Chapter 20 Mary
MARY
Being shaky and anxious isn’t going to do me any favors, so I square my jaw and tighten my grip on my tablet. I’ve been intentionally avoiding both Everett and Jenny for the past few days, but that’s not going to help me in the long run.
Jenny’s shoulders stiffen when I step into the kitchen, and she looks thoroughly unimpressed as she meets my eyes, but I don’t let it stop me.
“Good morning,” I say brightly, forcing a smile to my face and hoping she can’t see how unsettled I am.
Jenny lifts her cup to her lips and takes a long sip of coffee, staring at me like she’s trying to decide whether to ignore me or make an attempt at being civil.
“Morning,” she says.
Civility it is, then. Thank fuck.
“I wanted to get your approval on some of the promotional materials and ask for your opinion on the website.”
The corner of her mouth lifts in a smirk, but there’s no humor on her face. Asking for her approval may not have been the most tactful thing to do, considering our situation, but I didn’t really think about it before I said it.
“Back to work, then?” she asks.
I nod firmly, refusing to look away. I can only hope she’ll take this as the olive branch it is. She hasn’t reported me to my boss yet, and I’m praying that if I prove I can focus on work and stay away from Everett, she’ll let me finish out this contract and we can go our separate ways.
The less damage gets done, the better. For all of us.
There’s a speculative look on her face, and she sets her coffee down on the counter. Crossing her arms over her chest, she raises her chin and pins me in place with a firm stare.
“Why my dad?”
It’s the last thing that I expect her to say, considering how all three of us have been shying away from discussing it in any fashion. My mind spins with a million different ways to answer her question, but there’s only one answer that’s honest. I can’t bring myself to lie and say it meant nothing.
So I tell her the truth.
“I don’t know,” I confess. “I didn’t plan on any of this happening, and I tried to keep things professional. No offense, but your dad’s kind of an ass sometimes.”
Jenny scoffs, rolling her eyes.
“More like all the time,” she says.
I grin, relaxing a little. This is the first chance I’ve had to talk to Jenny normally since she found me and Everett in the barn, and it feels like a weight off my shoulders.
“I thought he was just a jerk, but I kept catching glimpses of kindness. He tries to hide it, but he cares so much, and he has such a big heart. Before I knew it, we were wrapped up in this whole big mess, and I don’t know what to do about it.
” I pause, rubbing a hand over the nape of my neck and offering Jenny a hopeful glance.
“I care about him, Jenny. A lot. And at this point—I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I don’t want to leave when this is all over.
But I have to. Marketing is the only thing I’ve ever been good at.
I can’t just leave my job and ignore all the consequences, no matter how much I want to. ”
My heart aches at hearing the words out loud, even if I know them to be true. I don’t want to leave, but what other option do I have?
Life isn’t as forgiving as my daydreams are.
Jenny stares at me for long enough that I worry I’ve just put the last nail in my own coffin, but I won’t take any of it back.
Even if he’s not here to hear it, I won’t do Everett the disservice of pretending to care about him less than I do.
Our relationship isn’t just some mindless fling, even if it’s likely to end in the same timeframe.
“Alright,” Jenny says, nodding. “Back to work, then. Show me what you’ve got.”
The words aren’t as scathing as they were the first time around. If anything, it almost sounds like she has a bit of respect for me. I blink in surprise for a moment, but I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
If Jenny is willing to put this behind us and focus on work, that’s one less thing for me to worry about.
I fumble for my tablet as I step closer to the counter.
Jenny mirrors me on the other side, leaning in as I unlock the tablet and pull up the first few things I want to go over.
I expect it to be awkward, but Jenny focuses completely on the material, nodding along as I explain my plans and asking questions about a few things.
“I know you said there’s some tension with the Duffy family, but I think it’s worth sitting down with them to discuss options,” I say as I flick through some of my emails.
Jenny frowns, but doesn’t refute the idea immediately, so I take a deep breath and start on my spiel.
“The current owner seems to have changed a lot of the operations and is now working exclusively with local farmers,” I tell her as I pull up some of the paperwork he sent over. “He seems dedicated to—”
“Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Jenny spits.
I look up in shock, but she’s not talking about my work. Her gaze is focused outside.
Her coffee cup clacks sharply against the counter as she slams it down and shoots upright, her brow set in a furious frown. Before I can ask what’s going on, she shoves past me and storms outside.
She’s already yelling as she makes her way down the front steps, her hands gesturing wildly toward the sleek black SUV pulling up in front of the barn.
It rolls to a stop. The door swings open and an older man with graying hair steps out.
He’s wearing a suit that could pass for expensive if you don’t look too hard, and he’s smiling widely at Jenny.
My skin crawls at the sight of him.
“I don’t know who the fuck you think you are showing up here like this,” Jenny shouts, stalking closer to him with her hands clenched into fists.
“Ms. Riggs,” he greets warmly. “It’s lovely to see you in such high spirits.”
“You’ve got about 10 seconds to stuff your wrinkly old ass back in that car and get the fuck off my property,” she snarls.
I stop a few feet behind her, unsure of what exactly is going on.
