Chapter 27 #2
Tabitha agreed to host, under the express condition that the barn and the horses remain absolutely, one hundred percent, off limits.
If she hadn’t met the bride-to-be herself, I’m not sure she would have agreed at all.
But Tabitha truly does have a big heart.
She cares about people and does what she can to help them, and I’m trying to take after her more in that way.
I only hope it’s not too late to make things right with Parker.
Tabitha’s done her part to help me with him.
He grudgingly agreed to help, but only because Tabitha lumped it into his job description for the weekend, so technically, he’s getting paid to do it.
Meaning he’s treating the whole thing as purely a business transaction and refuses to take instructions from anyone but Tabitha.
I’m not surprised. When he first saw that I was still here, he couldn’t get away from me fast enough, and he hasn’t been back to the house since.
I try not to dwell on it, though, focusing instead on a few special touches to the wedding that will make Salem Stables a memorable venue, not some second-rate backup location.
“We’ll be back tomorrow at eleven for the teardown, once the tables and chairs and everything are cleared out,” the guy in charge of the tent delivery crew says.
He hands me a clipboard and I sign on the line, deciding not to worry about how tired I’m going to be by then. If everything goes according to plan, it’ll all be worth it.
I keep reminding myself of that, just like how every time the anxiety tries to bubble over inside me, I tell myself that I don’t have to pull this off on my own.
Tabitha has rallied Jim and her friends to help set up and direct traffic in our makeshift parking lot in the side field, and the wedding coordinator is helping remotely, working on rerouting all the food, linen, flowers, cake, alcohol, and five thousand other moving pieces that go into an event like this.
Once Lucy was on board, she connected the two of us to sort out the logistics over FaceTime, and Sarah, the coordinator, was mainlining coffee the entire time, talking a mile a minute.
The poor woman has to be more stressed than I am right now, and I make a mental note to send her a thank-you card and one of Tabitha’s custom mugs after we make it through this weekend.
I spot Parker exiting the barn, marching towards the white wedding tent with his hands shoved deep in his pockets. I thrust the clipboard back and thank the delivery guy, rushing off to catch Parker.
“Hey,” I say, suddenly timid. My heart races standing a few feet away from him.
“What do you need me to do?” he asks, not meeting my eyes.
“Parker,” I say softly, willing him to look at me. “Can we talk first?”
“I’m here to work.”
“But if I could just—”
“Work. Not talk.”
I try one last time, but he cuts me off short with a hard gaze.
“If you don’t tell me what to do, I’ll just go. I’m not here to waste my time with you again.”
He shrugs his hands out of his pockets as he turns back towards the barn, but this time, I’m not giving up so easily.
“Is that what you think it was between us?!” I shout, chasing after him. “A waste of time?”
“Wasn’t it?” he demands, rounding on me so fast that I stumble to avoid bumping into him. He closes his eyes for a second. “Don’t answer that. Do you need my help or not?” he says, impatience creeping back into his tone.
I pull the seating chart out of my back pocket and hand it to him.
He snatches it from my grasp. He nods in my direction without looking at me, then heads back towards the tent.
After a few brisk steps, he stops cold. For one heart-skipping beat, I think he might turn around and give me another chance, but his neck and shoulders are stiff, and his head stays pinned forward, sights locked on something in the driveway.
There’s enough unusual activity that I don’t immediately spot the problem.
When I do, my body reacts before my mind has a chance to catch up, and the hairs on my neck below my ponytail stand at attention.
Ray.
With all the excitement of the last twenty-four hours, I’d forgotten about him entirely.
Knowing that Parker had the money he needed to cover the debt owed to him, I’d pushed it out of my mind like it was taken care of—a checked-off item on a to-do list. I guess Ray hadn’t left a business card, though, so Parker must have been waiting for him to show up to pay him.
His feet unstick from the ground, and he starts for the truck, growling over his shoulder at me to stay put.
As if.
I’m right behind him the entire way.
“Guess my invitation got lost in the mail,” Ray drawls, tipping his chin at the white tent on the lawn. He’s leaning against his sleek black pick-up truck, no doubt paid for with other people’s money.
“Sorry, we’re full up,” I snap.
Parker’s hand reaches behind him to rest on my arm, effectively silencing me.
“Here’s your cash,” Parker says, pulling out an envelope from inside his jacket and tossing it to Ray so he doesn’t have to get any closer. “That clears my dad’s debt. You’re square.”
Still smiling, Ray peels open the envelope and counts the money inside.
“Not quite.”
In front of me, Parker bristles. “Fuck that,” he growls between clenched teeth. “That’s every penny that he owes you.”
Ray tuts. “You’re forgetting interest, Junior.” His face turns cold. “Price is double.”
“What the hell?!” I shout.
