Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Kat grimaced when her phone buzzed again. She’d been avoiding talking to Leo the entire week she’d been in New York. What was she supposed to say to him after finding out that he’d talked to her father without her permission?
It wasn’t clear what he’d said. Her father wouldn’t dream of telling her what had been said in that meeting besides the confession of feelings.
Just thinking about it had her face flaming.
While she sat in the back of the cab she’d hailed at the airport, she pulled out her phone and dismissed the call so the driver wouldn’t have to hear its incessant buzzing.
After that first meeting with her father, she had several others to attend over the week. Each and every one gave her an excuse to avoid speaking to her father and Chaz about the impending marriage arrangement that hung in the air like a dense fog. It was suffocating to say the least.
Was it bad that she held a little gratitude toward her father for giving her some time to think about it?
The old Kat wouldn’t have hesitated. When pushed into a corner, Kat wasn’t against snapping back. But she was also smart enough to know when she had been beaten.
Her father was right about one thing.
She wasn’t the type of person to walk away from a dream she’d worked her entire life to obtain. It wasn’t in her blood.
Okay, maybe that wasn’t accurate. Hadn’t her mother walked away from her promising career just to be a mother?
Was her father’s reaction to Leo a clue as to how he’d felt about his own wife’s decision? Maybe her father resented himself for letting his wife walk away from her dreams.
Kat shook her head. From what she knew about her father, he had zero regrets. He got the life he’d wanted. He got the woman he wanted. And he’d never said a single word regarding her mother’s position in their family.
She chewed on the inside of her cheek until it nearly felt raw. She’d be lying to herself if she said she wasn’t nervous about seeing Leo again. Things between them had been somewhat strained the last time they’d seen each other. And she’d only piled on by not accepting his calls.
Even if she wanted to place blame on Leo for speaking to her father without telling her, she couldn’t bring herself to do so. Yes, she was irritated. And yes, there was a part of her that wondered if things would have turned out differently had he stayed put.
But Leo was a man of action. Could she blame him for getting antsy?
A groan seeped from her chest and she let her head fall back against her seat. What was she supposed to do? She couldn’t avoid him. They lived in the same house. There was no way he’d accept it if she told him everything was fine.
For the very first time in her life, she actually wanted to run from her problems.
What had Leo done to her?
Upon her arrival, Kat hurried into the house and went straight to her room.
It was early evening which meant Leo was likely still out.
The men at Sagebrush didn’t typically head to their homes until it got too dark to see their hands in front of their faces.
Even then, some of the guys stayed out as late as they could to prepare for the following day.
The smell of supper reached her nose, but with how quiet Kat was, Sonya didn’t call out to her. Maybe if she was lucky, she could stay hidden in her room and pretend that she hadn’t come home.
Maybe she could avoid him for one more day.
An hour later with a knock on her door, Kat knew there was little chance of that happening.
“Kat, honey, I heard you come in. Supper’s ready.”
Kat shut her eyes tight. Leo would surely come later tonight if she didn’t show up for dinner. He’d insist on speaking to her. She moved closer to the door then stopped. “Actually, I’m feeling a little jet-lagged. I don’t feel up for dinner.”
“I’m so sorry, sweetie. How about I fix you a plate and bring it up later.”
Sighing, Kat shook her head. “Oh, you don’t have to do that.”
“It’s not a problem, dear. The food’s already been made.
” Her footsteps faded but then returned.
“Kat? Tomorrow night is Simon’s surprise birthday party.
Katrina’s husband. I’m not sure if you met him.
Katrina’s Leo’s cousin. Anyway, they’re having a party at the lodge.
Everyone from Sagebrush is going to be there.
” The expectation hung in the air. She didn’t explicitly invite Kat to come with, but Kat knew better than to assume otherwise.
It was Sonya’s way—to include her.
Not to mention, Leo would likely insist they go together.
The avoidance game wasn’t going to work past tonight.
For heaven’s sake! Why did seeing him feel like the ending of something great?
“Kat? Are you okay?”
Voice hoarse, Kat nodded. “Yes, of course.”
“We’d love it if you came with us.”
We. Sonya and Leo.
Kat was smarter than Sonya was giving her credit for. If she had to bet, she’d say Leo had put his mother up to this. Heck, he might even be loitering in the hall waiting to hear what Kat would say.
