16. Do You Trust Me? – Roman
Chapter 16
Do You Trust Me?
PLAYLIST: “CONTROL” BY HALSEY
ROMAN
I glared at Mr. Bush, enjoying watching him sweat, not moving a muscle until he nodded furiously.
“Y-yes. Of course, Mr. York, Mrs. York, I’ll pay it all back?—”
I jabbed a threatening finger at him. “Every single penny. Nothing less is acceptable. You understand?”
He nodded again, his jowls wiggling like jello with the force of the movement. “Yessir. I understand?—”
I took a step closer, eating up the distance between us, and poked him in the chest, underscoring every word I said with another jab to his fleshy chest. “You’ll write checks weekly until you’ve paid back the sum in full, and we’ll write you receipts. There will be a paper trail, for obvious reasons. If you disagree, I go to Deputy Blackwell whether my wife likes it or not. You read me, Oliver?”
Mr. Bush grimaced, but nodded again. “Loud and clear, Mr. York.”
Without another word, I slipped my arm around Zoe’s waist and let her lead the way outside. My gut tied itself in a hard, icy knot and dropped into my boots when Zoe’s confident strides faltered at the sight of Michael Carter lurking on the sidewalk, glowering at us.
“Well, well, well… if it isn’t the bitch who killed my sister and her loyal lapdog. You two look like you’ve been busy. What was it this time? Threats? Intimidation? Unleashing that cutthroat little cu?—”
I lunged at Michael, not about to let him call my wife what it sounded like he was about to call her, but I drew up short when Zoe stepped between us and planted her hands on my chest, gazing up at me with those impossibly green eyes of hers.
“He’s just trying to get under our skin, baby. Don’t give that sorry jackass the satisfaction.” She pressed up on her tip-toes and brushed a feather-light kiss against my lips. “He’s not fucking worth the trouble, and you know it.”
I take a deep breath and the tension bunching my muscles falls away as I gaze down at her.
“You’re right, I know you’re right,” I grumble, shaking my head.
Warmth filled my chest as I gazed down at her perfect face, letting her words sink in for a moment before my gaze flicked back up to Michael and rage snapped through me all over again, sharp and cold. I narrowed my eyes at him.
Zoe might have me on a leash right now, but that leash is only so long, and if he moves wrong, I’ll slip the leash and go after him, anyway.
“That’s right, big boy, listen to the wicked bitch of the west. It’d sure be a shame if you laid hands on me right here in public and got arrested for assault and battery and disturbing the peace and all the fucking things I can tell you’re dying to do to me right now, you big, dumb motherfucker you.”
I clenched my fists nice and slow, trying hard to quell the urge to bash his fucking face in. If Zoe weren’t here, I’d be on his ass like white on rice already.
Zoe pressed up on her tiptoes, her lips brushing against the shell of my ear as she pressed harder against my chest, her grounding presence more insistent. “Take me home, baby. Take me home and find some other way to put all that pent-up energy to good use, but do not give this asshole what he wants. Let’s go.”
As if to illustrate her point, she took my earlobe between her teeth and nibbled on it, dragging a groan out of me.
Forget Michael Carter. Who cares about that smug little prick, anyway? Not me, not when Zoe is distracting the hell out of me by using my earlobe as a chew toy in the best way possible , I thought.
My eyes fell closed for a second and I reached up to stroke Zoe’s hair, leaning into the way her touch grounded me and brought me back down to earth.
“Forget him,” I murmured, “Let’s go home, darlin’.”
I wrapped my arm around her waist again and didn’t even bother to look back at Michael as I steered Zoe toward the truck. I waited until we were on the road home to speak again.
“Thank you.”
Zoe, who’d been staring out the window at the landscape, lost in thought, frowned over at me, her brow furrowed with confusion. “What for?”
“For knowing exactly what to do to keep me from losing my shit on that obnoxious little prick.”
Zoe smiled faintly, shaking her head. “He was trying to poke the bear, honey. Best not to let him.”
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, my knuckles going white as I spoke through clenched teeth. “Easier said than done when he’s calling my wife all kinds of names?—”
Zoe shrugged and offered me a palms-up, like it was nothing. “They’re nothing I haven’t heard before from every Tom, Dick, and Harry in Miami who never lived up to you, or who didn’t like it when I worked harder and got promoted when they didn’t, or any number of other reasons?—”
I cut her off, my voice rising, my words pulsing with anger and disbelief.
“There is never a good reason for a man to talk to a woman like that, Zoe. I don’t give a shit if you’re used to hearing it. That doesn’t fucking mean it’s okay.”
When Zoe stayed silent, I glanced over at her and sighed, softening my tone, my chest aching for her as I spoke again.
“You don’t deserve that, and it makes me sick thinking about anyone who’s ever made you feel like you had to just stand there and take it.”
Zoe bit her lip, but her eyes crinkled at the corners and her expression softened as she reached over and touched me, her fingers curling lightly around my forearm. “I know, baby, and that’s part of why I love you. But I’m not just taking it anymore. I’ve got you in my corner now, and that makes all the difference in the world.”
I blew out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding and relaxed my grip on the steering wheel, a small smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. “Damn right you do, baby.”
* * *
Two days passed in relative quiet before Mr. Brandt’s new live-in nurse arrived at the big house to move in the day before Zoe’s dad was supposed to come home from the hospital.
