Chapter 20
CARTER
When I woke up, it was still full dark outside the window. A tap on my phone screen told me it was five a.m. Shelby was curled up on her side of the bed, still stubbornly independent even in sleep.
I took a moment to just watch her. Shelby was larger than life all the time, but like this, she looked small and vulnerable. I felt the caveman urge to protect her. She didn’t need my protection, and she would run me over with her van at the very idea, but that didn’t change how I felt.
I didn’t want to examine those feelings too closely. Putting a name to them felt dangerous. All I was willing to admit to myself was that I liked her and I liked spending time with her. Also, one night together would never be enough for me. I had gotten a taste of her and now I wanted all of her.
The night before, she had been so quick to dismiss the idea of us being serious.
It had disappointed me more than I had expected.
Rationally, I understood we had no chance at any kind of future.
The clock was counting down on my Kentucky trip, and that would be the end of whatever was happening with Shelby and me.
Making the most of our time together was all I could do.
With that thought in mind, I considered waking her up with a kiss like Sleeping Beauty and seeing what happened next. Oddly, I had a different idea, something way dirtier than starting my day off with a bang.
I should let Shelby sleep in while I go to the farm and make sure her birds are fed and taken care of. I’ll end up dirty as hell but it’ll show her how much I care.
I slipped out of bed, trying not to jostle the mattress, and got dressed in the bathroom to dampen any noise. Then I headed out and downstairs, figuring I could jog to the high school, grab the truck, and head out to the farm.
In the dark downstairs hallway, a figure materialized in the gloom. “Someone’s up early,” Mrs. Presley said, smiling.
I nearly jumped out of my skin. “You can’t sneak up on people like that, Mrs. Presley. I almost had a heart attack.”
She took a step closer. “Speaking of your heart, I noticed Shelby’s van is parked in my lot. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you, Carter?”
I felt like a busted teenager, which was ridiculous. There was nothing to be embarrassed about. “She spent the night with me. I hope that’s okay.”
Mrs. Presley shrugged. “That depends on why you’re sneaking out of here so early. If you’re running out on her, I have plenty of choice words for you.”
I grinned and shook my head. “That’s fair enough, but I was thinking of surprising her by heading out to the farm and getting a start on her day for her.”
“Oh,” she said, clasping her hands between her breasts. “What a thoughtful gesture. Although I have to say, it’s a surprise for me as well. I thought I’d seen everything in this long life, but an Allory getting his hands dirty on a chicken farm? Now I’ve seen everything.”
I chuckled at her. “I’m as shocked as you are, but it feels right. My father made bad decisions and he hurt Ferris, but I’m trying to be better than he ever was. Putting in some work has taught me more about the farming life than any business proposal or summary ever could.”
“You picked a good teacher. Shelby is scrappy.”
I nodded and smiled, glancing at the ceiling like I might see through it to her in bed, her mind at rest. “She’s something special. That’s for sure. Listen, Mrs. Presley, could you make her some coffee when she wakes up?”
“Of course,” she said like it was nothing.
“And can you also not be weird about it with her?” I asked, giving her a look.
Mrs. Presley shook her head. “Nope. I’m going to have fun with this.”
I chuckled. “Well, at least you’re honest. Thank you.”
The high school wasn’t too far away, which was good, because the frosty early morning air still had a bite to it.
Tyler’s truck was still where I’d left it.
No one would steal that piece of shit, and the tow truck driver, Shane, was still living it up down south, so it hadn’t been hauled off anywhere for being abandoned.
I drove out to the farm without any problems. The place looked in order, aside from Shelby’s van being gone. I had considered driving it over here but I didn’t want to strand her at the B&B. I parked in front of her house and got to work.
First thing was feeding the ladies, as Shelby called them.
I grabbed a sack of feed from the barn, slung it over my shoulder, and took it to the chicken house.
One by one, I filled the feeders. All told, it took a few bags to get them all fed, but watching them all eat happily made it all worthwhile.
I’d had my share of wild nights, but I had never satisfied so many ladies at once.
Even the ducks seemed like they were getting used to me.
As I was figuring out what came after feeding, I heard tires rolling up the drive. Shelby. My heart started pounding, and I strode out of the chicken house, smiling wide, hoping all my hard work would earn me a kiss from her.
But it wasn’t Shelby’s van I saw trundling up the dusty drive.
It was a black SUV. I puffed up my chest, making myself big.
Whoever was trespassing on her land was about to get my boot up their ass.
Not thinking about the consequences, I marched over to the parking vehicle and knocked on the window hard, unable to see the driver through the heavy tint.
The window rolled down and my defensiveness turned to anger. “What the fuck are you doing out here?” I asked my social media team.
Aiden sat behind the wheel and he looked more surprised to see me than I was to see him. “Sir, I’m sorry, but what are you doing out here?”
“I don’t answer to you,” I said. “Now speak.”
Aiden’s eyes widened in panic, his career prospects at Allory flashing before his eyes. “The viral post, sir. The one calling you a bad Easter bunny? We found the person who posted it and tracked them down to this address. Do you know Shelby Whitaker?”
The ground tilted beneath my feet and I thought I might fall over. Sheer force of will kept me upright. I refused to look weak in front of my subordinates. “You’re saying Shelby Whitaker posted all that?”
“So you do know her,” Aiden said. “Did you already know it was her post?” He smiled and shook his head like he was impressed. “See? That’s why you’re the boss—”
“Stop kissing my ass,” I said curtly, maybe taking out some of my anger and confusion on him. “What was your plan, coming out here?”
“We were going to confront her,” Aiden said with a shrug. “These internet tough guys never like it when you show up at their homes and stick a camera in their face. We’ll get her to back off.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Let me get this straight. Your plan was to come intimidate her?”
“Well, not in those words.” He looked at his coworkers like they might help him explain, but they were, smartly, staying silent. “We just figured a little pressure—”
“And did I ask you to do that?” I asked.
“Well, no, sir, but I wanted to show some initiative—”
“Stop talking,” I commanded. “I want you to turn this SUV around, go back to your motel, and don’t do a goddamn thing until you hear from me. Is that clear?”
Aiden looked like he had questions but I wasn’t in the mood to answer any of them.
I was reeling from learning Shelby had turned public opinion against our company.
It made perfect sense, of course. If anyone had an axe to grind with Allory, it was her.
I wasn’t even mad at her for being behind that post. Everything she’d said in that viral post had been true.
What I couldn’t figure out was why she hadn’t told me she was the one who had posted it. I had told her all about the PR disaster and how it had started. I had told her everything, and she had hidden this from me.
I needed to talk to her about it, to wrap my mind around this new information and what it meant. But that wasn’t the biggest shock I had just gotten. More than Shelby’s role in everything, I could not believe I had people working for me using intimidation tactics on Allory’s critics.
Was this a common thing and I just didn’t know it was going on? Was Allory still doing evil shit and people were just keeping it a secret from me? Was the whole place rotten from top to bottom?
I needed to have a long conversation with my board of directors about this. If Allory was ever going to be a respectable company and claw its way back, I couldn’t have rogue elements within my own company undermining me.
But first, I needed to talk to Shelby. We needed to clear the air one way or another. If that meant stopping things between us before they even started, too bad. It would kill me, but it had to be done.