Shoot!
Clearing her throat, Kat moved to the edge of the bed and slumped down. “Sure,” she said weakly. “I’d love to come.”
“Wonderful,” Sonya said through the door. “I’ll have Leo bring you up a plate.”
Kat shot up from the bed, her head pounding. No. She didn’t want to see him. Not yet. But her refusal remained stuck in her throat. She waited. Then waited some more. Her eyes remained locked on the door until several minutes later there was a knock.
“Kat?”
She flinched at his wonderfully deep and concerned voice.
“Are you still up?”
She pinched her lips together.
A soft thud against the door indicated he’d leaned up against it and rested his head to the wood. His voice was barely audible. “Talk to me?”
Her heart raced. She’d expected him to be upset that she’d ignored him. But all she heard was defeat. She moved closer to the door, reaching for the knob but then retracted her hand. Then she silently returned to her bed and sat down again.
“You’re going to have to talk to me at some point, Kat.
” His exhale sounded louder than usual. “I get that you’re upset.
You need to let me explain.” Leo continued to wait on the other side of the door.
There was some shuffling. Then the sound of a ceramic plate being placed on the wooden floor. “Tomorrow, then.”
When his footsteps retreated, Kat allowed herself a deep exhale.
Tomorrow.
She had less than twenty-four hours to come up with what she was going to say. Maybe she’d get lucky, and he’d accept he’d overstepped—accept that they wouldn’t be able to make this work.
Because if there was one thing she’d finally figured out, it was that she couldn’t leave the job she loved. It was a part of who she was. And if there wasn’t a chance of bringing it to Montana, then she wouldn’t be able to stay either.
Sonya was a saint.
That was Kat’s official stance.
The woman didn’t allow Kat a moment alone with Leo from the time she’d come downstairs to the moment they’d arrived at the lodge. She stayed close enough to make it clear that if Kat wasn’t ready to speak to Leo, she would be the buffer.
Based on the dark glances Leo shot his mother the whole ride to the lodge, he wasn’t thrilled with his mother’s intervention.
Music played softly. The lights were dim in the banquet room but whether for ambiance or in preparation of being shut off completely, she couldn’t tell.
There were more people in the banquet room than those who worked at Sagebrush and Kat didn’t recognize many of them.
Tables littered the edges of the banquet room. A long buffet had been set up on one side of the room near another table set up with everything needed for the musical entertainment—namely a large stereo system and microphone setup.
Near the entrance was a table where people could put gifts or cards they’d brought.
No children ran around, which seemed to indicate this party was strictly for the adults.
Leo remained at Kat’s side opposite his mother.
His hand brushed hers and Kat’s pinky twitched at the contact before she folded her arms.
Leo stiffened.
Kat glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.
“We’re going to talk, Kat,” he murmured quiet enough that his mother couldn’t hear. “You’ve been avoiding me like the plague. I take it your father—”
“I’m sorry, Sonya. Will you excuse me?” Kat took off, fully aware that Leo would follow.
He was right. She had to talk to him. There was no avoiding the inevitable.
But she wouldn’t do it in front of his mother and the fact that he thought he could get her to start this conversation in front of her was laughable. What was the point? To keep her calm?
Well, she was calm.
“Kat,” Leo called out.
Yep. He’d followed her.
“Kat, would you please stop?” His voice sounded more frustrated this time. “Talk to me.”
She whirled around the second she reached a space not occupied by anyone near a shadowed corner of the room. “What?” she demanded.
Leo’s head reared back. “Really? A whole week, and that’s the first thing you say to me?”
Kat fidgeted, her fingers digging into her arms. “You want to talk? Talk. Tell me, Leo, why did you insist on going to New York?”
He flinched. Yes, he knew this was what they’d need to discuss, but her question still seemed to cut him.
“Well?” She could feel the heat rising in her skin. The conversation had been mortifying to say the least. And the days following? The way her father and Chaz had looked at her the whole time like she had contracted some kind of disease? That had been nearly unbearable.
Leo glanced around. It was his turn to squirm under her stare. He rubbed the back of his neck then ducked his head. “I get it. I messed up.”
“You’re right,” she snapped cooly. “You did. Do you have any idea what I had to deal with? The things my father had to say?”
He frowned and reached for her. “What did he say?”
