CHAPTER 23
Cal
“Give me the keys.”
“But—”
“Do it.”
Finn drops his SUV keys into my open palm. It’s a good thing, too. Driving will give me something to do with my hands. And maybe even allow me to keep my mouth shut.
Finn buckles Jasmine into the center of the back seat and hops in the passenger side. Victoria and Summer join my niece.
Not three minutes down the road and my knuckles are already blanched white from gripping the steering wheel.
I don’t get it. It’s like everyone in my damn family has fallen under Victoria Backlund’s spell. Once we knew Evander was fine, everyone wanted to talk about her, ask a bunch of questions. How did the woman who’s here to take our land suddenly become our collective BFF?
And Dad! He was just as eager as Evander to declare that Victoria was the answer to their prayers. Dad even hugged her—more than once.
“Don’t break my steering wheel,” Finn whispers.
Evander had called me back into his hospital room when Dad stepped away. He said Dad had asked him to investigate Renaissance Empowered and Victoria in particular. He told me the company was legit, if sometimes aggressive, and that Victoria had a top-shelf reputation. Yale Business School, even.
He said investigators were still doing interviews and collecting documents but that I could find a preliminary report on his dining room table.
Evander then added that one of his buddies in San Diego had recently wrapped up a real estate development deal with Victoria, and in his words, “She ate me for lunch and then left me with the check.”
“Exactly,” I said. “And Sulfur Springs is her next meal.”
Evander managed to talk me down. “Listen, Cal. Let her work on the contract while I get back on my feet. Let’s see what she’s made of. You know what they say about keeping your enemies closer.”
Jasmine’s high, squeaky voice jars me back to the present moment.
“So does this mean you’re staying with us, Victoria? Can I show you my room? It’s all pink!”
Victoria glances up, and our eyes lock in the rearview mirror. I must not be hiding my fury very well, because she looks away quickly.
“I might be staying for just a little bit longer, but I’m not sure,” she says to Jasmine. “I’m going to help out with something while your uncle is healing from his injury, and also talk to your grandfather about some ranch business.”
“Are you going to work for us at the ranch, Victoria? Will you work with the horses like Summer does? Daddy, is she going to live here? Can she live in our house with us?”
“Uh.” Finn turns around to face the back. “Remember how we talked about asking too many questions, Jasmine?” His voice is so patient. I don’t know how he does it. “We talked about how it’s good to be curious but it’s rude to harangue people, remember?”
“What’s meringue mean?”
“It means don’t butt in,” I say, looking into the mirror again. “Don’t insert yourself into other people’s business and offer to do things no one asked you to do.”
“I don’t think it means that, Uncle Cal.” Finn punches the side of my thigh. Hard.
“Well, Pinkie, all I’m saying is that no one’s sure if Victoria will be staying for either of those things.” I try to imitate Finn’s sweetness when I say this, but I just come off sounding like someone who’s about to freak the fuck out, which I guess I am.
I don’t want Victoria to represent the family in a contract negotiation. She’s not family. She’s not to be trusted. I don’t want…
I don’t want to want her.
Dammit, I’m not this guy. I don’t do this. I don’t lose my head over a woman. Ever.
A few minutes go by. While Finn waits for Jasmine to start up with a new round of questions, he hisses at me, “Evander okayed it. He’s the attorney. He does the contracts. That’s what he wants. Don’t you trust his judgment?”
“He was still coming down from the anesthesia!”
“He made his decision.”
I whisper back, “I’m CEO of Yosemite Ranch, and I’m not fine with it.”
“Victoria?”
“Yes, Jasmine.”
“Can we eat some more ice cream when we get home?”
I laugh and look into the rearview mirror. “Nothing like that good old-fashioned sugar-free ice cream, right, Victoria?”
Her eyes flash at me. If looks could kill, I’d be as dead as the Sulfur Springs rattler. Did that happen just yesterday? It feels like a lifetime ago.
I drive Finn’s SUV to my place. Victoria and I get out. I’ll pick up the Jeep from the training ring tomorrow.
She stomps her way up the front steps and lets herself inside. “I’ll pack my stuff.”
“What?”
“Jamie’s home and I can stay with him. I seem to have overstayed my welcome here.”
“Dad’s probably already asleep.”
I follow her into the guest room and lean against the door frame. I watch her throw her shit into one of her designer suitcases. “Seriously—it’s late, and it’s been one hell of a long day. You’re already situated here. There’s no need to leave tonight.”
She spins toward me, her hair flying in an arc around her. The look on her face isn’t what I expected to see. She’s hurt. Dejected. I think she might be about to cry. “I’ll stay here until the morning, but right now, I need you to get out of my room.”
“Victoria.” I take a step toward her. I gently place a hand on her upper arm.
She looks up at me, her eyes big and full of questions, and I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with me, but I pull her in close.
It’s an instinct. Her arms remain limp at her sides, but she turns her cheek to rest it on my chest.
I close my eyes and prop my chin on top of her head.
And her phone rings.
She steps away from me, yanks it from the pocket of her jeans, and answers. “Hello, Father,” she says. “No, it is late but that’s fine. I’m not doing anything important. Yes, sure. Of course. Let me get my laptop.”
She puts her palm where her cheek had just been and shoves me into the hallway. She locks the door.
I have a serious case of whiplash.
She impresses me.
She infuriates me.
She’s more tender and sensitive than I assumed.
She can strike me down with just a look.
She makes me laugh.
She’s hoodwinked my family.
And despite everything, I want her.
I stare at her closed door and hear her on the phone with Nigel Backlund. Her voice is firm. Businesslike.
I remind myself that I can’t trust her.