Around the other side of the car, I see Tony and Bill come hustling out of the barn, both of them concerned and looking ready to fight.
Everett follows behind them, and his face goes from worried to infuriated as soon as he lays eyes on the man his daughter is glaring at.
“Your property?” the man asks, his voice smooth and unbothered. “I was under the impression your father owned this land. Is he around, by any chance?”
“Mr. Mallory,” Everett mutters, his face twisted into an ugly sneer.
The man turns to look at Everett, his smile never wavering.
Jenny spits at his feet, missing his shoes by hardly an inch, but he doesn’t pay her any mind.
She’s visibly vibrating with rage, and it looks like she’s only barely managing to hold herself back from hitting him.
Who the hell is this guy that both Jenny and Everett hate him so much?
“I believe my daughter told you to get going,” Everett continues, halting at the front of the SUV.
It’s probably a good thing that he doesn’t get any closer, because Everett’s hands are balled into fists just like Jenny’s are.
“Everett, the man of the hour,” Mr. Mallory says. “You never responded to my last offer, so I thought it might be a better use of my time to come have a chat with you in person.”
“You deaf?” Everett asks, his nostrils flaring in anger. “Get lost, Carter. You don’t get to show up unannounced in front of everyone and ask to chat. I’ll send you a fucking email if you want, but the answer’s still no.”
Carter chuckles, and it makes me want to shout at him to leave, too. I don’t even understand what’s happening, but something feels wrong.
“Come on, now, Everett, be reasonable here,” Carter says with a sigh. “You’ve got, what, three months left? You need to make a decision sooner rather than later.”
Everett bares his teeth in restrained threat. “I’ll make a decision when I make a goddamn decision. Get the fuck off my property before I drag you out of here myself.”
Carter raises his brows in a disappointed frown, shaking his head like Everett is being completely unreasonable regarding whatever they’re arguing about.
“I’m just trying to help you out,” he says, raising his hands innocently.
“You could sell the ranch now and make some profit, or you can lose it to the bank. It’ll be mine either way.
I wanted to let you keep your pride about it, but if you’re going to be stubborn, I guess I’ll have to let you dig your own grave. ”
Sell the ranch? Why would Everett need to sell the ranch?
I was told the ranch was in need of some help, not that it was on the verge of foreclosure. This guy said something about three months, too. Are they really that close to the end, and still refusing to admit it?
It takes the sound of Jenny’s voice shouting almost incomprehensibly to break me out of my own thoughts.
She advances on Carter, pointing violently toward the gate and insisting he leave, and Everett is stepping closer, too.
Considering Jenny’s temper and the fury on Everett’s face, I wouldn’t be surprised if this escalated into a proper brawl.
If they’re in this much trouble financially, assault charges are the last thing they need to be dealing with.
I can sit down with them and figure everything out later.
Right now, I need to do something.
I cast my eyes around, looking for something to diffuse the situation with.
I’m pretty sure throwing a half-rotted piece of wood at the trio won’t help, but an idea flares in my mind when I see one of the younger ranchers standing a few feet away from me with a hose in his hand.
Water is pouring out of it, splattering on the ground, and I rush over and yank it from the guy’s hand.
“Sorry!” I say, both to him and the trio I’m about to turn it on.
I cover half of the opening to make the spray stronger, and by some trick of fate, I raise it just as Carter opens his mouth to say something back to Jenny. It blasts him right in the face. As he chokes out water, he’s slammed back against his SUV.
Jenny leaps out of the way, along with Everett.
I almost laugh, but my aim doesn’t waver.
The hose is still pointed straight at Carter, soaking through his suit.
Suddenly, I realize what I’m doing, and I drop the hose to the ground.
I’m caught somewhere between confidence and hysteria when Carter’s eyes land on me.
He splutters in shock, spitting out the last of the hose water and looking down at his suit in dismay.
“I think it’s time for you to go, Mr. Mallory,” I say, grateful that my voice is steady.
He stares at me in furious shock for a long moment before managing to collect himself.
“This suit was four hundred dollars!” he shouts. “How dare you?”
“It’s a hot day out, you looked a little thirsty,” I counter, raking my gaze over him disapprovingly. “Besides, it fits better now. You might want to look into getting a tailor.”
His mouth snaps shut and his cheeks flare with embarrassment, and he yanks the door to his car open. He glares at all three of us in turn, his face ruddy with anger and humiliation. I can’t help but smile when I realize we’re standing side-by-side, a united front.
“You’re all going to regret this,” he spits. “I look forward to tearing every inch of this place to the ground.”
He slams the door shut behind him and peels out of the driveway, a cloud of dust following him. We all watch as he disappears into the distance, tension sitting heavily in the air.
Jenny turns to look at me when his car is finally out of sight, and we both burst into laughter when we make eye contact. Christ, what was I thinking?
“Well,” I say, as I put my hands on my hips. I turn to meet Everett’s eyes. “I think it’s safe to say you two need me more than you even realized.”
Jenny and Everett glance at one another, and both of them snort as they try to hold back their laughter.
“How about we save this ranch?” I ask.
Everett nods at me, and I see real hope in his eyes for the first time since I met him.
“Yeah,” he agrees. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”