Chapter Ten #2
Scott took a step toward the door.
Keane moved in front of him. “They don’t need visitors at
this time.”
Scott’s shoulders went back, eyes narrowing. “I’m not a
visitor. I was once her fiancé.”
“No, you weren’t.” He knew the history.
“Well, I was going to be had circumstances not gone the way
they did. I realize now what I walked away from.”
“I doubt it, but you are not with her at this time so
respect her privacy while she deals with this. I understand you’re here to
work. Well, I understand that’s your excuse. I’m sure Olivia will call you.”
Scott’s eyes narrowed as he studied Keane. “And I know she’s
using you as a shield to keep me at arm’s length. There’s no way Olivia
Barnes-Fleetwood ends up with some nothing cow poke.”
“I don’t know why not. Her mother did,” Keane quipped.
A nasty snort came from Scott’s mouth. “Oh, her mother
married Jack and Sam when they were already multimillionaires. She knew exactly
how much those cowboys were worth or I’m sure she wouldn’t have looked at them
twice.”
He very much doubted that. “If you can say that, then you
don’t know a damn thing about Olivia’s family. She can’t meet with you today.
She has other problems.”
“I’ll hear that from her mouth.” Scott looked up at the
building. “She’s probably lost a lot of records.”
“I’m sure she has backups.”
Scott seemed to think about that for a moment. “Well, I hope
so since these are the business offices. I told her I thought it was a bad idea
to keep records out here when she could easily have done the work in Dallas.”
“The ranch is here.” He wasn’t sure why he was arguing with
this asswipe. At least it kept the man from bothering Olivia.
Who had stood in front of her closest friends this morning
and cuddled up next to him. She hadn’t stayed away from him or looked
embarrassed she’d spent the night with him. She’d acted like she was happy.
She was happy this morning.
He was going to make damn sure she stayed that way.
“The ranch might be here, but this is a big business now. No
one wants to come out to Willow Fork. There’s no real security, and honestly,
everyone hates her family. These rubes believe she’s the daughter of the devil.
That’s probably why this happened. I’ve told her for years she needed to get
out of this town.”
“Her family is here, and I find it interesting that this
happened when not one, but two of the men she used to date decide to try to
weasel their way back into her life.”
Scott stepped back. “Two? Who the hell are you talking
about?”
“You’re not the only one who apparently needs some cash. Her
high school boyfriend is sniffing around again. I need you to understand that
you’re an idiot. She is the fucking sun in the sky, and she would be if she
didn’t have a dime to her name. So you will do your job and you won’t bother my
su…girlfriend or we’ll have a problem.”
“Oh, will we?” Scott’s handsome face took on a snide
expression. “Somehow I’m not afraid of you. You should know I lived here for a
couple of years. I made some friends. A whole bunch of them are on the force
here. So I wouldn’t threaten me.”
“I’m not threatening. I’m promising. I might be nothing but
a cowboy, but I know how to protect what I care about.” He should have learned
this lesson. Protecting someone had cost him years before, but he wasn’t about
to allow Olivia to deal with this man. When they were working, he trusted
Garrett to deal with him. Hell, he was pretty sure Miranda and Gigi could
handle this guy since they were young women who backed their friends up. But he
wouldn’t leave her alone with him.
“Scott, is this guy bothering you?”
Keane turned, and the deputy who Olivia’s friend had sent
away was back with two coffees in his big hands.
Scott smiled. “Hey, Gil. I had a great time last night with
you and Lisa. Good to see you this morning. As for this guy, he’s nothing but a
cowboy with no manners. Although I worry he’s got some bad intentions. If
anything happens to me while I’m here, you should look to him.”
“Nothing’s going to happen as long as you stop harassing my
girl,” Keane replied. It looked like he might have to have that talk with
Olivia sooner rather than later. The deputy was studying him like he’d be
running a check real soon.
The deputy frowned. “Olivia ain’t dating no one. If she is,
it’s real early, and she and Scott nearly got married.”
“Nearly being the right word to use,” Garrett said
as he stepped back in. He gave Scott a bland smile. “Mr. Whittiker, I’ll be
serving as counsel for Barnes-Fleetwood during the negotiations. I’m afraid
we’ve run into a small problem. We’ll need to take the day to secure the office
and find another suitable place to meet.”
“Your friend was threatening Scott,” the deputy said.
“Did you hear the threat?” Garrett asked in what Keane
thought of as his lawyer voice. “Are we going to bring my client in for
questioning? What are the charges? Could I have the name of your supervisor? I
like to go straight to the main source. Saves us time. I’m going to need the
report, and I’d also like a full breakdown of what you heard and when you heard
it. Are there security cameras? If so, I would like to see the footage.”