“Are you Zoe Brandt?” The young woman asked, reaching her hand out to shake Zoe’s.
“Actually, it’s Zoe York, now. We got married a few days ago. This is my husband, Roman.” Zoe motioned to me and the nurse nodded, reaching out to shake my hand as well. “I’m Olivia Smith, the live-in nurse who’ll be caring for your father, Mrs. York. I have a lot of equipment we need to get moved in today, including a hospital bed that the hospice company sent. Is there any chance your husband and a few of the cowboys could help out with moving the bed in and getting all the supplies I might need into the house?”
Zoe paled a little and swallowed hard as she looked over at me, but gave a resolute nod. “We can do that, right Rome? Whatever Dad needs, we’ll take care of it, and whatever his insurance doesn’t cover, you bill me directly for it, okay? Money is no object when it comes to taking care of him and making him comfortable. Whatever the bill is… I’ve got it.”
I shifted from one foot to the other, suddenly a little ill at ease, wondering just how Zoe was going to manage to cover all those expenses and bail the ranch out, too. I raised an eyebrow at her, and she shot me a look that told me she’d explain later.
I cleared my throat. “Sure, baby. We can do that. There isn’t a guy on this ranch who wouldn’t be happy to do anything to help your daddy out, except maybe that lazy, good-for-nothing Cody.”
Zoe rolled her eyes and sighed. “If he’s really that lazy and worthless, why don’t you just fire the guy and be done with it?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to quell my frustration and jealousy. “Because it’s not my business to hire and fire folks. Ultimately, it’s up to your daddy to decide who stays and who goes, and everybody likes that slippery fucker but me.”
Zoe grinned and shook her head at that. “Therein lies your problem, honey. Everybody likes him but you. Sometimes I think you look for reasons not to like the guy just because he rubs you the wrong way.”
I growled under my breath, hooking a finger in one of the belt loops on her jeans and pulling her close. “I just wish you’d do me a favor, as my wife, and find a reason to like him a little less. Just ‘cause he’s pretty and charming doesn’t mean he’s a good guy. He’s not a hard worker, that’s a plain and simple fact, and he’s a man whore who used to delight in flirting with you for the express purpose of pissing me off?—”
Zoe fisted a hand in my shirt and closed the space between us, kissing me hard enough I worried her lips might bruise before she pulled away and glared up at me. “When are you gonna get it through your head that I’ve never been interested in Cody romantically, and I never will be? I married you. I love you. I’m doing my damndest to make a baby with you, for god’s sake. I even threw my fucking birth control pills in the garbage after we went to see my father at the hospital that first time?—”
I stared down at Zoe, heat flaring low in my core. “You did what now?”
Zoe shrugged, green eyes spitting fire as she held my gaze. “You heard me. I told you that day in the elevator that you were getting more than you bargained for, you were getting a wife. Did you think I was shitting you?”
“Christ, baby, when you go in for a penny, you go in for a pound.” I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her tight, pressing a kiss against her temple. “Do you know how often I’ve dreamed about having a family with you? How often I’ve dreamed about you carrying my baby, having my child?”
Zoe peered up at me through those thick, dark eyelashes of hers and licked her lips. “I have no idea, baby, but I’ll be more than happy to hear about it sometime when we don’t have an audience of one who needs our help to bring in medical supplies for my father.”
A cold shower couldn’t have worked better for bringing me back down to earth and reining in the desire that had been quickly spiraling out of control between us. Stealing one more quick kiss from Zoe, I took a step back and re-focused on the nurse who’d been observing us like we were the most interesting soap opera on television, and she offered us both a shameless smirk.
“Well… I can tell I’m not going to be bored working here, at least,” Miss Smith chuckled, shaking her head.
I blushed, my face growing hot with sheepish embarrassment, and I reached up to rub the back of my neck. “How many cowboys do you think you’ll need to help you get the bed and all your medical supplies unloaded and set up?”
Miss Smith shrugged. “The more you can spare, the faster we can get things ready for Mr. Brandt to come home tomorrow.”
I took my hat off and ran a hand through my hair. “Fair enough. I’ll have a skeleton crew work the cattle today and the rest of the guys and I will work up here at the house, helping with the medical supplies and prepping for Mr. Brand’s homecoming tomorrow.”
As Miss Smith led the way outside to round up medical supplies and start hauling them into the house, I caught Zoe’s wrist and gently tugged her to me.
“Hey… I know you want everything to be perfect for your dad, baby, but Zoe, I’ve gotta ask… where’s all this money coming from? You’re paying for the nurse, the equipment, and now you’re saying money’s no object? Honey, the ranch is in the red because of the embezzlement issue, and God only knows how much all this shit is going to cost. I know you’ve got savings from your job in Miami, but this is a lot?—”
Zoe didn’t meet my gaze, instead staring down at where my fingers were twined around her wrist. “I’ve got it covered, Rome. That’s all you need to know. You have enough to worry about without having that on your plate, too.”
I frowned, unsettled by how evasive she was being. “That’s not an answer, Zoe. Are you taking out loans? Mortgaging the ranch?”
Zoe shook her head, a faint, tight smile playing on her lips. “No loans, no mortgages. Just trust me, okay? I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize what we’re building here. This is my family’s legacy… our family’s legacy now.”
I blew out a sigh, forcing the tension in my shoulders to release, though the knot in my gut stayed put.
“Alright. I trust you. But if you need help… just tell me, okay?”