I look up from the barrage of texts I’ve shared back and forth with my sister, same bullshit, different day, to find Pete walking across the stable with a stack of stapled papers in his hand.
“What’s what?” I rise from my seat and accept the stack he holds out.
It takes me a second to realize what they are and for the dread to settle in. I count to ten, forcing the fight or flight to wane so I can keep my tone even and unfazed when I speak to him.
“This has been an almost flawless venture, but we’re one day out from leaving, and when I went into town today, I was handed these and then given a warning. You want to tell me what the hell they are and why I shouldn’t be concerned?”
I flip through the ledger as if it’s something I’ve seen before. Lines upon lines of bets made, of bets lost, of an exorbitant amount of money owed in the balance line. “What was the warning?” I ask as my temper roils beneath the surface.
“That we were making a mistake investing in this venture. That Knox owes enough to bookies that she’s going to take any money paid to her and bail. She has horses for sale. She has the ranch in general for sale, which is why you’re here. What the fuck is going on here, Sutton?”
I huff a laugh as my hands grip the fucking papers. “I’m not selling the ranch for her, Pete. Why would I work so hard to negotiate the deal with you if I were going to?” I move to the opposite end of the bunkhouse and turn to face him. “These are old news.” I smack the papers against my palm. “Just some assholes in town who Knox’s husband shorted some cash when he died. She’s straight as an arrow. I wouldn’t be here or pushing her to you if I didn’t know that for a fact.”
“Then why those?” Pete juts his chin in the direction of the papers.
“For starters? The Hickmans are less than thrilled that you’re here and not there.”
“They got lazy and dropped the ball.”
“But they only see her stealing you away.”
“You said for starters. What other shitstorm am I walking into if we solidify this deal long term?”
“This land is desirable. The Knox’s won the bid on the land and two brothers who didn’t want to get into a bidding war over it have been harassing her since the day the papers were signed. She hasn’t flinched once, and I don’t see her doing it in the future.” No way in fucking hell she will now that I’m going to button up this deal and save this place from going belly up.
“This is concerning, Jack. Investing money and trusting a partner is a little hard to do with someone when you fear they aren’t going to be there from one season to the next.”
“She’ll be here, Pete. I’m telling you. My word is good on this. I haven’t let you down yet, have I?”
He purses his lips, indecision etched in the lines of his face. “But what happens when your contract is up, huh? You don’t stick around most places long. Rumor has it you’ll be moving on soon.”
Fucking rumors. I feel like a traitor uttering these words to him before I’ll ever admit them to her . . . or even to myself, but he needs the truth, not some bullshit sales pitch. “Because I’m in love with her, Pete.”
His startled intake of air is exactly how I feel—staggered by the admission.
“Come again?” He laughs around the words because he’s known me long enough to have never heard them grace my lips.
“You heard me. I’m in love with Tatum Knox . . . and if you think I’m going to leave her here alone to fend off the wolves, then you don’t know the man I am. That’s part of the reason I proposed the progress payment plans. I know it isn’t the norm in the industry, but you want these horses, Pete. Trust me on that. With your crew coming every month to check in, your presence will be noticed and, in turn, will give the ranch not only security with the payments but also help me keep these assholes from thinking they can push her out.”
I glance out toward the pasture where his men are slowly preparing for their departure tomorrow before looking back at him. “You know my word is good.”
