Page 31 of The Billionaire Land Baron

Chapter 8

The ride home was awkward and silent. Shelby’s whole body felt like a live wire, overstimulated and buzzing. Sitting between Matt and Jake in the front of Matt’s pickup, she wanted to giggle at the absurdity. To her left, confident behind the wheel was the boy-next-door who had loved her almost their whole lives. On her right, sitting stiff and awkward with his hands in his lap was Jake, the big city boy who had crashed into her world, stirring up her heart. There was the crushing disappointment from her meeting at the bank mixed with the echo left in her ears from the Lucky Line. Her life had turned into a freaking movie.

“What’s funny?” Matt said.

Shelby cleared her throat. “Nothing.”

“Why are you laughing?”

“I’m not. I was…coughing.”

“Are you okay?” Matt asked.

“Peachy,” Shelby said. Jake didn’t look at either of them, but stared out the front window, his jaw tight. Was he upset about something? Rhett interrupting their slow dance? Matt making them leave early? The night had done a great job of taking her mind off losing her property. Now she had other worries, all centered around a tall redhead who was due to leave town before the week was over. The thought was like a rock in her stomach.

Matt pulled up in front of her house. Jake practically jumped out of the truck. “Thanks for the ride, Matt,” he said.

“I’ll be by tomorrow morning and then I can let you borrow my Jeep for the rest of the week.”

“I really appreciate it,” Jake said. “Goodnight, Shelby.”

“Jake—” Shelby started to slide out of the car after him, but Matt grabbed her arm. She paused, legs already halfway out the open car door. Jake was already to the Airstream. Shelby stared down at Matt’s fingers on her arm, then pointedly at him. He let her go and rubbed his jaw.

“What is it this time, Matt?”

“This time?”

“You know. You’re always trying to stick your nose in my business. To ‘look out for me,’ as you say. Spit it out. Want me to stay away from Jake?”

As soon as the words left her lips she felt the guilt lapping at her insides. Matt traced the steering wheel with his fingers, stopping to pick at a loose thread in the cover. It wasn’t fair. Matt had always been nothing but kind to her and went out of his way to help her in a way that didn’t make her feel indebted.

If only she felt something for Matt. Something other than the affection she imagined people felt for their siblings. As an only child, she had never known that, but always thought of Matt like her brother. It had especially been clear the time he tried to kiss her. They’d been in ninth grade at a party when he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. Shelby slugged him. He nodded and walked off, and the next day things were back to normal, only there was a new, very clear line. But Shelby knew that if she ever wanted to cross the line, he’d open his arms wide, like he was just on the other side of it, always waiting.

There was so much to love about him. He was a handsome man. She could objectively say that, looking over at his square jaw, even as it clenched and unclenched. His eyes were beautiful and surprising—a light gray framed with lashes that any woman would be jealous of. A thin, muscular frame that looked as good in a T-shirt as out of it.

Finally, Matt’s face relaxed and he smiled. Shelby could see that it was strained. An attempt at a smile rather than the real thing. “Nothin’. Just that I’m real sorry.”

Her stomach clenched and she crossed her arms over her chest. “You know?”

He shrugged. “It’s Lucky, Shelby. Secrets don’t keep. Wanda practically went around town with a bullhorn.”

The only thought on her mind was her daddy. What if he found out from town gossip and not from her? Shelby jumped out of Matt’s car without even shutting the door. “Hey!” he called, but she ignored him and sprinted up the front steps, waving him away.

“Daddy?” Shelby called as she came through the door. Shelby’s shoulders relaxed at the sight of her father in his familiar chair, a look of surprise on his face. She could tell right away that he didn’t know. Yet. She leaned against his chair to catch her breath.

“Well, who’s chasing you?”

“No one. I just got back and wanted to check on you. It’s late. Why are you still up?”

He pointed to the TV. “Got caught up on one of those docu-thingies.”

“A documentary?”

“Yeah, that. It’s about cheese.”

“You’re watching a documentary about cheese? At midnight?”

“You wouldn’t believe what I’ve learned, Shelby. I don’t know that I’m going to keep eating cheese. I mean, unless it’s imported from France. Because that’s where they actually take care of the cow and—”

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