Parker’s so furious he doesn’t even try to shut me up this time. “You said I had six days,” he says to Ray, leveling him with a glare. Despite their height difference, Ray doesn’t seem intimidated.
“I did. Day six was yesterday.”
“It’s not his fault you didn’t show up to collect,” I argue.
Ray turns his dark eyes on me, and Parker shifts once more to position himself in front of me, like he’s trying to shield me from him. “No. But he could have come to me.”
“Tried to find you, but all the dumpsters in town were empty,” Parker says through gritted teeth.
His anger only seems to make Ray more pleased. He grins again, pinched fingers smoothing the edge of the envelope in his hands. “Not my problem.”
Parker drags a hand over his face, exhaustion setting in. “I don’t have another two grand.”
“Again, not my problem, boy.”
“Fucking lowlife,” Parker snarls.
Ray’s face hardens. “No, that would be your old man. He’s the scum who took my money knowing full well he had no intention of paying it back.”
A beat passes while they glare at each other, before Ray seems to cool slightly.
“I could come back if you prefer, but you know how unpredictable my interest rates can be.”
Parker turns to pace in a small circle and brings both hands to his head, clasping his fingers together at the base of his skull.
His cheeks puff as he lets out a long exhale, his eyes flashing dangerously as he wrestles between figuring out a solution and breaking this guy’s nose.
I remember the look on his face when Ray left the barn after the first visit, how hopeless he looked.
I know what it feels like—that sense of loneliness, despair.
Like, no matter what you do, it won’t matter.
When I felt like that, Parker proved to me that it wasn’t true.
And he was right. What if I can do the same for him?
“I have the money.”
Both sets of eyes flash to me, but my voice doesn’t shake. My hand doesn’t either when I reach into my vest pocket and pull out my phone.
“What’s your email?” I say to Ray, keeping my eyes on my device. “I’ll e-transfer you right now. Whatever it takes to get you out of here immediately.”
Ray laughs, a harsh barking sound that cuts through the brisk air. “How stupid do you think I am, woman?”
I don’t fully suppress the urge to give him a look that tells him exactly what I think of him. In two steps, Parker closes the distance between us and grabs my elbow, pulling me sharply away from Ray.
“What are you doing?” he hisses, leaning towards me.
“I’m not doing anything,” I say, meeting his eyes. “We are putting an end to this. Together. I’m not going to let you drown in this alone, Parker. No matter how badly you want to.”
“Isn’t that sweet?”
“Shut up,” we both say at once.
Something else shutters over Ray’s ragged face. “I could go and ask your other lady friend instead,” he says, tucking the envelope of cash into the inside pocket of his leather jacket. “She must have a fair bit of cash lying around, from all those tips working at that bar.”
Parker and I both tense.
Ray turns, moving to get back into his truck. “Maybe I’ll swing by her place now, say hello to that kid of hers.”
“You son of a bitch,” Parker snarls, emotion cracking his voice as he lunges for him. I grab him, yanking him back.
“Parker, listen to me, please,” I beg, grabbing his face and forcing him to look at me. “This guy is not messing around. The only way out of this is to give him what he wants. Let me help you, and this will all be over.”
“Sloan, I can’t let you do this. Especially after yesterday, I—” Words fail him.
I place a hand on his arm, trying to comfort him. To make up for the strength he’s lacking right now, like he’s done so many times for me.
“Yes, you can.”
He stares at me for a moment longer, the war he’s fighting in his head evident in his brown eyes. I give his arm a reassuring squeeze, silently begging him to let me help. Finally, he nods.
Dropping my arms to my side, I turn back to the rat standing a few feet away, watching us closely.
“You can follow us to the nearest ATM.”
Ray’s lips pull back over his teeth, but he shakes his head no. “I don’t think so. You’ll ride with me, darlin’. I need to make sure you’re not going to make any unexpected detours.”
I bark out a laugh as Parker grinds out, “Like fucking hell she will.”
I’ve seen about a thousand too many true crime specials to consider getting in a strange man’s truck, especially one with a known track record like Ray.
Still, I have the sinking feeling that now that he’s voiced it, he’s not going to accept anything less.
Immediately, my mind races, but I keep my face carefully neutral as I try to come up with a plan.
“It’s funny,” Ray says conversationally.
“What’s that?” Parker growls, his jaw clenched so tight it’s twitching, hands balled into fists at his sides.
“You seem to think the rates aren’t climbing while you’re standing here wasting my time.”
The air escapes from my chest in a wheeze, and I know we have to move. It’s now or never, and if we don’t get this over with, who knows what the consequences could be.
I turn to Parker and grab his face, forcing him to look at me, imploring him to see the apology in my eyes for what I’m about to do.
“Follow us,” I say, before darting around to the passenger side of Ray’s truck before Parker can stop me.