Chapter Thirty-Three
Lochlan
“ A s her brother, I hope you weren’t too hard on her. As Sheriff, I’m glad she wasn’t out there when whoever threw the rat poison over the fence would’ve seen her.” Jackson’s bagging the pellets into an evidence bag, even though we both know there isn’t any way to trace where it came from.
Jo scared the hell out of me, and I’m having a hard time reigning in my rage.
I’m not mad at her, but I’m infuriated that my home isn’t safe enough for her to walk around without worrying about her.
I’m furious that my first thought when I couldn’t find her was that someone could have taken her.
This place should be secure, impenetrable.
She should be able to explore every square foot of this property without consequence, but I can’t make that a reality because some fucker wants to harm me.
The bears.
My grandfather’s legacy.
“It’s better that she’s mad at me but listens to my rules rather than disobey and get herself hurt. It’s the price I’ll pay. ”
He glances at me, unconvinced.
It’s the same look Hayes usually gives me.
“When you thought someone had her, what was your first thought?”
“What do you mean?” I thought I was going to murder someone, but I won’t admit that to him.
“Where did your mind go? Who was the first person you suspected? Even if it doesn’t make sense in hindsight, our brain works in weird ways.”
“First, I assumed it was whoever has been harassing this place. Then I thought maybe Frank, one of my old parolees, came back to mess with me. He always showed too much interest in her. Then I suspected that her parents sent someone for her.”
“Why would her parents do that?”
“Ahh, well. She told them that she was engaged to me to get out of being set up with Conrad’s campaign manager.”
He blinks slowly at me, contemplating what I just said.
“You’re engaged to my sister?”
“It’s fake.”
“This place is turning into a soap opera.” He sighs, shutting all of his evidence into the back of his SUV.
“Well, fake or not, I’m counting on you to keep your promise about her safety. Even if she thinks you’re a dictator.”
“She can give me the silent treatment for all I care, I won’t let a fly land on her.”
* * *
“This is where my mother expected to showboat my engagement to Austin so all eyes will be on us. Try not to look miserable,” she says slyly as we enter a giant garden party on the lawns of the Biltmore Estate.
This place is historical and fancy, and incredibly out of my element.
Normally, I’d lean on her to carry us through an event like this, but as suspected, she hasn’t spoken to me since the night she wandered off.
We’re supposed to act like an engaged couple, but she can’t even stand to look at me.
And, I can’t stop looking at her.
She’s as beautiful as she always is, dressed like every stitch of fabric and every accessory was made for her.
She’s also wearing the red lipstick that nearly brings me to my knees every time she wears it.
“We’ll lay low, there are only a few people I want to speak to about donating, and then we can get out of here.” She speaks as she glances around the crowded tent, still refusing to even face me.
The stuffy suit jacket she bought and forced me to wear is punishment, and I keep shifting my shoulders trying to dislodge it from my neck.
“JoAnna, so good to see you.” A woman that I’ve never seen approaches Jo, and I tune out their conversation, looking for the bar.
“This is Lochlan Dane, my fiancé.” Her hand touches my stomach, resting there as an intimate gesture one might do with someone they’re in a relationship with, but I can’t stop focusing on it.
Every touch is torturous.
Every fake nicety makes me wish it were real .
“You could at least pretend to be engaged in conversation,” she accuses when we’re alone, again.
“I don’t want to talk to these people.”
“I’m aware, but don’t make me look bad just because you can’t stop being a grouch for an hour.” She huffs, stalking towards the bar as elegantly as she can.
I step up behind her as she’s ordering her drink, and I feel her spine stiffen.
“If you didn’t want to be engaged to a grouch, then you shouldn’t have put that ring on your finger,” I whisper in her ear.
“And, if you didn’t want to put up with my antics then you should have told me to fuck off,” she hisses under her breath.
Gone is the woman who was ever intimidated by me, and in her place is a woman who can snap my neck with a look.
I hate to admit how much it amuses me.
My cock pulses and I have to step away from her so she doesn’t accidentally brush against me.
It’s why I can never think straight around her, all my blood rushes downward anytime she’s near me.
“A photo?” A man with a professional-looking camera asks us, and just as I’m about to say no, Jo agrees.
She slides her arm around my waist and places her hand back on my stomach, forcing me to inhale deeply.
I don’t take photos, I don’t know what to do with my arms, but my palm finds her hip bone like a magnet while she smiles prettily.
“Great, now give her a kiss,” he instructs, casually.
She looks at me with sadness in her eyes, already expecting the rejection, and it kills me.
I wish I were a man who could kiss her in a crowded room like no one was watching.
My lips find her temple instead, lingering there while the camera shutters in front of us.
“I’ m sorry, darlin’,” I utter softly.
“Yeah, me too.” She steps away from me.
“When the photographer uploads his gallery from tonight, I’ll post those pictures on my Instagram. My family will think it’s odd if I don’t showcase you on social media.
“I don’t know what Instagram is.
”
“I know.” She sighs, turning her back to me.
She walks away and doesn’t come back until she’s ready to leave.
Not uttering another word to me the rest of the night.
* * *
As the late summer storms begin in the mountains, it’s turned the property into a mud pit.
Even when it’s not raining, there is constant cloud coverage, preventing anything on the ground from drying up.
There have been flash flood warnings in effect all week and storms every night, resembling my mood perfectly.
I’ve never felt more trapped behind these gates than I do now.
It was my choice to be here, to continue my grandfather’s legacy, but I’m stuck in this place with no outlook, no future.
And, it hasn’t been as painful a realization until right now.
A harmless kiss wouldn’t be destroying me if I simply had something to offer the woman asking for it.
“Hey, boss. Did you hear?” Ryker asks as I meet them all down by the bunkhouse.
We’ve been attempting to lay down dry bedding and add some semblance of natural shelter for the bears all day, so they have a dry place to sleep, but we’re all exhausted and covered in mud.
“Hear, what?”
“There’s a tornado watch in effect.”
“I’m not surprised.” What else could go wrong?
“It’s supposed to escalate within the hour.”
Tornadoes aren’t a common occurrence in the mountains, but it’s not unheard of.
Normally, flooding is the worst part, but the homes in this area aren’t built to withstand damaging winds.
“Alright, let’s get things wrapped up, and we can hunker down for the rest of the night. The bears will hole up where they can, and we can assess the damage tomorrow.”
I don’t know what makes me look, an itch on the back of my neck or a feeling in my gut, but I turn around, eyeing the guesthouse.
“Where’s Jo?” Her car isn’t here.
Everyone looks at me with wide eyes like they’re afraid to answer.
“I know she did not get through her day without chit-chatting with one of you fuckers.” I’m past the point of being annoyed by her socializing with them; I’ve come to expect it.
However, I don’t accept anyone lying about it.
“She had a meeting at school with one of her professors,” Jordy admits.
“When?”
“She left about an hour ago, and said the office hours started at six.”
“Dammit,” I mutter to no one.
“Dammit!”
How am I supposed to keep her safe when she’s a magnet for danger?