She stepped back and yanked her arm from his reach. “Don’t.”
The pain that flickered in his eyes gutted her, but she couldn’t let him get to her. Not when she knew this was the right thing to do. “Kat—”
“It’s not going to happen, Leo.”
His frown deepened. “What isn’t?”
She opened her mouth but at that very moment the room went dark, the music stopped, and everyone dropped their voices to hushed whispers. Leo didn’t move a muscle. In the faint glow from the large windows, she could see his profile. His eyes were still drilling into her.
“This isn’t a good time. We should talk about this later,” she muttered as she attempted to step around him. But his hand shot out and his fingers wrapped around her upper arm.
“No,” he hissed. “We’re talking about this tonight. You can’t keep avoiding me.”
She glowered at him through the darkness. “You want me to talk?” Her heated whisper might have carried, but at this point, she didn’t care. “Then listen up. You’re right. You royally messed up. The fact that you thought you could just march into my father’s office and make demands—”
“Demands? I didn’t make demands.”
Kat pulled away from him, ripping her arm out of his grasp. “Semantics. A man like my father doesn’t take kindly to having his time manipulated by someone like you.”
“Someone like me?” he scoffed.
“Shhh,” someone in the crowd hissed.
Kat grimaced. Then she leaned in closer to him and lowered her voice.
“My company runs smoothly solely because of the way my father has treated it like a machine. Every department, every position, every employee has a purpose. There are millions of reasons why my father is the best at what he does. Attempting to convince him to bring his company to Montana needed to be handled delicately. And you know what you did? You went in there like you were driving one of those huge hay balers. And you left behind a huge mess.”
“Surprise!” Every voice in the room shouted.
Kat flinched. The lights went on. Music started to play again.
Leo continued to stare at her hard. “I take it he isn’t interested in opening a second location.” This time his voice was flat, unemotional.
“You would be correct.”
All around them the party seemed to shift into high gear. But right here, between them, time stood still. Leo didn’t move. He kept his hands shoved in his pockets as he scrutinized her. She could tell he wanted to ask her a question.
A big question.
He was scared.
He should be.
Kat took a deep breath then exhaled. She was exhausted. All the tension in her body wore on her, physically and mentally. “Leo,” she muttered, “You know what this means, right?”
He shook his head. “No.”
The word wasn’t an answer to her question. It was a declaration.
Leo didn’t want her to tell him what this meant.
Too bad.
“I’m going back to New York when the project is over, and I won’t be coming back.”
“Kat—”
“Don’t.” She shook her head. “There’s nothing you can do to change this. You’ve done enough.” She didn’t have to say it out loud to confirm what she was thinking. He’d ruined everything. He’d destroyed her already slim chance at getting her father to agree to this plan.
“It’s over,” Leo.” She didn’t have to look at his face to know he understood the meaning of her words. Their relationship was over. The plan to stay was over.
Everything was over.
Kat pushed past him, unable to meet his eyes. She couldn’t handle the pain she knew would be written there.
“Kat,” he called after her again.
She blinked back the tears that threatened to fall. Coming to the party had been a mistake. She shouldn’t have come. There were plenty of people who had probably witnessed their argument, and she didn’t want to ruin the event.
“Kat, will you please just… slow down,” Leo called out. His hand reached for hers and she dodged it.
“Stop following, me, Leo. I’m leaving.”
“You can’t drive in this weather,” he insisted.
“I’ll call a cab.”
They’d reached the exit of the building by this point and once again, she spun to face him so he would finally get the point. “Please don’t do this. Not here, not now. It’s your cousin’s party. Go back in there and support him.”
“But—”
“No. I’m heading back. I’ll be fine. Maybe we can… talk about this later.” Inwardly, she grimaced. She had zero intention of doing that. The best thing for them would be to sever ties completely and leave it at that.
One more blink and a tear escaped. Leo didn’t miss it and he stepped forward.
“Don’t,” she rasped. “Just…” She pleaded with her eyes. “go back in there, Leo.”
He hesitated for a couple more seconds before he nodded sharply.
“Fine. We’ll revisit this later.” With that, he charged back into the banquet hall, leaving her alone, wishing things had turned out different.
There was no use telling him the arrangement with Chaz was back on. That would only add insult to injury.
If she could avoid him for the next couple of weeks, then she could head home without causing any more pain—to either of them.