The deputy’s eyes went wide, and he took a step back as
though completely overwhelmed. “I…I…didn’t hear it. He seems like a guy who
would threaten someone. I heard he scared the crap out of Jason Hart last
night.”
Garrett’s head shook. “No, that was me, and I merely
explained the way the world would work if he kept going after my girlfriend. Do
you want me to put it on the record? I would like you to cite the particular
laws you believe we’ve violated.”
“Gil, what’s going on?” Deputy Morgan stepped out of the
building with Olivia following her.
Gil sighed. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I was just bringing the
coffee.”
Poor guy. Garrett could tie a person up.
Maybe he should tie Garrett up. It might be fun to see how
he would react since he’d seemed happy to kneel beside Olivia the night before.
“Olivia.” Scott dropped his expensive bag to the ground and
rushed over to her with what seemed like well-feigned concern. “Are you okay?
You weren’t in there when the fire started? I can’t stand to think about what
could have happened to you.”
She waved him off. “Nah, when it started I was getting
railed by my two boyfriends, so I was not in here. I was probably in a sex
swing.”
He was so crazy about this woman. “Nah, that was earlier in
the evening. We were in the bed by early morning. I think Garrett was licking
whipped cream off your… Well, he was having a treat.”
Deputy Morgan snorted. “Good to know, friend.”
“But I do wonder where Mr. Whittiker was,” Garrett said
slowly.
Scott’s face had gone a florid red. “I was in my motel room
after having dinner at my friend’s house. And I suspect Olivia might be
covering for you. She’s not that kind of girl, no matter what the town says.”
“Oh, I am totally the kind of woman who enjoys raunchy sex
with two hot guys,” Olivia said.
“Who isn’t?” Deputy Morgan asked and then sobered. “Gil,
thanks for the coffee. We should secure the building and wait for the arson
inspector to come.”
“So you think someone did this?” Scott asked. “You don’t
think someone left a candle burning? Or it was an accident?”
“Unless someone accidently poured gasoline on Olivia’s desk
and then whoops, set the whole place on fire, then no, it was not an accident.”
Deputy Morgan looked down at the pad she was carrying and checked something off
on her form before looking to Olivia. “Given that someone slashed your tires
yesterday, I’d like you to be vigilant, and let me know if anything out of the
ordinary happens.”
“Well, I told you about the sex swing, right?” Olivia said.
Deputy Morgan snorted and grinned. “Yeah, girl, but I’m
talking about bad things. As for the other, let’s grab margaritas and you can
go into as much detail as you like.”
“Olivia, I think you should take this seriously,” Scott
said, a stern look on his face. “If someone is trying to hurt you, I think you
need a man who can protect you.”
She threaded her arm through Keane’s and reached out for
Garrett. “Good thing I have two men who can protect me. I don’t think we’ll be
meeting today. I have to call my father and convince him not to break his
vacation plans and get the insurance started. Come out to the ranch tomorrow
morning and we’ll meet in my dad’s office.”
“Or we could have dinner tonight,” Scott began.
Olivia shook her head. “Nope, I am dinner tonight, and you
are not invited. I meant what I said. I’ll work with you, but I won’t let you
convince me to give you another chance to use me and leave me the minute you
think you don’t need me anymore.”
“Olivia, I can explain,” he began. “I’ve spent the last few
years in therapy. I know why I sabotaged us. I didn’t think I deserved you.
It’s all rooted in my childhood.”
Olivia’s eyes rolled, and she started to open that sassy
mouth with a comeback he was sure would start an argument.
He was done. She needed to be home. She needed a shower and
to sit down and talk to her dad. She and Garrett had things to figure out, and
Keane intended to take care of everything else. She started to say something
about Scott’s overly privileged childhood, but Keane knew what he was doing.
He leaned down and slung her over his shoulder, looking
Scott’s way. “She’ll contact you about meeting tomorrow. I’m sure you’ll
understand that this is an emergency.”
“Hey,” Olivia began. “I wasn’t done with him.”
Deputy Morgan’s lips curled up. “That’s the Livie I know.
These guys are good for you.”
Keane started to walk toward Jack Barnes’s big-ass truck.
She’d handed him the keys when they followed the deputies and told him he could
use it if he needed to go into town. She and Garrett would use her mom’s luxury
sedan. The truck was big, and that made it easy to stuff Olivia in the back
seat.
Her eyes narrowed. “You can’t…”
He stared at her. “Think before you finish that sentence.
Were you planning on meeting him today?”
“No. I have to talk to my dad. I have to call the insurance